Does this sound right?

After being informed on this site that I should swap my machine for a data capable one, I tried calling my doctor. I told him I was having trouble with the masks, and not sleeping well at all, and that the dme people had a new mask for me on order. I told him that I felt more tired than I ever did. I asked him if he could change my machine so he could moniter my therapy. He bluntly answered no. When I asked him why, he said he didn't have equipment to read it. He didn't try at all to suggest & help me. His answer was to try the new mask when it comes in or I would have to go to another sleep study. Does this seem right. I just had 2 sleep studies done this December & January. I'm confused. Am I being unreasonable with my requests, or is he giving me the brush-off?

he doesn't want you to discover that you know more than he does

jules wrote:he doesn't want you to discover that you know more than he does

BINGO!

or maybe he thinks a woman's place is in the home barefoot and pregnant and knowing anything is way over any woman's head

after all he is the almighty Medical Deity and us women need to bow down and wash their feet.

He's one of those "control freaks" we've heard about for years. These pages are filled with posts about them.
They wouldn't tell a person with diabetes not to monitor their blood sugar (especially if they're taking insulin), so why would they not want their CPAP patients to monitor their therapy? It's all about MONEY. They want you to keep coming back and having additional (expensive) sleep studies and office visits......where they can only ask "How do you feel?"

It's NOT his therapy.....it's YOURS!


Den

Yes, this is strange! I knew very little about sleep apnea and machines when I went for my sleep study. My doctor wrote a letter of medical necessity and got my insurance company to pay for a data capable machine. I just sent my first data card into the DME company, who will be sending the report to my doctor and the insurance company. You'd think that your doctor would want the very best for his patients!

Jersey Girl wrote:You'd think that your doctor would want the very best for his patients!

nah - not these sleep docs - they want it all to be hidden from us - even mine when I started out told me software was a waste of money as it was just compliance data -- this was just over 4 years ago and cpap.com sold the software for GoodKnights, Respironics and Resmed machines - I kind of blew his mind when I went in with graphs and all - he didn't like me getting an APAP and stopped me from having an APAP for my first machine -----

tbas wrote:After being informed on this site that I should swap my machine for a data capable one, I tried calling my doctor. I told him I was having trouble with the masks, and not sleeping well at all, and that the dme people had a new mask for me on order. I told him that I felt more tired than I ever did. I asked him if he could change my machine so he could moniter my therapy. He bluntly answered no. When I asked him why, he said he didn't have equipment to read it. He didn't try at all to suggest & help me. His answer was to try the new mask when it comes in or I would have to go to another sleep study. Does this seem right. I just had 2 sleep studies done this December & January. I'm confused. Am I being unreasonable with my requests, or is he giving me the brush-off?

I'm not clear on this: Is this your sleep doctor or a PCP? If he's not a sleep doctor, he probably doesn't have the software needed to read a data card. If he is a sleep doctor, I would advise you to try to find another one (who IS willing to read the data from the card and help you with your treatment).

I've never had a sleep doctor who was interested in the data from my machine, so I got the card reader and the software, and I monitor my therapy. With the help and advice of more experienced users here, I'm finally getting my therapy dialed in to where I feel good every day. You can do that, too, with or without (if need be) a good sleep doc.

The doctor in question is my sleep doctor. I think it's time I find another. I don't even know how to look for one. I'm so sick of poor doctors, and anyone in the health profession saying they're concerned for people's well being, until they're put to the test!

one thing you can do is start a new thread indicating general area of the country you live in (reasonable driving distance for example) you would be looking and ask for suggestions via pm

Do you have a copy of your sleep study and titration reports? If not, be sure to get a copy for your medical records. And a copy of the original prescription.

Hi tbas,

You may want to approach your DME supplier directly regarding machine replacement. You don't need to mention anything about the doctor at all. Just pay a visit to the DME with your CPAP in hand, tell them that this is not the machine you want and you'd like to exchange your machine for the one you need. Go in without fear and tell them exactly which specific model you need. If your prescription just said CPAP machine, and didn't specify a particular model, the DME should have some leeway to give you what you want. If they want your continued business in the future (and referrals), it's in their best interest to please you.

I think that it's already been mentioned that the insurance company is billed using the same billing code, whether it's a basic CPAP/APAP machine or a more sophisticated one. The DME is out to make the most profit, so that often drives their decision as to which model they give you (often the most basic one!). You are purchasing this item, and as a consumer you have a choice! You could always tell them that you'll take your business elsewhere if push comes to shove. I'm sure there are other DMEs you could use. In fact, it wouldn't hurt to call around first to confirm. It would help to know what your prescription says first. You have a right to your prescription and your sleep study results too.

It's unfortunate that so many of us encounter these problems. It boggles the mind that so many doctors don't even care about our results. Sure, we can go by how we feel, to a certain extent. But for those of us who do have difficulties, having a machine capable of reporting full data makes troubleshooting SO much easier!

Best of luck with this. Perhaps others here have additional suggestions for you in how to best approach your DME regarding this. A lot of us (myself included) have had to put up a fuss to get what we need. This is YOUR therapy, and you have to live with it every night! Be strong and confident!

~ DreamOn

Thank you, dream on and everyone else. My dme was not agreeable when I suggested a new machine. If it weren't for the people here, I would feel alone and helpless!

tbas wrote:Thank you, dream on and everyone else. My dme was not agreeable when I suggested a new machine. If it weren't for the people here, I would feel alone and helpless!

You may need to be a little more "assertive"....... (alternative word - "demanding")


Den

Wulfman wrote:

tbas wrote:Thank you, dream on and everyone else. My dme was not agreeable when I suggested a new machine. If it weren't for the people here, I would feel alone and helpless!

You may need to be a little more "assertive"....... (alternative word - "demanding")


Den

How about a "sit in" protest?