What to do while waiting for CPAP

I'm in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada and it seems that the 4-6 week wait is typical based on what I have found so far. I have had my second study for the actual titration settings, which was 3 days after I met with the sleep doctor, now it is the final analysis and prescription I am waiting for. I know at the end of the morning my pressure was high but they did not give my any details. I do know that even for the first time on CPAP and getting adjusted to things I slept better than I had for quite a while during that second sleep study.

I had contacted the clinic once already to see if there was any way to speed things up and was told everyone is in the queue based on their priority - which I think was just a polite way of saying don't bug us. I do like the idea of going back to my GP and pushing, that was originally how I got my first appointment expedited, originally it was for end of May, 6 months after first my sleep study. When I heard how bad things were I was glad I did push harder. Now I just want to get on with the treatment as I know it will take some getting used to but will help.

Based on the research I have done I pretty much know what machine I want, ResMed S9 AutoSet with humidifier and climate control hose. During the sleep study the nasal hose that I used was not too bad although twice in the night they had to adjust due to a major leak. I know this is one of the more expensive machines but I need the data logging and I know that I will have condensation problems as I keep the bedroom very cold for sleeping. I am willing to pay whatever I need, I just need to get on with treatment now that we know for sure what the problem is - sleep/oxygen deprivation due to sleep apnea.

I did order an oximiter with data logging and it is in transit with FedEx with delivery expected early next week so that will at least tell me if what I do helps or not.

If things don't happen soon I'm afraid I'll go to the hardware store and get a fume mask and hook it up to output of the shop vac for as good ole do-it-yourself redneck CPAP

try following Hawthorne's route... get your GP to write a script for it.

[quote="SleepingUgly"][quote="tschultz"]

The OP forgot to mention that he is in Canada

tschultz wrote:I'm in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada and it seems that the 4-6 week wait is typical based on what I have found so far. I have had my second study for the actual titration settings, which was 3 days after I met with the sleep doctor, now it is the final analysis and prescription I am waiting for. I know at the end of the morning my pressure was high but they did not give my any details. I do know that even for the first time on CPAP and getting adjusted to things I slept better than I had for quite a while during that second sleep study.

I had contacted the clinic once already to see if there was any way to speed things up and was told everyone is in the queue based on their priority - which I think was just a polite way of saying don't bug us. I do like the idea of going back to my GP and pushing, that was originally how I got my first appointment expedited, originally it was for end of May, 6 months after first my sleep study. When I heard how bad things were I was glad I did push harder. Now I just want to get on with the treatment as I know it will take some getting used to but will help.

Based on the research I have done I pretty much know what machine I want, ResMed S9 AutoSet with humidifier and climate control hose. During the sleep study the nasal hose that I used was not too bad although twice in the night they had to adjust due to a major leak. I know this is one of the more expensive machines but I need the data logging and I know that I will have condensation problems as I keep the bedroom very cold for sleeping. I am willing to pay whatever I need, I just need to get on with treatment now that we know for sure what the problem is - sleep/oxygen deprivation due to sleep apnea.

I did order an oximiter with data logging and it is in transit with FedEx with delivery expected early next week so that will at least tell me if what I do helps or not.

If things don't happen soon I'm afraid I'll go to the hardware store and get a fume mask and hook it up to output of the shop vac for as good ole do-it-yourself redneck CPAP

OK. So you are in Ontario. I'm in Toronto and went through this just under 3 years ago. Rules and procedures in Canada a little different than in the USA. They vary by province, too.

In Ontario OHIP's Assistive Devices Program (ADP) will pay for 75% of the cost of your machine, mask, and hose. Your DME will have to fill out the paperwork and submit the claim for you.

It's highly unlikely that you will be able to get an Autoset from ADP because they have special criteria for it that have to be justified by your sleep doctor.

BTW, ADP sets the prices for the equipment and this should fix your costs as 25% of their approved costs. If your DME tries to charge you more than the ADP approved costs, complain, or look for another DME. I don't know the current ADP rates, but in 2008 the rates for cpaps were as follows:
ADP approved cpap cost = $1040. ADP pays $780. Patient pays $260
ADP approved apap cost = $1585. ADP pays $1188.75 Patient pays $396.25 < IF YOU QUALIFY

Here's some links:
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/pub ... /cpap.html
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/pub ... f/cpap.pdf

Most likely, the best you will be able to get is a straight CPAP machine. However, you can insist that it be a fully data capable one such as the Resmed Elite or PR System One Pro.

If you want to pay for the equipment out of your own pocket, you can get your RX and buy online. CPAP.com will accept Canadian RX, and will even sell you an auto based on an Rx for straight CPAP. This may be you fastest way to get your equipment, too, provided that you can get your RX from your sleep doctor. Hawthorne's method may be worth exploring.

Final note: you can't buy any Resmed products from a US based online seller. Resmed won't let them ship it out of the US. You're pretty much stuck with a Canadian supplier for Resmed products (read $$$$) unless you have a friend, relative or US mailbox to have packages delivered to. As a result, Resmed's policies have caused many of us to buy from other manufacturers.

Hose_Head wrote:Final note: you can't buy any Resmed products from a US based online seller. Resmed won't let them ship it out of the US. You're pretty much stuck with a Canadian supplier for Resmed products (read $$$$) unless you have a friend, relative or US mailbox to have packages delivered to. As a result, Resmed's policies have caused many of us to buy from other manufacturers.

Why not just buy from a Canadian online seller, then?

LoQ wrote:

Hose_Head wrote:Final note: you can't buy any Resmed products from a US based online seller. Resmed won't let them ship it out of the US. You're pretty much stuck with a Canadian supplier for Resmed products (read $$$$) unless you have a friend, relative or US mailbox to have packages delivered to. As a result, Resmed's policies have caused many of us to buy from other manufacturers.

Why not just buy from a Canadian online seller, then?

A good point! The problem is that Canadian online sellers are not any cheaper than the rip-off storefront operations, and that's not limited to Resmed products My observation is that they won't compete with US online sellers, and for Resmed products, they don't have to compete. With Resmed's pricing policies (even in the US), there is no competition anyway.

As a follow-up, here's a link to a post that provides the ADP requirements to qualify for an apap in Ontario:

viewtopic/t40050/viewtopic.php?p=350927#p350927

Well, I received my pulse-oximiter yesterday as an early Christmas present and wore it last night. My oxygen level dropped to as low at 58% a couple of times at which time my pulse rate doubled to try and compensate. I need to go through and do some calculations but from quickly reviewing the graphs I averaged less than 70% for the majority of the night. Doing some more research specifically on oxygen levels I can clearly see this is very low and has to be doing harm.

I'm hoping that taking this data to my GP as soon as I can get an appointment and pushing that something can be done to expedite the process down from 4-6 weeks. We already know that CPAP will help i just need the prescription to get a machine and get going.

Now that you've got some data to show your doc so he (she) gets your equipment faster, here's a suggestion: if your pulse ox has an alarm, try setting it for 88%, that's the level that Medicare here in the States uses for approving adding supplemental oxygen at night (if it stays there or goes lower for a significant amount of time). The alarm at 88% is a little low (I'd use 90% or even 92%) but with your degree and likely number of desaturations, you might be continuously awakened.

Are you sleeping on your side? I assume you are overweight and that is not going to help your oxygen saturations on your back...

tschultz wrote:I've been running on empty for a while now and a few days this week I have felt like the walking dead - no energy at all.

I've been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea, had my second study done for CPAP titration settings, but now have to wait 4-6 weeks for results and prescription. I know I had 462 events over 4 hours during my first test and my oxygen level started at 87% before I even went to sleep. I also know that in my first study I never did reach level 3 or 4 of sleep.

Along with LOTS of research and a few posts on here what can I do before I get my CPAP to help sleep with some degree of quality? I've ordered a data logging oximiter that I should have next week to give me some idea of my oxygen levels for comparison.

I know I usually sleep 100% on my back and have recently tried sleeping on my side (right and left) but seem to wake up more tired in the mornings than nights I sleep on my back. So far this week I have stayed home from work 2 days due to complete exhaustion and bad headaches.

Any suggestions of what may help for the next few weeks while I wait to get on a CPAP machine?

If you have tried everyone else's advice on trying to expedite your CPAP to treat your sleep apnea, there is one other thing you could do while waiting. I think this is an interesting way to alleviate mild sleep apnea. Sleep apnea exercises! (For the throat.) I'm not sure how effective they are, but if you have a pulse oximeter, you should be able to measure that.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5178372_do-exer ... tment.html

If you end up using this "sleep apnea exercises" method, it would be very interesting to hear your results! (I'm sure a lot of other people on here would be interested to know if this has any effect whatsoever as well.)