New User: Dumb Question: Do I need a Dr. Prescription to try

Is it allowed to self diagnose and buy a cpap machine. I'm a believer that Sleep apnea is a problem for many people, and it may be my problem. I'm just wondering if I can avoid the Dr. office visit and self diagnose and buy my own machine. The cost to me will be about the same, but my insurance company will save money.

Thanks,
Dave

About the only place you could buy a CPAP w/o a prescription would be a rummage sale, newspaper ad, craigslist, family member, friend, neighbor or the like. You will need a doctor's prescription to purchase a CPAP and/or mask from any "legitimate" source.

And, by the way, that was NOT a dumb question at all, Dave.

There are many, many people who have done it that way. Lots of people don't have insurance (or wish to avoid having the diagnosis in their medical and insurance records).
So, "yes", it can and has been done.


Den

But the FDA and the medical community does it's best to make it dificult!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jerry

Thank you all for replying. On Amazon, I noticed they sell almost all the equipment.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss? ... ap+machine

Check it out. I'm wondering if they will require a prescription.

Otherwise, assuming I can get the equipment, are the any health issues that might occur or side affects that I should be aware of.
Thanks,
Dave

GLIDERGIDER wrote:Thank you all for replying. On Amazon, I noticed they sell almost all the equipment.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss? ... ap+machine

Check it out. I'm wondering if they will require a prescription.

Otherwise, assuming I can get the equipment, are the any health issues that might occur or side affects that I should be aware of.
Thanks,
Dave

Not really any adverse side effects. Getting more air to breathe while sleeping is a "good" side effect. Be sure to do lots of reading here on the forum......ask questions......get a good data-capable machine and the software to analyze the data.


Den

Wulfman wrote:

GLIDERGIDER wrote:Thank you all for replying. On Amazon, I noticed they sell almost all the equipment.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss? ... ap+machine

Check it out. I'm wondering if they will require a prescription.

Otherwise, assuming I can get the equipment, are the any health issues that might occur or side affects that I should be aware of.
Thanks,
Dave

Not really any adverse side effects. Getting more air to breathe while sleeping is a "good" side effect. Be sure to do lots of reading here on the forum......ask questions......get a good data-capable machine and the software to analyze the data.


Den

Too high of a pressure can lead to central apneas. Sleep techs see it all the time while titrating patients.

mcdover wrote:

Wulfman wrote:

GLIDERGIDER wrote:Thank you all for replying. On Amazon, I noticed they sell almost all the equipment.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss? ... ap+machine

Check it out. I'm wondering if they will require a prescription.

Otherwise, assuming I can get the equipment, are the any health issues that might occur or side affects that I should be aware of.
Thanks,
Dave

Not really any adverse side effects. Getting more air to breathe while sleeping is a "good" side effect. Be sure to do lots of reading here on the forum......ask questions......get a good data-capable machine and the software to analyze the data.


Den

Too high of a pressure can lead to central apneas. Sleep techs see it all the time while titrating patients.

That's why you NEED to have a data-capable machine and the software.
I haven't heard of any evidence that Centrals are any worse than Obstructives.......and UNTREATED patients are having many more of both than people on therapy.
I read awhile back that only about 15% of people are susceptible to pressure-induced Centrals.....so, you can't say that sleep techs see them "ALL the time".

And besides, if a person is using an APAP machine with a range of pressures, most of them have algorithms that try to avoid pressure induced Centrals.

Your concern is bogus.


Den

In Canada you do not need prescription to buy CPAP and masks.
I have used CPAP for 3 years and although my family doctor is aware of it, he never checked my CPAP data.

I bought CPAP and masks from Craiglist, Amazon and CPAPauction.com and also from Bonanza.com. Only in CPApauction you neeed to upload prescription.

GLIDERGIDER wrote:Is it allowed to self diagnose and buy a cpap machine. I'm a believer that Sleep apnea is a problem for many people, and it may be my problem. I'm just wondering if I can avoid the Dr. office visit and self diagnose and buy my own machine. The cost to me will be about the same, but my insurance company will save money.

Thanks,
Dave

What you're thinking about doing is what I did back in 2003. Successfully.

My story - why/how I started using "cpap":
viewtopic.php?p=5977#p5977

Hi CPAPERnewbie - Can I ask why you think you don't need prescriptions for Cpap machines in Canada? You do, or else I've been living in the wrong provinces for a long time , as have others I know.

Ditto what Julie said...you do need a prescription in Canada for machines, but not masks in all places. I bought a mask from clinicalsleep.com (Vancouver) and they said they only require a prescription for machines.
Nan

It gets a bit worse than needing a prescription. The pressure setting for a CPAP machine comes from a sleep study, and often from 2 studies, that are much more expensive than any office visit.

Other messages have laid out some of the issues with just guessing that you have OSA and just guessing at a pressure setting. The upshot is that very few physicians are going to feel comfortable prescribing without being clear why they're prescribing (being certain it's really OSA) and what they're prescribing (what pressure).

I'm not claiming all of this is reasonable or scientifically defensible. There are times it's completely obvious that someone has OSA without a sleep study. Of course, there's no way without the study to know if that's all that's going on. There are times, especially with an auto-titrating machine, that it could be reasonable to use treatment without having had a study. The upshot is that it would be extremely difficult to convince a jury of this if something were to go wrong, so you're unlikely to be able to get a prescription without the sleep study.

This is an interesting forum and thread topic. I may have OSA. My wife has bugged me for years to get into a sleep study. But, I worry that I'll never be able to get affordable life insurance the moment an OSA diagnosis enters my medical records. So, I'd rather NOT jump through all the hoops of a paper trail if I can get help without it.

Based on the posts I'm reading, having insurance won't necessarily save me any money and will tend to push me toward a lower quality machine. Well, I'd rather purchase something quality on my own if that's the case.

I guess I have a ton of research to do. Can anybody give me a ballpark idea of what I should expect to pay for a quality, data capable, cpap, humidifier, mask and software?

You say "may" be your problem, which is not a good sign.

To check out and use a CPAP machine takes knowledge, so make sure you get that. I have purchased a used CPAP as a spare, but am wary of medical cleanliness and such (I took it apart and made sure it was clean, but most people shouldn't take one apart as they may not get it back together right).

There is concern about an overly high pressure causing central sleep apnea.

I suggest you get a digital voice recorder and record during sleep, to see if you make snoring noises. (Snoring is a common symptom of OSA, but may not occur with OSA - and snoring may occur without OSA.) Oh, wait - your spouse should already be aware if you are snoring or gasping for breath? (Depending on how soundly they sleep, I suppose.)

So overall you need knowledge and the ability to learn and self-monitor.