CPAP?

Dave Taylor said:
It’s not about this buffoons story, rather that you’re suggesting that all dark doctors are smarter than non-doctors
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What's a dark doctor? Yes as a general rule I believe someone who spent nearly a decade of education and then residency training are far more knowledgeable about human health than non-doctors. Same for any other profession. I could buy a welding machine and pretend to be a great welder but if I wanted a job done right I would go to an expert like you.
 
Bike N Gear said:
Gotta love doctors. I was told, yes you have "severe sleep apnea" 90+ events, blah, blah blah. Also very concerned that pulse ox drops well below 90 which isn't good.

Then proceeds to tell me that they will send the inform to the company they use for Cpap machines and I'll hear from them. They warned me that "the company they use sucks," so if I don't hear from them in a few months I should let the doctor know and they will try again. So they're concerned, but not too concerned.
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Hopefully the equipment company comes through ahead of schedule.

When mine was ordered, it was when one of the two big companies was mired down with a massive recall, and the other (Resmed) was overwhelmed. And general demand was really high.
I was told it might be a few months, it popped up in a few weeks.
Good luck!
 
Anyone try taping their mouths shut and use the Buteyko method exercises to help with sleep apnea?
 
rick81721 said:
What's a dark doctor? Yes as a general rule I believe someone who spent nearly a decade of education and then residency training are far more knowledgeable about human health than non-doctors. Same for any other profession. I could buy a welding machine and pretend to be a great welder but if I wanted a job done right I would go to an expert like you.
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Yes but often the welders and mechanics out of school don’t know the difference between their asshole and a hole in the wall.
 
Sorry, back on topic for a sec.

Just received a call from Lincare, the company with the Cpap order. When I said that was quick, she replied that it will still be at least 6 weeks before someone contacts again about actually filling the order.:shrug:

Anyway.

Do you people rent these or purchase outright?

Lincare said there is no difference in performance among machines. You just get what is available and they charge the same regardless of the machine. I wish I could sell bikes this way.
 
Bike N Gear said:
Sorry, back on topic for a sec.

Just received a call from Lincare, the company with the Cpap order. When I said that was quick, she replied that it will still be at least 6 weeks before someone contacts again about actually filling the order.:shrug:

Anyway.

Do you people rent these or purchase outright?

Lincare said there is no difference in performance among machines. You just get what is available and they charge the same regardless of the machine. I wish I could sell bikes this way.
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They really all have the same performance, It gets set a certain pressure and that's it. 6 weeks seems like a long time, you can probably get that cut down if you go to the facility.
The machine itself is billed under a code, usually E0601, continuous positive airway pressure. The mask, tubing and filters will be under a different code. If you don't have pets and live in a fairly dust free environment, (wood floors), you probably don't need to change the filters that much. Definititley get the humidifier, it helps.

Usually, you're insurance company will rent the machine for 3 months, make sure you are using it, and then convert it to purchase. The machines have sensors to detect the hours used. If you don't use it, they'll have it picked up. Depending on your plan, you'll probably have a $500 DME deductible that you'll have to reach before the insurance kicks in. Most people don't know about the DME deductible, this may or may not be applicable to your plan..... its different than the regular deductible on your health plan.

You could purchase a used one from Lincare now, I would think, and get going sooner, rather than later.
 
roc said:
They really all have the same performance, It gets set a certain pressure and that's it. 6 weeks seems like a long time, you can probably get that cut down if you go to the facility.
The machine itself is billed under a code, usually E0601, continuous positive airway pressure. The mask, tubing and filters will be under a different code. If you don't have pets and live in a fairly dust free environment, (wood floors), you probably don't need to change the filters that much. Definititley get the humidifier, it helps.

Usually, you're insurance company will rent the machine for 3 months, make sure you are using it, and then convert it to purchase. The machines have sensors to detect the hours used. If you don't use it, they'll have it picked up. Depending on your plan, you'll probably have a $500 DME deductible that you'll have to reach before the insurance kicks in. Most people don't know about the DME deductible, this may or may not be applicable to your plan..... its different than the regular deductible on your health plan.

You could purchase a used one from Lincare now, I would think, and get going sooner, rather than later.
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My issue is the high deductible. By design I'll never reach it unless it's something major. Policy was just too expensive otherwise.

Seems strange that these machines are all the same as some are 3 times as expensive as the others and some have great reviews while others don't. I feel like I'm just gambling with lincare and hoping they have Porsches in stock and not Yugos on the day mine ships.
 
Yeah, I can’t say which is best, but I think I got lucky with the auto adjustable Resmed 11 like @jdog -
Try for an auto-adjust model if possible, for the reasons I cited.
A constant flow machine is calibrated but that will be the flow rate until you manually adjust it.
Auto-adjust I expect is much more comfortable, (tweaks flow on the fly) and probably the reason for my success.
I will wake up sometimes and not know it’s there.

If I recall, I paid the equipment company maybe $80 on pick up, then they folded rentals costs into my 90-day supplies (mask/hose etc). I didn’t even notice and then they said it’s mine at some point.

And yes, insurance company (in theory?) checks to make sure you are using it-
Like 5 hours/night 5 nights a week or something like that. If you meet those marks they cover it.
 
jmanic said:
Yeah, I can’t say which is best, but I think I got lucky with the auto adjustable Resmed 11 like @jdog -
Try for an auto-adjust model if possible, for the reasons I cited.
A constant flow machine is calibrated but that will be the flow rate until you manually adjust it.
Auto-adjust I expect is much more comfortable, (tweaks flow on the fly) and probably the reason for my success.
I will wake up sometimes and not know it’s there.

If I recall, I paid the equipment company maybe $80 on pick up, then they folded rentals costs into my 90-day supplies (mask/hose etc). I didn’t even notice and then they said it’s mine at some point.

And yes, insurance company (in theory?) checks to make sure you are using it-
Like 5 hours/night 5 nights a week or something like that. If you meet those marks they cover it.
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I just find dealing with the insurance companies to be a joke. I was told not to worry because once I reach my deductible (only $2000 to go) it will only cost me 20% each month. With Black Friday sales going on I can get the Resmed 11 for less than $600.
 
Bike N Gear said:
I just find dealing with the insurance companies to be a joke. I was told not to worry because once I reach my deductible (only $2000 to go) it will only cost me 20% each month. With Black Friday sales going on I can get the Resmed 11 for less than $600.
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That sounds about right.
System is all kinds of broken.
 
Robin said:
My insurance covered it completely. I never saw a bill.
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Cause you are teacher.. he owns a bike shop. Likely dumb dumb insurance. I actually have liberty health share. Covered my knee replacement too! Not bad for $333 a month.
 
jdog said:
Cause you are teacher.. he owns a bike shop. Likely dumb dumb insurance. I actually have liberty health share. Covered my knee replacement too! Not bad for $333 a month.
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It's wife's policy. Despite her company having over 60k employees, their benefits have gone downhill over the years. In the scheme of things, I've made out great from them. They paid out well over $1 million in 2006 alone for me.

Our insurance system is a mess.
 
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