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90 compliance period almost up??
#1
90 compliance period almost up??
My 90 days will be over in the next couple of days. What does that mean to me?
I know insurance will continue to cover my cpap.
Will the DME continue to monitor my cpap using the attached cell phone.?
Will they want the phone back. I'm tempted to disconnect the phone and see if they call me about it.
I would also like to lower the settings to 4 - 5 and see how many events are recorded. Kinda like a home sleep study?
My events are below 1 most of the time. I would feel like the machine is really doing something if the number jumps higher when I lowered the pressure to the point where it detected but didn't eliminate..
I haven't noticed a huge difference after 3months of use.


Steve
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#2
RE: 90 compliance period almost up??
(10-15-2014, 04:17 AM)Popriv Wrote: My 90 days will be over in the next couple of days. What does that mean to me?
I know insurance will continue to cover my cpap.
Will the DME continue to monitor my cpap using the attached cell phone.?
Will they want the phone back. I'm tempted to disconnect the phone and see if they call me about it.
I would also like to lower the settings to 4 - 5 and see how many events are recorded. Kinda like a home sleep study?
My events are below 1 most of the time. I would feel like the machine is really doing something if the number jumps higher when I lowered the pressure to the point where it detected but didn't eliminate..
I haven't noticed a huge difference after 3months of use.

Some DME's want the modem back, some don't. Some insurance companies want further compliance, some don't. However, even if the modem "mysteriously" stops working, the compliance data is on the machine and SD card even without the modem.

The modem is actually useful past the compliance period. If you have any problems, your doctor and DME can see a limited amount of data about your therapy, such as leaks and AHI. They can also change your settings if needed. Who knows, it might help educate some idiot doctors and DME's that CPAP collected treatment data is actually useful.

Many people are paranoid about the big brother aspect, but I'm personally not that worried. In all likelihood, they'll never look at it once the insurance quits requiring it in order to get paid.
Get the free OSCAR CPAP software here.
Useful links.
Click here for information on the main alternative to CPAP.
If it's midnight and a DME tells you it's dark outside, go and check it yourself.
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#3
RE: 90 compliance period almost up??
Also, please remember, if you're not wowed by improvements, they can sneak up on you over time. My OSA created heart issues took about 9-10yrs of CPAP usage to improve, but like a lightswitch, all of a sudden I stopped having the issues. OSA may have had many years to work on your body, so some changes may take many years to improve.

By all means, if you have and understand how to use the software, there is nothing to keep you from testing out small changes, just don't change things too often, and be willing to test for a few weeks at a time. Not just a night here, a night there...
*I* am not a DOCTOR or any type of Health Care Professional.  My thoughts/suggestions/ideas are strictly only my opinions.

"Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you. Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your Soul, the other for your Freedom."
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#4
RE: 90 compliance period almost up??
All of the above, and do allow me to emphasize: Some people take weeks, months, or longer to FEEL BETTER.

If you have any concerns about "compliance" perhaps you aren't wearing the mask 100% of the time?

Remember that wearing the mask long enough to JUST get "good sleep" is NOT fully effective due to the biological response if you are also suffering OSA during additional sleep. Effects such as adrenaline release can still take a toll on your internal organs even with "enough good sleep">

If you aren't yet doing so, work to wear the mask 100% of the time when you (may) sleep.
Sweet Dreams,

HerbM
Sleep study AHI: 49 RDI: 60 -- APAP 10-11 w/AHI: 1.5 avg for 7-days (up due likely to hip replacement recovery)

"We can all breathe together or we will all suffocate alone."
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#5
RE: 90 compliance period almost up??
It is SO hard to wait for "the magic improvement". My hubby has been using a CPAP since 2003 ("the brick", no data recording beyond "time in use") and we had stepped up his pressures during the 3 months waiting for the sleep study. His mask was old and not sealing well. He got an APAP (PR System One) with nasal pillows. His numbers are good but he still does not have the energy I would like him to have.

I keep wanting to run him into the sleep specialist and say "FIX!" but I have to have patience. Sleep apnea damages the body at the cellular level and cells take TIME to repair/replace. Darn it!

So, he keeps on using his APAP and I help ensure his equipment gets cleaned and checked when I clean my equipment. I just got my APAP on Sept 20th.
Evpraxia in the Pacific Northwest USA
Diagnosed: 44 AHI when supine, O2 down to 82%
Treated since 20 Sept 2014:: 0.7 AHI, Settings 7-15, EPR on Full Time at Level 3
Better living through CPAP/APAP machines!
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#6
RE: 90 compliance period almost up??
(10-15-2014, 04:17 AM)Popriv Wrote: My 90 days will be over in the next couple of days. What does that mean to me?

Sadly Steve, it means you will turn into a pumpkin.

However, working on past that, I see your settings are at 4/20, which is the default settings of the machine. You really need to install Sleepyhead so that you can see what pressures are actually being used by the machine to control you apneas, and how well they are being controlled.

Lowering the pressure from 20 to 4 or 5 would be a really bad idea. Raising the bottom end some, and lowering the top end some would probably be a good idea. But first we need to know what your average pressures are over the course of the night.
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#7
RE: 90 compliance period almost up??
I agree with RG. Even pumpkins may need CPAP.
Lowering the pressure to 4 or 5 would feel suffocating to many people. It is often suggested by newbes but it is not the same thing as a home sleep study. The mask is very different from a nasal cannula used in the sleep study.
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#8
RE: 90 compliance period almost up??
I would think the DME and or the insurance is paying a connect fee for the modem which they will stop when the insurance no longer requires compliance checks? I would think they will want the cell unit back to use on the next person. But I have not used one so I'm just guessin'. Congrats on 90 days hope it's helping. Because you are on here I have a feeling you are way above the curve that they are worried about.
Good Luck!

Doc J (despite my nickname I am not a doctor)

Remember to donate to the board if you can, it has helped a lot of people including myself.
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#9
RE: 90 compliance period almost up??
Thanks all for the responses. DME has changed my settings, lowered the high down to 14? ( I haven't check yet ). I am just meeting compliance. Usually I only get 4.5 - 6 hours on the hose...then take it off. The other night Wes the first time over 8 hours. I realize I need it all night to feel the results.
I usually wake and get up around 4 - 5 am for work.
I'm working on improving sleep habits over all. ( lots of bad habits)
Eating before bed
Tv on all night
Go to bed to late, get up to early
No exercise
No alarm clock ( I always wake early anyway but an alarm may let me sleep until I have to get up instead of waking, checking the clock and seeing I have another hour to sleep but then I just lie there for an hour. Maybe with an alarm I can get back to sleep knowing I won't over sleep?)
I'm working on these but hard to change after many years.

Still sceptical of the whole cpap thing but willing to keep trying.
I've searched for negative comments but haven't found anything to say its a scam.
Which is unusual because you can usually find negative view on most subjects...

Gonna let my granddaughter carve my head when I turn into a pumpkin!
Can't wait!

Steve
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#10
RE: 90 compliance period almost up??
You want negative comments?

Here you go: Probably more than half the people prescribed CPAP therapy FAIL. They fail simply because they never use, or learn to use, the equipment for all their sleeping.

These are general stats for ALL CPAP patients -- practically everyone who gets actively involved in their own therapy and who regularly visits this forum (or a similar one) succeed.

It is easy to FAIL. It is also VERY EASY to succeed if you get the information and follow the prescription.

Wear the mask. Feel the benefit (perhaps after some weeks or months.)

With the proper mask (perhaps a P10) it is actually possible to ACTIVELY ENJOY the therapy. I would rather WEAR the mask than not, just for the way it FEELS while sleeping. I sleep better and it is worth the trouble even if I didn't feel better or improve my help.

Heal your body -- over years of a longer and healthier life.


Sweet Dreams,

HerbM
Sleep study AHI: 49 RDI: 60 -- APAP 10-11 w/AHI: 1.5 avg for 7-days (up due likely to hip replacement recovery)

"We can all breathe together or we will all suffocate alone."
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