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BiPAP advice please?
#11
RE: BiPAP advice please?
(05-02-2018, 12:18 PM)GrimeyGal Wrote: My original DME locked me out of my current machine so I was never able to do anything with it. I will not be repurchasing through them if they put any restrictions on my new one. I have no desire to change my pressure settings but I have a 100% right to my daily stats. 

You don't have to put up with that, no way, nohow.  At the top of the apneaboard web pages is a link for "CPAP Setup Manuals".  Go to that page and do a find-on-page for the string "vpap s".  There's a paragraph that begins with "For Setup Instructions with pictures, click here."  Follow those instructions, and follow the link for the pics.  Also scroll down on that setup-manuals page to Section 3, "CPAP Clinician Setup Manuals Available via Email", find your exact model of VPAP S in the list, copy that entire make & model string, and e-mail it to the address further down on that page under the heading "HOW TO ASK FOR A MANUAL VIA EMAIL".  That'll get you the clinician's manual for the device, courtesy of the hospitable site proprietors here and especially I think Supersleeper.  In the case of Resmed devices, the clinician's manual includes a huge amount of useful information, not merely an echo of the instructions for getting into the clinical menus.

The machine setup is not somehow magically under the control of the DME; you have full control over it if you want to.

However, if your DME is (still?) using the cellular modem to change your machine's settings remotely, or if any DME is threatening to do that or is likely to do it, there are ways around that.  If that's the case, say so, and either I or someone else will give you the pointers for fixing it.
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#12
RE: BiPAP advice please?
(05-02-2018, 12:18 PM)GrimeyGal Wrote: I will not be repurchasing through them if they put any restrictions on my new one.

Oops, in my earlier reply I was overlooking that you'll be getting a new machine. But the procedure is the same: once you know the make & model, look on the "CPAP Setup Manuals" page for everything you'll need. If any CPAP machine is not listed there, then it probably doesn't exist. Smile

In any case, you have choices of DMEs; as Sleeprider said, all you need to do is ask your insurance company's customer-service help line for their names & addresses. See if you can get at least two or three names for starters, because you never know if one is going to turn out to be a turkey.
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#13
RE: BiPAP advice please?
AHI on display is to be taken with a grain of salt. SleepyHead or ResScan is what you need, no easy way around it.

As for BiPaP Resmed aircurve Vauto
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#14
RE: BiPAP advice please?
Ok. Thanx for all of your help! I am going for the AirCurve 10 VAuto. Of course the DME says my script is too old (my mother got ill and passed just after i got it so I was sidetracked). I have a call in to doc to get it renewed.

I looked at my current machine this morning. It shows 21,870 hours and 2586/2595 days. Yikes!
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#15
RE: BiPAP advice please?
Are you sure you actually need a BiPAP machine and not just a standard APAP? If I am reading your pressure settings correctly, it looks like you have a fixed IPAP of 16 cm and EPAP of 12 cm. The standard AirSense 10 AutoSet could give you 15 and 12 cm in CPAP mode, and would be less costly if you are paying for any of it. On the other hand the AirCurve 10 VAuto can do everything the AirSense 10 can, and more if you need it, and are able to set it up.
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#16
RE: BiPAP advice please?
(05-03-2018, 08:47 AM)GrimeyGal Wrote: Ok. Thanx for all of your help!  I am going for the AirCurve 10 VAuto. Of course the DME  says my script is too old (my mother got ill and passed just after i got it so I was sidetracked).  I have a call in to doc to get it renewed.

I looked at my current machine this morning. It shows 21,870 hours and 2586/2595 days. Yikes!

When you contact the doc make sure the prescription is for the resmed aircurve 10 VAUTO.
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#17
RE: BiPAP advice please?
(05-03-2018, 09:16 AM)gwc2795 Wrote:
(05-03-2018, 08:47 AM)GrimeyGal Wrote: Ok. Thanx for all of your help!  I am going for the AirCurve 10 VAuto. Of course the DME  says my script is too old (my mother got ill and passed just after i got it so I was sidetracked).  I have a call in to doc to get it renewed.

I looked at my current machine this morning. It shows 21,870 hours and 2586/2595 days. Yikes!

When you contact the doc make sure the prescription is for the resmed aircurve 10 VAUTO.

Excellent point. I've actually written out what I want and handed the note to my doc and asked him to write the prescription to look like my note. I think DME providers are getting Philips product at a cheaper wholesale cost, therefore they push those products more.
Jesse


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#18
RE: BiPAP advice please?
OMG. I called my DME this morning to order my machine. I got the new prescription they wanted, and NOW they want certification that my machine is broken and a copy of my doctors notes! Why didn’t they tell me this the first time? My machine is over 7 years old, 22,000 hours, air and water leaks, and no longer reads data.

Do they think I want one because it is prettier?! I am so disgusted.

How do these online places work? Do they charge more because they are not a preferred provider?

Thanx.
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#19
RE: BiPAP advice please?
(05-14-2018, 09:29 AM)GrimeyGal Wrote: OMG. I called my DME this morning to order my machine.  I got the new prescription they wanted, and NOW they want certification that my machine is broken and a copy of my doctors notes!  Why didn’t they tell me this the first time?  My machine is over 7 years old, 22,000 hours, air and water leaks, and no longer reads data.

I thought the insurance terms & conditions generally specify a 5-year replacement period for the machine. Check your paperwork, including the papers from all those years ago. It sounds like the DME is giving you a big-time runaround and needs a good swift kick in the ass.

(05-14-2018, 09:29 AM)GrimeyGal Wrote: How do these online places work?  Do they charge more because they are not a preferred provider?

No, not at all. They charge less because it's a competitive marketplace and they want your business. There are some very good retailers and resellers out there with good customer service and competitive prices. Supplier #2 also sells used (refurbished) machines at relatively low prices. However, some (not all) of the online sellers aren't DMEs and can't do the insurance-reimbursement thing directly; with those it's strictly pay as you go, and then if necessary you deal with your insurance provider yourself, requesting reimbursement using a standard form that the provider will give you. If you're paying entirely on your own without insurance, of course you look for the lowest price on whatever specific make & model you want. Generally, but again not always, retailers will ask to be sent a copy (usually by e-mail) of your prescription, but the Rx is usually not scrutinized closely. They just want to make sure that you have an order from a doctor saying that you're approved to be on CPAP therapy.
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#20
RE: BiPAP advice please?
Thank you Fats. I told the DME rep I have a 5 year replacement. She said that only counts for Medicare. I told her I was taking my prescription elsewhere. She said ok. So apparently they (DME Lincare) aren’t interested in selling me a machine. 

I then called Blue Cross and they again confirmed I am eligible for a machine with a current script and to call CareCentrix (the overseer?). I called CareCentrix and they switched my DMEs from Lincare to Aprea. Reading reviews on Aprea is scaring the beejesus out of me. How can any company have this horrific of reviews and still survive?  Seriously?!  

So I will wait and see what Aprea does. How do people who aren’t well equipped to advocate for themselves able to navigate the systems?
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