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I do have Humana POS health insurance and also just got on Medicare (Part A). The Humana will be my primary until my husband retires. The plan allows for a new CPAP machine every 5 years and new mask, tubing etc. every 6 months (with deductible). I will qualify for a new machine next year, but I could pay out of pocket (on some CPAP sites I saw this AirSense machine for around $750). I would rather pay out of my own pocket and start reaping the benefits now rather than wait another year for my insurance to pay. Tired of using CPAP night after night and not getting better sleep.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
07-02-2019, 08:34 PM (This post was last modified: 07-02-2019, 09:16 PM by ajack.)
RE: CPAP for 10 Years - STILL HIGH AHI's!
I think there are positional obstructions, because of the grouping of the OA. They would need to be sorted anyway, going forward.
In the interim while you decide on a machine. You could raise the pressure 1cm at a time, to see how it deals with the OA. This is how they would do it in a lab. Page 5 gives a clear guide. http://c398534.r34.cf1.rackcdn.com/DOCUM...Canada.pdf
By adding flex, you can see on the pressure chart that it lowers the min a bit. flex is normally added at the beginning of the adjustment and the final pressure set later. Give this and your current OA numbers, I would raise the fixed pressure to 15 and review. This machine can be set up, so you can wait till you are eligible for a new machine. If your doctor says you need a bilevel, I think the US system will see this as a change of treatment and buy it now.
If you do self purchase and you do go for a resmed bilevel, make sure it has a rise time function. This will enable you to shape the breath for the emphysema, if you need it. [[ edit, it seems the vauto has rise time in S mode.]] I would ask your pulmonologist about your need. The forum hasn't seen your tidal volumes on the left hand chart, because the pie chart covers it. I also haven't seen a tidal volume chart posted.
Ok thanks for clarifying that. It's possible that the person who said that the Vauto in S mode didn't have rise time, may have had the easybreathe turned on? If the S mode has all the functions available in the Vauto, it should be fine. If you need a bilevel and the doctor may get one on your insurance for you now.
I don't know, when I checked the rise time was there but grayed out until I turned off easy breathe. Is it possible an older firmware didn't have it? Since my device is only a month or so old it presumably has the latest firmware. I'd have to compare the clinical guide to see if any features are missing but I doubt it.
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OK, it is now Aug. 26, 2019 and I have a lot to update since being on here last. I have been posting data from Oscar and letting you guys determine what may or may not help me get my AHI events down. They AHI events stayed pretty much consistently high, with high % leaks and high periodic breathing numbers on occasion. I mentioned I would be doing another titration/in lab sleep study which I did on August 20, 2019. A day or so later I got a call from the Sleep Lab to go over the results of my study. He told me my events soared to around 24 when I was on my current (prior) pressure of a set 13; then the time I was asleep and the pressure was at a setting of 10 they said I had "0" apneas. They were confused and wondered if it may be my machine or mask itself contributing to the high AHI's I was having at home, maybe too many mask leaks or that maybe my machine was not functioning well and may need repair or replacement. So, the week before the study we were out of town and I used my CPAP like I always do and the pressure was still set at 13. For 2 nights while out of town I had pretty low AHI's when I checked my data - that confused me as I never had an AHI below 5. I will post that data here for the nights of Aug. 14 and Aug. 15. Then after the study on 8-20-2019 they set my pressure down to 10 - so far I have been on that lower pressure for the past 2 nights and things are looking pretty terrible. I will post that data here for Aug.24 and Aug 25, 2019. So with all this being said what are my options? They want me to make note of my AHI's etc. for a full week after being on the new pressure of 10 and then call the office with that information so they can figure out what comes next. I would appreciate you all taking a look, comparing data from both pressures and give me any advice or opinion that could help. I feel like I am running out of options. Thanks. I will post all of this data in 3 different posts.
