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Intro and advice request...
#11
RE: Intro and advice request...
I've done the power recliner sleeping at times as well. I've not gotten one yet myself, as I'm on limited income. I do think the collar would benefit both of us. Some have said Walgreen's has a collar for about $9-11. Just looked and these are ship only right now. Currently only Average, narrow, and wide heights in universal length were showing.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#12
RE: Intro and advice request...
my wife only lasted about a week after I asked her to try a soft cervical collar but my impression was that it significantly reduced her snoring and the little bit of obstructive apnea she has developed. she doesn't use a cpap machine.
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#13
RE: Intro and advice request...
Will be looking into the soft collars - I have to do shopping tomorrow anyway, so can add a stop at the local CVS to see what they have...

Another question:  I subscribe to a couple of DME industry newsletters (to keep up with what is happening in the wheelchair industry) and lately there have been several articles about Medicare / Medicaid reducing some of the paperwork requirements for CPAPS and other respiratory therapy gear.... 

Given the sleep study evaluation and doctors visit summary I posted earlier, do you think this might be enough to get my insurance to cover a machine?  It sounds like if I got an auto-adjusting machine, I really don't "NEED" the doctor to give me a set of starting numbers, but instead could start w/ 'factory defaults' and then fine tune w/ OSCAR and help here....

ex-Gooserider
Wheelchair using Paraplegic - T5,  Very hairy face, breath via both nose and mouth, so need full face mask.
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#14
RE: Intro and advice request...
That is possible, but I don't know for certain. I'd consider trying to call the insurance customer service or check on their website.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#15
RE: Intro and advice request...
(04-06-2020, 09:58 PM)SarcasticDave94 Wrote: That is possible, but I don't know for certain. I'd consider trying to call the insurance customer service or check on their website.
Mass Health seems totally non helpful - I tried both their website and then phone to customer support - and they said that they could help me pick a health plan and find a PCP, but not get me a list of the CPAP providers that accepted them.... Oh-jeez 

I then called the vendor that my GF Mary-Anne uses (and thinks highly of) and found that while they did take Mass. Health, the only machine they suposedly offer is the Air-Sense 10, which they said is now wireless instead of having an SD card....  I am FAR from willing to trust my health to a wireless connected device - can you say "CRACKERS welcome"? 

(Also are those machines supported by OSCAR?)

The useful info I got however is that they still need a prescription, but that my PCP could write it, and that they didn't absolutely HAVE to have the titration study or other documentation they normally would need, but no getting around getting a scrip...

I also stopped at the pharmacy and picked up the only cervical collar they had - a 3M Futuro  - supposed to fit   11-20" neck size and 2.5-5" height.... I think this is one of the ones mentioned in the articles.  I haven't tried sleeping with it yet, but I am not feeling super confident from just playing with it while sitting in front of the computer...  I had measured my neck as being about 17" before I went shopping, but this collar seems tough to get snug enough to have the Velcro stay connected....  The height adjustment is basically a second strip of Velcro that wraps around the area under the chin compressing the foam....  Probably great if you have a pointy face, but it seems like my chin is wider than the couple inch wide compressed area, so it rubs on the sides of my face.   I suspect that once I see if this works, I might end up replacing it with a different collar that is more of an exact fit....

ex-Gooserider
Wheelchair using Paraplegic - T5,  Very hairy face, breath via both nose and mouth, so need full face mask.
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#16
RE: Intro and advice request...
Welcome to the 'I look like I have a severe back and neck injury' club. I trust it helps. Fingers crossed.

Damian.
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#17
RE: Intro and advice request...
Gooserider Wrote:... the only machine they suposedly offer is the Air-Sense 10, which they said is now wireless instead of having an SD card.... I am FAR from willing to trust my health to a wireless connected device - can you say "CRACKERS welcome"?

(Also are those machines supported by OSCAR?)

Resmed machines are by far the most popular here at Apnea Board. They currently have two principal lines in the US: AirSense 10, and AirCurve 10.

The Airsense Elite, AutoSet and AutoSet for Her are all good machines and fully supported by Oscar. They are for your basic, non-complicated obstructive sleep apnea. The Elite only operates at a fixed pressure, unlike the variable pressures of the others. Therefore, it's best to stick to the Autoset models.

The Aircurve range includes the Aircurve S, VAuto and ASV. Again, these machines are supported by Oscar. They are generally used when the Airsense range won't do, such as central apnea, COPD or obstructive apnea where higher pressures and pressure support are required.

Machines to avoid are the AirStart range, and the Airsense 10 CPAP. These machines produce little - if any - usable data. In most cases just hours and AHI.

AFAIK all Resmed machines have an SD card slot. Whether nor not there is actually a card in there is another matter. You can use any ordinary SD card from a camera or electronics shop. Get a plain vanilla SD, not the super high performance types. And capacity must be under 32 Gb.
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#18
RE: Intro and advice request...
Thanks for the clarification on the Resmed machine types DB!  It helps a lot Thanks 

I have an update on the collar as well - I tried taking a nap for a few hours to make up for needing to get up earlier than I have been lately in order to do the shopping and other errands....
It took a lot of fiddling to get the collar on and in place at all, and to do that I had to adjust it snugger than I think the article suggests....  I then tried to sleep, and am not sure if I did or not - it wasn't totally uncomfortable but wasn't pleasant....  It definitely was keeping me from being easily able to open my mouth, but perhaps excessively so....  However as soon as I sat up to roll over the Velcro closure popped open, so I pulled it off and went to sleep...

Bottom line - I would NOT recommend this particular style of collar for use as a positional apnea treatment UNLESS you have a much smaller and longer neck size, with more room for the height of the collar....

I am not giving up on the collar idea, but THIS collar will be returned and I will see if I can find something that is a better fit online.  (one nice thing about this one is that it is clearly labeled on the box to return it for refund if not satisfied....)

ex-Gooserider
Wheelchair using Paraplegic - T5,  Very hairy face, breath via both nose and mouth, so need full face mask.
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#19
RE: Intro and advice request...
Well I sent a message to my PCP last night asking if he could write me a prescription based on the sleep Doc's notes saying I needed a CPAP. 

Got a note back from him this afternoon saying that the Sleep Dock had been working two ICU units w/ COVID patients (more or less as I suspected) but that he would be off part of next week and would get to my sleep study then and write a prescription w/ actual settings and so on.

Seems reasonable....

ex-Gooserider
Wheelchair using Paraplegic - T5,  Very hairy face, breath via both nose and mouth, so need full face mask.
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#20
RE: Intro and advice request...
Better than many weeks away given our pandemic situation.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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