RE: Nasal pillow question
(04-01-2014, 11:55 AM)ImaSurvivor Wrote: Thanks GrammaBear. I have a bank of unused sick leave I will be able to use toward my insurance for a while but I don't really know if it means I will keep same coverage I have now or if it will change. I have a family policy now but when I retire my husband can go back to a pool of money he had from his unused sick leave when he retired 2 years ago for insurance. We can keep our daughter on another 5 years until she turns 26. Not sure if I will keep her on with me or put her on with my husband. All something we need to research and talk over. I won't be eligible for medicare for quite a few more years. I am retiring early. My husband is a few years older and we want to be able to travel as we are becoming empty nesters in one month!
In my experience I found it has worked best that when someone leaves the nest, we move the nest.
RE: Nasal pillow question
That's our plan retired_guy
... to a couple different locations particularly in the winter months. This winter has been brutal! We have had 'enuff' (that is how I spelled 'enough' when I was a kid at camp and wrote to my parents to please come and get me ... I have had enuff!) Close to 50 years later I am still being reminded of that.
RE: Nasal pillow question
(03-31-2014, 08:28 PM)robysue Wrote: With my Swift FX nasal pillows mask it's a combination of several things:
1) Sometimes the leaks start to increase. It's not a big dramatic jump in the leak rate, though. Rather it's an increase in the little annoying leaks at the beginning of the night when I'm settling down. As the pillows age, it's easier to knock the mask out of place when I'm moving around in bed.
2) More pillow shifting tends to make my nose hurt more. Sometimes it's a dry nose, but more often than not, it's just sore from the pillows not staying where I want them. When the move around, the tippy-tip sometimes hit the inside of the nasal membrane and that can make it sore.
3) More chapped lips. Caused by the little annoying leaks that don't always show up in the leak graph.
4) A growing tendency of the inner cone(s) to collapse AND an increasing amount of effort needed to get that inner cone pointing back upwards the way it is supposed to.
5) Old pillows feel "spongier" in some hard to describe fashion.
6) More restlessness with no identifiable cause.
Agreed 100%. The only things I can really add to this are that the pillows should be replaced once per month according to the government pubs that they base things like Medicare on and so a lot of insurance companies base on this. Having said this, I feel it is a waste to replace that often, but everyone is different!
Another item that can cause issues is your headgear. Headgear is made primarily out of elastic. Elastic tends to stretch out and then break down over time making what was once a well fitting mask one that needs adjustment. Depending on who you talk to headgear should be replaced every 6 months to a year. Because the natural oils in hair hasten the breakdown of the elastic, I do agree with this and replace my headgear everytime my ins allows.
As always, YMMV! You do not have to agree or disagree, I am not a professional so my mental meanderings are simply recollections of things from my own life.
PRS1 - Auto - A-Flex x2 - 12.50 - 20 - Humid x2 - Swift FX
RE: Nasal pillow question
I don't think I need 2 cushions/month even though my insurance allows it. One a month is adequate for me. I would go longer if I could but I do have problems with them going longer. I find it disturbing when I saw the charge of $56 for those two little pieces of silicone on the paperwork last time I got them. I mentioned to my husband I didn't think I should get them every month but every other month. He suggested with retirement coming up and not knowing how my insurance will change, I might need to have the extra pillows. I also agree the headgear needs to be changed. I am allowed every 6 months. Now into it 4 months, I can tell my straps are losing their edge and I will be ready by 6 months.
(04-02-2014, 11:09 AM)mjbearit Wrote: Agreed 100%. The only things I can really add to this are that the pillows should be replaced once per month according to the government pubs that they base things like Medicare on and so a lot of insurance companies base on this. Having said this, I feel it is a waste to replace that often, but everyone is different!
Another item that can cause issues is your headgear. Headgear is made primarily out of elastic. Elastic tends to stretch out and then break down over time making what was once a well fitting mask one that needs adjustment. Depending on who you talk to headgear should be replaced every 6 months to a year. Because the natural oils in hair hasten the breakdown of the elastic, I do agree with this and replace my headgear everytime my ins allows.
RE: Nasal pillow question
(04-02-2014, 12:41 PM)ImaSurvivor Wrote: I don't think I need 2 cushions/month even though my insurance allows it. One a month is adequate for me. I would go longer if I could but I do have problems with them going longer. I find it disturbing when I saw the charge of $56 for those two little pieces of silicone on the paperwork last time I got them. I mentioned to my husband I didn't think I should get them every month but every other month. He suggested with retirement coming up and not knowing how my insurance will change, I might need to have the extra pillows. I also agree the headgear needs to be changed. I am allowed every 6 months. Now into it 4 months, I can tell my straps are losing their edge and I will be ready by 6 months.
(04-02-2014, 11:09 AM)mjbearit Wrote: Agreed 100%. The only things I can really add to this are that the pillows should be replaced once per month according to the government pubs that they base things like Medicare on and so a lot of insurance companies base on this. Having said this, I feel it is a waste to replace that often, but everyone is different!
Another item that can cause issues is your headgear. Headgear is made primarily out of elastic. Elastic tends to stretch out and then break down over time making what was once a well fitting mask one that needs adjustment. Depending on who you talk to headgear should be replaced every 6 months to a year. Because the natural oils in hair hasten the breakdown of the elastic, I do agree with this and replace my headgear everytime my ins allows.
With the AirFit P10 mask, I wonder how Medicare will handle the replacement of that mask? The mask actually has the elastic headgear and then the 'frame' to which the short hose is attached. I agree with others that the charges I see on my EOB from my insurance company as excessive. You can buy the pillows online a lot cheaper than the DME is charging Medicare and my insurance company.
