03-22-2017, 01:00 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-22-2017, 01:02 PM by richac.)
RE: Should I continue treatment?
ty, now I have a new problem I didn;t have on the other machine.
After I finishing the exhale, before I inhale, the mask starts shaking on my face if I don;t inhale fast enough. and is driving me nuts, even with epr off, even after raising pressure a little. I actually feel more suffocated with this machine then the last one. I can;t believe this. I;m pulling the mask of my face to get a breath.
I was supposed to go to sleep lab in a week to maybe try a diff mask. but there is no way I can keep using the machine at this point. I;d like to try a diff mask but now my doctors office is giving me an attitude. I think my doctor got scared of me when I showed up with a broken hand lol. I;m ready to give up.
I called my doctors office today to tell them my doc is not connected to Followmyhealth.com so we can communicate by online messaging and I get appointment reminders, see updates to my char etc (I don;t care if the russians have it lmao). THey kept telling me she is connected, so I called tech support they said she has to give authorization. I called the office to let her know that and they told me thats not my call, its an internal decision, and they are sorry for being so brutal, with a real attitude, talking over me in harsh tone. I was alittle shocked eventually said could you be quiet and listen to me for a minute in harsh tone myself and she hung up on me. lmao... I can;t believe this... I called back and told someone else who also had an attitude with me from out of nowhere, that I;m just letting you know shes not connected like you guys keep telling me that she is. Like all my other Doctors are, I;m sure she would want to be. So we don't play phone tag. I think for some reason they don;t like me. And I think its the broken hand.
I;m ready to throw in the towel this is a real dirtbag industry, at least in America, especially when you have poor people insurance. I might have to give up. This is why probably only 50% people stick with this treatment. They get pushed out if it don't work for them off the bat.
03-22-2017, 03:06 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-23-2017, 08:28 AM by Sleeprider.)
RE: Should I continue treatment?
A machine that provides data is so important to reinforcing the therapy. Tell your doctor you need the upgrade. There is no way I can imagine trying to deal with CPAP therapy without knowing that it is helping. There is no way to know how to improve your situation or whether it is even working without the data. If your DME won't help, the prescription is the remedy.
If you really have poor insurance and your deductibles are high, I would suggest buying a machine out of pocket. Great prices on Amazon, Craigslist and through
Supplier #2 for very capable machines with automatic function and full data. I also use FollowMyHealth, and enjoy the ability to message my doctors. Works well.
My I suggest you request your primary doctor to request your prescription and records from the sleep specialist, and ask him to manage your sleep apnea care. Let him know what's going on.
RE: Should I continue treatment?
Unfortunately I've experienced it, too. As soon as a crappy DME has dispensed a machine, they suddenly become dirtbags and are 100% inaccessible.
You may come to a point where you decide to give them back the machine, and find a good DME who will take care of you (or order from an online supplier). I did that, and have been VERY happy to have a machine that works well for me.
P.S. When I had to pull my mask off to catch a deep breath, it was because my pressure was too low. I'm not sure if that's your issue, but I thought it's worth mentioning.
03-23-2017, 11:27 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-23-2017, 11:35 AM by richac.)
RE: Should I continue treatment?
Raised pressure from 9 for 10 helped a little. But I think, both. My nasal and ffm are pinching my nostrils too much maybe
I have a veery huge face and head lol
03-23-2017, 01:37 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-23-2017, 01:39 PM by Marillion.)
RE: Should I continue treatment?
This may be an obvious point, but be careful that you aren't over tightening the mask and that it is sitting in the proper location on your face. Also, it may be possible that you need a larger size mask if it wasn't sized correctly for you and it is pinching your nose that much, So check out over tightening and sizing of the mask.
03-23-2017, 04:58 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-23-2017, 05:00 PM by richac.)
RE: Should I continue treatment?
ya I;m waiting on a callback for a mask fitting.
But what do you guys make of the mask shaking on my face when I'm finishing an exhale right before I inhale? Happens with both a nasal and ffm.
Actually, I realize that this happens even when the machine is off? In otherwords even with the machine off there is a constant light pressure. I don't remember the dreamstation doing this? If it did I never noticed. So if I hold my breath with the machine off I feel those same exact shaking intervals I described above when finishing an exhale when pressure is on. I never had a shaking problem with mask with dreamstation. Changing settings isn't helping.
RE: Should I continue treatment?
this is so insane. I'm losing faith. so the sleep lab never called me back ( i knew I would of hit the lottery if they picked up) (are they reading this? stop sleeping!)_ hopefully I can get a more breathable mask for my unusual irregular xl face and gigantic head. haha.
03-23-2017, 09:58 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-23-2017, 10:00 PM by Sleeprider.)
RE: Should I continue treatment?
Rich, I'd really like this to work for you. Maybe it's time to fire your DME. Just pack up the machine and drop it on their desk. Talk to your insurance about your dissatisfaction and ask if you can use a different provider. If your insurance isn't kicking in much of the cost, then self-service might not be a bad option.
RE: Should I continue treatment?
Wat do you think of the issue I having with mask shaking?
RE: Should I continue treatment?
I have never experienced a mask shaking. You have a fixed pressure of 9.0 and as far as I know, your machine does not perform pressure pulses to determine if apnea is CA or OA. Your profile indicates you are in NYC, so not much of a seismic zone, although you might live near trains...sorry, humor.
How is your mask and hose routed to the machine? Is the hose supported, or is it just draped across the bed?