[CPAP] New Diagnosis - how to proceed?

[supagold]

Hi, my primary care provider suggested that I get tested for sleep apnea, and suggested a home sleep study. I completed a study from a provider that also sells CPAP devices. (I'm omitting their name, as I think that breaks a board rule?) They diagnosed me with severe obstructive sleep apnea ("based on pAHI=41.7 , pRDI=42.0 and O2 nadir of 85%"), and prescribed "Auto-CPAP set 4-20 cm H2O with heated humidity and mask/interface fitting. Close follow up and monitoring is recommended to adjust pressures/masks if necessary".

I spoke with my insurance (Cigna OAP), who told me that CPAP isn't covered except to the extent that I might hit my deductible. Doing some looking around I see that the Resmed Autoset 10 seems to be well-regarded, and when I price that at the place that did my sleep study ($960), vs what some online places are quoting for new machines ($500-600), it seems substantially cheaper to just get it myself. My insurance told me that there are in-network DME providers that have machines at negotiated rates, but I've been working from the list of DME providers they sent me and so far none of them actually do CPAP, so I haven't gotten rates. (Such an easy process ?) The negotiated rate for a home sleep test was about 2x what I found for out of pocket, so I'm not sure what to expect there...

I'm a fairly technical guy, and I've been doing some reading here at the site on setup, but is it feasible for me to set this up on my own? Do I need an Rx for a mask? I'm not sure where to start on the masks. I did the mask wizard at resmed and it suggested nasal pillows. I'm currently working my way through the wiki here, but are there specific resources that it would be good for me to check out? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

[jdougc]

Welcome to the forum.
Can you post a copy of the sleep study with your information redacted?
Depending on the sleep study you might need a different machine.
If you are going out of pocket, you could look at a slightly used machine.

[supagold]

Hmm. The report is spread over multiple pages in a PDF. The board won't let me attach a PDF, and I don't have enough posts to post a link to google drive. What's the best way to get it up here for viewing?

[jdougc]

Take a picture with your cell or scan it

[supagold]

That won't work unfortunately - they'd either come in as PDF which I already know I can't upload or as 11 images, which is more files than I can attach. I guess I'll just artificially increase my post count until I can add a link to the file on google drive.

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We'll try one more to get to 4...

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Looks like it just appends to my most recent post

[jdougc]

You can make several posts.

[SuperSleeper]

In case you're trying to post a link, until you get to the 4+ post level, if it's a legitimate link, just "break it" like this:

https://www.whatever.com/link.PDF

Change that to something like:

ht tps:// www . whatever. c om/link.PDF

(With a bunch of spaces in the link)

And I or another Moderator can remove the spaces for you, or someone can do it themselves to get to your link.

[supagold]

OK. Thanks for the patience. Here are the first 3 pages.

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Thanks for popping in to help. I actually just finished exporting all the pages, so I'll just finish posting those...

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Almost done...

[supagold]

last one...

[Drpowledge]

If you are a mouth breather, as I am, I recommend a full-face mask with nasal pillows.  Don't know your age but if you have Medicare, they cover the expense.  I have a Resmed, about 5 years old, actually an Autopap, and it has worked very well.

With AHI of 41 you will feel so much better when you are successfully using your autopap/cpap.  Don't give up on it.  It takes a few weeks to get used to it.  The biggest mistake I made early on was fitting the mask too tight.  The nasal pillows just need to be lightly toughing your nostrils and the mouth part (if you have full face) only slightly tighter.  Once your machine is supplying you air you can loosen the mask til you feel a leak then tighten just a little.

As a mouth breather I sometimes open my mouth so widely that my lower jaw slips out of the mask.  I just replace the mask correctly.  I've used a chin strap at times to try to limit how widely I open my mouth, but find it uncomfortable.  If anyone has any other suggestions for mouth breathers I'm all ears.

If you are not already aware, quality sleep of 7-9 hours is likely associated with a reduced risk of demential and Alzheimers.


Best wishes