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+--- Thread: High CA in PSG and with Bipap (/Thread-High-CA-in-PSG-and-with-Bipap)
RE: High CA in PSG and with Bipap - J Duffy - 11-08-2017
I will try CPAP mode at 6.
Thanks, Sleeprider!
Joe
RE: High CA in PSG and with Bipap - SarcasticDave94 - 11-08-2017
J Duffy,
With my teacher hat on: my how-to on getting from BiPAP to ASV, assuming that's your goal. I'm answering the hypothetical question here "How did you convince the doctor you NEEDED ASV?". Simple thing really; I assume you've heard the phrase "the squeaky wheel gets the grease". Well, squeak your tail off. I squeaked, complained actually, that when I used the BiPAP, I was more tired, getting more wake-up headaches, was waking up while using the BiPAP and feeling like there was a struggle to breathe in some way (like I was feeling breathless I suppose). Fill in whatever your complaints and squeaks are here__________.
The above is my example of what I did. Not accusing or any such like, just be sure to present yourself honestly in the complaint. Your goal is to let the doctor and team know X Y Z about your therapy. Convey how bad you feel because of X Y Z symptoms. No need to ham it up, but complain your lil tail off.
One other thing I did, was check in with my insurance customer service. I asked what the coverage was, and how I can get to an ASV machine. I knew that by learning for my knowledge, now the CS at my insurance co. had on-record patient Dave was considering ASV for himself AND he was INFORMED on how to get there for insurance purposes. AND one more thing, it explicitly puts on the insurance radar patient X may have a request for ASV showing up in the system. The reason behind that is to expedite this situation, because even though I pushed it along, unfortunately, this process was drawn out over several months. BE PREPARED TO WAIT "PATIENTLY".
BTW: for me to get to ASV, I did have to visit my pulmonary doc's office as an URGENT NEED due to how bad I felt on BiPAP. The PA at my pulmonary doc office had asked me if I knew anything about an ASV machine and how it works, etc. I answered that I've done research on that, asking if I shouldn't be on it. She agreed I NEEDED to switch to ASV. That one thing began the process.
Best To Ya,
Dave B.
RE: High CA in PSG and with Bipap - J Duffy - 11-08-2017
Great tips, Dave!
Be persistent... will remember.
Also, follow up with insurance...
Joe
RE: High CA in PSG and with Bipap - Spy Car - 11-08-2017
(11-08-2017, 10:27 AM)J Duffy Wrote: Thanks for your input, Bill!
I welcome anecdotal evidence. That is what I'm here for.
When people on this board tell me that ASV is relevant to my Sleepyhead data, I will follow up on that.
I have confidence that this issue will get solved. I will continue to work at it.
I am interested in Inspire, but I don't know if it lowers AHI to under 5.
Joe
So here is my own anecdotally-based concern (which I freely admit is based on my personal experience alone, and the tendency to project such as a universal assumption).
Had I been able to get my AHI under 5 using another device (as there was a significant stretch of time in the initial APAP experience where this was true), I would not have moved to ASV.
And for me, I feel as if ASV is turning my life around. I was knackered with fatigue and brain-fog from bad sleep. So I'm very enthusiastic about how ASV is working for me. I feel really grateful that this forum exists, that Sleepyhead exists, and that some very cool (and informed) people on this forum helped me become an empowered patient who got the machine he needed (despite the medical hurdles that needed overcoming). I have no doubt I'll still be struggling along on APAP with sub-optimal therapy without the benefit of this board and the support of fellow members sharing their knowledge and experience.
I'm not sure how you are doing?
Bill
RE: High CA in PSG and with Bipap - SarcasticDave94 - 11-08-2017
(11-08-2017, 10:57 AM)J Duffy Wrote: Great tips, Dave!
Be persistent... will remember.
Also, follow up with insurance...
Joe
Best wishes on going forward, and keep us updated.
Dave
RE: High CA in PSG and with Bipap - J Duffy - 11-08-2017
Hello Bill,
Unless I can get my AHI to be consistently under 5, I will fight tooth and nail to get an ASV. I plan to call my insurance company, the DME, the doctor, etc., until I get resolution.
Thanks,
Joe
RE: High CA in PSG and with Bipap - Spy Car - 11-08-2017
(11-08-2017, 11:05 AM)J Duffy Wrote: Hello Bill,
Unless I can get my AHI to be consistently under 5, I will fight tooth and nail to get an ASV. I plan to call my insurance company, the DME, the doctor, etc., until I get resolution.
Thanks,
Joe
Again, and just my anecdotal experience here, on nights on APAP that were 4.8 (with 40-50%) Centrals, *I* still felt like hell.
If I'd successfully tweaked a machine that is not designed to treat CAs to deliver results under 5 AHI, I'd have missed out on ASV. And ASV is turning *my* situation around in a huge way.
So for *me*, getting a non-optimal machine to meet some threshold would have been shooting myself in the foot. KWIM?
Perhaps you're not wiped out from these CA events? I was.
And like Dave, I was a squeaky wheel. I needed to me. I was getting desperate. ASV, for me, has been a boon.
Bill
RE: High CA in PSG and with Bipap - J Duffy - 11-08-2017
I don't feel like hell unless my AHI is above 10.
I can tell the difference between 10 and 5, so I imagine that going to 0 or 1 would be awesome!
RE: High CA in PSG and with Bipap - Spy Car - 11-08-2017
(11-08-2017, 11:29 AM)J Duffy Wrote: I don't feel like hell unless my AHI is above 10.
I can tell the difference between 10 and 5, so I imagine that going to 0 or 1 would be awesome!
I had a feeling you must have a higher-baseline that I do.
For me, it is really about sleep quality, and I wasn't getting it previously.
I'd bet I was one of the most "borderline" cases my health group has approved for ASV. But, in my case, it was the correct decision. On most nights since starting ASV I've felt like I've gotten restorative sleep. That wasn't true previously, no matter what the numbers were.
Bill
RE: High CA in PSG and with Bipap - J Duffy - 11-14-2017
Hey Sleeprider,
I will try CPAP at 6. Do I need to change anything else, PS, etc?
Thanks,
Joe