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Sleep apnea/ CPAP machines
skicat
Member Posts: 14,431 ✭
I probably have sleep apnea. went through the initial test with an overnight oxygen sensor and was recommended to take the more extensive sleep study. I wasn't sure if my insurance would cover purchase of a CPAP machine and don't know if I could get used to one so this past weekend I bought one for $20 at a garage sale. It is a Fisher Paykel SleepStyle 600 model 604.
I figgured if Insurance didn't cover my purchase of a new machine then I could save some money. I'll need to buy new attachments as I am not willing to use the parts I can easily replace and someone else was breathing into every night. If Ins does cover a new machine I'm only out $20 or maybe sell it so I snapped it up. Looking online, these things sell for between $350 and almost $1000.
Anybody use one of these model 604's?
I figgured if Insurance didn't cover my purchase of a new machine then I could save some money. I'll need to buy new attachments as I am not willing to use the parts I can easily replace and someone else was breathing into every night. If Ins does cover a new machine I'm only out $20 or maybe sell it so I snapped it up. Looking online, these things sell for between $350 and almost $1000.
Anybody use one of these model 604's?
Comments
Good luck with it.
It is technically illegal in most U.S. jurisdictions to have unprescribed Medical Apparatus like CPAP/BIPAP machines.
They want to sell you an approved brand new assemblage of parts that can't actually cost $500 (being generous), for something approaching $2000, after you take the "Sleep Study" (which costs upward of $3000)...
All that said, when I finally got my diagnosis of Heavy Sleep Apnea, the very first night at home with my machine, I slept better and longer than I had in maybe Fourty Years! Cannot now sleep without it.
I found an old machine, and have figured it out, and kitted it up to work on 12VDC (as well as mains power). Over a period of Years, I have accumulated enough "used but serviceable" parts and pieces such that I need not worry about failure of my prescribed machine.
Your purchase may do you some good, but ONLY IF You can adjust it to your needs. Just running the thing may hurt you! Each person has unique needs as to pressure, and the masks are very personal.
Fischer & Paykel is a good name. I was prescribed a RESMED AutosetII.
My First RESMED failed inside a Year, and was replaced at no cost under Warranty.
I went through the full sleep lab study complete with brain wave monitoring, oxygen sensing and video cameras. They tested different sleeping positions including elevation of the head and shoulders.
Results were clear, my sleep apnea is highly positional. As in related to the position I sleep in. If it changes over time I'll have to have another study and see what comes of it.
Anyway, good luck with it.
Made in big difference in my life, a positive difference.
W.D.
My doctor has ordered the black box and the CPAP, for use in about 2 weeks. He says I have sleep apnea. This past Saturday and Sunday I slept for 36 hours out of the 48. The sleep was deep, and only interrupted for meals and bathroom visits. I just was extremely tired, and went to sleep in minutes after my head hit the pillow. He doesn't know why I need so much sleep. For the past year I sleep 12 to 16 hours a day.
Question to ask your doc is how well are you sleeping according to the tests? That's something you can only answer without tests if you are sleeping great and feeling great, or if it's all just plain awful. Anything in between those two takes a proper sleep lab to figure out and the doc to go over the data.
They wire you up to monitor brain waves and see how long it takes for you to reach REM Sleep (Rapid Eye Movement), and how long you stay there. They monitor your breathing and oxygen levels. They record video to see how much you toss and turn.
When you don't get enough oxygen for any reason, your brain wakes you up. Maybe all the way, maybe just enough to take some breaths. Often not enough for you to remember it.
Because of all that you wake up thinking you've slept all those hours, but the amount of deep REM Sleep you need weren't near enough.
Properly done the sleep lab study will nail down exactly how much of a problem you have.
I am going to do the full sleep study and see what they say since sleep apnea would explain several other symptoms which have been plagueing my for some time now. I won't be using the machine without the study and recommendations on what specifically I need but I don't like to cooperate with the medical community when I perceive them as acting more like gatekeepers than healers.
I am not sure I will be able to use the machine without tearing it off in my sleep so I am interested to see what form of treatment is suggested. I was hoping that maybe one of those dental prosthetics which shifts your jaw forward might be applicable to me as I think that might be easier to use. Time will tell.
Neal
I went through the sleep study and was sent home to use an O2 sensor for a certain amount of days to determine if I needed a CPAP. I snore like a Poulan on its last legs according to the Hubbie. So, the O2 sensor didn't drop below an average of 89%. Cutoff for insurance was 88% so I missed needing a CPAP by 1%.
Still snore like a bear and don't wake refreshed. I'm constantly yawning. I choke on air and awaken myself many nights and then toss and turn unable to go back to a deep sleep. I know I snore/snort because this has awakened me as well when sleeping.
Hubbie has a CPAP (VA supplied) because of his apnea and has at times put it on my face while I was snoring just so he could get some rest. [:0]
Not sure what to do at this point for my issue.
Skicat, good luck and hope it helps you sleep better if it is determined that you need one.
I went through the sleep study and was sent home to use an O2 sensor for a certain amount of days to determine if I needed a CPAP. I snore like a Poulan on its last legs according to the Hubbie. So, the O2 sensor didn't drop below an average of 89%. Cutoff for insurance was 88% so I missed needing a CPAP by 1%.
Still snore like a bear and don't wake refreshed. I'm constantly yawning. I choke on air and awaken myself many nights and then toss and turn unable to go back to a deep sleep. I know I snore/snort because this has awakened me as well when sleeping.
Hubbie has a CPAP (VA supplied) because of his apnea and has at times put it on my face while I was snoring just so he could get some rest. [:0]
Not sure what to do at this point for my issue.
If memory serves I believe my Oxygen level was in the low 80's which is why they recommended the full sleep study. I'll probably tackle that in the next few weeks .
If your spouse says you snore and you don't believe it, you are wrong. That's "wrong" like if you claim "1 + 1 = 42" kind of wrong.
If you snore, you have sleep apnea.
Total crap. While snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea, it is incorrect to say the two are universally linked.
Back to the topic at hand. Guessing at your cpap setting and devices is pretty foolish and is probably going to fail. Not only will you not get the proper treatment, but you'll likely have such s bad experience that you'll believe the treatment is worthless and never do it again, which if you really need it will have be terrible for your health. If you need the treatment get it done right.
I have cured myself, I use a nose strip and sleep on my side , an Air Purifier next to my bed....works for me...my wife said I don't snore anymore...I think the purifier is the key...
I lost about 50 pounds, no more snoring and the blood pressure is much better! Wife has the CPAP, it really helps when she wears it.
I am not covered by the VA. I buy my own private insurance. I checked and they will cover the sleep study which is somewhere north of $2000 but I didn't think to ask about coverage on the machine which is why I bought it. Just in case.
I am going to do the full sleep study and see what they say since sleep apnea would explain several other symptoms which have been plagueing my for some time now. I won't be using the machine without the study and recommendations on what specifically I need but I don't like to cooperate with the medical community when I perceive them as acting more like gatekeepers than healers.
I am not sure I will be able to use the machine without tearing it off in my sleep so I am interested to see what form of treatment is suggested. I was hoping that maybe one of those dental prosthetics which shifts your jaw forward might be applicable to me as I think that might be easier to use. Time will tell.
Sorry thought somebody else posted this he is a Vet.