Any advice before my appointment?

[jessamnda]

Give her a big hug. My wife would have told me I was fine and raised my life insurance pay out.

I always joke with her that I don't increase my life insurance because I'll be dead within a year!

[Sleeprider]

Best option for you may be the Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset. It qualifies as a CPAP, but has up to 3 cm exhale pressure relief (EPR). This functions a great deal like BPAP, but at a cost normally covered by insurance with a CPAP prescription. Good luck!

[DariaVader]

With an AHI of > 100, you probably should get that titration study right off the top. I know they say AHI and pressure needs are not synonymous, and I am sure having said this someone will have an example of not the case --- but I have noticed that everyone who has said they have an AHI over 100 does indeed have higher pressure needs. Higher pressure needs + the ability to tolerate pressure support (doesn't cause CA) = Bilevel. The Titration is necessary to make sure the Bilevel does not cause CA. that is my .02

Did you have CA events on the sleepstudy? or is it straight OSA?

[Dreamuser]

An Auto machine, or a machine with a good ramp up function may help with your initial problems with exhaling. I had similar problems with a BiPAP machine and had to move back to CPAP to breathe while falling asleep.

Also, if this is your first encounter with insurance provided CPAP machines, you might want to investigate internet supplier pricing in advance. I have ALWAYS found I can buy the exact same model that insurance would have covered directly for a lot less than my insurance co-pay would have been. They must base insurance on some highly inflated list pricing.

[jessamnda]

Best advice before picking up a machine:

"You never have more power than just before you take the machine." -- Mongo 2016

Translation: It's sort of like haggling when buying a car. You have to show them your willing to go elsewhere to get a machine.
An MD will have written a prescription. Get a paper copy of it and your sleep test (polysomnography) before you haggle over machines.

Oh, and stop eating the clam chowder at the Crab Cooker... that will put weight on you.

Anything I can use on this report?

[jessamnda]

Best option for you may be the Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset. It qualifies as a CPAP, but has up to 3 cm exhale pressure relief (EPR). This functions a great deal like BPAP, but at a cost normally covered by insurance with a CPAP prescription. Good luck!

Awesome, that's a great piece of info.

With an AHI of > 100, you probably should get that titration study right off the top. I know they say AHI and pressure needs are not synonymous, and I am sure having said this someone will have an example of not the case --- but I have noticed that everyone who has said they have an AHI over 100 does indeed have higher pressure needs. Higher pressure needs + the ability to tolerate pressure support (doesn't cause CA) = Bilevel. The Titration is necessary to make sure the Bilevel does not cause CA. that is my .02

Did you have CA events on the sleepstudy? or is it straight OSA?

No central events. Just attached my report in the above post.

[vicmt]

Hello everyone. Have had both sleep studies, with and without CPAP. Waiting through the long strung out process to get the machine .... by the end of July.

I have narrowed down my choices and am ordering an Airsense 10 Auto. My question is their regular version and the version "for Her." I can't get very accurate explanations about the difference. Not interested in pretty flowers, I want to understand why a version for women.

Can anyone tell me?

thank you.

[richb]

Hello everyone. Have had both sleep studies, with and without CPAP. Waiting through the long strung out process to get the machine .... by the end of July.

I have narrowed down my choices and am ordering an Airsense 10 Auto. My question is their regular version and the version "for Her." I can't get very accurate explanations about the difference. Not interested in pretty flowers, I want to understand why a version for women.

Can anyone tell me?

thank you.

Hi vicmt. Welcome to the Forum. The "for her has more settings available. Start a new thread and ask more questions. You will get lots more advice with a new thread.

Rich

[DariaVader]

I agree with Sleeprider that the best non-bilevel would be the Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset with it's EPR set to the max of 3 to get close to bilevel, but I still think you will end up with a titration study and the bilevel. It's a SWAG, but so far in my unscientific observation, all the folk whose AHI is > 100, it has been OSA all the way, and has required high pressure to treat. I pay attention to this, because my 34 year old son is one. He has his pressure support set to 6 and that kinda seems typical. Thing is, individuals are not necessarily typical, which is why you should go for the titration. If insurance is not involved, you can just buy one with your Rx, which is good for any PAP device IIRC. Insurance companies like to see you fail CPAP before allowing titration for the Bilevel, but "fail" can just mean you are uncomfortable with your pressure needs. How you pursue the best course depends on a lot of factors, such as insurance coverage and budget and whether or not you would enjoy doing some of the titration work yourself (which I highly recommend for the best therapy)

[WakeUpTime]

I've never understood why they make it so difficult to go BiPAP.

It's like going for your driver's test and being told "you don't really need a car as a bike will probably get you to where you are going". Huh??? Or going for a test for a car and being told that a separate test would be required for a pickup truck or minivan.

I've seen several different sleep specialists. I remember one responded, "YOU HAVE A BIPAP!???". I wanted to yell back "YES I DO!".

Isn't it the goal to get the best, most comfortable, sleep possible given my condition? If anyone can't get a prescription for a BiPAP, take it to another (regular) doctor and ask for the 'upgrade'. If there was something out there that gave me a 10% better sleep, I'd get it. For me, I think I got an 80% more satisfactory sleep with my BiPAP. I didn't "need" it, but my next-day is vastly improved.