RE: Australian newbie asking advice!
My cardiologist suspected my OSA but it was my GP who got me to a sleep centre. It was bulk billed so you need to investigate this line of diagnosis. The main sleep centres do not sell you machines but can point you in the right direction.
I used SNORE Australia for my sleep study. You can Google them. It was bulk billed after a referral from my GP. They did an excellent job and the staff were both knowledgeable and friendly. The sleep study, according to bulk billing rules, requires two visits (both free of course). The first determines the level and type of sleep issues you have. The second is a titration which will indicate what therapy you need. There was a gap between the two but as you've had these issues for a long time, the wait is immaterial.
You now have a choice. Pay for the 'renowned' sleep doctor in Sydney or use Medicare. The result will be the same and you'll save money. You can ask your GP to give you a referral to a bulk billed sleep centre.
RE: Australian newbie asking advice!
I'm finding it hard to put in words how thankful I am for all your considerate, measured, and practical advice - keeping in mind affordability, direct-route solutions, and exactly where I am at right now. I don't feel as overwhelmed now that I have read all the advice you have shared.
Deep Breathing, ihatesleepapnea2017, holden4th, ajack and bonjour - thank you so much for your specific and detailed advice. Thank you trish, and justmongo as well for the welcome AS WELL AS ANYONE ELSE I haven't named but made comment.
This is my plan now.
1. See my GP and get him to give me a referral to a bulk billed sleep centre. Organise this after ANZAC day or ASAP.
2. Probably SNORE Australia - since you mentioned they seem to be skilled and friendly ...
3. If I have any continuing problems, I have the expensive city doctor to consider .... but probably cancel him the week before ... or sooner
4. Meanwhile - I can wait a week or so to confirm if I have general OSA - I will call around to see if I can rent a machine, or even buy a slightly older machine from Gumtree.
This is important to me as I want to sleep! but I know I have to balance this with finding out what is happening as well ... I emphasise that I am juggling things around to see what I can do to just get a machine as soon as practical.
5. I will read up on this and try to learn as much as I can ... so I can, as mentioned by DeepBreathing, figure out what is going and procedurally adjust via the Sleepyhead software to get an optimum result. I'm a practical, technical minded guy so I think I might be able to do this ...
6. I will 100% write on here to provide you all a follow-up as to how this gets resolved. If I do have this, (or even don't) - I want to be able to say thank you all again for being so approachable to my questions. If I ever have the opportunity to advise someone else on this experience I am going through, I will certainly offer a friendly and helpful hand just as you all have.
Thank you again - please enjoy and take care of yourselves and loved ones over the public break.
(Oh, and I am sure this is not the end of my questions!)
RE: Australian newbie asking advice!
Quote: I'm a practical, technical minded guy so I think I might be able to do this ...
A lot of us here are engineers or other technically-inclined people, so dealing with apnea and its data come pretty naturally. One or two members in particular are quite expert in guiding newcomers through the process, in most cases with excellent outcomes. CPAP therapy can be challenging for some people and it has a very high drop-out rate. I think the biggest success factor is having a strong support network, which is what Apnea Board strives to provide.
Quote:If I ever have the opportunity to advise someone else on this experience I am going through, I will certainly offer a friendly and helpful hand just as you all have.
That's all we can ask.
RE: Australian newbie asking advice!
One problem I encountered with my Sleep test and Tritation. I did not sleep for either one but they said they had enough data. So far my self tritation is off by 5 CM h20.
If possible find out if you can bring some kind of OTC sleep aid Or maybe your GP could Prescribe some thing.
In the mean time you could try sleeping on your side, better than nothing.
Best Wishes;
Dan
RE: Australian newbie asking advice!
When OSA was confirmed for me I wondered if I could handle having a mask on my face blowing air up my nose. I took the SNORE prescription to a DME and I rented a machine to see if it could work for me and what type of machine would be best. It was a good decision as the initial mask and machine were not the optimal choice. My prescription was for a set pressure (meaning CPAP) but fortunately the loaner company accidently gave me an auto machine which I quickly learned how to adjust thanks to this forum.
The nasal pillows weren't the best thing either and I ended up with the Dreamwear nasal mask. The loaner, an F&P Icon, wasn't very good either. I asked for a Resmed S9 but was told that my prescription didn't require this. I got it thanks to my GP writing a prescription for an auto complete with pressure range.
When you talk to the person who does your sleep study, ask them not to prescribe a set pressure but a pressure range which will ensure you get an auto machine. You can debate this quite easily saying that obviously your pressure needs will vary from night to night and that your treatment will reflect this need. Don't be put off as SNORE do not sell equipment for obvious legal reasons so have no reason to deny you this.
After renting for a short period you can then look at purchasing unless you have health fund that will cover this for you. OSA is not considered as being serious here in OZ so that my not be likely.
Best wishes and come back to us folks here for more feedback.
RE: Australian newbie asking advice!
Holden4th, I'm surprised about your discussion of prescriptions. Unless things are different in Qld, a prescription is not required in Australia. The suppliers will happily take your money for whatever type of machine you need. Some will steer you towards a straight CPAP as being a lower cost option, but generally you can just ask for what you want.
RE: Australian newbie asking advice!
(04-25-2017, 02:22 AM)DeepBreathing Wrote: Holden4th, I'm surprised about your discussion of prescriptions. Unless things are different in Qld, a prescription is not required in Australia. The suppliers will happily take your money for whatever type of machine you need. Some will steer you towards a straight CPAP as being a lower cost option, but generally you can just ask for what you want.
Hi DeepBreathing, when I got my initial "prescription" from the sleep doctor to my local DME, they prescribed a set pressure. Similar to Holden4th, my DME ended up giving me the Autoset 10 as a rental but set it on the CPAP mode on the set pressure as prescribed by the Dr. This continued to give bad results so after a few days I adjusted myself through the clinical setting, to automatic with a range. My results were much better after doing the adjustment. However, once the DME realised I had adjusted the setting they were not very happy and refused to send my reslults to the prescribing DR unless I "owned up" to adjusting it myself without their recommendation/assistance. Seems the DME does not want to jeoperdise their relationship with the DR who refers business to them nor do they like to advertise how easy it is to adjust and monitor results yourself. In any case, I am returning my rental today as my purchased machine arrived on Monday. There was no prescription required when buying the machine (I purchased from a different supplier), so maybe it is only required when renting?
RE: Australian newbie asking advice!
I think this is something which must vary on a supplier-by-supplier basis. To be sure I wasn't misleading people, I have checked with TGA and also with an online supplier (CPAP Express) who both advise that a prescription is not required for the purchase of a CPAP in Australia (or the private importation of a CPAP).
On the other hand the Australasian Sleep Association (ie the sleep doctors' union) do have an old (2009) position paper which states that "CPAP shall be issued to new patients only on receipt of a valid prescription from a medical practitioner, preferably from a sleep physician". A position paper does not, of course, have any legal standing. Though perhaps your provider was following these guidelines.
RE: Australian newbie asking advice!
This is interesting news and I wish I had known about it when I first started. The DME was not prepared to supply me a machine without a script so I have assumed that these are a requirement here in Australia. On top of that when I tried to buy a new machine from the US the supplier, a big company, ( Supplier #1 on the list) once again required a script. I wonder how I can get the point across that as an Australian citizen they can supply me one without breaking the law. Supplier #2 has happily sent out a BiPAP without a script. It's on its way as I type.
RE: Australian newbie asking advice!
No prescription needed in Australia but "they" would dearly like to make it a requirement as they can lock you in to the local grossly inflated prices they like to charge.
I've bought both my machines from the US, supplier 29 and 2, neither required a prescription.
I would also advise you to avoid Resmed machines if you do any camping away from mains power as they require 24v whereas most other machines with 12v power cords use 12v and hence less power use, very important if running off batteries.
I have both a Phillips System One and Devilbiss Intellipap2 (not available in Oz AFAIK) both auto machines which both run direct on native 12v with a simple cord with a cigarette socket.
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