Renting / Testing Out CPAP Machine?

[sowo123]

Hello everyone,

(TLDR bottom)

For the past couple years at least (from what I can remember), I've had problems sleeping. It wasn't until a family member mentioned my snoring from across another room that I put 2 and 2 together and decided to get tested.

I can count on one hand the amount of times I got good sleep (one was recently when I got drunk, which usually doesn't make sense since alcohol depresses sleep quality). 

May 2022:

I get a sleep polysomnography test done. 5 hours of sleep, 5 minutes of REM. Apparently no snoring (which is odd because I snore), no leg movements, nothing weird. BUT, during the 5 minutes of REM I did have, I had an AHI of 18. I'm in my young 20's, thin, and have a family history of snoring but unconfirmed sleep apnea in parents (trying to get them to get tested now). 

The doctor was hesitant to prescribe CPAP because from this test I didn't have sleep apnea. Which doesn't make sense since the diagnostic criteria for CPAP is >5 AHI and symptoms of fatigue (and others), which I had. Other than that, he didn't really help much.

Oct 2022:

Recently I had another appointment with another sleep doctor. He was a little more helpful than the first. He spent a good amount of time on educating me about sleep apnea, told me to try out a few things (like neck and throat exercises, mandibular devices, and a "backpack" preventing me from sleeping on my back). Still though, no CPAP (the gold standard... urgh). 

This was a week ago. I've since tried to use a tongue retainer (which I noticed was helpful on one day (yesterday) but overall not much difference). I'll be incorporating the other things as well and see if it helps.

Now:

I've got a phone call appointment with my family doctor for end of October (to get a third referral to a place a family friend recommended for sleep apnea as he has it). It'll likely be months before another consultation with a sleep doctor (and either I pay out of pocket for another sleep test or wait until May 2023 (yay Canada)). 

TLDR: Obviously I'd like to try anything and everything I can. That got me thinking, why not try to perhaps try CPAP, regardless of official diagnosis. Is this even possible? Are there places which rent out a CPAP to try or even to buy used? I'd love to wake up refreshed from sleep, rather than feeling like a hangover every time I wake up. Any suggestions are helpful. Thanks!

[Crimson Nape]

Hi sowo123! -

First, Most all insurance will only authorize a CPAP if your AHI is >20. Under the current guidelines, the patient's apnea is considered treated if their AHI is <=5. Who and how the standards came to be is a mystery.

You might be better off buying a good used Resmed AirSense 10 Autoset. The Autoset can be used to auto titrate, and along with a free analysis software, OSCAR, will allow you to fine tune it to your needs. Please check our Supplier List for online suppliers.

- Red

[taylorgtr]

I'm going to be renting a machine until my DME unit arrives, but it's based on an actual prescription from a doctor and a sleep test with an AHI of 47. I'm not a doctor, but if I were in that position, I'd try to get to a second medical opinion as soon as possible - I don't know that I would self-prescribe a CPAP unit without an OSA diagnosis.

Since I have yet to actually use a CPAP, I'm a bit tentative on how it's all going to work - Now, the folks who've been here a while may be able to give you all sorts of useful help about doing the initial setup and use on your own - I'm speaking from my inexperienced side of the scale. 

While I was waiting for a diagnosis/prescription, I'd be looking for any sleep hygiene things I could implement or try without a CPAP, like side sleeping, soft cervical collar, a zQuiet or similar mouth piece, etc.

(This isn't medical advice, just telling you what I would do in the absence of an actual diagnosis).

[Sleepster]

Are there places which rent out a CPAP to try or even to buy used?

No, because you need a prescription.

Lots of people have barely-used CPAP machines sitting in their closets. I just gave one away the other day.

If you have a local Facebook page or the like you could post there that you're looking for one. You can look on craigslist.

Once you find a machine, you can get the clinician's manual from ApneaBoard. Learn from the manual how to look up the total number of hours the machine has been used. A guideline is that we expect a CPAP machine to last 5 years. So 8 hours of use every night for 5 years is almost 15000 hours.

You need a machine that is fully data capable so that you can see your data on your computer. Preferably one that auto-adjusts the pressure.

[Dormeo]

What was your AHI for the entire night of your sleep test? If I'm reading right, it was over 5; is that correct? And do you know the breakdown of events? (Central apnea, obstructive apnea, hypopnea.) If you have a copy of the report, you can remove the personal information and post a scan of it here.

It sounds as though your sleep test results may support a diagnosis of mild sleep apnea. I'm not sure how things work in Canada, but in the US you can get a prescription for a PAP machine from any physician, nurse practitioner, or dentist. They'd want to see the sleep report, I'm sure, before writing the prescription. Once armed with a prescription, and with enough money, you can then self-fund a PAP machine, ordering one on line. -- But again, I don't know whether things work the same way in Canada.