CPAP Without Prescription
Hi All!
I'm 46, BMI 25.1, moderately active, high anxiety. I've had various nagging health complaints over the years that seem to be getting worse, such as daytime tiredness, intermittent back pain, and waking up throughout the night. So I'm getting old. But I recently made the connection that I meet criteria that could possibly indicate sleep apnea:
- daytime tiredness
- waking throughout each night, sometimes with headache
- morning dry mouth and sometimes morning headache
- neck size > 40 cm
- age over 40
- family history of OSA (dad on cpap)
- snoring (though only intermittently)
- waking up gasping for air (also only intermittently)
So I got a SleepU device to measure my oximetry and it indeed shows some significant SpO2 drops throughout the night (some nights down to <80%; but often lowest at 87%). In fact, the drops seem to be just before I wake up, thus apparently the cause of at least some of my sleep disruptions. So next I got my doctor to order an at home oximetry study, which confirmed SpO2 drops. And I will next take the full at home sleep study to get more data.
The problem is that I fear and suspect my sleep study results will indicate only a "mild" level of OSA and thus no treatment will be prescribed. That will depend on their interpretation criteria, of course, as well as how I happen to sleep on that single night that will be measured.
I use O2 Insight Pro and OSCAR at home for my own studies and their interpretations vary. For example, for last night, O2 Insight Pro shows ODI 4% of only 2.1/hour. If my doctor uses similar criteria, I assume I will be categorized as mild. The same data in OSCAR, though, shows a "SpO2 drop index" of 11.76. That sounds less mild. I believe Insight Pro looks at 4% drops over 15 seconds, while OSCAR looks at 3% drops over 8 seconds.
Either way, the possibility remains that my sleep disturbances, some perhaps triggered by apneic events, affect my quality of life, if not also my health, and that some type of treatment may be worth attempting, perhaps even CPAP.
So my question is: Is it feasible, or even possible, to obtain a CPAP machine if your doctor does not recommend or prescribe one? Of course, without an Rx it would not be covered by my insurance. But would it then be possible to purchase one anyway without an Rx? I gather that CPAP requires personalized settings determined by your doctor. So are there ever cases where your doctor takes the approach that you don't meet the criteria for them to prescribe a CPAP, but you can get your recommended settings anyway, in case you want to take on the expense yourself?
jwoodz
I'm 46, BMI 25.1, moderately active, high anxiety. I've had various nagging health complaints over the years that seem to be getting worse, such as daytime tiredness, intermittent back pain, and waking up throughout the night. So I'm getting old. But I recently made the connection that I meet criteria that could possibly indicate sleep apnea:
- daytime tiredness
- waking throughout each night, sometimes with headache
- morning dry mouth and sometimes morning headache
- neck size > 40 cm
- age over 40
- family history of OSA (dad on cpap)
- snoring (though only intermittently)
- waking up gasping for air (also only intermittently)
So I got a SleepU device to measure my oximetry and it indeed shows some significant SpO2 drops throughout the night (some nights down to <80%; but often lowest at 87%). In fact, the drops seem to be just before I wake up, thus apparently the cause of at least some of my sleep disruptions. So next I got my doctor to order an at home oximetry study, which confirmed SpO2 drops. And I will next take the full at home sleep study to get more data.
The problem is that I fear and suspect my sleep study results will indicate only a "mild" level of OSA and thus no treatment will be prescribed. That will depend on their interpretation criteria, of course, as well as how I happen to sleep on that single night that will be measured.
I use O2 Insight Pro and OSCAR at home for my own studies and their interpretations vary. For example, for last night, O2 Insight Pro shows ODI 4% of only 2.1/hour. If my doctor uses similar criteria, I assume I will be categorized as mild. The same data in OSCAR, though, shows a "SpO2 drop index" of 11.76. That sounds less mild. I believe Insight Pro looks at 4% drops over 15 seconds, while OSCAR looks at 3% drops over 8 seconds.
Either way, the possibility remains that my sleep disturbances, some perhaps triggered by apneic events, affect my quality of life, if not also my health, and that some type of treatment may be worth attempting, perhaps even CPAP.
So my question is: Is it feasible, or even possible, to obtain a CPAP machine if your doctor does not recommend or prescribe one? Of course, without an Rx it would not be covered by my insurance. But would it then be possible to purchase one anyway without an Rx? I gather that CPAP requires personalized settings determined by your doctor. So are there ever cases where your doctor takes the approach that you don't meet the criteria for them to prescribe a CPAP, but you can get your recommended settings anyway, in case you want to take on the expense yourself?
jwoodz
