New Diagnosis - Please help a newbie
Hi everyone!
I recently been diagnosed with severe OSA after having a sleep study (AHI was in the 100s). I live in the U.S. and do not have any insurance. I have my prescription finally and need to get a machine and supplies.
I have a few friends that have been milked with some of the local DMEs and based on phone calls I know I can get cheaper prices on-line.
My main question is what the heck my prescription means and what machine should I get.
It says "BIPAP-S in the auto mode with nasal mask, supplies and heated humidifier prn. Length of need 99 months."
What does the -S mean?
Any help would be wonderful
RE: New Diagnosis - Please help a newbie
S stands for spontaneous, and the BiPAP machine allows a moderate to large difference between inhale pressure support (IPAP) and exhale pressure support (EPAP). The machine responds to your breathing patterns by raising or lowering either IPAP or EPAP (or both) to address apnea and other breathing variations. The BiPAP-S provides wider range of pressure variability than an Auto CPAP machine.
QAL
Dedicated to QALity sleep.
RE: New Diagnosis - Please help a newbie
Hi Nnej,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Much success to you as you start your CPAP therapy and hang in there for more responses to your post.
trish6hundred
RE: New Diagnosis - Please help a newbie
Does your paper give you a bunch of numbers and letters for the settings too? we can help you understand those as well.
RE: New Diagnosis - Please help a newbie
(05-28-2015, 06:53 PM)Nnej Wrote: My main question is what the heck my prescription means and what machine should I get.
Check our Supplier List:
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...plier-List
Contact one of them and they will ask for a copy of your prescription. Send it to them and they will then tell you what you need.
Once you get that information you can shop around for the best price.
Be aware that once you start with one machine it may be necessary for you to switch to a different machine, so keep that in mind when shopping for an equipment provider. If you call local providers, explain that you're looking for the best deal, and are educated about your needs, then they will be less likely to rip you off. They know that you are shopping around for the best deal and that you don't have insurance.
Sleepster
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
RE: New Diagnosis - Please help a newbie
(05-28-2015, 07:51 PM)quiescence at last Wrote: S stands for spontaneous, and the BiPAP machine allows a moderate to large difference between inhale pressure support (IPAP) and exhale pressure support (EPAP). The machine responds to your breathing patterns by raising or lowering either IPAP or EPAP (or both) to address apnea and other breathing variations. The BiPAP-S provides wider range of pressure variability than an Auto CPAP machine.
QAL
So does that translate to basically an Auto BiLevel Machine? The -S was confusing me from what I have seen available on-line. Does anyone have any recommendations? Is one better than the other?
I certainly want a data capable machine. I am an engineer type, so I get crazy with tracking and understanding what stuff means. I want to a medical text to read about this stuff.
From my sleep doc, based on the sleep study, CPAP was ineffective, hence the move to BiPap.
As for numbers - from my titration,
EPAP 7.5 cmH20
IPAP 11.0 cmH20
PS 3.5 cmH20
During titration AHI down to 1.6
RE: New Diagnosis - Please help a newbie
Make sure that you keep the original of the Rx and just mail or fax your DME a copy. That Rx is good for life. If you deal with different DMEs, you will need to supply them with an Rx.
RE: New Diagnosis - Please help a newbie
(05-29-2015, 06:21 AM)Nnej Wrote: So does that translate to basically an Auto BiLevel Machine? The -S was confusing me from what I have seen available on-line. Does anyone have any recommendations? Is one better than the other?
The -S designation means you have two fixed pressures that don't vary. In your case those are 11.0 cm H
2O when you inhale, 7.5 cm H
2O when you exhale. The difference between these two numbers is the pressure support (PS) which in your case is 3.5 cm H
2O.
An auto bi-level machine, like mine, will allow you to set a range of pressures. Mine starts at 10 when I inhale, and goes as high as 13.6 when needed. The PS is fixed at 4.6.
Quote:I certainly want a data capable machine.
It will be. Read this article:
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...ne_Choices
Quote:From my sleep doc, based on the sleep study, CPAP was ineffective, hence the move to BiPap.
Usually that means that you had trouble exhaling with the mask on.
Quote:During titration AHI down to 1.6
That's excellent! Did you sleep well with the mask attached?
Sleepster
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
