Insurance compliance question

[zonk]

I struggle with insomnia

Have considered Cognitive behavioral therapy
http://yoursleep.aasmnet.org/treatment.aspx?id=5

[PaulaO2]

Yeah! That's some good stuff. Some of it, though, is difficult to do on your own. I'm saving that link!

[jodiramm]

Zonk, i have tried everything there is. Currently i can fall asleep, i just can't stay asleep. Good news is i don't wake up as much as i used to without CPAP. When i do wake up however i am up and cannot fall back to sleep. I don't even remember what a full night sleep feels like. And i do so much miss sleep without being restricted to the hose so much that last night i nearly gave up on it. But found out that i didn't feel as good in the morning without it. So that being said, i will stay with it because some sleep with CPAP is sure better than without CPAP.

[PaulaO2]

I know we've strayed off topic, jodiramm. There are some newer medications designed to help folks with just that condition.

Did your sleep test results say anything about periodic limb movement disorder?

It will be interesting to see if your sleep patterns improve with CPAP use. I hope it does!

[jodiramm]

Nope, i didn't have any limbs moving around and i am on medication for sleep. I have been on every medication for sleep that you can even think of. I wish it were that simple, but i know i am not alone and that others suffer as i do as well. Thing that is so bad is that i have been told that the older you get the less sleep you get. Well, that will just mean i won't get any at all. Ha!

[zonk]

I like the avatar...used to have at the old forum
Do you drink lots of coffee like our admin or just now and then

[PaulaO2]

Yeah, I understand. Sometimes the alleged cure is worse than the condition!

If you take naps during the day, use the CPAP. When you lay down at night, use the CPAP. Just keep at it.

[archangle]

The time is divided into 24 hour "nights." Each "night" is checked to see if you used the machine for 4 hours, and then a check is put next to that "night."

A "night" is usually noon to noon. If you go to bed at 1 AM on September 2, and get up at 6 AM, that is logged as September 1.

If you go to bed at 9 AM Sept 1 and get up at 3 PM Sept 2, that is counted as 3 hours for each night. You can get screwed out of days if it thinks the time is wrong because one "night's" data may end up in another "night."

The CPAP machine makes these determinations based on its internal clock, which may not be set correctly. Many DMEs, insurance companies, and doctors are too stupid or uncaring to figure this out.

You must be breathing for it to count. You can't simply let the machine run with the mask off or plug the hose. Wearing it while reading does count.

Some people have reported their machine will cheat them on hours, for instance, not counting time during the ramp time. I forget the exact details, but some people have had problems with this. Be sure to check your recorded compliance times and maybe put in a little extra time to be sure.

Respironics has a "VIC Check" number that looks like it's this compliance information, but it's simply wrong, and most DMEs are too stupid to realize this. The data is something stupid like the first 30 days from when the DME reset all the compliance data. It can contain data from previous patients or if the DME sets it up ahead of time and gives the machine to you a few days later, it shows as "bad" days. We never figured out exactly how VIC check worked, but it ain't right. One user had to fight for a long time with their DME despite the SD card CLEARLY showing adequate compliance.

It does not have to be 4 hours continuous usage. You can start and stop. It might chop a little time off of each session, so be careful and check on what it actually records.

Compliance hours is another gotcha that we need to put into our CPAP for newbies guide.

[jodiramm]

Paula02, i just drink coffee or soda in the morning. Never anything caffeine after 10:00 a.m. And i had one of the worst nights last night fighting with my mask. I just could not sleep. I did make sure i got my 4 hours in, but i noticed that my machine (ResMed Elite) didn't record it correctly. I went to bed at 10:00 p.m. and looked at the clock at 1:00 a.m. and thought, okay i only have 1 more hour, but when i looked at my machine it only read a little over an hour, almost 2. That has never happened before and i hope it doesn't happen again.

[jodiramm]

Thank you archangle. What you wrote was very helpful. I appreciate every word.