Newbie Intro

[Gideon]

Other than there desire for more profit there is no reason they don't offer ResMed.
Insurance companies pay by billing code, ResMed and PR have the same billing code. The DME get paid the same for ALL CPAPs or APAPs no matter the brand. The cheapest provides the DME the most profit. They typically have a profit motive vs a customer care motive, though they will deny that.

Call and ask your insurance company if they restrict CPAPs to only PR? I'll bet the answer is no. Ask them what DMEs they use other than the one that you currently are using.

[EngineerBoo]

Wow thanks, folks.  I'm retired Air Force and have Tricare Select as my insurance.  Since I haven't gotten the machine I'll definitely ask the lady at the supplier if I can get a Resmed and will contact Tricare if I have to....my appointment isn't until Monday afternoon.  She mentioned that the machine is rented for me a number of months (I think she said 15) and then I own it.    She didn't say what model of DreamStation it was but that it isn't a cpap but an apap....does stuff automatically.

Okay some dumb questions...why does the humidifier heat up the water and the tube?  Also, I have seasonal allergies so will a stuffed up nose cause me problems?  (I don't like to take allergy meds because I get an annoying dry cough.)

Is it true I probably won't be able to sleep the night through at first?  A lot of videos said it takes getting used to so just try an hour or two nightly and to, also, wear the mask before bed to help get used to wearing it.    How long did it take you all to just put it on and sleep all night?  (Thankfully, I'm not one of those old guys who has to use the bathroom through the night...I'm 57)

[SarcasticDave94]

Medicare and Medicaid require 13 month "rental", yours may be similar. Regardless, call for details. And do not accept a machine or mask you do not agree with. YOU are the patient, and you choose which brand you want. If the DME/store doesn't have what you want, shop elsewhere. As long as it's in-network with your insurance, you can shop at x y or z that gives you what you choose.

There is the script brand choice method as well. If your doc will script EXAMPLE: ResMed AutoSet, pressure whatever, heated hose, Dispense As Written and/or No Substitutions. There is your ResMed as well. Don't worry on pressure settings too much. Most docs get it wrong. We'll help you set your own pressures and it will come out right with data on OSCAR.

Heated hose and humidifier: lots of us PAP users find some level of added humidity a good addition for comfort. Nasal passages don't dry out then, etc. Most humidifiers can be turned off, acting like a passover humidifier, non-heated then. Heated hoses combat rainout. Rainout is condensation that falls out of the air stream in the tube before it passes the mask. Heating the hose reduces the moisture that drops out of the air on the way to the mask. If you think of condensation on the glass of ice water on the hot summer day, it's much the same here but inside a tube. If it collects in a low spot in the tube, it'll give unfriendly to sleeping gurgling, etc noise. Or this collected humidity may end up pooling in your mask.

Not sleeping through the night? Maybe, especially if doc and the DME set the machine wrong. Just ask here when you get the machine or see the script numbers. We can try to make it reasonable early on.

[staceyburke]

1. Humidifier - I have use Cpap for a number of years and never used it, I didn’t need to. The humidifier heats the water and if you sleep in a cool to cold room it will condense in the hose and fill the hose at the lowest point - called rainout. That’s why the heated hose.

2. Yes you would have problem with congestion. I use founase to Keep clear. Some use a full face mask which I cannot find one that will not leak.

3 it just depends when I started I slept great in it. I could not wait until the next night. But many have a hard time with it. Stay with it and listen to the pros on here, they will make it much easier for you.

[Gideon]

The humidifier and hose are comfort features. I use all that on Auto all the time but it is ver individual. Some like it drier and some like it more humid. The purpose of the heated hose is to prevent condensation in the hose. The chamber heats to increase humidity.

Use it under pressure prior to bed doing normal enjoyable things. Some take to it instantly like me. Zero Adaption from day one. It varies.
I use the P10 Pillow mask and find that when I get congested I just let the pressure work through it. It takes time, and I frequently think it will not work. Pressure always wins with me. Others use different aids.

Navy here, nuclear FBM subs, 41 for freedom. Our mission was successful in that none of us ever launched a nuc.

[EngineerBoo]

Thanks for your service, Fred! My claustrophobia, and the thought of subs, kept me away from the Navy recruiter (and Dad, a retired Army guy with 3 tours in 'Nam, told me not to join the Army.) I was a Sr Intelligence Analyst (ditty-bopper for a few years) Special Operations Crewmember in the MC-130 Combat Talon (counterterrorism) and spent many months in the hot boxes for Desert Shield/Storm, Enduring Freedom, War on Terror, and Iraqi Freedom....God Bless the USA! (Too many of our younger generation are so blind to the greatness of this Republic!)

[SarcasticDave94]

E-1 PA Army Nat'l Guard salute gentlemen. Enjoy the USA as much as we can now. I am afraid when leadership falls to the hands of very liberal socialists we won't have a US that we could recognize.

[Dormeo]

Please note that ResMed says exposure to ozone/activated oxygen voids its warranty:

https://www.resmed.com/en-us/product-war...formation/

Ozone/activated oxygen is what SoClean uses:

https://www.soclean.com/uk/soclean-faq#section4

The warranty for the Dream Station doesn't include the same clause, but I imagine the issues would be the same.

[Sleeprider]

Wow thanks, folks.  I'm retired Air Force and have Tricare Select as my insurance.  Since I haven't gotten the machine I'll definitely ask the lady at the supplier if I can get a Resmed and will contact Tricare if I have to....my appointment isn't until Monday afternoon.  She mentioned that the machine is rented for me a number of months (I think she said 15) and then I own it.    She didn't say what model of DreamStation it was but that it isn't a cpap but an apap....does stuff automatically.

EngineerBoo, many suppliers have "exclusive" distribution agreements with Philips and cannot offer competitor models.  In return for exclusive distribution, they receive incentives and pricing that have financial advantages.  Your insurance is not the problem here, it is the supplier, and as long as you use them, they cannot change that answer or provide a Resmed.  The only way around an exclusive distribution agreement is to select a different supplier on your insurance "in-network" list.   I'll simply add that these agreements are anti-consumer and patient and serve one purpose...to extract more profit for every unit sold.  So that is what you're up against and it affects not only the machine selection, but the other supplies as well. 

Start with the in-network DME list from your insurance, then call them and find out who dispenses Resmed.  This has nothing to do with your insurance, but is a supplier decision.

[EngineerBoo]

Well I get my DreamStation this afternoon....I've been emailing my DME all morning and she's giving me a heated hose to go with it. Even though I've never worn a CPAP mask (I didn't during my sleep study) she said it's set to 4-20 cmH2O. Does that sound okay? I guess it does a lot of things automatically which is good.
Does the Oscar program work with a smartphone? The device has BlueTooth so should be easy to connect up for data. If it doesn't work with a phone, I can use my laptop but I don't leave it turned on except when in use, would that be a problem?