[split] No help from doctor in Minnesota

[Ellen Sauer]

I live in upstate MN  was having trouble falling asleep driving.  Made Dr. appointment and he ask a few questions and informed me I had sleep apnea I was offered a 3 night stay at the hospital for $3,000 or a home study for $300.  I agreed that the home study was best (medicare paid for)    A month later a lab on the East coast called me.  A week later the test kit was at my home , Test completate it was another two weeks to get the results,   Dr. said I was in a 40-45 range.  I could buy the cpap from him or rent what I needed for $150. per month Medicare would pay only part of this.  Being the frugal person I am, asked for a script, Bought my resmed 10 and he was unhappy with me and told me that I could NOT get any help from insurance or medicare. That there was not a tec to help set up the machine I bought unless I got it from him.  I feel as tho I am up the creek without the paddle or a Doctor.  So bottom line is you can spend a thousand plus on the same model and brand you can buy online for $500. or rent the same for ????? for how long and then check to see about coverage. It may be the same, only the scammers get the difference.    I am hoping the good folks at the Apnea Board will help me  I feel our health care is broken !  I have been using my machine now for 3 weeks and am staying awake all day ! (The machine is automatic )  Hope my story helps you make the decision.     Ellen

[Gideon]

Ellen, Welcome to the Apnea Board.  We can and will help you.
Here we like to work from data and most of that data is from free software called Sleephead. It lets us look at the data donw to a breath by breath if needed.  See my signature for info on setting it up. Most ResMed machines are compatible but could you let us know specifically which model you have.  It is on the front.  I would suggest setting pressure at 6 to 20 cmw for a night, that data will tell us a lot.  If you were told to set certain values just leave them where they are at and we can work from there

Fred.

I'm going to ask the moderators to split your info off into its own thread.

[Ellen Sauer]

Thank You for the welcome. You did give me a BIG smile with your picture!

I did update my profile with more info.  As for pressure, that is where it was when I took it out of the boxes.    I have had no help with any part of this adventure    I have pulled up the big girl panties and will get back to feeling my old self again (I hope)  My sense of humor has not been affected...  I am so pleased to make connection with Apnea Board and I need to do the same with sleepyhead ?
I have a resmed sd card but didn't put it in place yet. (I can do this !!! )    I'm not the greatest with tech. but a fas study.

[Gideon]

Great you have the best machine for obstructive apnea.   Insert the SD card, it needs to be in place for the detailed data to be recorded.  BTW the Pic is me with my backup mask an Amara View.  Now download and install Sleepyhead. Organize per the link in my signature because many of the charts are not important right now.  and post the Sleepyhead info tomorrow. 

Press the Start button on top and the press round selector button on the front for 5 seconds to access the menus.  Set your min and max pressures tp 6 and 20 respectively, I guarantee that those numbers will change tomorrow.  The goal is to titrate your rough pressure range overnight.  

Get a copy of your prescription for your machine and a full copy of your sleep study, you are entitled to them and they will be very important in the future.  Post a copy of your sleep study (make a copy and black out your personal info).  There is much that can be learned from the sleep study.  

BTW the pic is me w my backup mask an Amara View.

[pholynyk]

Oops! To access the clinician menu, you have to press and release the round knob, then press and hold the round knob and the Home button at the bottom for 5 seconds. Release them when the menu changes, and then press the round knob while Settings is highlighted in blue.

Sorry, Bonjour

[jaswilliams]

Hi and welcome if you want some bedtime reading go here https://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-p...tup-manual and follow the information on how to get the clinical manual for your machine it will give you details on how to change the settings and what each setting means grab SleepyHead and we can ensure you get the best treatment possible

[Fats Drywaller]

Hello, Ellen, and welcome some more. Have you read the introductory article in the wiki here, pointed to in the section at the top of the forum page, titled "New to Apnea"?

New to Apnea? Helpful tips to ensure success

Also, as jw said, use the link to the "Setup Manuals" page and request the clinician's manual for your A10 by e-mail. That's important to have. If you don't already have the user's guide for it, you can get a PDF of that from the Resmed web site:

Airsense 10 owner's manual

The main thing is that you have found Apnea Board, which is great. You will get the help you need.

Doctors and DMEs in general tend to be less than helpful (to put it mildly) to sleep-apnea patients, and some of them are money-grubbers who love the astronomical profit margins they get from CPAP equipment that they sell and rent. You did exactly the right thing by buying your own Resmed A10 Autoset. Way to go!

[Fats Drywaller]

I feel our health care is broken !  I have been using my machine now for 3 weeks and am staying awake all day ! (The machine is automatic )  Hope my story helps you make the decision.     Ellen

It is broken, but sometimes it works for some patients, and oddly enough, there have been a number of folks here on AB who have said that they have good sleepydocs and good DMEs with competent RTs who have helped them choose and set up their CPAP or ASV equipment. Go figure!

I think it's essential for all sleep-apnea patients to know about AB and the other venues & resources that exist online. That way, if the doc and/or the DME turns out to be a turkey, there is an alternative to turn to. I think the worst part for some victimized patients is not having that alternative, not knowing where to go when the doctor is an oblivious idiot and the local DME company is a moneygrubbing evil & incompetent gang of clowns.

Some folks have good deals on insurance (maybe that rules out Medicare; I dunno) and are able to get their machines & masks without much OOP expense. For everyone else, buying your own, and not from a local DME with astronomical markups, is definitely the way to go.

[Mosquitobait]

You have no requirement anywhere in the state of Minnesota that you must buy your equipment from your doctor. The doctor apparently is incapable of setting up a machine, but the good news is, you can set it up yourself and limit your interaction with your doctor over medical issues and not machine issues. You can even provide the data sheet via Sleepyhead.

Some of the cost of a machine bought locally is to support the brick and mortar store and customer service required. Most people won't take it upon themselves to learn how to operate their own machine, and since your doctor does not either, the DME does it via the prescription orders. Online retailers only set your machine according to the original prescription - after that, you are on your own. The good news is that not only can you do it yourself, but with Sleepyhead, you can provide a report when you go in for your next visit. If you are going to buy everything yourself, you do not have to do the 'annual' visit. If you want Medicare to cover your supplies, then you MAY have to do an annual visit. However, your supplies need to come from a Medicare Competitive Bid winner. There are only 5 in northern Minnesota and I doubt your doctor is one of them.

https://www.medicare.gov/supplierdirectory/search.html

My primary provides my prescription for supplies. I don't see any reason to see a sleep specialist, with the attendant cost and long wait and bait/switch, since I'm handling the stuff myself. However, my Doc has already told me that I will have to go back to a sleep specialist when I want a new machine from Medicare. I have a backup identical machine that came to me with ZERO hours and half the price of the Medicare paid-for machine. So, I'm pretty confident, I will do better on the used market when I need a replacement machine.

[Crimson Nape]

Under Medicare rules, the prescribing doctor can not act as the DME.