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+--- Thread: [CPAP] My Cpap Was Never Titrated (/Thread-CPAP-My-Cpap-Was-Never-Titrated)
My Cpap Was Never Titrated - ponfarr - 08-24-2016
I was diagnosed in 2011 with Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea and given a CPAP to use. I was never told nor did my insurance company or doctor ever direct me to a sleep specialist to get the machine dialed in. It was only a year ago that I realized the CPAP had been on the factory setting the whole time.
That CPAP is now gone as in broken.
I was recently donated a very nice ResMed AutoSet II EPR with humidifier.
I am now unemployed and on state benefit health care.
My health clinic [my nurse practioner] said the data from my 2011 sleep study is too old to use for titration and that I need a new sleep study. There in lies the problem: I'm getting no where with my health care and cannot get an answer as to if or when I might get a new Sleep study.
MY QUESTION: can anyone help me/guide me on setting my machine? I have everything I need: hoses, filters, mask, a nice CPAP...but I don't know what to set to.
I have all the data from my 2011 sleep study if that will help.
Thank you!!
RE: My Cpap Was Never Titrated - PaulaO2 - 08-24-2016
Tell them you want to know what it was prescribed for back in 2011. It is your health information and they should give it to you. Tell them "it is your medical information allowed to you through HIPPA" (pronounced hip-uh).
Once you have the prescription setting you can start there. More than likely, your pressure needs have changed since then.
As to you needing a new sleep study? Nah, not necessary. Go to your GP and get him/her to write you a prescription for an auto-titrating positive airway pressure machine (APAP). Have him/her mark on it "prescribe as written". Also include mask and supplies.
Give it to the supplier and have them fill it. Fight for the APAP. The insurance will probably pay the same amount for either the APAP or the CPAP but the supplier (DME) will want to sell you a CPAP. Don't let them. You want a data capable APAP. Even if you choose to run it in CPAP mode, you want an APAP.
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php?title=Archangle:Machine_Choices
RE: My Cpap Was Never Titrated - justMongo - 08-24-2016
The ResMed AutoSet II EPR is two generations back -- it's what's called an S8.
Which means getting data off it to guide one in dialing in therapy is difficult because it uses a special card and reader.
If indeed you have obstuctive apnea, the machine may well work for you.
I'm not comfortable with telling you to set the pressure limits wide open and let the machine seek.
How about you get to 5 posts; then post scans of your sleep report.
Get an anonymous account on imgur or photobucket so you can post the URL for the scanned images between IMG tags.
Like:
Code:
[IMG]http:s23.photobucket.com/stuff.jpg[/IMG]The attachment feature is limited in size; and therefore resolution; hosting images elsewhere permits full resolution.
Unless there's reason to believe you've changed since 2011, that attempt to get you into a new sleep study is dubious.
RE: My Cpap Was Never Titrated - trish6hundred - 08-24-2016
Hi ponfarr,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
It's good you came here to get help.
Hang in there for more suggestions and answers to your questions.
Good luck to you with getting your CPAP therapy started again.
RE: My Cpap Was Never Titrated - ponfarr - 08-24-2016
justMongo,Thank you very much for the response. Please excuse me if I repeat myself or sound ill-informed as to the correct terminology. I had a full on sleep study in Oregon in 2011 and that data indicates I have a 37.2 AHI.
Skip forward = It wasn't until oh, late 2014 or so that I pulled out the sleep study paper work and really went through it line for line. That's when I noticed a glaring sentence: "The patient will be contacted with an eye towards a return to the sleep lab for CPAP titration". That never happened.
What do you mean when you say I should wait until I get 5 posts before scanning my sleep data? I don't know how this forum works yet. Do you mean I should wait until I post 5 times or until I get 5 replies?
Thank you. I'm really struggling right now and I know that using my cpap will help me.
RE: My Cpap Was Never Titrated - icyura10 - 08-24-2016
you might try this site; http://www.sleepapnea.org/
my sleep dr gave it to me.. it might help you.. no promises..
scroll down, on the left hand side is a link for help with ?paps and other stuff..
RE: My Cpap Was Never Titrated - ponfarr - 08-24-2016
Paula02, thank you for the reply. Please excuse my questions and lack of terminology= i'm literally getting 4 to 5 hours a night of bad sleep right now. My AHI is 37.1 and I quote from my sleep study data:
"this patient has sleep apnea which appears to be obstructive in nature and severe. There is a mild positional component, but even in the non-supine position he had significant sleep apnea."
For what it's worth and for explanation, I no longer have the good health care I had when I lived in Oregon. Here in California I now have what I can only call free ghetto health care and I'm doing all I can to push buttons and grease the squeaky wheel. I can't seem to impress them how affected my life is by lack of good sleep!
Question: are you saying I should ask my health-clinic-nurse practitioner to get a hold of my former HMO [Providence Health System] in Oregon and have them send data? So that I can use that data as a starting point to calibrate my donated, replacement CPAP? I think that's what you're saying. Can I request that data myself?
My next appointment is Sept 9th. I'll ask [strongly but nicely] if my nurse practitioner can write me a prescription for an APAP [or do I need a "real Doctor" to do that?] I'm guessing [pessimistically.....i'm tired] that it would take a new sleep study for this particular free health care system to lay down the bucks for a new APAP......and I've been waiting and waiting to find out if I qualify. Yikes. My head is spinning in circles.
If I could figure this out without a sleep study that would be great!! Whatever it takes. If I don't need a sleep study, so be it. I just want to sleep
RE: My Cpap Was Never Titrated - KSMatthew - 08-24-2016
A sleep lab will titrate by raising pressure until they find the best setting. You can do the same while you wait for your appointment. I think the settings range from 4-20? You can start low and work your way up. Your old machine was never set? So it might have been 4. Was it doing any good? I not, maybe try 7 and give it a couple nights.
The 5-post thing: Once you have 5 posts, you can include images and scans.
RE: My Cpap Was Never Titrated - ponfarr - 08-25-2016
Icyura 10, thank you for the reply.
I'm going to take a deep breath and wait until my next health clinic appointment on Sept 9th. I'm getting maybe 4 to 5 hours of lousy, no cpap sleep right now and it makes very impatient. I'll cross my fingers that something good will happen.
Thanks again and I'll keep this link
for possible future use.
Tim
RE: My Cpap Was Never Titrated - ponfarr - 08-25-2016
KSMathew, thanks for the reply. This forum is really, really helpful.
Yes you are correct: my original machine was never titrated. My donated replacement machine awaits use.
Now that I'm up to speed on the fact that taking control of my machine isn't going to bring homeland security knocking at my door or cause me major health problems, I'm willing to do some experimentation while I wait for my Sept 9th appt.
I'm a bit of a computer dinosaur. Once I figure out "justMongo's" instructions on how to get my sleep study results visible for you all to see, I'll get right on that [I think I'm now past the 5 post rule]. I'll ask justMongo to clarify in absolute, kindergarten layman's terms how I do that [even my sister who is much better with computers was scratching her head].
Thanks!!