About that Cpap . I was told by the respiratory tech at the sleep center I used ( it verified what I learned from the sleep apnea group online) that insurance both Medicare and at that time I was just Blue Cross as it was a year before I turned 65, that does not matter which machine, insurance pays same,but they are required by law to provide the machine your doctor orders. What they try to do because of the same $$ no matter which machine,is, provide the cheapest machine they can get away with. If your doctor orders an auto Cpap ( what I have) those are more than twice as expensive as a standard cheap Cpap that just runs one pressure, but they have to provide it. An auto Cpap, by the way, monitors your breathing and if you either stop or your volume goes down, it increases the pressure to compensate. My machine is set for an open pressure of 8 to 20. I start at 8 and sometimes it stays that way all night . Other nights it gets up as high as 12. Two things cause mine to raise pressure: a leak in my mask which happens with the best fitting once in a while and the second is my lungs tightening over night so I have less capacity. you might consider getting an Oximeter with a little finger clamp. There are some good ones talked about in the online apnea group. For around $40 to $80 you can get one which will alarm if you O2 goes down but more important you can download it to computer and have a record to show doctor to make sure oxygen levels are staying where they need to. I am a almost 9 year user of auto Cpap and would be happy to answer any questions if I can. Be sure you get a humidifier chamber with your machine. The pressure air dries you out. And only use distilled water in it.
Let me also emphasize this: the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Remind them you could be harmed medically if they fool around. Bug them at least weekly until they get it done. Approval if so ordered by the doctor should not take long. Because I have my older machine I did not stay on the company because they said they would call back. I got tired and called them repeatedly until they called me back and all of a sudden they "found my paperwork" and gave me an appointment for this Friday to get new mask fitting and pick up new machine. Eventually you may want to see about getting a 12 v cord for your Cpap so you can plug into the 12 v cigarette type plug in our RV. To make this short as I can, with a regular 110 cord they come with , in RV using RV batteries you are taking battery 12 v and inverting it to 110 for the Cpap. If you have a 12 v adaptor cord and plug into a 12 v cigarette type outlet in RV you are actually using your battery more efficiently. I can run both my Cpap and Mel's BIPAP (when he needed it) all night if we use 12 v cords but batteries shut off to,protect them selves half way through night using 110 via inverter.
The best apnea group online is
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Velda
