[gprro]

I was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea. I'm supposed to get a cpap machine.

The place where they sent me to get the machine wants $4500. Insurance will cover 80%, but I see the machines online for around $1000 for the bilevel machines. Anyone have a good recommendation for online suppliers ?

[tanchiro58]

I was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea. I'm supposed to get a cpap machine.

The place where they sent me to get the machine wants $4500. Insurance will cover 80%, but I see the machines online for around $1000 for the bilevel machines. Anyone have a good recommendation for online suppliers ?

My dad has sleep apnea before and he is snoring a lot. His doctor gave him a cpap machine to try but he does not like it. Anyways this is a website that sells:

http://www.cpapsupplyusa.com/cpap-machines-sleep-apnea-treatment-humidifier.aspx

Hope you like it.

[DeanSheen]

I just got my UPPP surgery done. I wont be re-evaluated until March with another sleep study.

UPPP = Tonsils, Uvula and part of your soft palette.  Plus they drilled my nose for a deviated septum.

I'm hoping this works pretty good or at least gets me down to < 10 incidents/hour.  When I was tested I was at 32/hr. 

My problem wasn't so much weight as I'm 6'4" 235.  It was my tonsils were huge, a stage 2 out of 4 on the chart the ENT guys have.  My jaw is also somewhat recessed but not horribly so.  I sure as hell don't want that jaw surgery.

Point of all this is I couldn't tolerate the cpap because the blockage was so great.  Wife says snoring is so muted it's almost gone and I hope it's totally gone after they get these things out of my nose.  They really don't like to do this surgery unless there is a compelling reason and the fact that it's only 50% successful as a cure. 

Anyways, it's a 10 day commitment for an adult.  I'm 37 and tolerated it pretty well, but have read horror stories from others.  I just didn't want to wear that mask forever but the doctor had no choice with my case.  Talk with your doctor about all options.  Surgery may be one for you too.

The bonus is I go in tmrw. for a followup and already requested an ear flush.  Audiophile tuneup!

[gprro]

Hi guys, thanks for the input

Yeah, I have to setup a visit with the ENT. Your surgery sounds similar to what I would likely need. Large tonsils with a flap that closes off I think. I know my nose has been cracked a couple times and the cartilage is off, so would probably need to be drilled also. I'd have them straighten my nose back at the same time I think. Hows the pain and recovery going?

Audiophile ear tuneups nice. I know what you mean though. A couple weeks ago everything was imaging to the right. Checked all my equipment. Flushed my ears over a couple days, everything sounded clean again. I think its coming back though, and my left ear has rang a couple times for a minute or so. I'll have to get that checked too.

[nature boy]

http://www.cpap.com/

They sell direct.  You generally need to get a sleep study and CPAP titration
(to determine the best CPAP pressure levels).  You'll also need a doctor's
prescription to purchase any equipment on line.  CPAP.com only sells direct
to patients, you can't pay with/through insurance.  This allows them to keep
cost down.  There prices seem very reasonable when you take the insurance
company out of the equation.

A lot of people prefer the CPAP machines with c-flex.  There is a forum available
through the web-site above that has a lot of good information. 

NB

[JLM]

Sleep Apnea is nothing to sneeze at.  Reggie White (all pro defensive lineman died of it.)

My wife is a respiratory therapist and certified to do sleep studies, so I didn't stand a chance.  I'm on C-pap.  I sleep 1 - 2 hours less a night and am more rested.  Its amazing how many (especially guys) use C-pap or Bi-pap.  Once you have one, you'll recognize the bags in hotels and airports everywhere.  You may also start recognizing the tell tale morning after groves in other faces from sleeping against the mask or wearing it too tight (I wear mine very loose).

I've tried leaving it behind on trips, but dang it, it's harder to sleep now without it.

[DeanSheen]

"Hows the pain and recovery going?"

Pretty good actually.  They used some kind of cauterizing knife on me.  The danger is from having your scabs come off and you start bleeding again so you have to be careful what you eat.  I have had the luxury of sick time accrued at work so I have used the whole 10 days which has equated to like 9 working days off.  I had it done on a Thursday and am going back to work Wednesday which would be the 2nd Wednesday after surgery.

I was really worried about the pain.  I don't know if I am lucky with the surgeon, my healing ability or both.  I haven't been doing much of anything just so I can heal right.  I went off the pain meds the 2nd day out of the hospital and onto 500mg Tylenol.  I cant stand taking that oxycodone as it makes you goofy and has other not so fun side effects.  The swallowing part takes awhile to get used to and the nose part is a real beehattch. 

Basically, for like the first 3 or 4 nights I kept waking up like every 45 minutes thinking I was suffocating.  This was because a mass of blood/phlegm lodged itself in the back of my throat and I couldn't breath.  So you have to wake up and clear your throat to get air in your lungs.  The best thing would be sleeping in a chair if you had one available. 

The other nasty thing is you need a spitbucket.  Your mouth makes TON of saliva and because it's thicker than water its too hard to swallow it all. 

It really wasn't so bad for me.  I think it would have been even better if I didn't wake up after they cut the gas off and rip out the tube they stick down your neck before they had uninflated the balloons that keep it in place.  That sucked.  I don't remember it, but it hurt the whole way down my throat.

[Wind Chaser]

For those of you with sleep apnea...do you drink alcohol and or are you overweight?

[gprro]

the surgery has me a little scarred. I'll have to research the laser surgery a little.

I do drink a little, maybe two beers 3-4 nights a week. If I lost 30 pounds of fat I would be pretty lean. I'm 6'2 around 265 lbs. Less than 20% body fat, actually probably around 16%? I do need to drop about 30 though.


&%^$!, I was hoping the online places would take insurance also.

[datman]

I used to have level 4+ sleep apnea.  I almost died from it (my oxygen levels were 53%).  I used a bilevel cpap for 8 years.  I recently lost 200+ pounds and according to my latest sleep study, do not have ANY apnea anymore.  When I did have it, my bilevel was a lifesaver. 

As you may have figured out, the selling of cpap equipment is a very lucrative racket.  I think the deductable you pay covers most of the cost of the machine, with the insurance part being mostly profit for the supplier.  It is definitely rigged against the individual, so find the lowest cost alternative you can.  That having been said, it WILL save your life! 

Below is a link to  a good online site that I have used in the past.

www.cpapman.com

[gprro]

As you may have figured out, the selling of cpap equipment is a very lucrative racket.  I think the deductable you pay covers most of the cost of the machine, with the insurance part being mostly profit for the supplier.  It is definitely rigged against the individual, so find the lowest cost alternative you can.  That having been said, it WILL save your life! 

Below is a link to  a good online site that I have used in the past.

www.cpapman.com

yeah, I was starting to get that feeling. During my first sleep study, the lady busted in after a couple hours sleeping. She was almost giddy,  and says with a smile, "you've got the apnea", like she was happy about it. I think my oxygen levels were around 80%. I supposedly need one of the expensive bilevel machines also.

[Wind Chaser]

I've lost 50 lbs and quit drinking, but now I sleep alone.  While I was with Martine she said my snoring was so loud, it was like trucks going by all night long!  Even if I went into the next room it was still unbearable for her.  She said it was particularly bad when I consumed alcohol.

I’ve been suffering with a chronic sleep disorder (insomnia) for the past 8 months.  I’m scheduled to go for a sleep study in late March.  Should be interesting having all them cables hooked up to my body and not being able to toss and turn.

[nathanm]

Yeah, a sleep test is "interesting" all right.  Probably the worst night of "sleep" I ever had in my life.  In a weird place, being surveiled on infrared camera, two dozen wires all over your body; I couldn't possibly relax (or move).  Unfortunately I "passed" the test even though I did show apneas on my pre-screening strap-on device test thingy.  So according to one extremely unnatural, biased scientific test I'm "fine".  I lost weight too, mostly from my wallet. *grumble*  Stupid ass prescription standing between me and a lousy $400 air pump.

[JLM]

I've seen a vast range of quality of sleep studies.  It's a very poorly regulated business where anyone who has trained can open shop.  And around here its a growing business with waits of 2 or 3 months to get in (to a good place) common.  A relative of one of wifey's workers is facing insurance fraud charges for running a string of quacky places.  (The 2nd time he's been caught, so he'll probably end up doing jail time.)

Yeah, how are you gonna sleep with 30 some small electrical leads attached all over while someone watchs you all night with an infared camera telling you not to move off your back?

15 years ago I had one from a local hospital in a nearby medical office building.  They used all the same equipment but their understanding at that time was primitive (and back then I didn't have a problem, so they sent me home and told my complaining now ex-wife to get over it).  I've also seen studies done on hospital stretchers right in the hospital by a contracted firm that rolls in under the cover of darkness and leaves early in the morning.  They accept almost any "nights sleep" as a valid study and come to "who knows" type of conclusions.  Full time places also do "day studies" for day sleepers or people who have problems falling asleep during the day (call nap studies).

My recent studies were modern/professional done by a hospital that has 10 nice (former birthing) rooms, but away from the main campus.  As long as insurance is paying for the study, this is the kind of place I'd look for.

Surgery reportedly is effective only 1/3rd of the time and can be one of the most painful procedures to undergo.  This is a good example of shopping for the type of health care answer you want.  The surgeons will suggest surgery and the respiratory people will suggest C-pap/Bi-pap, duh.  This is where a good primary care doctor is of value in helping you decide which direction to go (even if he's not crazy about all this as the field is relatively new and none of the solutions are well respected by the established profession).  Loosing weight helps, but its typically due to both the size of mass in your throat and the softness of it that comes (regretfully) with age.

[slwiser]

CPAP has worked wonders for me. It took a couple of years to get some strength back.  I apparently let myself go to long and I was real bad off.  Now it take much less bed time and get real sleep. Mine is a bad case and after only two hours in my study they took me off the test and started the second part of sizing me for one.  I was having over 140 evens an hour and my O2 went below 80% in that two hour period.  So normally during a night of sleep I can only image what my O2 levels were.

I have come to the conclusion that for many people who die in their sleep with heart attacks or strokes, especially older people, that Sleep Apena is the first cause where the final cause gets the credit.

I also think that personality has a roll in how a person takes to this therapy or compliance level if you will. If you are an "A" type person always demanding your way and expecting to get it, you will have a very hard time dealing with this therapy since the machine, hose and breathing apparatus are not going to give in to you like you are use to having people give in.  For those that can't comply with the demands of the CPAP machine interface they will fail in getting positive results from this therapy.

[Dan Driscoll]

I'm waiting for the results of my sleep study, but according to my wife I stop breathing fairly frequently during the night. I drink occasionally, maybe 2-3 beers or mixed drinks once or twice a week. I could also stand to lose 20-30 pounds.

[kallitype]

  There is a simple, cheap ($35) device called a Snoremate which is a heat-moldable mouthpiece that holds your lower jar forward, thus opening the air passage at the back of the throat, thus either stopping the snore, or turning it into a low-volume "purr".  It saved my marriage!! I was frequently asked to sleep in the spare bedroom, as  my snores could shake the house.  I was advised for surgery or CPAP, but stumbled across this inexpensive fix and am very happy (as is my wife).  The mouthpiece takes a little getting used to, but after only a couple nites, you hardly notice it.  My dentist says it's OK, it keeps my from grinding my teeth in sleep.  Try this---make a snoring sound, then thrust your lower teeth forward, infront of your uppers----hear the snore stop??  The mouthpiece lasts a year or so before it gets hard  and discolored. You form them by heating in just-boiled water for 10 seconds.  try it, it's a nobrainer. No big bucks in it for the Ear-nose and throat specialists, prolly why they push the $$$ surgery, which is horrible and irreversible.

   Here's a link. 
http://www.snoremate.net/?gclid=CKTrs4HNrZECFQiaPAodEQrHgA