High pressure tactics

[dsrtao]

I just spent an hour with a respiratory therapist trying out different masks for my CPAP. I've been using the machine for two years now, and never once was there any hint that I could try different masks without buying them first. Oy.

I now have a new full-face mask that seems more robust than the Respironics ComfortFull 2 (which either breaks at the nose joint or at the bag-pipe seal*) and also a new nose-only mask that seems very comfortable -- I'll see if I can keep my mouth shut at night.


*I call it the bag-pipe seal because when it breaks, it turns the mask into a two note bagpipe. It's hard for anyone else in the house to sleep when that happens, and impossible for me.

Comments

[robertdfeinman.livejournal.com]

Interestingly Medicare won't pay for a CPAP in one go. They require it to be gotten from a medical device supplier who also comes to the home and adjusts it and makes periodic checkups.

This goes on for 15 months at which point it is paid for. I guess many people only use it for awhile and then give up, so renting is more cost effective.

[dsrtao]

Especially criminal is the arranged rates between insurance companies and the medical device suppliers. My CPAP machine would cost a little under $700 at a cash-or-credit-card webstore (www.cpapman.com) but runs almost twice that when insurance is paying for it.

I understand that some people (even one on my flist) don't do well with CPAP and give up on it. For me, the improvement was dramatic and immediate, and discontinuing it is immediately aggravating -- sleep without CPAP is not much better than no sleep at all.

One friend has had throat surgery which has apparently completely removed the need for CPAP. I'm not ready to go to that drastic an option yet, not when CPAP works so well for me.

[baron-elric.livejournal.com]

When I was first diagnosed with sleep apnea I tried the surgical route. It didn't work. As time has passed I've run into increasingly better data on effectiveness of the surgery, and it sounds as though it helps about forty percent of those who have it.

I've been using CPAPs for nine years now. Initially I used a mask that just covered the nose, but couldn't keep my mouth from opening. The chin straps were no help. The full-face mask has been a godsend for me, and I hope it will help you as well.

[dsrtao]

Actually, the other way around -- I've been using a full-face mask, and I'm going to try out a nose mask now.

40% isn't a good enough success rate to tempt me into surgery. Thanks for the info.

[zonereyrie.livejournal.com]

I never liked full-face masks, I've always used the 'nasal pillows' - currently I use the ResMed Mirage Swift II