Hi,

I've been lurking here for a couple of weeks. I'm about to start CPAP therapy for OSA. I was diagnosed a little over a year ago but I put off therapy because I was planning on getting my deviated septum fix. Long story short, life happened and I didn't get that done until June. Prior to my surgery I went through a break up with my GF in large part because of my moods and how I handle stress. At first I thought it was because I'm bipolar, inspite of being successfully medicated for couple of years. But as I tried to sort out the underlying causes of my behaviors, I realized the sleep deprivation from the OSA played no small part in it. It's really killed my quality of life and made me a really unpredictable person. I was finally able to admit this a few weeks ago, and fortunately I'd already made an appointment for a second sleep study.

I had my sleep study last week and I'm waiting for the report. I have an appointment with my ENT on Monday. I expect that he'll prescribe a CPAP. My study was a split night study, unlike my first one. The tech woke me up halfway through and tried the mask on my and figured my pressure setting. The few hours with the mask wasn't the best sleep ever, but it was pretty good and I put in a full day at work.

I'm tired of waiting to start CPAP and I want to start it as soon as possible after I get my Rx. My question for all of you is, what experiences ahve you all had with getting your equipment once the Dr. orders it? How long does a DME usually take to set you up? I'm not interested in waiting very long to get start as there's a lot of things in my life that have been on hold because of this. The GF I mentioned earlier has still been a good friend to me (she helped me throuogh my surgery) and I'd like to show her it was the OSA she had a problem with and not me. Plus, I've got a lot of projects I'd like to get back to.

If it's going to be more than a couple of days I'm thinking of just ordering a cheap machine online that would me my backup once I get one through insurance. Any thoughts on that?

For some background, I'm male, 29yo, my AHI on my first study was 16. I'm in Los Angeles.

Thanks!

_Z

From what I read in the forums it varies.  I had my machine within a few days after the titration.  I was very ansy about getting starting too.  Just let the process happen and make sure no one drops the ball.  The machine was taken out of the box and set in my presence at the DME, so there isn't much to that.


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REMStar Pro M w/ c-flex and heated humidifier
ResMed Swift LT nasal pillow
Encore View Software
12 cm H20, 13 cm H20
CPAP start date: June 4, 2008

I'd have to agree it varies with the DME companies.

Mine, fortunately, was a good one, because I went home with mine, from the sleep study.
After I finally got my sleep study report, and found out how bad I FAILED IT!!!! (AHI - 111.7 (in the first hour))
I'm glad they did that. I couldn't wait for bedtime that night!


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painless

Sleep Apnea is a Killer! Get it Tested!
Get it Treated! Use the Treatment!

I was actually impressed by the DME. I saw my doc first thing yesterday morning and they faxed in the order to the DME. I called them later int he morning and I did get a bit of runaround on the phone. They said I'd be contacted with delivery info and I asked if I could just come in. They're based about 35 miles from me but they said I may be able to come into their local branch, about 5 miles away. I'd took the whole day off work hoping I'd be able to get everything done in one shot and I was losing hope when I got a call from the local RT who said I could come right in. So I got evertyhing set up!

My first night was fairly typical I think. I manged to fall asleep quickly enough but woke up at 2:30 with the mask off. I put it back on but then woke up around 5:30 feeling dry,so I took it off for the last couple hours. I discovered later the humidifier hadn't worked as it was still at the top of the fill line. I had the heater set to 1. Turns out it doesn't come on until it's turned to 1.5. Also I have no idea if I'm breathing through my mouth. I'm getting a chinstrap today.

So my first night is inconclusive. On of my coworkers remarked I was in a good mood, but that's probably just because I'm not annoyed at waiting for the cpap anymore! The machine said it ran for 7 hours, but I may have had the mask off for as much as 4 of those. Unfortunately my machine has not mask off alert. I'm thinking of asking my roommate who stays up late to check on me before she goes to bed.