Athena1965

I was diagnosed as just on the edge of mild to moderate sleep apnea. The first sleep team I had was pushing the CPAP machine on me so hard I really felt like I was in the CPAP patient factory. They even told me that the machine would cost me about $500. When my insurance company told me there should be no costs to me.

For this and many other reasons I want to get a new sleep team. When I saw the ENT doctor he thought that I would be a very good candidate for the dental appliance. Of course the biggest problem is my insurance company won't cover the dental appliance until I've been tortured for three months by the CPAP machine.

I'm getting my teeth fixed. I'm going to try one of those over the counter mouth guards. I have a friend who had a snoring problem. She's been using an over the counter mouth guard for quite a while. She doesn't seem to have any problems with it except occasionally she wakes up and it's across the room!

Thank you for being what I consider reasonable. And I wish more sleep teams were more compassionate. I frankly think there would be a lot more compliance with any therapy if that were the case.

Well, I finally had it. I told the sleep team today to keep their machine and their therapy. They need to send me my report and my prescription. I am taking a break from all this and will reassess when I can get some sleep.

I found them to be unresponsive and uninformed.

After I made the decision last night, I slept better than I have since I got involved with these people.

Thanks for all the suggestions and support. I don't know if CPAP will ever be right for me, but I know one thing, this current group is not happening.

How can they possibly know what pressure I need from one at home sleep study?

Damn straight I'm going to be able to modify the Settings myself. My biggest fear is the continuous air that I have to exhale against will be too much. If I have to wait for the DME to change the settings, I'm never going to use this thing!

So, if all they are telling me is true, $250.00 at pick up and $25.00 per month for 10 months, that is $500.00. I found a CPAP machine online for $189.00 or $8.72 per month. Benefit aside from a saving $311.00, no insurance company in my bed monitoring me.

Once I get a final answer on the costs, I will make my decision.

Thanks again wired George!

You make my point. Individuals can have a success despite the lack of support in the medical community.

I just chatted with a friend of a friend who actually likes his machine. I asked how long it took him to get used to it. He said he is still not used to it. I asked how long he has had it. A year, he happily told me.

If it is a year and I am not used to, it is a failure. It would only be a succcesss for the DME at that point.

I was told by my sleep doctor to seek out success stories.

So far the success stories pretty much go like this: after three months of doing this that and the other thing in order to adjust to my CPAP I'm finally getting 2 to 3 hours asleep at night with the mask on. I still have lots of fatigue and I'm hoping it'll go away eventually.

At every turn I've pushed really hard to figure out what the problem is and after year I finally have been adjusted to my CPAP machine, success

After using a 400 different masks getting 35 different kinds of humidifiers 92 ways of dealing with the hoses 450,000 pressure adjustments I finally made it work after two years, hooray.

Sorry I don't find any of the success stories. It seems to me this is a racket. DME companies are making a lot of money to sleep centers are making a lot of money. And the patients are left on their own. And if you can't adjust its your fault.

I don't even have my machine yet and I'm ready to give up. Is there any hope?

Has anyone else had trouble finding out how much the CPAP machine will cost? My insurance company says not even a co-pay. That there should be no charge to me. DME provider says it will be between 94 and $110 to pick it up and they couldn't give me a monthly charge they would have to see. My sleep coordinator said the initial charge will be somewhere between 150 and $200 and he had no idea what it would be a month maybe $25 month maybe more. They both said if you want the real number cause we can't give you a real number you need to call your insurance company. My insurance company says there's no charge to me!

Why is this so hard? Why can't somebody give me actual numbers?

So, I am supposed to go on CPAP but it scares the heck out of me. I have noticed a lot of judgement from both the medical community and frankly some CPAP patients.

I have actually seen people write to newbie pleas for help with fear and anxiety to "put on your big boy pants and do it," " you just read about what will happen if you don't comply, and then you will", "this is a habit you are breaking, you need to be persistent to save your life, and "if you don't adjust, it is because you aren't trying hard enough."

Well, as a depressed widow, telling me I have to do this to save my life (no high BP, no heart problems, no diabetes, just loud snoring) is no motivator. And even expressing that gets judgement.

I am all alone, lonely and scared at 2 am. I don't see any Dr or therapist or friend or relative offering to come help. When I express this need I am told to increase my anxiety meds.

So, I have very little support in even trying this. I think I prefer going untreated to feeling like it do now, simply terrified and frozen. Haven't been able to sleep well at all since my diagnosis. Not looking forward to struggling alone with this machine. I don't think I can do it 😭

I have depression. I've had it probably my whole life. I've only recently been diagnosed with sleep apnea. I wonder, have I always had sleep apnea? Which comes first the depression or the sleep apnea?

I never remember my dreams. I always wake up in the middle of the night. Without my medication for depression, I can't fall asleep or stay asleep.

Depression does really affect sleep. Apparently sleep apnea also really affects depression. Chicken and egg.

Probably the biggest issue for me, is that I think my depression makes me not want to give the CPAP a chance. A lot of folks especially on this board, point out that CPAP therapy will save my life. Guess what, when you're depressed that is no actual motivation. There are plenty of mornings that I wish I hadn't woken up at all. So when a doctor or a sleep therapist tells me I should do this for my health and to stay alive, I just look at them and say I'd rather just be done with all this and join my late husband thank you very much.

I suspect that this is part of the compliance problem with CPAP. If your grip on "the joy of life" is loose to begin with, then passing away peacefully in my sleep doesn't really sound like a bad alternative to what You go through every day sometimes just to get out of bed.

Hell I'm so dark, my ENT doctor even went over a tracheotomy with me. He said that aside from CPAP, since I'm not really a candidate for surgical solution, the only thing he could do would be offer a tracheotomy, but I'm sure you wouldn't want that he said. Don't be so sure I said why don't you tell me about it.

OK he said, you don't mind going down the dark road? Lead on Dr. I said.

Maybe I'm not helping with this post, I am trying to be honest. Depression warps a lot of things, including your point of view. So maybe only take what I have to say with a grain of salt.

I would definitely see someone about the depression. And don't let them push you off on just giving you pills. You must demand talk therapy as well. These days the mental health industry only likes to prescribe medication doesn't want to actually work with a patient. Like everything else in this world, you have to fight like hell to get what you need.

Good luck! Let us know how you're doing.

I saw an ENT Dr. today, I am not a good candidate for surgery. Tiny throat. but tiny tonsils. too.

My sleep Dr., after I pushed back on the machine, recommended an exam. The ENT did say that the dental appliance would probably work for me, but I have to have my teeth fixed first (starting that process now.)

So I don't know. Do I pick up this machine and allow strangers to monitor my sleep as I lie awake with the stupid thing on? Or do I go for nighttime O2 until I get the teeth sorted out. The teeth will take less than 3 months to take care of, the CPAP could take a year or more to get used to, or to never get used to. Waste that time and money to prove to the world how lame and weak I am? Does anyone but me get the judgy feeling from the medical folks, not I know myself, but if I can't adjust to the machine, there is something wrong with me. Isn't there something wrong with a machine which can't adjust to me? And why dose the insurance company get to come to bed with me, uninvited?

Look, this is unnatural. But more to the point, I know myself. I am all alone at 2 am when I am scared and lonely. To everyone who tells me I should try CPAP and I will get used to it, (doctors, therapist, family, and friends) I say, where are you at 2 am? Exactly, nowhere !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I have to do this on my own, I will be my way. Which is to say, "Can't I please just not wake up, join my husband, and be done with this?"