quote:

Originally posted by mike56:
I had a sleep study done about 10-12 years ago. Wife complaining about snoring.
Said I didn't have apnea, but I do snore.

Still snoring. Wife still annoyed. (Italian, scares me a little)
Can you get apnea after not having it? Should I get tested again?

Someone told me about some mouth appliance thing. Just afraid of swallowing it.

My wife is a respiratory therapist, she said to tell you to go get a sleep study. Your body changes over time. Basically, as you get older things get looser and it’s easier for your airway to get restricted.

Where do you guys purchase your CPAP gear? I was just prescribed CPAP and looking for supplies.

Thanks, this thread has been very helpful.

quote:

Originally posted by LBTRS:
Where do you guys purchase your CPAP gear? I was just prescribed CPAP and looking for supplies.

Thanks, this thread has been very helpful.

In my experience my Sleep Doc would give me a recommendation of 3 to 5 local respiratory businesses and told me to call them or stop in in person (that's before covid) and find one I am comfortable with. He did like all he recommended.

I got my original stuff, and I get my monthly, 3 month, and 6 month supplies from the same local company I started with. They take really good care of me, plus I've known them personally for years, some were coworkers in the home health care pharmacy.

I assume you have insurance.

I preferred to stay with a local business. I can go in and see them, get to know them, talk to them on the phone, we have mutual friends, etc. I did NOT like the big name national companies, my experience was they are just a big pain in the ass to deal with. When you get to know your local people you can call or see that person and talk to them and get your question or issue handled rapidly and thus have a person you can hold responsible and accountable.

My local equipment provider can, for example, if I have an equipment failure, get me a loaner that same day or next day at the latest. Try doing that with a big huge national company, or an internet website based seller ot get personal quick service.
.

Can someone explain to me what the purpose is of the cloth covers you can buy for the CPAP hose? Do I need one? I have a heated hose with a Philips CPAP machine that has the humidifier tank.

They look like this:

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
Can someone explain to me what the purpose is of the cloth covers you can buy for the CPAP hose? Do I need one? I have a heated hose with a Philips CPAP machine that has the humidifier tank.

They look like this:

It was really for older types of hoses that didn’t have a heated attachment. You don’t need if you have a new machine, they almost all have the heated hose.

quote:

Originally posted by LBTRS:
Where do you guys purchase your CPAP gear? I was just prescribed CPAP and looking for supplies.

Thanks, this thread has been very helpful.

If you are going through insurance, find a durable medical equipment company. They will handle billing to insurance for you. If you are self paying, CPAP.com or Amazon.

One other consideration if you an old F**t who has Medicare. They claim they're afraid folks will get a CPAP machine and flip on ebay or elsewhere. So they make you pay in 9 or so monthly installments. When you add up the total, more often or not, it'd be cheaper to just buy one yourself without Medicare involvement.

We also have a member here who sells CPAP equipment (downtownv) who has a good reputation. I haven't dealt with him personally but he'd be worth checking out.

So an update to my OP, I ordered two masks from CPAP.com to try out and like them both:

The ResMed AirTouch F20 is more a traditional full face and seems very comfortable although I’m not sure about having the hose in the front, in just a month now I’ve gotten very used to my Philips DreamWear top hose design:

It also bothers me that these memory foam mask cushions are only rated for 30 days and my crappy high deductible Aetna health plan isn’t going to cover 12 of them a year so I’ll paying out of pocket at 60 bucks a pop:



The ResMed AirFit F30i was VERY nice and fit me much better than the Philips DreamWear which is a similar design. I like how the air tubes are much larger than the Philips and sit on your face in a different spot so that when you sleep on your side, you aren’t right on it like the Philips and cutting off the air. The Philips claims it compensates for this but I’m not finding that to be true. The cushions are rated for 3 months too. I’m thinking this is the one I’ll standardize on:

Nope.
Not dealing with the goofy mask.

65 and I never heard anyone tell me so and so died of sleep apney.

quote:

Originally posted by mike56:
Nope.
Not dealing with the goofy mask.

65 and I never heard anyone tell me so and so died of sleep apney.

I have to tell you, five or so weeks into the CPAP thing, I’m sleeping deeper and better than I have in many many years.

If it requires wearing a “goofy mask“, then that’s the price I’ll pay I guess.

quote:

Originally posted by mike56:
I never heard anyone tell me so and so died of sleep apney.

Very myopic of you mike56. Apnea stresses the hell out of your heart and body in general which can indeed lead to an early demise.

I'm new to CPAP but have tried two machines and several masks and things are going well 1 month in.

After a couple weeks with a Philips Respironics Dreamstation Auto I was having some challenges with waking up with very high pressure being forced at me. I was sleeping terribly and waking up over and over. Based off the recommendations of a CPAP forum I swapped it out for a ResMed Airsense 10 Autoset and I like the ResMed much better.

What I found is that I needed a higher minimum pressure than was prescribed and a lower maximum pressure and I can sleep all night and have a AHI less than 1.

What I've settled on is the ResMed Airsense 10 Autoset with a ResMed N30i Nasal Cushion Mask.

quote:

Originally posted by mike56:
Nope.
Not dealing with the goofy mask.

65 and I never heard anyone tell me so and so died of sleep apney.

Yes you have. When they say, "Died of Natural Causes", Sleep Apnea is a natural cause.

I use the F20 and love it. Tried the nasal pillows but they made my nose hurt like hell.

quote:

Originally posted by mike56:
I had a sleep study done about 10-12 years ago. Wife complaining about snoring.
Said I didn't have apnea, but I do snore.

Still snoring. Wife still annoyed. (Italian, scares me a little)
Can you get apnea after not having it? Should I get tested again?

Someone told me about some mouth appliance thing. Just afraid of swallowing it.

You’re the only person I have ever heard of get checked out and not get sold a bunch of equipment.