Sleep Apnoea and CPAP

FaganJr · 17-11-2018 11:33am

KBurke85 wrote:

Anyone know any software you can download to read the sleep data from your machine. I'd like to be able to keep track of it myself rather than having to wait for a download from my provider. I use a Sefam Dreamstar Auto

tnegun wrote:

I use Sleepy Head

Dream star Auto not compatible with Sleepy head, as far as I know. I had one, was renting, so asked for the Sefam S.Box, which is new and has an app you can see all your data, by day, week, month and year. If renting ask for the new machine.

houseplant · 05-02-2019 11:55pm

So just over 3 months on the cpap machine and no improvement, so disappointed and now back to square one. Review booked for April but no point in continuing with the machine at this stage.

Philster · 12-02-2019 10:49am

For traveling abroad would most of you take out travel insurance for your machine? Am going to the US this weekend and have insurance with AA. Machine isn't covered and have been advised to ring another company (Rock Insurance) for price to cover machine. Have any of you taken out cover and how much roughly did you pay? Thanks.

Leslie91 · 12-02-2019 4:47pm

Philster wrote: »

For traveling abroad would most of you take out travel insurance for your machine? Am going to the US this weekend and have insurance with AA. Machine isn't covered and have been advised to ring another company (Rock Insurance) for price to cover machine. Have any of you taken out cover and how much roughly did you pay? Thanks.

Assume you are 'carrying it on'? I brought mine to the US a couple of weeks back and no issues. Wouldn't risk checking it in. Never even checked insurance!.

Masala · 12-02-2019 5:08pm

Leslie91 wrote: »

Assume you are 'carrying it on'? I brought mine to the US a couple of weeks back and no issues. Wouldn't risk checking it in. Never even checked insurance!.

Airlines give letters to allow it be carried on-board as extra cabin/hand luggage. Cant see why it would go in the hold.

Philster · 12-02-2019 7:09pm

Leslie91 wrote: »

Assume you are 'carrying it on'? I brought mine to the US a couple of weeks back and no issues. Wouldn't risk checking it in. Never even checked insurance!.

Have all the letters for security and airlines. I think I was thinking in case it was nicked from hotel or got damaged there somehow.Unfortunately I always think worst case scenario.:pac: Anyway since posting this I've had contact with someone saying that if you rent a machine no insurance company will provide insurance as you're not the owner so not an issue for me therefore.

cefh17 · 06-03-2019 9:52pm

trashcan wrote: »

I was waiting about a year between the first appointment, the overnight monitor and then the full overnight sleep clinic assessment as far as I remember, but then I wasn't in any hurry to do it. Was waiting a few months after that to get the results and the machine.

Just on your second point, as I mentioned in the previous post I had a septoplasty procedure in the summer (straightening a deviated septum in case you were wondering) and I was able to go private with that, wasn't treated as a pre existing condition.

Following on from this, had the sleep study in January and results came back negative for Sleep Apnoea. Consultant remarked there was light snoring but wouldn't cause any medical issues, just social. Told me to lose some weight and that was that (

). They did bloods for iron, thyroid etc and assume it came back fine as I haven't been contacted since.

Have been addressing potential lifestyle issues but no improvement since. What other avenues did people investigate when getting negative results for Apnoea? Not asking for medical advice, just some direction..

silverharp · 07-03-2019 10:15am

cefh17 wrote: »

Following on from this, had the sleep study in January and results came back negative for Sleep Apnoea. Consultant remarked there was light snoring but wouldn't cause any medical issues, just social. Told me to lose some weight and that was that (). They did bloods for iron, thyroid etc and assume it came back fine as I haven't been contacted since.

Have been addressing potential lifestyle issues but no improvement since. What other avenues did people investigate when getting negative results for Apnoea? Not asking for medical advice, just some direction..

Get a sleep app to track your snoring Sleep as Android for example, you might see some patterns. Weight is an obvious one to take off the table and probably the most important, sleep position might help ie side instead of back

Seanachai · 07-03-2019 10:18am

cefh17 wrote: »

Following on from this, had the sleep study in January and results came back negative for Sleep Apnoea. Consultant remarked there was light snoring but wouldn't cause any medical issues, just social. Told me to lose some weight and that was that (). They did bloods for iron, thyroid etc and assume it came back fine as I haven't been contacted since.

Have been addressing potential lifestyle issues but no improvement since. What other avenues did people investigate when getting negative results for Apnoea? Not asking for medical advice, just some direction..

Did you ever have a scan done for your sinuses in general, do you have a deviated septum?

cefh17 · 07-03-2019 10:31am

Seanachai wrote: »

Did you ever have a scan done for your sinuses in general, do you have a deviated septum?

I'm not sure, had a line taped there to check oxygen levels, would this have been it?

TomOnBoard · 07-03-2019 10:34pm

In case ye haven't heard about this, which I came across recently, here's amodern approach to Sleep Apnoea that dispenses with the mask...

https://www.inspiresleep.com/what-is-inspire-therapy/how-inspire-therapy-works/

This is being approved on a case- by case- basis by U.S. insurers. I don't now if its available here, but I can't wait until it is available in Ireland.

Anyway, have a read and if the mask means that, for you, CPAP is not working, be aware that an alternative now exists.

Fathom · 08-03-2019 4:14am

There's many alternatives. I would exercise caution. Best to consult medical doctor before switching.

TomOnBoard · 08-03-2019 4:34am

Fathom wrote: »

There's many alternatives. I would exercise caution. Best to consult medical doctor before switching.

What are the many other alternatives, please?

I've gone through the SleepClinic process, coupled with the 100 Euro a month CPAP machine and mask, and I NEVER was told about alternatives... So, Please do tell...

And of course, no-one should even consider switching without consulting a doctor. That said, it is surely waaay better to consult said doctor, having been educated as to options/possibilities, rather than engaging with said doctor in relative ignorance.

Fathom · 08-03-2019 4:44am

AAST discusses 5 alternatives. But once again, I would exercise caution. Best to discuss these with your health care professional before doing anything.

TomOnBoard · 08-03-2019 5:10am

Fathom wrote: »

AAST discusses 5 alternatives. But once again, I would exercise caution. Best to discuss these with your health care professional before doing anything.

Your alternatives are exactly the type of thing I was told years ago, before being told that the CPAP was my only usable option. And that was fine for the time

What I have posted is a link to a treatment that goes beyond anything I was advised about, and wasn't even mentioned in your list of alternatives. .. clearly it is newer than anything I was offered or than you can suggest as an alternative to CPAP.

By all means, anyone embarking on something like this should only do so under medical supervision; that said, as a new ttreatment, it may offer huge benefit to people for whom CPAP and the alternatives you listed simply don't work. I say that we should inform everyone of the possibility. ..

Fathom · 09-03-2019 12:35am

TomOnBoard wrote: »

By all means, anyone embarking on something like this should only do so under medical supervision

Agree.

Boulevardier · 03-04-2019 2:15pm

My consultant only mentioned surgery as a possible alternative to CPAP. The other alternatives mentioned here were not discussed.

FaganJr · 22-07-2019 11:45pm

Where do People get their masks/supplies etc online??
If they don't get them from their CPAP provider?
Thanks.

GadgetGeek · 23-07-2019 12:43am

Not sure how legit it is but it works for me. You need the following:
Get a UK VPN (easiest is to add an extension to chrome Hola use the following https://www.google.ie/search?client=safari&hl=en-ie&ei=pEc2XdPuNuWU1fAPq8SbqAc&q=hola+chrome+extension&oq=hola+chrome+&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-serp.1.0.0l8.60181.60181..61112...0.0..0.333.333.3-1......0....1.........0i71.w1Y_z-1AWcE
)
Setup parcel motel with UK address in Newtownards and forward to your home address. Go to the following with VPN activated. Shop to your hearts content. Using Parcel Motel address. Doesn’t matter that your Credit Card address is outside UK. Always select for the no VAT option as it is a medical requirement. Best value and no problem with returning for any parts.
https://mysleep.resmed.com/GB/en/

Masala · 11-08-2019 9:16am

Hi all.... am paying monthly to rent a machine and feel it's time to look at this cost. Currently paying €100 a month .. but this gives me free repairs and an annual replacement of mask and hosing free.

If I buy the machine (€500) outright.... what kind of costs am I looking at for replacing the mask, hose etc.

If I had a problem with the machine... is there an Irish company specialising in repairs.

What is the consensus out there.... buy or rent??

Odyssey 2005 · 11-08-2019 9:38am

If you only get 6 .months out of the machine you're winning. Theres post 1 ot 2 back about masks from the uk
I also pay neatly €100 but get reimbursed on the dps scheme. If that wasnt the case I'd certainly be buying a machine.

FaganJr · 11-08-2019 5:27pm

Odyssey 2005 wrote:

If you only get 6 .months out of the machine you're winning. Theres post 1 ot 2 back about masks from the uk I also pay neatly â‚¬100 but get reimbursed on the dps scheme. If that wasnt the case I'd certainly be buying a machine.

I don't get what you mean by 6 months? Are you saying 500 X 2 Vs 100 X 12.
If so that's tight margins.
My machine is about 1000 , but I pay 86 p/m but I pay for replacement mask etc.

Murt10 · 11-08-2019 8:43pm

Absolute no brainer for you not to buy your own machine.

I have my current one 6 - 7 years. Never had a problem with it, then again, why should there be. It's basically a just a very expensive vacuum cleaner. that works in reverse.

Don't mind all that auld sh1te that the companies supplying the equipment talk about, if anything breaks down, free mask etc. All they are concerned about is maximising their profit. It's what companies so. It is their sole reason for existence.

If the machine breaks down in the first couple of years, it's covered under the Sale of Goods Act and wasn't of merchantable quality to start with. Therefore they are obliged to repair or replace it, and as it's a life threatening condition that you are suffering from, and it's their machine that's broken down, you can insist on a replacement machine, while they are repairing it.

Look at the business model and the figures for the industry

Each company has a franchise on an particular machine. They sell you a new machine for between E800 - to 1200. You can be sure that there is a 100% markup for the supplier. So it costs him say 500 for the machine. Headgear and mask, costs you another 150, so he gets it for 100 max.

Total cost to him for the machine and gear is a maximum of E600 which is a one off cost.

He rents that to you at E100 per month and after 6 months everything is paid for in full. He gets E600 for the rest of th year. Fair enough, he needs to make some money.

Roll along year 2. He gets E1,200 off you and the cost of a new mask is 100. Now that's what you call a business model. E1,000 off each of his customers, in pure profit, for doing absolutely nothing!!!

Most people won't even come looking for a new mask until the one they are using starts to leak. Unissued mask and headgear = more profit.

It's even better for them, if they supply it to someone with a medical card. State guaranteed payer and profit. I spoke with several medical card holders who have Sleep Apnea and who find the machine and the mask uncomfortable at night, so they don't use it. The HSE still pays the company E1,200 PA for a machine that's not being used.

If the HSE was a proper business, they would tender on an annual basis for the supply of the machines and go with the one that came in cheapest. But they are not a business and are happy being ripped off.

No wonder the health service is in the state its in.

corwill · 11-08-2019 8:47pm

Rental is a great way to try the treatment out, but if it's working for you, and you can afford to, I'd recommend buying outright. I got nearly 7+ years out of my machine before deciding to upgrade and retire it to back up status (rather than waiting for it to give up the ghost and being stuck without).

Fathom · 13-08-2019 11:32pm

Reading this thread has been informative.

Odyssey 2005 · 14-08-2019 1:14am

Murt10 wrote: »

Absolute no brainer for you not to buy your own machine.

I have my current one 6 - 7 years. Never had a problem with it, then again, why should there be. It's basically a just a very expensive vacuum cleaner. that works in reverse.

Don't mind all that auld sh1te that the companies supplying the equipment talk about, if anything breaks down, free mask etc. All they are concerned about is maximising their profit. It's what companies so. It is their sole reason for existence.

If the machine breaks down in the first couple of years, it's covered under the Sale of Goods Act and wasn't of merchantable quality to start with. Therefore they are obliged to repair or replace it, and as it's a life threatening condition that you are suffering from, and it's their machine that's broken down, you can insist on a replacement machine, while they are repairing it.

Look at the business model and the figures for the industry

Each company has a franchise on an particular machine. They sell you a new machine for between E800 - to 1200. You can be sure that there is a 100% markup for the supplier. So it costs him say 500 for the machine. Headgear and mask, costs you another 150, so he gets it for 100 max.

Total cost to him for the machine and gear is a maximum of E600 which is a one off cost.

He rents that to you at E100 per month and after 6 months everything is paid for in full. He gets E600 for the rest of th year. Fair enough, he needs to make some money.

Roll along year 2. He gets E1,200 off you and the cost of a new mask is 100. Now that's what you call a business model. E1,000 off each of his customers, in pure profit, for doing absolutely nothing!!!

Most people won't even come looking for a new mask until the one they are using starts to leak. Unissued mask and headgear = more profit.

It's even better for them, if they supply it to someone with a medical card. State guaranteed payer and profit. I spoke with several medical card holders who have Sleep Apnea and who find the machine and the mask uncomfortable at night, so they don't use it. The HSE still pays the company E1,200 PA for a machine that's not being used.

If the HSE was a proper business, they would tender on an annual basis for the supply of the machines and go with the one that came in cheapest. But they are not a business and are happy being ripped off.

No wonder the health service is in the state its in.

Unless you claim the dps, whereby the machine rental is 100% free as is 1 new mask per year.!

Barr · 14-08-2019 11:11am

GadgetGeek wrote: »

Not sure how legit it is but it works for me. You need the following:
Get a UK VPN (easiest is to add an extension to chrome Hola use the following https://www.google.ie/search?client=safari&hl=en-ie&ei=pEc2XdPuNuWU1fAPq8SbqAc&q=hola+chrome+extension&oq=hola+chrome+&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-serp.1.0.0l8.60181.60181..61112...0.0..0.333.333.3-1......0....1.........0i71.w1Y_z-1AWcE
)
Setup parcel motel with UK address in Newtownards and forward to your home address. Go to the following with VPN activated. Shop to your hearts content. Using Parcel Motel address. Doesn’t matter that your Credit Card address is outside UK. Always select for the no VAT option as it is a medical requirement. Best value and no problem with returning for any parts.
https://mysleep.resmed.com/GB/en/

That is a great workaround , thanks

Murt10 · 14-08-2019 11:55am

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

Unless you claim the dps, whereby the machine rental is 100% free as is 1 ew mask per year.!

The machine is not free, that's just an illusion. It's hugely expensive. It's free to the end user, who is not paying for it, but what the end user fails to realise, is that somebody else is paying for it, in this case, the totally incompetent and cash strapped HSE.

If people think that something is free , because it's not costing them anything directly themselves, they attach a NIL value to it. Suppose all medical card holders and DPS recipients had to pay a nominal figure, say E10 per month (ie E2.00 pw) towards the rental of the machine. They wouldn't be long about getting rid of it, if they weren't using it. And they certainly wouldn't want to be paying towards it in years 2,3 and 4. There would be a clamour to change the current system.

Which brings me on to the directly related cash crisis in the HSE, and the lack of provision of Home Helps for the elderly and people needing a bit of support in the home. If the money being wasted on the illogical rental of these CPAP machines, many of which are not being used (but that is irrelevant for the moment), were directed to supplying more Home home Help hours, then all those folk, currently being denied the service, would benefit immediately from the additional cash freed up.

By allowing the present system of unjustly enriching the CPAP suppliers to continue, for doing little or nothing, they are shooting themselves in the foot, but of course the end users cannot see it, and it's not in many peoples interest to point it out

Odyssey 2005 · 14-08-2019 8:43pm

Murt10 wrote: »

The machine is not free, that's just an illusion. It's hugely expensive. It's free to the end user, who is not paying for it, but what the end user fails to realise, is that somebody else is paying for it, in this case, the totally incompetent and cash strapped HSE.

If people think that something is free , because it's not costing them anything directly themselves, they attach a NIL value to it. Suppose all medical card holders and DPS recipients had to pay a nominal figure, say E10 per month (ie E2.00 pw) towards the rental of the machine. They wouldn't be long about getting rid of it, if they weren't using it. And they certainly wouldn't want to be paying towards it in years 2,3 and 4. There would be a clamour to change the current system.

Which brings me on to the directly related cash crisis in the HSE, and the lack of provision of Home Helps for the elderly and people needing a bit of support in the home. If the money being wasted on the illogical rental of these CPAP machines, many of which are not being used (but that is irrelevant for the moment), were directed to supplying more Home home Help hours, then all those folk, currently being denied the service, would benefit immediately from the additional cash freed up.

By allowing the present system of unjustly enriching the CPAP suppliers to continue, for doing little or nothing, they are shooting themselves in the foot, but of course the end users cannot see it, and it's not in many peoples interest to point it out

I am using it. I pay and have been paying taxes in this country for in excess of 40 years.
The cash crisis in the hse isn't my concern. I dont like the way it's been run into the ground by an incompetent schoolboy,but he and his ilk will soon pay for that and other avoidable mistakes they've made. If the dos scheme were not reimbursing me I would certainly but a machine, but for now I'm not considering it.

trashcan · 14-08-2019 11:40pm

I've thrown in the towel on the machine. Just couldn't cope with it. Two seperate goes of about three months each time. Just couldn't take any more.

Sleep Apnoea and CPAP

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