And people wonder why the healthcare system is so screwed up.....

[G-Rex]

So, as some of you who are on my Facebook are aware, I recently did a sleep study thanks to this pesky little issue of stopping breathing at night intermittently. Obviously it freaked Carolina out, so I got it checked out.

Two sleep studies later, they determined that I have Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea, due to stopping breathing on an average of 36 times an hour.

Without boring everyone with details of this, the end result was that I am supposed to sleep with a CPAP machine (basically it blows air and pressurizes my airway via a mask I'll wear over my nose.)

According to the sleep center, this is a permanent condition. They say an ENT might be able to help, but doubtful. To them, the CPAP machine is the permanent answer to this.

So, I ask this. It dawned on me tonight while picking up the machine, and the tech there wasn't the person to yell at about it, so I'll chew into their corporate office on Monday. Why, if this is a permanent machine and according to them, I will need to use this machine the rest of my life, why, oh why, would they choose to *rent* the machine, collecting monthly from the insurance company, rather than sell it and collect a one time payment.

Of course, I know the answer to the question, but I'm still going to call and bitch about it, because it's just stupid.

If anybody can give me a valid reason why they might have done this, I'm all ears.

[the chi]

So wait, what? You have to sleep with a big thing on your face for the rest of your life?

It makes sense to the folks that get 100x what the machine actually costs in rental fees...

Can you get your insurance company to buy you one outright?

[G-Rex]

Yeah, according to them, wearing a mask over my nose to pressurize my airway is the permanent solution. So why would they rent a machine instead of buying it!? It's dumb.

I know it makes sense to the sleep center that rents the machine. I don't think I'm going to let them just screw my insurance company without at least saying something! It's the principle of the thing to me now!

[Rangerscott]

My dad works with a guy that stops breathing while sleeping. He takes a pill before going to sleep. I'll call my dad up and see if he can find out what he takes.

I have a problem now that I get in a stage of where I know I'm falling asleep, but I wake up and I feel like I wasn't breathing. Scares me some.


Does it just circulate air or is it oxygen? If it's oxygen then be prepared to have a real dry mouth and sore throat when you wake up.

[Amber Lamps]

Maintenance? I would imagine that such an important machine requires constant supervision and maintenance. Also, perhaps they need to be replaced periodically? If you feel so strongly about it, do a search and find one for sale.

[Trip]

let me know how it works for you besides the stupid renting thing, I need to get the sleep study done myself.

[G-Rex]

Originally Posted by Rangerscott

Does it just circulate air or is it oxygen? If it's oxygen then be prepared to have a real dry mouth and sore throat when you wake up.

It just circulates air. It does have an adjustable humidifier built in to help with the sore throat / dry mouth thing.

Originally Posted by TIGGER

Maintenance? I would imagine that such an important machine requires constant supervision and maintenance. Also, perhaps they need to be replaced periodically? If you feel so strongly about it, do a search and find one for sale.

No supervision or maintenance. It has a memory card that basically stores information on how often I use it. It is "smart" in that it can tell if I'm actually using it, or just turning it on. They told me this was so that if I wasn't actually using it, they could recommend to the insurance company to stop paying for it. I've already found one for sale. For the complete setup they gave me, it's over $1500. That's not the point. It's the principle of the matter.

Originally Posted by Trip

let me know how it works for you besides the stupid renting thing, I need to get the sleep study done myself.

Will do. I did one night of the sleep study with the CPAP machine, but with all the sensors hooked up, it was hard for me to get comfortable, so I didn't feel like I slept very well, but they said I did. Now that all I have to worry about is the mask, I'll be curious to see how I sleep. I'll be sure to post an update in a couple of weeks.

[tommymac]

Because they can make more money off you thatway than doing surgery to possibly correct the problem.

[Homeslice]

Sorry to hear about the diagnosis. One thing that COULD help is what they call pillar implants, which are like little sticks of cellulouse that get inserted into the roof of your mouth to stiffen it and prevent it from vibrating/snoring. This cures snoring but makes only a mild improvement to apena. They are also working on magnetic implants that would repel each other and keep the airway open. Laser/knife might be another option too, but what doctors always do is recommend the least invasive cure first, which is why they gave you CPAP.

[Tsunami]

Is surgery an option?