Well, today I went to the respiratory clinic , and I'm still not getting good results. plus, they are gonna have to recall my unit and no idea if Alberta will cover the replacement I need.
not sure what they will be able to do for me
the problem is I really need a bipap, not a cpap and that was never part of my sleep study.
so I am going to have to use as is, for a couple of weeks, then they are gonna set me up with an 02 monitor to prove I need more.
at that point they will have to recall the machine, and hope Alberta Handicap supports will authorize a new sleep study which means I will have at least some time without any machine.
sighs
Comments
CPAP / BiPAP / VPAP
I hope you get things cleared up soon. I did a clinical sleep study using a CPAP. Well, they called it a sleep study, but I don't remember sleeping that much. I had to go home to get some sleep. The study showed they didn't get enough sleep to diagnose what I needed. They were able to tell me I stopped breathing 99 times an hour and my pulse ox went down to 83 (should be between 100 - 90). Since the didn't have enough info, I had to do a second sleep study, this time with a BiPAP. I did sleep better on the BiPAP. I wound up with a prescription for a VPAP machine (BiPAP and VPAP are the same thing, it just depends on the manufacturer). It took four weeks to get my machine because the one he prescribed for me (Phillips DreamStation) had been recalled, so another manufacturer had to be prescribed.
After using the machine for three weeks, I don't sleep any longer than I used to, but I know I don't wake up as often. So things are looking up.
Thoughts and prayers that you get things figured out soon.
Kathy
Adjusting
You might discover that when you doze off without your machine, your body partly awakening and shifting your throat open again just might infest your dreams.
You will need a fair amount of adjustment before it works fully with you. I remember getting one kind of mask, with a weak part. It promptly broke, and I had to jury-rig a fix. Afterwards, it was better than before. Then a certain type of mask will have straps that hurt your ears... I find that a washcloth or small towel under the straps works.
-- Daphne Xu
Chin-strap
Have you tried using a chin-strap?
My makes DIY by sewing two elastic head-bands together. Leave about 10% open for the chin. Then sew 30$ on each side together. That leaves about 30% open to go over the crown of the head. You might have to vary the seam lengths for your personal anatomy.
And it is a lot cheaper than commercial chin-straps. Here in Germany, the head-bands can be had for about €3 a piece from the hair accessories section. And chin-straps seem to start at €30-50.
Ack!
I hope things work out okay with gettin' your unit replaced, and things work as good as they can until ya can get whatcha need. Please keep us up to date with how things are goin'!
{{{huggles}}}