Yup. This was my experience, more or less. I was lucky enough to do an "at home" test, and so I wasn't given whatever they had on-hand. But when I was prescribed a CPAP the adventure began...
First the insurance adventure. They wanted to rent me a machine at rates that qualify at rates that would violate the geneva convention for war crimes. $327 for the 1st month. $50/mo for the next 10 months. Then I'd be eligible to buy the unit for some unspecified price. Total of AT LEAST $827 in rental fees PLUS whatever the sale cost was. Told them to fluff off and bought a top-of-the-line unit online for $499.
Did my research and got the mask that had the best reviews for someone like myself.
In advance, I had done a little research about CPAP's but I had no realidea what to expect. When I met with the sleep doctor, when he prescribed me the CPAP, he asked if I had any questions. I told him directly, "I don't really know much about them, what should I know?". You'd think whatever spiel he gave me would be a solid basis for life with a CPAP? Hah.
Did my own research on how to get comfortable and used to using it. First night I use it, I wake up in the morning and my chest is ON FIRE. Fortunately I didn't jump directly to heart attack, which apparently a lot of people do. Turns out my chest muscles were just sore - super duper common. A side effect almost everyone has the first few times they use a CPAP. Guess what my doctor DIDN'T Tell me about? And that about summarizes how useful my doc was.
My Primary Care was way more useful than the sleep doctor. But I never tolerated the CPAP well. Because I'm technical, I had OSCAR pulling data the very first night. Reviewed it every day, learned how to get into the CPAP service menu and make adjustments to the system. Still had problems with it and eventually gave up using it. (Note: I did have heated and humidified, played with those settings a lot. Tried several different masks. Putting the mask on or keeping it on wasn't the issue, my body would just freak out in the middle of the night - every night, when wearing it. Even after weeks of trying. My sleep was worse with the mask than without.)
You know who I never heard from again? The sleep doc. It's been 3 years (almost to the day) since I got the CPAP and they've never contacted me. Could I have reached out to them? Yes, but what good were they? They didn't set me up for success. They didn't follow up even one. Their use was to write me a prescription and that's it.
First the insurance adventure. They wanted to rent me a machine at rates that qualify at rates that would violate the geneva convention for war crimes. $327 for the 1st month. $50/mo for the next 10 months. Then I'd be eligible to buy the unit for some unspecified price. Total of AT LEAST $827 in rental fees PLUS whatever the sale cost was. Told them to fluff off and bought a top-of-the-line unit online for $499.
Did my research and got the mask that had the best reviews for someone like myself.
In advance, I had done a little research about CPAP's but I had no realidea what to expect. When I met with the sleep doctor, when he prescribed me the CPAP, he asked if I had any questions. I told him directly, "I don't really know much about them, what should I know?". You'd think whatever spiel he gave me would be a solid basis for life with a CPAP? Hah.
Did my own research on how to get comfortable and used to using it. First night I use it, I wake up in the morning and my chest is ON FIRE. Fortunately I didn't jump directly to heart attack, which apparently a lot of people do. Turns out my chest muscles were just sore - super duper common. A side effect almost everyone has the first few times they use a CPAP. Guess what my doctor DIDN'T Tell me about? And that about summarizes how useful my doc was.
My Primary Care was way more useful than the sleep doctor. But I never tolerated the CPAP well. Because I'm technical, I had OSCAR pulling data the very first night. Reviewed it every day, learned how to get into the CPAP service menu and make adjustments to the system. Still had problems with it and eventually gave up using it. (Note: I did have heated and humidified, played with those settings a lot. Tried several different masks. Putting the mask on or keeping it on wasn't the issue, my body would just freak out in the middle of the night - every night, when wearing it. Even after weeks of trying. My sleep was worse with the mask than without.)
You know who I never heard from again? The sleep doc. It's been 3 years (almost to the day) since I got the CPAP and they've never contacted me. Could I have reached out to them? Yes, but what good were they? They didn't set me up for success. They didn't follow up even one. Their use was to write me a prescription and that's it.