I just read an article at University Health News (UHN), and found myself troubled at the ignorance displayed in the post. It suggests that even in the general medical arena there is a lot of misinformation and poor communication about sleep apnea. Continue reading “Sketchy Post at UHN Shows Public’s General Ignorance of Sleep Apnea”
StarMed CaStar – Hood for CPAP Therapy
I saw an interesting CPAP hood on Youtube today. Unfortunately, I’m skeptical of the usefulness of this hood. I would not want to wear this mask for a number of reasons. Follow along as I point out some unfortunate problems with this hood as a mask-alternative. My first impression, watching the “mission specialists” get him suited up is that he’s an astronaut. Scratchy radio: “Houston, we have a problem…”
Continue reading “StarMed CaStar – Hood for CPAP Therapy”
Example Polysomnography Report
You just got finished with your sleep study, also known as a polysomnogram or a PSG. As a patient, you have a right to receive a copy of that report in the United States. But what’s on the report you get may not be the same report your sleep doctor (Somnologist) gives your Primary Care Physician (PCP). You may get a one or two page report that doesn’t include a lot of data. You want the seven to ten page report with the extra data.
Ask for a full report with condensed graphs and all doctor’s notes.
ResMed S9’s Exhale Whistle
You’re very excited because you just received your ResMed S9 Autoset or Elite. You get it home, plug all the parts together, put on your mask and start drifting off to sleep. Suddenly, you can’t help but notice that every time you exhale there is a very very faint whistle coming from the S9’s rear.
It’s not that noticeable, yet for some of us, it’s a bit like the Gilligan’s Island theme song or the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song. You just can’t get it out of your head.
The sound can be slightly different from machine to machine, sometimes higher in pitch, sometimes lower, depending on year and origin of manufacture. Continue reading “ResMed S9’s Exhale Whistle”
Preferred Features for NexGen CPAP machines
CPAP models seem to change every two to three years. Soon, we’re likely to see new models that are more than a pretty makeover of the previous models. Manufacturers will have been combing the forums and looking for feedback from veteran CPAPers for the kinds of things interested CPAP users might want in their blowers.
What follows is an abridged and summarized list of the kinds of things people want to see. I’ve limited this to the two most popular models for ease of writing, but there’s no reason why a less popular model couldn’t wow us with actual options that please informed cpap e-patients. Continue reading “Preferred Features for NexGen CPAP machines”
S9 Patient Advocacy App – Can it be done?
We’ve been talking about an S9 app interface on CPAPTalk.com. Preferably, this should be an open source initiative that would enable patients and patient advocates to better watch those for whom they are caring. Learn more about it in the video below. Continue reading “S9 Patient Advocacy App – Can it be done?”
ZZZ Probasics Full Face CPAP Mask
Masks are difficult to photograph. Often times, the studio uses a white background. The silicone seal is already fairly white, so you get an incomplete idea of what some masks are really like.
Here’s a video I created of the ZZZ Full Face CPAP Mask by PMI Probasics. Continue reading “ZZZ Probasics Full Face CPAP Mask”
DME’s and CPAP Machine Expense
The CPAP machines that most people are prescribed fall into the insurance code category E0601. The second most common insurance code is E0470 for BiPAP machines. This insurance billing code is what is used by the DME to get paid by your insurance company when you rent or buy a machine through that DME. E0601 and E0470 cover quite a number of different machines: Continue reading “DME’s and CPAP Machine Expense”
Insurance and the CPAP Machine
The time of year that you are diagnosed with sleep apnea can have a significant effect on how much you may end up paying for your CPAP machine. Here’s how it works. Continue reading “Insurance and the CPAP Machine”
Why the name?
Why “DreamDiver”? For me, sleep can be like diving from consciousness into unconsciousness and vice versa. Continue reading “Why the name?”