Sleep Apnea

I have a machine that records average use, major leak detection, "sleep events" related to my apnea and some other things related to usage that a qualified doctor should know. All this done on a SD memory card. No direct connection to anything but a power source.

Personally my use is average 7 hrs a night. I wake refreshed and ready for the day. I dont care who knows or wants to look at it. What I do know is , this machine helps me. IF as a condition of employment , they want to check on me to make sure I use it, so be it. FACT is I'll be a more effective driver of THEIR equipment with the machine than without. greater chance of being a safer driver too , since I get ACTUAL rest whil emy eyes are closed.
yes the minimum usage is 4 hours. Which if you think about it is reasonable. There are those the naturally require less sleep than others. So min. 4 hrs allows for variance in sleeping habits.

 

Schneider will send you to their sleep doctor, they pat for the test and equipment if you have sleep apnea you get the machine and are required to average 4 hours per night a minimum of 70% of the time. at first for like 30-60- days they monitor it with a wireless device then once your used to using it they take away the wireless device and you have to send in a sd card which they provide every 3 months to verify you are using it. if you have company insurance there is no cost what so ever even when they send new supplies every 6 months. also you are allowed 40% idle which works out great in the summer.

 

What I'd like to know is owning my own already, would I be able to get a new mask or at least an insert for the mask. I'm starting to get small leaks neart the eyes on occassion.

I'd like to get the gel kind. A lifetime ago I had my nose broken. While i'm used to using it and the slight discomfort that goes with the healed nose, I'd rather try something less hard on the bridge of my nose.

Allen? What say you? Who do I need to speak to? Medical?

 

Mickey contact occ health 920-592-8709 and just ask them. If you have sni insurance you may be able to get a new machine and supplies.

 

I dont have ins yet. Wont kick in til april 1. My machine is only 6 months old. Works very well. Would be nice to have a second one though. One for home and truck too.

The company I got it from called a couple weeks ago about new supplies, but since i no longer have THAT insurance carrier , I told them I didnt need any. I'll call or ask my orientation instructor what the deal is before I call. He was helpful before.


Thanks for the info.

 

Problem if you use two machine is they will need to be downloaded at least every 3 months and wouldn't show all your useage if you switched back and forth.you can pay for supplies out of pocket and use towards the deductible until insurance kicks in...

 

They wouldn't let me use my own because it would have needed to be hard wired so I was kinda forced to get another. BUT...it's a brand new state of the art machine that won't cost me one red cent. Win-win, I say. As for the monitoring, I use the sd card and have to email them the data once a month with the loaner that I have. Not sure what I'll be doing when I get my own machine.

I do wanna say this...the best thing that has ever happened to me besides my wife and child is this machine. Like Mickey, I'm not ashamed of it and will tell anyone who wants to listen just what it has done for me. I would wake up at least 5 times a week with headaches that would make me vomit. I fell asleep at the wheel of my Prime truck several times. I was dangerous and had no clue why. Until I was forced by Prime to take a sleep study. I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. I would wake up over 40 times per hour. My brain was not getting oxygen when I "slept" because I wasn't breathing. This is where the headaches came from. Once I got a machine, those headaches have been ELIMINATED from my life. I wake up now and I'm ready to roll. I don't fall asleep while driving. I don't even nod or daydream. I drive and I'm attentive. When I sleep, I dream vivid dreams. I can't sleep without my machine now. It's is as much a part of my life as air, water, and food.

If you ARE diagnosed with sleep apnea and DON'T wear your mask, then all I can say is that you are a ###### fool.

 

Well said Allen

 

I am big guy, my neck is 16" but my BMI is high. I have read about sleep apnea, but I do not seem to have any symptoms of it. I sleep well, rarely wake up in the middle of the night and usually feel well rested. What are the odds of me being tested and having tote around a machine I don't feel I need?

 

You have no clue how much you really wake up. Until you have a sleep study done, you won't know. Trust me, if you ARE diagnosed, that machine will become your best friend.