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Sleep Apnea Forum Bringing Power to the Patient

Chip Smith
  • Male
  • Forest Hills, NY
  • United States
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Latest Activity

Insurance should only be able to dictate whether or not you are responsible for any out of pocket expenses through your copay or deductible ... not what machine you receive. You should ask your doctor/clinic for the names of 3 DME companies who ser…
August 24
Excellent post imo, jnk. I'm not sure if it would be #6 or what but I would also reinforce the need for practice, practice, practice. Those first few nights are critical to developing a positive attitude and there's nothing worse than getting nice…
June 4
Some great feedback here imo (particularly Banyon's detailed reply). The only confusion I have is that the subject line reads "with full face mask" but some of the replies seem uncertain of that so I assume that it was a recent edit made to the subj…
May 24
sorry - didn't check the replies before posting and see that Judy answered it. As far as BCBS, the NY BCBS is one of the hybrids - rental for 3 months and then submit compliance report to convert to purchase. Call your local one on the back of your…
May 2
Call up your insurance to find out since it varies based upon each insurance's own plan. For example, Medicare rents it for 13 months and it becomes yours in month 14 (as long as you passed the first 3 month trial period). A few other outright purc…
May 2
Judy is correct that the autos can be set in CPAP mode. If they've already approved it, you should definitely go with the auto since you or your doctor may want to re-titrate at some point in the future. They're both great, great machines imo. Exce…
April 29
Chip Smith and Mike are now friends
October 28, 2009
Chip Smith joined Mike's group
official website for Manhattan A.W.A.K.E. - American Sleep Apnea Association affiliated support group of New York City
September 9, 2009
August 17, 2009
Chip Smith is now a member of SleepGuide
August 17, 2009

Profile Information

My Interest in Sleep Apnea
Sleep Professional
Treatment Being Used, if any
No treatment

Comment Wall (1 comment)

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At 4:00pm on August 17, 2009, sleepycarol said…
Welcome to the SleepGuide community!!

I am glad you joined and hope you find it as useful as I have. The forum contains topics dealing with sleep apnea and various treatment options and methods of treating both obstructive and central sleep apnea.

The forum is made up of patients, like me, and professionals that are trying to help find solutions to the problems faced by those that are affected by sleep apnea.

Some patients experience problems that are not addressed by their DME. Their experience with their DME, may have been little more than handing over their machine and mask and sending the patient on their way. The forum is here to help both the newbie, just starting out with therapy, and those more experienced and knowledgeable to find solutions and answers.

The professionals that participate in the forum are invaluable with their expertise and advice on different treatment options and explanations of what is happening.

I hope that you find the forum useful and will participate in the discussions and groups
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Latest Activity

Yup, if you've got insurance, your insurance dictates which local DME providers you can use. Just because you bought your CPAP elsewhere does NOT mean that your insurance contracted providers can't or won't provide your masks and other accessories.…
33 minutes ago
Linda, thanks your your help. When I call Apria, I wil ask them why they did not offer me a payment plan. Good luck!
57 minutes ago
Hi Candace, Apria is giving me a payment plan for 10 months, after that I will buy it if I still need it. In the mean time, all of the folks here are so helpful they told me the best cpap to get and low and behold, Apria did not give me a newer mode…
1 hour ago
Linda, I read your question re: CPAP Machine and Apria. I also am not impressed with them. I have Kaiser and Kaiser will not pay for my equipment. Apria says that I have to pay all costs up front. Are you on a payment plan with Apria. I have severe…
1 hour ago
candace wells, Jon and CLIFTON MCDONALD joined SleepGuide
1 hour ago
First, let me say, Thank you for going to bat for us. I think you are doing a fantastic job in spreading OSA awareness and providing us with OSA a place to go for support. Apparently there is no connection between a college degree and intelligence,…
3 hours ago
You hit the nail on the head. I had a similar experience last year with another organization, The Alzheimer's Association. I ask for permission to pass out a flyer, "Does Sleep Apnea Cause Alzheimer's Disease?," at one of their annual meetings regar…
3 hours ago
Then she should say that... Say anything other than the falsehood that the connection between OSA and heart disease isn't sufficiently proven. 
4 hours ago
"Respironics recommends that new patients purchase their devices, masks and initial accessories from a homecare company that can provide an individualized patient equipment set-up, clinical and after-sale support, and a program to assist patients wi…
4 hours ago
Maybe you should be the communications director for the AHA ;-).
4 hours ago
I believe that individuals should be free to make decisions for themselves. This goes for the patients and the providers. The patient is free to decide what to do and who to pay for what services. The provider is free to decide what services he offe…
4 hours ago
I'M NOT A 100% SURE OF THE NAME OF MY MASK I THINK IT'S CALLED A PROFILE LITE IT HAS A THICK GEL CUSHION ON THE FORHEAD PIECE AND THE ALL AROUND THE MASK. I STILL END UP WITH RED MARKS ON THE BRIDGE OF MY NOSE AND FOREHEAD BUT THEY FADE IN AN HOUR O…
4 hours ago
by no means am i suggesting that this one person believes one thing or another. rather, she is the director of marketing and communications for the AHA. it is her job to communicate the organization's viewpoints to the public, and that's what she wa…
5 hours ago
HEY, I read the funny e-mails! HAH, I'm heading north tomorrow...
5 hours ago
Jon added a discussion
I received my machine in March with a nasal pillow mask. I switched to a full face mask because I was breathing thru my mouth.I was struggling with getting used to wearing the mask, finally got to the point of wearing it every night.I could not get…
5 hours ago
Ah ha, BirdShell!!! You can ignore me, but we managed to lure you out of your hiding place w/this thread, eh?? Too bad too. Danielle, Ashley, Nicole and I are all meeting at La Placita in Saginaw for lunch tomorrow. I'll be thinking of you!!!! Nico…
5 hours ago
I agree with your advice,Mike.Once I was treated for a sinus infection,I had replaced everything .Also, it is a good idea to use saline to cleanse the sinuses at least twice daily . You may look into the use of a Nettie Pot,,,,that can throughly cle…
6 hours ago
I tried wearing a band aid on the bridge of my nose the other night and it helped, but not enough. Most of the "solutions' that I've found end up causing to much air to leak. I started wearing the bandana (folded in several layers and tied like a he…
6 hours ago
I have to comment! I ran Jump Rope for Heart (JRFH) activities/fundraisers in my classes for years. (For more information: http://www.aahperd.org/jump/ and http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=2360 This is a good condensation of t…
6 hours ago
I've beeb using Sleep Strip for years. It's a good screening test that correlates pretty well with formal sleep studies. It won't give you a number, but rather ranges from none, to mild, moderate or severe. You still need a doctor's prescription. Ty…
6 hours ago

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