Sleep Apnea

[yaf_user681_33231]

My Asthma Consultant referred me Harefield Hospital because sleep studies showed Cat 2, borderline Cat 3 Sleep Apnea. I seen the Consultant at Harefield who prescribed a CPAP machine to aid oxygen levels whilst sleeping.

It appears there are very few hospitals/PCTs who will supply these machines and places like Harefield get many patients referred from outside region and, consequently, have a long waiting list for issue. Patients seen in June are only getting them now.

As my quality of sleep is pretty crap, I have decided, in conjunction with discussing it wit Harefield, to purchase my own but they do cost around £500 - £600 but to improve my quality of life, it is worth the cost.

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Hi i have had cpap since last year i had a sleep study done in march 06 and wasn't told i had sleep apnea until my consultants appointment in the may i had to then wait four more weeks for the cpap. but it was worth the wait i have slept better and asthma has been helped at night i don't know if its worth actually buying one as the machine has to be set up for your individual pressure mine is 19, and needs calibrating every six months and electrically checked they also have a chip inside that is read at each appointment. and on the nhs this is free, I expect but obviously do not fully know that if you brought one your self you would have to pay yourself,for the mantence of the cpap. purchasing it yourself would also mean it is not the property of the local health service and would the cardiorespiratory dept be willing to do this on the nhs as it is not there equipment. i would get into contact with your sleep clinic and get them to advice you on this i have had 2 different machines since starting as the first one was not effective and i had awful problems with it.also i had 4 different types of masks until i found one that was ok. I have ended up with a humidified machine that had special tubing that is heated and has a small water tank and therefore would be costly if the first machine you brought did not help and you needed to try different masks and different machines. i hope this some how helps.

all the best jaycie

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Hello,

I have been on an NIPPV since March 06, not quite the same as CPAP and I think alot more bulky! Again as Jaycie said how would you gage the right settings? My team at RBH work closely with me to ensure the pressures are right. To high and I'm at risk of pneumothorax to low and my Co2 levels go to high. My NIPPV does not have automatic settings and needs close monitoring and adjusting to my needs. Also would you need to run oxygen through the machine? I find my needs change quite alot and I can need anything from 3 to 8Litres of oxygen. The maintenance of them can be quite high but if Harefield have agreed that you should buy one then I suppose they should cover that. They may also provide your masks. I know RBH aren't keen on giving out masks and I have only had 2 in nearly 18 months. RBH do a national repair service, if your machine breaks down they have engineers that pretty much work all over the country and they come out and fix it. Mine is serviced once a year and the record the 'hours of usage' each time its serviced and apply a sticker to the lid with the figure on. My usuage of the machine has recently increased on RBH's recommendations and I now have to use it a few hours in the day as well. I hope you get on ok with buying your machine.

Let us know what happens and drop me a PM if you need anymore info.

Tks xx