Do you take your machine to doctor's appointments?

[jbn3boys]

I'm just curious as to how many of you take your machine with you when you see your doctor. Also, if you do, what "kind" of doctor do you have? I am soon going to see a new doctor (neurologist) about my apap therapy, and will have to call and see if they want me to bring my machine along. Just thought I'd see what you all do.

[Muse-Inc]

When I have an appt with my sleep doc, I only take my APAP, mask, hoses when it's also a CPAP Clinic appt. His office schedules time with the RTs for the CPAP Clinic. My doc runs a sleep lab and is also a pulmonologist; he and the lab are certified.

EDIT: Forgot to add, I send/deliver a consolidated spreadsheet of my nightly, weekly, monthly, annual data every 3-4 months.

[dtsm]

I bring mine so that they can download my data and print a copy as part of the doctor's evaluation.

[Slinky]

Nope. I do NOT take my PAP w/me to my appointment w/my sleep pulmonologist. 1] As easy as it is to dismantle my Resmed S8, why should I bother? 2] My Resmed VPAP Auto is fully data capable so I "can" just take my data card w/me. 3] My sleep pulmo only looks at the first page of my ResScan data report, the Statistics page. 4] I'm to the point (4th year of PAP therapy) that I see absolutely no value in a "well visit" w/my sleep pulmo - or any other "specialist" anyway. If these specialists would quit w/the dang well-visits they might actually have the time be able to see us in a timely manner when we aren't doing well and actually DO need the expertise.

[dtsm]

My Resmed VPAP Auto is fully data capable so I "can" just take my data card w/me. 3] My sleep pulmo only looks at the first page of my ResScan data report, the Statistics page.

1 If you have the data card, then bringing the actual unit is redundant and not needed.
2 And yes, if you've been on cpap for multiple years, feel good and have solid numbers, probably no need to see sleep doc.

But not everyone qualifies for #1 and/or #2.

[OutaSync]

Never again! But I can't remember what they did to make me decide not to take the whole machine in again. If I ever go back there, I'll just bring in my cards, or better yet, a print out, because they really don't care about your nightly info.

[Mary Z]

I take my machine because I still haven't got my pressures right and they prefer to make the changes themselves as well as do their own downloads. My sleep doc is a pulmonologist. My numbers have been dismal the past three months.
Although with your data card I guess they can make changes on the card and have you download them to the machine if they are not comfortable with you doing it yourself.

[BlackSpinner]

No they can't even read my card - they don't have the software. If they want to know how I am doing they send me home with a special machine to use.

If changes are needed they also know I can do it myself and I am encouraged to do so.

[pdean44]

My sleep doc asks that i take the machine with me on visits. they check it over and run the data. Prints it out and they cover how i am doing.

[linagee]

If you do take it with you because they specifically request that you do, I would never let it leave my sight!

[Suetois]

I take everything because they told me to bring it with me when I come in. At my last visit the doctor prescribed a different pressure and the DME tech (in the same building) both changed the pressure setting and gave me for a different style of mask. After the equipment issues settle down, I hope I won't have to drag the whole thing with me.

[sister]

[quote="Slinky"]Nope. I do NOT take my PAP w/me to my appointment w/my sleep pulmonologist. 1] As easy as it is to dismantle my Resmed S8, why should I bother? 2] My Resmed VPAP Auto is fully data capable so I "can" just take my data card w/me. 3] My sleep pulmo only looks at the first page of my ResScan data report, the Statistics page. 4] I'm to the point (4th year of PAP therapy) that I see absolutely no value in a "well visit" w/my sleep pulmo - or any other "specialist" anyway. If these specialists would quit w/the dang well-visits they might actually have the time be able to see us in a timely manner when we aren't doing well and actually DO need the expertise.[/quote

I agree,I see absolutely no value in a ''well visit''. I get so confused with specialists when you really need to see them and you have to wait weeks for an appointment.
GOOD POINT,Slinky!

[DocWeezy]

Nope....I just take my data card because the doc downloads it and we go over the graphs. However, he did ask that I bring my mask in next time to show him and the RT who fits masks how I've modified it--he's never seen a leak line as flat as mine.

I'm only a little over 2 months into my cpap journey, but with all that I've learned from everyone here, the doc jokes that I don't need him any more and he'll have to think up some other reason to have me come in (he IS joking about this but we live in the same general area and always have fun chatting and gossiping a bit first). He says that I've found the right pressures faster than any patient he's ever had and he has been very supportive of my having the software and tweaking my own pressures. However, right now we're working on other insomnia/sleep issues so I'm still seeing him about once a month.

I think he started out as a pulmonologist but is now a sleep doc.

I was lucky I stumbled upon this guy, because I had no clue about what I was doing before I found this group having only done a little reading before my first appointment and sleep study.

Weezy

[tonycog]

No, I don't. I take my data card, but at my last 2 appointments (covering 11 months) I was told "our computer that reads these is down so we don't need your card." I had taken my own printouts in, with specific that I had questions about highlighted. Both times they wanted my Summary page with the averages for their chart. My doctor has given me the green light to make my own pressure adjustments based on my data, although I don't tweak it much at all.

Tony

[nighthawk38]

They ask me to bring it in once a year, and they run some checks on it. I had thought they were just checking to see that the pressure delivered was correct, but don't really know.