cpap machine without consulting any doctor?

[pankaj1221@rediffmail.com]

i have all the symptoms of SA. however, never consulted any doc. suggest can i use Cpap auto without consulting doctor? or is it necessary to have your sleep study before using Cpap mechine?

[Pugsy]

Obviously it is best to see a doctor and have a proper sleep study so that all parameters can be evaluated fully.
There can be complicating factors and even other sleep issues that mimic sleep apnea.

CPAP machines and masks require a RX from a physician if someone wants to purchase items from an online supplier.
No way around that.
Now there is the secondary market (craigslist or private purchase or use a friend's RX) and one can self titrate and self treat but it takes a lot of education, work and understanding of things to make a success of it. It can be done and isn't extremely difficult but it takes more than just buying a machine and slapping on a mask and turning on the machine to get it done effectively the first time of use.

I think it is best to have a proper sleep study if at all possible.
If it is not possible..no money, no insurance, etc..then yes, there are ways to try to self treat but if someone is going to go down that road they need to really understand what they are doing.

[hton]

Second Pugsy

[chunkyfrog]

Third.

[archangle]

Realize there are risks.

You might think you're doing better but not actually have effective treatment, allowing the damage from apnea to continue.
You could make central apnea worse than without a CPAP.
You might be suffering from some other medical condition and delay getting proper treatment by trying to fix it with CPAP.
You might develop some new condition such as heart trouble and blame your symptoms on CPAP.
You might need CPAP, but do it wrong when trying to manage it yourself, and give up because it's not helping.

It takes some effort to do CPAP right for many people. Even with a good, auto CPAP machine, it's not just "hook up and forget about it."

I quit going to my doctor, and had read up a little on CPAP. I had adjusted my pressure upwards a bit over the years. I did not have the software to look at my data and didn't really pay a lot of attention to it. I got a new Auto CPAP machine, tried to set it up myself and didn't get it set up the way I thought I did. It was on manual mode at a low pressure. I got really sick and didn't realize it was the CPAP until much later and several visits to non-CPAP doctors for other problems.

I could have really hurt myself. I'm probably still suffering somewhat from the aftereffects of the general decline in health that resulted.

I'm still doing CPAP on my own, but I think I know a lot more about CPAP now and am monitoring myself very carefully.

I suspect a lot of people who are doing CPAP even with a doctor's involvement aren't getting proper treatment, anyway. Lots of doctors simply don't make their patients get good CPAP machines that monitor their therapy, or don't really examine the data even if the patient does have a good machine.

CPAP needs to be done right, not simply done. Whether you or your doctor does it wrong, you still suffer

[jnk]

i have all the symptoms of SA. however, never consulted any doc. suggest can i use Cpap auto without consulting doctor? or is it necessary to have your sleep study before using Cpap mechine?

Rested Gal did it. But she eventually got her study.

viewtopic/t78832/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10 ... tory#p5977

[Madalot]

I did it for my husband too.

He REFUSED to see a doctor. And when I say refused, I am not kidding. I love the big guy, but when he sets his mind on something, you are not going to change it.

I told him that his snoring was keeping me awake and with my medical issues, sleep was so important. If he didn't do SOMETHING, he was going to have to sleep somewhere else.

With the help of many on this forum, I was able to borrow an S9 VPAP Auto. Because it was already in the house, my husband reluctantly agreed to give it a shot. After a lot of input from people here, we set the machine to auto and let it titrate him. He used it the first night, ALL night and realized how he had NOT been getting good sleep before. One night and he was a believer.

We went through craiglist and found a machine for him. That was in the Fall and he hasn't missed a night since. I keep an eye on his data and he still says he can feel a big difference in how he sleeps and how he feels the next day. He even mentioned it to his Primary Care Doctor (telling him that I had set up the machine for him) and the doctor was okay with it.

It definitely can be done, but as others have said -- going through a doctor and having a sleep study is the smartest way to do it.

[-tim]

Where in the world are you? Most user of this forum are from the US where different rules and cost structures apply.

Its best to get a real sleep study. Any doctor should be able to refer you to a sleep lab but in many countries, the places selling the sleep lab can do the study themselves but then you have to buy the machine from them.

If your not going to do that, get a data recording auto machine and a nasal mask to start with and post your data here.

A data recording APAP device only records your airflow. A sleep study will record that and your heart rate and oxygen rate and you REM sleep and your sleeping position and if your legs twitch and they will take sugar level samples as well.

[Mary Z]

There are many sleep disorders which can require different treatment than cpap. There are also medical conditions which can cause the same symptoms. Suggest you get a physical. After proper diagnosis you should know what to do.