Incoherent Keyboard Bashing
Posts tagged cpap
ZZZZzzzzz…
Jan 18th
Oh my good gravy I’m tired.
I aimed to be in bed early last night. Didn’t happen. Typical. I ended up getting in to bed around midnight, which isn’t too horrible, but then some wanker broke the golden rule about not phoning me for support between the hours of 9pm and 6am. So at 02h20 this morning, I was rudely woken up with something that turned out to be not my problem anyway. And I wasn’t on stand by. Grr! So, having OSA (even though I’m on CPAP), has not made today much fun for me.
What irritates me about my current CPAP unit, is that I have no idea if it’s actually treating me properly. It’s only got basic readouts, and has no software support, so I don’t know if I’m still having apnea events or not. Sometimes I wake up feeling fine, and other days (like today), I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.
Stupid Service
Aug 14th
I received another statement from Afrox Medispeed for my CPAP machine – this one marked as ‘overdue’. So I phoned the rep this morning to find out why they had not yet submitted the claim to my medical aid, and she basically told me that she had no idea as she has nothing to do with that side of things, and I should phone X.
So, I phone X, and ask her why they haven’t submitted the claim to my medical aid. She says to me, “but you’re a private patient!” Uhh… lady… why would I be asking about my medical aid if I was a private patient?
Anyway, it seems that some twat data capturer had loaded me onto their systems as a private patient, despite the fact that I had provided the rep with all my information. Or maybe it’s the rep that is the twat. Who knows?
- I hope people are getting my subtext here, ie maybe it’s not a good idea to deal with Afrox Medispeed.
Sickly and Slow
Jul 18th
The past week or so has been pretty crappy.
I hurt my back last Sunday in my sleep, so I spent the whole of last week in agony. I eventually went to the doctor on Wednesday, and he recommended paying a visit to the physiotherapist; so I had sessions on Wed, Thurs, and Fri. Felt much better afterwards, I must say. I don’t think the injury is entirely gone though – I actually hurt my back initially on a ride (Tower of Terror) at Gold Reef City a couple of years ago – a company team building excercise. We were sitting on the ride, hanging on the precipice, basically staring straight down at a gaping hole, when the car suddenly released and dropped us (as it is supposed to do). Instead of experiencing the exhiliration of the drop, I felt a snapping sensation in my back, and a sudden burst of agony which lasted for the entire ride. There was quite a nasty ache for a couple of days, but it eventually went away. Stupidly I never went to the doctor to have it checked out, despite the fact that I have been reminded of the pain every time I sneezed.
I’ve had my CPAP machine well over a month now (got it 13 June) — and the supplier (Afrox Medispeed) has STILL not submitted their claim to my medical aid (insurance) for payment. In the mean time, I have dealt with a competitor of theirs (SSEM) to purchase some new masks, and the claims have already been submitted and paid. I guess I’m not going to be dealing with Afrox in the future if I can help it.
Slow Going
Jun 26th
I’ve been having the CPAP treatment for about two weeks now. It’s taking me a long time to get used to the mask – but I’m finally sleeping through the night (mostly). My only problem so far is that because of the tightness of the mask initially – I developed (almost literally overnight) a pressure sore just above the right hand side of my top lip. It wasn’t too painful, but now it has developed into a cluster of really painful pimples. The pain from that caused me to take my mask off at about 4 this morning – it was getting a bit too much. Hopefully I’ll have a better night tonight.
I’m meeting with a rep from a different medical company on Wednesday – I’m going to be fitted for some new masks. I’m getting a Respironics Comfortgel mask to replace the Fisher & Paykel HC405 that I’m not really happy with – and I’m also getting a ComfortFull 2 full face mask to use in those times when I’m sick or have nasal congestion. It’s a crapload of money for these damn things here – around $250 for the full face mask, and around $150 for the Comfortgel (That’s based on ~7.4 exchange rate). Insane prices – but then this is also my second choice mask. I would have preferred to go for a Resmed Ultra Mirage Activa nasal mask, but that sucker is around $240! And the problem is that the company that sells the Resmed products is not contracted out to the medical aids (insurance), so I would have to fork out of my own pocket and claim back. Not good, because I don’t have that kind of money. At least with the other company, they deal directly with the medical aids, so I don’t have to physically spend a cent.
Back to the treatment – I am definitely noticing a difference. I still have tiredness – but that’s usually in the morning. I’m much more alert now, and I don’t have the desire to doze off while I’m driving home from work. so it seems the treatment is starting to work.
I don’t know how long it will take until I feel “normal” – or what I think “normal” is supposed to feel like, as I’ve had this for so many years, that I never realised that anything was wrong.
Thinking back with my new found knowledge, it certainly explains some of the happenings in my life when I was in high school, so I’ve had this condition at least since then, if not all my life.
Kinda sad to go through life for 31 years not knowing that it could actually have been better.
First Night
Jun 14th
I slept with the assistance of my very own CPAP machine. It’s a top-of-the-line Fisher & Paykel HC608 (Linked in the last post), with humidifithingymabob and heated hoojakawhatsit. Since I tend to get sinusitis on a regular basis, I need the moistened air so that my sinuses don’t freak out from a constant air flow (which, I must say, is a breath of fresh air) (smirk). It’s quite nifty, since the air pipe is heated (Not so you’d notice), it prevents condensation building up inside the tube, thereby avoiding an apparently annoying gurgling noise. I’ll have to take their word for it. The problem with that though, is that condensation forms inside the mask, and I spent the night (unsuccessfully) avoiding the icy cold puddle of moisture that had formed in the bottom of the mask.
It’s really crappy — you’re too deur die blare to actually wake up and take care of the annoyance, so you live with it. sigh, maybe one day I’ll learn.
It’s a bit premature to tell if the therapy is working or not. Admittedly I wasn’t feeling so bleh (Technical term) this morning when I woke up, but I’m feeling darn right sleepy as I type this 2 hours later. Time will tell. (The damn thing had better work. The whole kit and caboodle cost over R7k. Gotta love medical aid.)
CPAP Schlap
Jun 12th
A rep from Afrox Medical Gas phoned me. It seems I’ll be getting my 608 CPAP unit tomorrow.
Theme Scheme
Jun 12th
So I’ve changed my theme. Whoop.
It’s quite a change from the old one. I’ll keep this around for awhile… I’ve got plenty sitting on the back-burner, so if it’s different every time you visit, don’t be surprised. 
(Mind you, who the heck visits here anyway?)
I went for the 2nd sleep lab on the 7th, as I mentioned in my last post. Technically, it wasn’t a sleep lab, since I was only hooked up to the CPAP machine, though it was monitoring and recording what was happening.
The neurophysiologist (what a mouthful) told me that I have around 60 apnoeas per hour, which means I’m not breathing for 20 seconds of every minute in an hour. She said “severe” cases are only around 40 apnoeas per hour, so I have it to the extreme, especially for my age. She says she usually sees apnoea this badly in people over 75 years old. Apparently my oxygen levels drop to below 80% (in some cases as low as 75%), which apparently is quite bad for the heart, and can lead to heart failure. Fun.
Being connected to the CPAP machine wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. I could get used it. Actually, I have to get used to it. sigh Despite (or perhaps because of) being hooked up to the CPAP machine, I slept quite badly. The nursing staff at the hospital didn’t help either. Damn they pissed me off.
When I did the first sleep lab – the polysomnogram – I was supposed to be sleeping while the machine recorded what happened while I slept… so the stupid fucking nursing staff woke me sometime after 4am as if I was a normal hospital patient. Considering the CPAP trial was in a different part of the hospital, where they seemed to be used to patients coming in for these trials, I thought they would have a clue. Not so. For one thing, someone opened my room door at around 1am, so I woke up (it’s a noisy door). Then again around 3. And then another stupid-ass nurse came in at around 04h40 and yelled loudly ‘Good Morning!’. She was lucky I had the breathing mask on my face, otherwise I would have told her to fuck right off. I was not impressed. I gave them a bad mark on the patient satisfaction survey when I was discharged. Suck on that. :p (Yeah yeah, childish I know.)