Does anyone know how much CPAP costs?

[Santosha]

DH has quite severe sleep apnoea which until recently was being managed fairly well by the mouthguard thin gamy he was given from the sleep clinic. I suspect it's stopped working though as he is back to snoring like a truck and being exhausted all the time - currently asleep on the floor after laying down there to play with Monkey. Siiiiiiigh. Both kids are still awake and I feel like he might as well have gone out for the night.

I think he might need CPAP. The clinic said he could probably avoid it by losing 10 kgs and quitting drinking but that was 2 years ago and neither has happened.

Prob is... we're pretty close to broke. I'd pay a fair bit for a 'present' husband and a night free from snoring, but just don't know if we have it.

Does anyone know how much the machine costs?

[nothing2lose]

Can you hire them????

Or check out eBay maybe????

[The[cookie]Doctor]

DH's was around $1000 in early 2007.
Then you wuld generally have a consult at a sleep centre overnight to calibrate it etc.
If you have PHI some may be covered.

[~ Mylitta ~]

DH has a CPAP machine and it's been one of the best purchases we've ever made!

He first had to go to see a sleep specialist who then referred him to a sleep clinic for overnight testing. The specialist cost a couple of hundred dollars, but after medicare we paid about $70. The sleep clinic was free. DH got wired up in the evening and then sent home for the night to sleep as normal, then went back to the clinic in the morning to get un-wired. A report is then made based on all the results.

A CPAP machine's settings are based on the results in the report. We were able to rent the machine for a one month trial (they don't rent them for more than that) but we had to buy the mask which was a couple of hundred dollars. After the months rental we bought the machine for about $1300, and got about $600 back from private health insurance.

All up it probably cost us just under $1000 out of pocket. But like I said, best purchase ever, lol. He's had it for a number of years now and has recently replaced the mask for the first time. He now has a new type that is just a small one that sits on his nostrils. Lol, that sounds weird, you'd have to see it to understand I guess.

[Santosha]

No PHI. Already had a sleep study done but then that was 2 years ago so they might want to do it again. Didn't think of them having to calibrate the machine either. Bugger bugger bugger. So sick of this and know that even if we can find the money I'm going to have to nag and nag and probably make the appointment myself for him to follow it up.

I know it must completely suck having to wear something so uncomfortable. But it also seriously sucks as things are, and given sleep apnea places so much stress on the heart... well a heart attack would suck more.

Sorry. This is getting venty. Over it.

ETA. Thanks Mylitta. How did you manage a free sleep clinic? Ours cost a small fortune. Was it through a hospital or something?

[The[cookie]Doctor]

My dh doesnt use his
i think i should look into the nasal mask for him and a new sleep study. i hated it when he did first try to use it but i know he really should

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

They're more expensive, but if you can get a ResMed version that has the auto setting, that'd be your best bet. It'll go up to 20 pressure-wise, and then it doesn't need recalibrating, it just uses computer magic to figure out what pressure he needs right then. They're about $2k, but well worth it.

ETA - See if your local chemist does the testing. That's how I did it, I had to wait a week for a spare test machine, and then got the results within 10 days. I have severe apnoea (116 per hour!), so they got me a rental ASAP and let me keep it until we could get another machine.

[~ Mylitta ~]

I know it must completely suck having to wear something so uncomfortable. But it also seriously sucks as things are, and given sleep apnea places so much stress on the heart... well a heart attack would suck more.

ETA. Thanks Mylitta. How did you manage a free sleep clinic? Ours cost a small fortune. Was it through a hospital or something?

I think we didn't pay for the sleep clinic because he went with a referral from the sleep specialist. It was quite a while back though so I can't be sure.

As for the mask and stuff being uncomfortable, I think they get used to it pretty quickly. I used to feel a little guilty about DH wearing it for "my benefit" until I noticed that whenever he goes away overnight for work he always takes it with him. I asked him about it and he says he now can't sleep without it. He sleeps really badly without it now and definitely prefers to have it on (even for naps!).

[CQuin]

My DH has one and its the best thing we ever did. Neither DH or I were rested as he was waking up 30times in an hour! He wasnt dreaming as he never reached that deep of a sleep. He feels more rested and i no longer have to wear ear plugs and cover my head with a pillow (yes i did both and could still hear him!) He is also not stopping breathing in the middle of the night. It may seem expensive but is well worth it, so definitely start saving. We were lucky enough to find a friends selling her mothers, we got it for $100 and just bought the mask. Start saving now, if it takes a year to save at least you wont look back in a year and say "i wish i had've started saving then". Try to get one second hand but check with the specialist to make sure the model is suitable for your DH.

[gemini_girl]

I know I am late on this but thought I would post anyway
My DH has CPAP and we bought his for about $1300 if I remember correctly. He had 2 seperate sleep tests which he had to stay overnight with all the old farts lol
The machine he has is automated and has the humidifier so it adjusts the air pressure to whatever he needs. We had a problem with the machine the other month and had to return it to the shop, but after about 2 years, it was still covered under warranty. Obviousbly the machine makes a little noise, but no more than say a computer left running in your room. And it is not what I would call romantic lol but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Honestly it is money well spent. Your DH will be able to breathe at night and will have so much more energy during the day and it will stop the snoring, win win win.
It is a lot of money to lay out up front. You can claim money back on medical expenses through tax, if you spend over a certain amount, you might want to look into it, The sleep tests didn't cost us any money, that was all covered by medicare.

[Rivlas]

There have been alot of changes re what you can now claim through Medicare so i would be going to see them and asking if this is covered eother fully or in part.

Two of my BIL's have them and think they are wonderful. They have even taken them overseas

[CQuin]

I have something new to add. A friend recently had the sleep study and she was told that she can now pay the machine off.