I was diagnosed with sleep apnea about 6.5 years ago. I was prescribed a ResMed CPAP machine and leased it through Apria. It took some getting used to, but after a short time, it changed my life for the better. I could sleep through the night and wake up rested. What a difference.
Last week it stopped working and an error message on the machine said something like “the motor lifetime has expired.” These machines have a predicted lifetime of about 6 years, and my ResMed is programmed in software to permanently stop, even though everything is working fine. WHOSE IDIOT IDEA WAS THAT? ResMed actually did respond to my inquiry and said that I could not reset it.
Fixing this is not like going down and renting a new gear puller. Apria says they will furnish a new machine, but I need to get a new prescription. My original doctor has retired, and the firm he was in is not in my provider network. There were two, network, sleep doctors in my area. One can get me an appointment in June, and another can get me an appointment in July. If your sleep apnea is severe, waiting 4 or 5 months is not a very good option.
My point is, if you need one of these machines and it stops working, plan ahead for the medical roadblocks and avoid four or five months of misery.
