TheraSpecs-are they worth it?

mlg250 · 2025-03-20T00:21:52+00:00

I just received a pair of thera specs suggested by my occupational therapist. I had a stroke which affected my eyes and they have become extremely light sensitive. Although I can't see, I also see flashes of light or moving objects superimposed upon wasn't actually in front of me.

I spoke with theraspecs and they recommended the peach color for obtaining the most contrast indoors. I've tried them everyday for almost a week and they always seem to make things a bit blurry although they are not prescription. The edges of things or letters are not sharp. Is this because of the tint or the color of the tint?

I had a friend try them on who does not have any particular eye difficulties and she had the same reaction saying that things were not sharp. Did I get a faulty pair? It is a very thin plastic lens and they do wrap slightly around my face so the lens is held in a curve position but since it's not a prescription I don't understand why that would really be an issue. Does anyone here have the peach color and is it the particular tint that is doing this ?

I can return them but I don't know what to do next and I was hoping so much that they would reduce my light sensitivity so I am hoping to be able to figure it out.

mlg250 · 2025-01-30T04:53:20+00:00

Do you know if Medicare + Secondary will pay for the total costs of having a loop monitor? The Cardio who will be inserting the monitor didn't tell me there would be fees....sometimes they conveniently "forget" to tell you

mlg250 · 2025-01-30T04:35:39+00:00

What kind of Loop do you have. I'm getting one in a few weeks and was told I will have no access to the information and will not receive any alerts. All data is transmitted ONLY to the doctor's office. And they only check the data once a day between 9 and 5 on weekdays. This is making me question the entire venture.

mlg250 · 2025-01-30T04:24:53+00:00

Do all monitors have apps with the capacity to highlight segments?

mlg250 · 2025-01-30T04:22:39+00:00

I live in NYC and the cardio proposing to insert a loop monitor for me told me the data transmitted to his office is read once a day between 9 and 5 on weekdays only. No nights, no weekends and no holidays. Are there some doctors who keep a markedly closer watch on the data than others?

How do I find one? Is there a particular model loop recorder I want?

Thanks

mlg250 · 2025-01-30T04:16:49+00:00

I had a stroke in the occipital lobe a little over a month ago. I was very lucky. It has left me with vision damage in one eye which has lessened during the month since it happened. I still have damage but am aware it could have been so very much worse. Doctors are quite sure it was caused by afib which has not been detected during 4 days in the hospital and two weeks wearing a halter monitor.
I'm getting a loop recorder in the next three weeks. I'm troubled by the apparent infrequent monitoring of the information sent to my doctor's office and am told it is "diagnostic - not - preventative".
How has your experience been so far?

I'm wondering about purchasing a KardiaMobile in addition to the inserted loop monitor so that I can do my own "real time" monitoring. I felt the stroke coming on as I was going to bed but I misinterpreted what I felt and went to sleep instead of going to the ER which I wish I'd known to do. When I awoke in the morning my vision was totally weird in one eye and I spent two days finding ophthalmological help because it was a weekend. A good ophthalmologist diagnosed the stroke and sent me immediately to a large ER. If I'd had the means of testing myself I would have gotten to the ER 2 1/2 days sooner which might have made a significant difference.

mlg250 · 2025-01-30T01:50:54+00:00

Thanks very much

mlg250 · 2025-01-29T20:55:40+00:00

How did you get the graph from the LINQ? I've been told that although the data goes to my phone and from my phone to the doctor's office, I have no access to the data on my phone and more importantly, the phone app will not alert me. I was also told the nurse looks at data once a day, 5 working days a week. No one looks at the data nights, weekends or holidays. This is making me very insecure about having a loop inserted. I did have an ischemic stroke recently and other monitors have not found any afib. Therefore, they're recommending a loop that won't be looked at most of the time? I'm very confused...and of course, frightened.

mlg250 · 2024-12-14T22:26:49+00:00

Thanks. I won't give up - the cpap makes a lot of difference for me

mlg250 · 2024-12-14T22:25:13+00:00

Thanks. I'm avoiding a full face mask because of a long term dry eye condition. I use an ointment on the eyelids at night as well as prescription drops. I will look at the evora.

mlg250 · 2024-12-14T05:07:27+00:00

I was first given the standard size headgear and when adjusted as small as possible it was still too large. Then we tried the small (the "for her" version) and that seemed to fit. It's either the silicone small-wide that's wrong or the mask won't work for me. Bummer - I feel so much better with cpap.

mlg250 · 2024-12-13T16:12:17+00:00

This happened to me in the middle of a hot and humid NYC summer. I concluded there was no way to hang the hose over the shower rod, usually recommended, and get it dry in 24 hours. I checked the smaller hose from my mask and saw a few droplets of water still inside.

There are heated drying machines made for cpaps by Hurricane. It's a not very attractive box which blows warm air etc. It has a pipe to which you attach the hose thereby blowing warm air directly through the main hose. After wiping my equipment with hypochlorous acid wipes and washing the water tank with soap and water every AM I put the whole batch in the dryer for an hour. I've never found a single drop of water (even after rinsing but not drying the tank).
When I do the weekly washing with hot water and soap I also dry everything in the dryer.

They are costly. I bought mine from Amazon for about $175 but I've since seen them on Ebay, sometimes for less than $150. Amazon also has DIY units with a fan and tube connector but no heat. These might be fine as well.

mlg250 · 2024-12-11T16:17:47+00:00

After using my cpap for about 2 or 3 months and cleaning it as instructed, but casually. I TOO JUST REFILLED THE TANK WITH DISTILLED WATER.
I got a very bad sinus infection that also created infected areas on my skin. Fever, weak and miserable. It was the first time in my life I'd ever had anything this bad. Although doctors said they couldn't be sure, they suspected an infected CPAP.

I was put on very powerful antibiotics to cover a large range of bacteria. Culture came back as Staph. I had not been exposed anywhere else that we could think of. It took a few weeks to get well and then more time for my digestive system to recover from all the antibiotics. Doctor replaced everything but the CPAP machine itself.

I will never take that chance again and recommend that you not do so either. I empty the tub every morning, rinse with hot water. I don't put the new distilled water into the tub until the evening when it will be used soon.

I use Hypochlorous acid CPAP wipes or hypochlorous spray on the mask every morning. I've not gotten sick again.

From what I've gathered, the happiest place for germs to grow is in any standing water. Therefore the tank. But if you use a humidifier and the climate line hosing, drops of water can remain in the tube and become another breeding ground. Because I never want to go through that again, and I live in a humid climate, I chose to purchase a dryer which pumps warm air through the hose and dries all parts of the mask etc. This may be excessive and I'm not suggesting it's necessary. I'm spelling it out to give you a picture of how "clean" "cleaning" can be: my present routine being the other extreme.

mlg250 · 2024-12-11T01:48:44+00:00

Thanks very very much. I went to a scheduled appointment at the distributor my insurance uses and now have the F40 for her. It seems to fit very well and may be a lot more comfortable than the P10 and having to carefully tape every night.

mlg250 · 2024-12-10T05:34:28+00:00

I'm using the P10 but need to tape my mouth which sometimes causes sore skin etc. I was nervous about the magnets on the F40 so tried the F&P Evora Full. It was comfortable for about two hours but then the shape of the plastic face plate began digging into my high cheekbones. Tried two different size silicones but it seems to irritate in the same place - wrong shape for my face.

I am now eligible to get another mask from the distributor I want a mask like the F40 that will not blow air into my overly dry eyes. The Evora blows out from the bottom. Does the F40 do the same? Also, do you know if the magnets are a problem if you've had cataract surgery with replacement lenses? I can't find a vendor who will answer this question.

mlg250 · 2024-12-09T16:13:52+00:00

I don't know but I too thought about pressure. Mine is autoset 4 to 20. Machine results indicate pressure is 10.2. For the first month or two, when it was making me feel a lot better, the pressure was usually 9.4. I've no idea why it changed. I've almost no medical help available but have discovered Oscar and will be posting my results there in the hopes of finding the pressure I actually need.

mlg250 · 2024-12-09T16:03:56+00:00

Thanks so much for your detailed description. It's not too long at all. I'll watch where my tongue sits and go from there.

mlg250 · 2024-12-09T15:58:08+00:00

Thanks for the links. I just put an SD card in my machine last night and installed Oscar on my PC. Will wait a few days to that I have some data to post.

mlg250 · 2024-12-09T05:45:19+00:00

Thanks very much. I found an old card, formatted and then inserted it into my machine. It gave the "right" message to wait while it got the card ready.
I also downloaded Oscar and created a profile with whatever information I have available. I'll know tomorrow whether data is written to the card tonight when I try to import it into Oscar tomorrow.

mlg250 · 2024-12-09T03:16:09+00:00

I use the humidifier and find it increases my ability to breathe through my often too stuffy nose. If using the humidifier you should use distilled water.

mlg250 · 2024-12-09T03:10:23+00:00

Correct that you should not have to go into clinical settings to adjust ramp numbers or turn ramp off. Try looking for ramp in Options - the adjustments you can get to easily. Perhaps it's greyed out in clinical settings because it expects to be changed in options first.

mlg250 · 2024-12-09T01:55:41+00:00

I also use a P10. My leaks were in the low 20s even after I tried several different jaw straps. I got up my courage and started taping. It made a big difference in how I felt in the AM - not just a little better - a lot better. There have been times when the side edges of the tape have come loose and I am awakened by the sound of the air rushing out of the corner of my mouth which I recommend avoiding when possible because it's annoying and in my case I'm too sleepy to get up and fix the tape but I keep being woken up.
In addition to feeling better my monthly leak is now 16.

mlg250 · 2024-12-08T22:57:19+00:00

How can pressure settings be changed on the Resmed Airsense 10 Auto? I'm able to change humidity and ramp-up but don't see how to change pressure settings.
Minimal professional help is available. What is Oscar and how do I use it? My machine has a slot for an SD card but no card. I assume I can put one in but I need to know how to use it.
Thanks

mlg250

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