Meanwhile... Pt. 1

[zryson]

My friends don't understand how I can like going to bookstores so much because they think its boring but I think the opposite. It's precisely because its so unassuming and quiet that I like going there. When a store is really busy, I feel uncomfortable because I like experiences to be personal and intimate when its something I am into. And just sitting among the books and comics and magazines I feel very much at home. It's like my own private solitude.

[berk]

I have been wearing the mask for about 7 years now. I hate sleeping without it now. I feel so much more rested and sleep so much sounder with it on. It take some getting used to obviously, but it's not as bad as it seems.

-M

Are they expensive? I've never been diagnosed but I'm pretty sure I have some form of sleep apnea and have thought about trying the mask sometime. Do they have to be fitted to the individual or just bought off the rack, as it were?

[dan bailey]

Are they expensive? I've never been diagnosed but I'm pretty sure I have some form of sleep apnea and have thought about trying the mask sometime. Do they have to be fitted to the individual or just bought off the rack, as it were?

Since you're in a civilized country that provides health care for its residents, unlike those of us residing in your barbaric neighbor to the immediate south, I'd assume the expense wouldn't necessarily come out of your pocket, though of course I have no idea how such things work up there. Mine was covered by insurance, though I had to do everything short of stand on my head to get the flex-spending account people to recognize the legitimacy of my share of the cost.

Anyway, I have no idea about the off-the-rack scenario. Mine was prescribed by a doctor who specializes in sleep disorders (which of course explains why it was covered by insurance).

I know there's also an approach that uses what amounts to a mouth guard, rather than a full-on mask setup, to change the breathing patterns.

[Romero]

I have been wearing the mask for about 7 years now. I hate sleeping without it now. I feel so much more rested and sleep so much sounder with it on. It take some getting used to obviously, but it's not as bad as it seems.

-M

I know I can do it and get used to it. It's just a bummer to hear initially that this is what you get to look forward to. I do like the idea of sleeping better and being overall more healthy for it.

[Romero]

I'm going to need a sleep study wearing it to get the right fit, air pressure, etc. My doc felt sure he could get it covered by my insurance, except my co-pays, and I have flexible spending to cover that.

As Dan said, it is a pain though to prove that I am using my flexible spending account for the VERY DAMN REASON I SIGNED UP TO HAVE A FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT.

[dan bailey]

Exactly. As I told one of their reps while trying to get the expenditure approved, it's not like I was trying to spend the money -- which was, y'know, my money anyway -- on a sandwich.

[MDG]

I have been wearing the mask for about 7 years now. I hate sleeping without it now. I feel so much more rested and sleep so much sounder with it on. It take some getting used to obviously, but it's not as bad as it seems.

Is this from a Batman story?

[MRP]

Are they expensive? I've never been diagnosed but I'm pretty sure I have some form of sleep apnea and have thought about trying the mask sometime. Do they have to be fitted to the individual or just bought off the rack, as it were?

The masks themselves aren't all that expensive. The CPAP machine it attaches to however, was a bit pricey (it was over a grand in '04 but insurance covered it). Our insurance covers a new mask every 6 months, but I usually only replace it once per year. The price of masks for it has fluctuated over the years (as the style has changed slightly) and range between $70-$85 or so here. The tube that connects the mask to the machine however is pricey too as I found out when one of our cats decided to chew through it the first year I had the machine. The medical supply store here has several in stock, and I have no trouble getting insurance to cover the cost of the mask and/or new filters and such for the machine, except for the year we had a policy with a very high deductible. Our flex spending account we have had the last 3 years however, has presented no issues getting the upkeep parts paid for.

Is this from a Batman story?

I can neither confirm nor deny this assertion

-M

[berk]

Since you're in a civilized country that provides health care for its residents, unlike those of us residing in your barbaric neighbor to the immediate south, I'd assume the expense wouldn't necessarily come out of your pocket, though of course I have no idea how such things work up there. Mine was covered by insurance, though I had to do everything short of stand on my head to get the flex-spending account people to recognize the legitimacy of my share of the cost.

Anyway, I have no idea about the off-the-rack scenario. Mine was prescribed by a doctor who specializes in sleep disorders (which of course explains why it was covered by insurance).

I know there's also an approach that uses what amounts to a mouth guard, rather than a full-on mask setup, to change the breathing patterns.

The masks themselves aren't all that expensive. The CPAP machine it attaches to however, was a bit pricey (it was over a grand in '04 but insurance covered it). Our insurance covers a new mask every 6 months, but I usually only replace it once per year. The price of masks for it has fluctuated over the years (as the style has changed slightly) and range between $70-$85 or so here. The tube that connects the mask to the machine however is pricey too as I found out when one of our cats decided to chew through it the first year I had the machine. The medical supply store here has several in stock, and I have no trouble getting insurance to cover the cost of the mask and/or new filters and such for the machine, except for the year we had a policy with a very high deductible. Our flex spending account we have had the last 3 years however, has presented no issues getting the upkeep parts paid for.

-M

Canadian health coverage tends to apply more to doctor visits, surgery, hospital stays, and things like that than to medication or medical devices as far as I know. I'll investigate further, though. I suppose the first step is to get into one of those sleep study programs.

To be honest, I'm so used to sleeping erratically and feeling drowsy all the time it's become my idea of normal, so I'm not as motivated to do anything about it as I probably shoudld be.

[Brian Gravity]

2012 marks a huge year in U.F.O. sightings...and the end of Twinkies. The world is definitely ending!

[zryson]

Have continued reading through the stack of comic books I purchased from the bookstore. I really enjoy laying atop my bed, a big stack of comic books before me, and just going through each issue. It enables me to read classics I otherwise missed, as well as catch up with more recent issues, such as Detective Comics, Spider-Man. It's also interesting noting some of the original prices on the comics, sometimes as much as $25.00 + and then finding them for $1.00.

[zryson]

As Xmas inches ever closer, I am on the lookout for replacement furniture. Nothing extravagant just a couple of things would be good. It's more about the quality of the furniture than anything else as many of mine are falling apart from the passage of time. I would like (in an ideal sense) a small cabinet. Maybe with a couple of cupboards or drawers included so I can maximize the use of space. It's necessary because my bedroom is small too and there is not a lot of room available. I began looking, in a very loose sense, a couple of months back, just getting a feel of what is out there and the amount of money I would have to spend. Again, I believe timing is everything. I don't really buy impulsively much these days (not that I ever did much) and I think if I bide my time, and be patient (which is half the battle) I will be able to buy something nice but affordable.

[zryson]

Eek. Just killed a spider in the living room. I was sitting watching the latest news on CNN and I thought I saw a shadow moving up near the ceiling but looked and couldn't see anything and then I saw this shadow again so I got up and had a look and sure enough there was a black spider moving in the confines of the corners of the ceiling. I sprayed it for maybe a minute and it was still moving. But yeah spiders not a fan of by any means.

[Brian Gravity]

Eek. Just killed a spider in the living room. I was sitting watching the latest news on CNN and I thought I saw a shadow moving up near the ceiling but looked and couldn't see anything and then I saw this shadow again so I got up and had a look and sure enough there was a black spider moving in the confines of the corners of the ceiling. I sprayed it for maybe a minute and it was still moving. But yeah spiders not a fan of by any means.

What is it about big spiders that seem to always evoke fear among people. We are giants compared to these insects, yet we still cringe or jump when we come upon a spider unexpectedly. I think the fear effect is a gift of nature...or it might be the eight legs, big body or black beady eyes. Sinestro should unleash a giant spider villain on Green Lantern, lol.

I used to live in Guerneville, CA - a little river town about an hour north of San Francisco. The Russian River necks through the town and into Bodega Bay to greet the sea. It's a golden nugget in the state, with the beauty of the Redwoods, the canoe friendly Russian River and the isolation of a small town.

Here's the popular Johnson' Beach in it's heyday:



Anyways, living there was a blast - but there were two very big problems...spiders, and floods. I soon found out that living amongst humongous redwood trees yields equally humongous spiders. We're talking almost the size of my hand huge. They also hissed at me and it looked like a murder scene when I smashed one on the wall with all the blood. Here's what they look like, except the ones I had were black:



Yeah, I didn't last there long. Maybe a year or so. Thankfully I moved out before a giant flood wiped out the apartment I had rented -- it can flood pretty bad there. Ironically, during my recent tenure as a cable guy I've come to appreciate spiders in the fact that they don't mean to bother anyone. And as for Guerneville, if you ever wondered where all the hippies in San Francisco went after the 60's, well now you know.

[zryson]

What is it about spiders? Good question! And several things come to mind - they pop up in the most unexpected places! I once had one crawl on my chest in bed. I was half asleep at the time and I pulled back the sheet wondering what was going on and when I saw that big ugly spider I almost burst into tears I was so scared. They are very hard to kill with bug spray! Even when you spray them for like a minute they are still moving. I remember one time there was a big spider on the carpet so out of the corner of the room I sprayed maybe half a can on it, and I left the room to go get some tissues to flush it down the toilet and when I came back into the room the spider was nowhere to be found. Totally creeped me out because I knew how much I had sprayed on it. And I thought oh god, if its still alive it will definitely remember who I am and come after me. Its also the shape of the spider. These long legs inching along. And these beady eyes staring at you. There is one thing I hate above spiders, and that's those spiders which jump when you get near them. Always makes me leap a few inches off the ground those do.