When do I REALLY need to replace items?

[BlueSky1958]

Using full face mask. Comparing it to a brand new one closely I see no wear or indication of degradation even after 4 months. Same with hose and water tub. I blow out the filter (which appears clean BTW) every month with compressed air, so include that in my question too).

Is it really necessary to replace this stuff as often as the manufacturer or supplier recommend, or are we in agreement it's mostly driven by profit motive? Hate tossing perfectly functioning stuff in the trash and waste $. I can see if I was having any issues but I'm not.

[PeaceLoveAndPizza]

I’ve been using ResMed CPAP machines about 5 years and have found a schedule that works for me. I started on the Airsense 10 Autoset and switched to the AirCurve 10 Vauto about 4 years ago. 

My heated hose is about 5 years old. Yes, it is the original one I got with the machine. I wash it about every 6 months in water with a bit of dish soap and hang it to dry. I figure nothing goes through it except slight warm and moist air, so as long as there is no new life forms being created inside it I follow that schedule. So far I have not seen anything nasty inside and the hose still works fine.

When I was using pillows (ResMed P10) I replaced the cushions once a year. I wiped them daily with baby bum wipes and washed them in soapy water about every 3 months. Same for my current F&P Evora FFM.

I change the headgear once a year or when I notice it is stretching out. 

I change the filter about every 3 months.

[BlueSky1958]

Sounds like you're getting some nice mileage out of your gear. If it ain't broke....

[Sleeprider]

Insurance replaces my gear on a regular basis and I have a surplus of supplies accumulated. I have two Aircurve machines and both have fresh tubing, filters, and humidifier chambers. I sometimes decline equipment even though I don't pay anything out of pocket. If I was paying a substantial co-insurnace or deductible it would be easy to change habits.

[BlueSky1958]

I have a small surplus as I use it beyond the recommended timeframes. I suppose if insurance is going to pay the bulk of the cost then having an "adequate backup supply" isn't so bad. But I'm still not wanting to toss out perfectly good gear "just because."

[Sleeprider]

I have a surplus of supplies, but am guilt-free for "hording". In 2022 my DME arbitrarily cut me off from all supplies claiming I needed a new sleep test. That is not their call and after months of consuming my surplus, I finally changed DMEs to Rotech because I was overdue for a new machine. Without a sleep test or any special heroics, I got my machine and supplies were reinstated. Lessons: Keep a surplus if you can, and don't be bullied by a DME that won't stay in their lane.

[DancesWithCats]

I think most of the recommendations for replacement intervals are based on "Maximizing DME and manufacturer profits" though I suppose a nicer view would be that for those harder on equipment one would not want insurance to drag replacement out as long as I've managed. But I have found it very hard to buy the recommended replacement schedule as actually health-related. And at this point unless I can get my insurance to give me a different DME, I'm not going to darken the door of the one they shafted me into.

From April of 2021 to Dec 2023:

I'm about due to get a new hose, as the cheap piece of very stiff hose that my DME must have marked up by 600% before I supposedly paid 20% and my insurance 80% of the cost has got holes in it I've had to duct tape. I'm hoping to find a more flexible and better quality replacement. Since my DME (which my primary care provider claims is the ONLY choice of DMEs here, or here with my insurance, or something - I can't get a straight answer other than the claim that I have no choice) has proven to be lying verminous scum, I'm on the open market, where as far as I've found so far only Supplier #10 is any lower in price from the rest (I have not, however, actually ordered anything from anyone yet)

My F30i mask is on the original headgear and frame. I had to replace the facepiece last December as the very thin silicone at the bottom tore and started leaking. I have (new, unused) a spare frame and spare facepiece on hand which I got in 2021 in case there was any truth to the replacement timeline. Doesn't seem to be.

My Humidifier is fed only distilled water and looks/acts brand-spanking new as a logical result. Way Cheaper to buy distilled water than to replace that regularly. I don't fill it full and i don't then throw away the excess water from filling it full, as the instructions suggest I do, as if distilled water was free.

Since my DME only supplied "Sprit Medical" filters, and often overcharged wildly for them, and they shed white dust into the machine, I've taken to cutting rectangles from N95 masks. Better and less expensive until I make a better solution to that end. I don't believe "blowing them out" is a good routine for those. Resmed suggests every 6 months or "as needed" IIRC with as needed depending on dust/dirt level. But if you can use scissors, an N95 will make at least 2 filters for an Airsense 10.

I do not put ozone (marketed as "activated oxygen" in case you know ozone is bad news, but think oxygen sounds safer, if it's mysteriously "activated") into a machine with rubber and plastic parts, as doing so does not seem like a terribly good idea to me. I suppose those who do likely end up needing to replace things more often as the ozone degrades those parts.

[Sleeprider]

Dances, if you are over-paying for crap, you need to discover the internet. Supplies of better quality can be acquired for less than a copay. Better yet, look up the DME suppliers that are in-network for your insurance and do what I did...fire your bad DME and upgrade.

[SarcasticDave94]

Yep. It's up to you to check with insurance, find the in-network DMEs, research, call, etc. then pull the trigger on a switch to the one you choose. Proactive all the way on this.

[DancesWithCats]

Lovely idea in theory, Sleeprider. However, my insurance company (Health New England) won't tell me squat. 

They have subcontracted anything to do with DME to Evicor, which is clearly just a contraction of "Evil to the Core" which occasionally sends me a letter (about my sleep therapy DME, mind you) claiming I can call this number with any questions. I've called the number with questions, I've been given the runaround wherein they claim not to do DME, that they do something with radiology, yadda (animal-derived-organic-fertilizer) yadda.  When I got determined they eventually transferred me back to HNE, who ignored the fact that Evicore doesn't talk to patients and transferred me back to them, because they don't talk to patients about DME, they subcontract to Evicore to not talk to patients about DME.

My Provider says Evicore don't actually talk to patients at all, which is basically true in my experience. And HNE refuses to talk to me about DME, what or who is in-network, etc, referring me to Evicore, who won't talk to me or even admit that they pretty much exist to be a brick wall preventing patients from getting care, or their questions answered, or anything useful.

I might be just a bit dissatisfied with the whole experience, and my insurance's alleged coverage, etc. Supposedly there's a person between the company paying for the alleged coverage and the insurance company who I can contact to try and force a straight answer out of the lying scum, we'll see how or if that goes when I can track them down. I don't have high hopes. I would at least like to "fire" my former DME since they are literally doing nothing for me, but I can't even find a way to do that in this system.

So yes, I've now found the internet suppliers. Including finding lovely things like "If I'd just gone and bought a machine, it would have cost me less than the various copays for the stupid sleep study, much less the supposedly 20% copays I've been getting overcharged for on the machine and supplies." But have zero expectation of being able to get reimbursed for anything.

So, I've spent a fair amount of time trolling the internet for the best deal on supplies that doesn't involve trusting stuff from Shenzhen not to be counterfeit. And I've found remarkably little competition once you take out the potentially counterfeit suppliers. Entire machines there's a bit more variety in pricing. Want a tube - almost exactly the same with a few outliers on the high side and so far only one, by a few bucks, on the lower side. Of course, everybody will give you some percentage off for signing up to get your supplies more often than you actually need to replace them, which I'm not buying into either.