Being without cpap
Hi .I haven't been here in awhile...started therapy in March with an AHI about 18...I'm running lately between a 3.1 to about 6. Well a few months ago I wasn't using my rented machine enough so now the medical supply company is coming to pick it up.
I have to be without a machine now until the new doctor order goes thru.
I'm pretty nervous about it since I've finally felt the difference of better sleep.
Any advice?
RE: Being without cpap
Kind of curious as to why you weren't using it enough?
It took me about a good week or so to get mine once it was ordered.
RE: Being without cpap
if it matters, buy your own, or call your doctor and start an appeal. Supplier #33 for lowest cost.
RE: Being without cpap
It was in the second quarter....just kept taking it off during the night...almost always put it but didn't last more than 3-4 hours.
For the last couple of months I use it all the time but it's too late. They've been trying to pick the machine up and didn't charges my insurance company because I didn't use it enough.
RE: Being without cpap
Did you know you can use your cpap during the day to rank up the needed hours?
Also I wouldn't let them inside my house, just don't open the door and keep this cpap until you get your new doctors order. You can also change the dme.
12-14-2018, 06:12 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-14-2018, 06:15 AM by Fats Drywaller.)
RE: Being without cpap
Sorry to hear that your machine has been repo'd. If you have the money, the thing to do, as Sleeprider said, is to buy your own. That way there won't ever be any hassles about compliance with that one; you can use it or not, as you choose. If you choose not to, it's your funeral, but you won't be taking any crap from the mickey-mouse petty bureaucrats for that decision.
If you're on a low budget, check ebay, craigslist, and letgo for deals on used machines sold by individuals. Supplier #2 sells used machines, but because those are low-mileage and the quality is high and a warranty is provided, even those prices are high compared to what you would typically pay when buying "a pig in a poke" from an individual who is cleaning house. But if you have the money to spend on one of those good used machines, do it. At least you won't be paying list price or (alternatively) getting a machine with thousands of hours already on it.
Or if you're on a very low budget, buy a used brick (no APAP, only fixed pressure; also no full data, so no Sleepyhead) for a couple hundred dollars. It's way better than nothing.
The "Machine Choices" article has the scoop about what to look for. You don't necessarily need the latest generation (A10 or Dreamstation); the Resmed S9 and Philips 60 series (DS560, etc.) are fine too. I hope you have a copy of your CPAP prescription. If not, get that from your doctor's office ASAP. You'll need it if you buy a machine from a business, but not when buying from an individual via craigslist, etc. If you have to request the Rx from your doc, get a copy of your full sleep study at the same time.
Anybody's options in that situation are pretty obvious: (1) do nothing and live without the machine, which doesn't seem like a good idea; or (2) work only through the official channels (doctors/insurance/DME) and put up with all of those hassles including the compliance nonsense; or (3) buy your own. If you choose option 3, you have an advantage over some other folks in similar situations because you have the prescription so you're legit, which means it's less of a hassle to buy machines and masks.
RE: Being without cpap
Thank you everyone for the quick replies.
My Machine is gone :-( They came this morning.
I am searching craigslist and other sources for a machine for now...
I keep coming across a Remstar A flex and Remstar Plus.....never heard of it.
Im trying to get something inexpensive to just hold me over until the new one comes.
RE: Being without cpap
(12-14-2018, 06:12 AM)Fats Drywaller Wrote: Sorry to hear that your machine has been repo'd. If you have the money, the thing to do, as Sleeprider said, is to buy your own. That way there won't ever be any hassles about compliance with that one; you can use it or not, as you choose. If you choose not to, it's your funeral, but you won't be taking any crap from the mickey-mouse petty bureaucrats for that decision.
If you're on a low budget, check ebay, craigslist, and letgo for deals on used machines sold by individuals. Supplier #2 sells used machines, but because those are low-mileage and the quality is high and a warranty is provided, even those prices are high compared to what you would typically pay when buying "a pig in a poke" from an individual who is cleaning house. But if you have the money to spend on one of those good used machines, do it. At least you won't be paying list price or (alternatively) getting a machine with thousands of hours already on it.
Or if you're on a very low budget, buy a used brick (no APAP, only fixed pressure; also no full data, so no Sleepyhead) for a couple hundred dollars. It's way better than nothing.
The "Machine Choices" article has the scoop about what to look for. You don't necessarily need the latest generation (A10 or Dreamstation); the Resmed S9 and Philips 60 series (DS560, etc.) are fine too. I hope you have a copy of your CPAP prescription. If not, get that from your doctor's office ASAP. You'll need it if you buy a machine from a business, but not when buying from an individual via craigslist, etc. If you have to request the Rx from your doc, get a copy of your full sleep study at the same time.
Anybody's options in that situation are pretty obvious: (1) do nothing and live without the machine, which doesn't seem like a good idea; or (2) work only through the official channels (doctors/insurance/DME) and put up with all of those hassles including the compliance nonsense; or (3) buy your own. If you choose option 3, you have an advantage over some other folks in similar situations because you have the prescription so you're legit, which means it's less of a hassle to buy machines and masks.
Great advice; my sleep doc from h=ll only prescribed bricks. They showed accumulated hours. That's all. When things went bad on me (bad mask?) I couldn't tell how I had done.
It changed my life when i bought a used almost new S9 Elite from someone who had given up. I finally had tools to tell me treatment was working. It has an SD card in it; it gives me daily reports and I check them each morning to see how long I slept and how my AHI was. It's usually really good.
Good luck finding a good machine. cpap. bipap. apap. A good mask too.
12-14-2018, 09:55 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-14-2018, 09:58 AM by DaveL.)
RE: Being without cpap
There's a whole better world out there, and you're on the edge of it.
People here have incredible experience. They'll make your treatment experience better. You may make changes in your sleep quality that make all the difference. I did, by participating here.
RE: Being without cpap
(12-14-2018, 09:44 AM)Mttnkatt Wrote: I keep coming across a Remstar A flex and Remstar Plus.....never heard of it.
Im trying to get something inexpensive to just hold me over until the new one comes.
There is model identification help at: https://www.apneaboard.com/cpap-machine-...espironics
(scroll down past the Dreamstation section)
When looking at used machines, often you'll need to ask the seller to get the model number from the label and tell you what that is, before you can decide. For instance, just "REMstar" by itself is no good; you need to know whether it's SE, Plus, Pro, Auto, or BiPAP and whether it's a 50-series or a 60-series. 60-series is better (more modern) than 50-series.
ID help for Resmed machines is at: https://www.apneaboard.com/cpap-machine-...ine-resmed
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