Buying ASV online without a prescription

[books456]

Hey, I may have treatment emergent central sleep apnea, I’m almost 99.9% positive that I do. The problem is, it could take months for me to get an ASV to treat it. My insurance (Medicaid) has been pretty crappy and I’m currently in the process of trying to look for a new sleep doctor since my current one is has been no help. But all the other sleep doctors in my city are booked out for months.

I’ve been dealing with horrible fatigue due to worsening AHI and central sleep apnea events. It’s so bad I’m completely disabled. My sleep doctor knows about this but she refuses to prescribe me a stimulant for fatigue, she says they don’t help in her experience. All she said was to drink a ton of caffeine, use a sun lamp and get my heart rate up by exercising every day.  I’ve been doing those things but they’ve made no difference and the extra caffeine raised my heart rate and blood pressure so high that I almost went to the ER. I also don’t have an appointment with her until June 22nd. I let my PCP know all about this as well, but she’s also pretty dismissive and I’m currently trying to look for a different one.

I’m wondering if it’s possible for me to just buy an ASV online? I’m just worried because it says that it’s illegal to do in the US lol. I’m diagnosed with sleep apnea and have a prescription, I could get a copy of it from my sleep doctor. But I’m unsure if I can use that to purchase an ASV since I’m not officially diagnosed with treatment emergent central sleep apnea yet, my sleep doctor just said I had general sleep apnea. 

Also is there a way to speed up the process of my insurance approving me for an ASV? I’m completely miserable. This fatigue has ruined my life. I can’t do anything at all, not even work. Words can’t describe how horrible this fatigue has made my life. I desperately need to get better and get back to living my life as soon as possible.

If I get desperate and need to buy one though, how do I get one besides Craigslist? It seems like most sites require a prescription which make things hard, is there a way to bypass that?  What other problems would I run into by going this route to get an ASV besides possible jail lol? Do I have to use a VPN and Tor? Is there other steps I should take to not get in a lot of legal trouble? I heard if you buy a sleep apnea machine without a prescription, the machine will be locked so you can’t use it and have to jailbreak it. I also heard you can’t use AirView with it if there’s no prescription, is there a way to get around that?

[Sleeprider]

If you don't mind a used machine, check out DotMed where a number of sellers have machines at a pretty decent price. Price depends on hours on the machine and whether you buy a more recent Aircurve 10lASV or an older VPAP Adapt. It's a good way to figure out if this is the technology you need, and can help you to make your case of medical necessity without stepping through so many hoops. Medicare makes ASV almost impossible unless you have a health condition connected to the CSA.

[FrankFuss]

If you are desparate to get an ASV machine without a perscription, then Craigslist might be your best source.  I just searched Craigslist in the Denver area for "Resmed", and there was two Resmed ASV machines listed.

[Sleeprider]

I would agree with this and suggest SearchTempest lets you search Craigslist ads over a larger area. I have used this myself to successfully buy my most recent Vauto from Littleton Colorado. Craigslist is unfortunately infested with scammers and while I used to trust CPAP/BPAP listing, you need to use secure payment or personally transact deals. I have known of someone receiving broken glass instead of a machine from some A-hole in Indiana. You must verify the item you want to buy is actually in the possession of the person selling it, and that if you don't receive it that you can get your money back. I don't care who you buy from, use a protected payment source, not cash or money transfer or the "gift" option in PayPal.

[SleeplessInPain]

I’m all about getting stuff used, so take this with a grain of salt. But when I got diagnosed about 2 months ago, I decided there was no way in hell I was going to make my well-being dependent on a DME supplier that could care less about me or my misery. I wanted to get my own machine as quickly as possible, so that I could start getting some relief, and so that I could hire a private consultant to help me choose a machine to get from insurance, and to get my settings correct. (I’ve now had over a month of therapy, and my local DME supplier has STILL not called me, despite my partner very nicely trying to prod them to get their sh*t together. There’s no way I could be nice to them.)

Anyway, I got my machine (Resmed Airsense 10) for free from a local medical equipment closet. (There are various terms that are used, but I’ve often heard them called this.). Folks donate un-needed medical equipment to these charities, and they re-distribute them to folks who need the stuff. The awesome one we use just “gives” anything they have to anyone who asks, saying that it is a loan, and that if you no longer need the equipment, you should return it. They don’t ask for any information about users of their services, nor do they track the equipment they give out. The machine I got was in perfect condition, and barely used, and has been amazing. I would suggest calling around to see if you can find one of these places near you. It might be a long shot, and it is entirely possible that I just utterly lucked into the machine I needed when I needed it, but this strategy might work for you also. I think that since my local charity doesn’t accept any money for the things they “loan” out, they bypass any issues with needing a prescription ? I’m not really sure.

Craigslist is of course another very viable option (probably the most straight-forward), and really is not a problem if you are aware of the potential pitfalls. Also, there’s Facebook Marketplace, asking at your local thrift store, and checking if you have a local “Buy Nothing” group, either on Facebook or on their app. Also, ask around within your local community. I’ve been offered a couple of machines within friend groups, because they are around, and extra ones pop up here and there.

And do not get me started about how morally wrong it is that without a prescription, people can’t buy a piece of medical equipment that has literally never killed ANYONE. But if you want to buy some guns or something, you can waltz down to any of 2,000 stores and purchase whatever you want without anyone batting an eyelash. Sigh. That is a different topic, America.

[DevinJones]

Just a reminder for those interested in using an ASV device:

According to ResMed, "ASV therapy is contraindicated for people with chronic, symptomatic heart failure (NYHA 2-4) with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF ≤ 45%) and moderate to severe predominant central sleep apnea."

Hope you get the device you need and resolve your sleep apnea soon, books456. 

I recently got my ResMed AirCurve 10 ASV and am gradually adapting to it. 

[tehsygi]

If I get desperate and need to buy one though, how do I get one besides Craigslist? It seems like most sites require a prescription which make things hard, is there a way to bypass that?  What other problems would I run into by going this route to get an ASV besides possible jail lol? Do I have to use a VPN and Tor? Is there other steps I should take to not get in a lot of legal trouble? I heard if you buy a sleep apnea machine without a prescription, the machine will be locked so you can’t use it and have to jailbreak it. I also heard you can’t use AirView with it if there’s no prescription, is there a way to get around that?

You do not need to worry about the legal aspect, or bother with VPN or Tor. Prescription medical devices are not an enforcement priority for the US. The manufacturers apply for FDA approval as a prescription device because this is both more profitable for them and easier to get approval.

ResMed machines are not "locked" in the way that you describe; you can use them out of the box. The cellular services (myAir and AirView) will usually not work unless you have a DME provider, but you are always able to access the complete data through the SD card (ResScan or the open source OSCAR). 

As others have pointed out, buying a used CPAP in the US is an easy way to get a cheaper machine and skirt the prescription/insurance racket. Another alternative is to buy a new CPAP outside of the US, such as Mexico. CPAP retailers in Latin American countries generally do not ask for prescriptions. If you're already dropping $4k on a new ASV, why not do it in Cancun?

[hopeforusall]

Like Sleeprider stated, Dotmed can be excellent. There is a seller by the name of Johnson that can be vouched for. But as always, do not ltake my word for it, check them all out yourself first. Hope that helps.

[David Clark]

I don't know how long you have been on pap therapy but are you sure you have the treatment emergent central apnea that could require an ASV or could you have the type that simply requires time?
I know a fair amount of people develop centrals after they start treatment that they didn't have during the sleep study...I was one of those people...and given time the centrals fade away completely or almost completely without needing an ASV.

[DevinJones]

David, in your experience, when someone develops treatment-emergent central apnea, sleep-onset CSA, or periodic breathing pattern, does the person continue to experience the central events or PBP for some time, even when the person sleeps without any PAP device?