Hmmm...Is this common?

[PsychoMike]

Hey all,

For those who have been following my saga of looking for a ffm for when I have nasal congestion, you'll know that I had tried a Mirage Quattro a couple weeks ago. That was a non-starter, so I returned it with the idea of trying a Quattro Air. Not in stock in my size...

Well, it's been a day shy of two weeks and still no QA at my usual DME. I offered up some other ideas of ones I'd be open to try on Sat. but no reply to my note. I know a couple other DMEs in the area have the QA, and another has 3 of the 4 alternates (in stock, including the QA) I suggested might be worth trying to my usual DME.

I'm considering jumping ship here...esp. with my current DME in a building that's a bit further from work and has pay parking, vs. this one with most of the masks in stock that is a little closer and has free parking...

How much loyalty do you typically show your DME and/or how much time do you give them to get stock / respond to suggestions? My therapy has been going well with just a nasal mask, but another bug came home (oh the joys of kids!) and I'm starting to get plugged up again...

[Peter_C]

Well, I for one jumped ship and stopped using a DME altogether about 5-6yrs into my life with my dream machine. I found (personally) that they want to sell what *they* want to sell, rather than what might be best for *me*. They never offered me any service I can't do without, and since going to online vendors I've not looked back.

But what works for me, may not work for others...

I too need a FFM for when my nose is too plugged up, and I just ordered a new cloth-type FFM to try - I have high hopes~!

[justMongo]

I'm on US Medicare, so I must use an approved Medicare DME supplier. That said, I've stayed with my DME. They are close; and a phone call gets supplies sent to my door.

Edit: FEDEX just dropped off my supplies. I must say this is the worst job of packing I have ever seen. A dozen Chimpanzees with duct tape could have done better by random motion. Maybe it's time to look into a new DME!

A mask is a matter of personal preference -- I am quite happy with the Mirage Quattro FF mask.

I'm considering upgrading my S8 VPAP-S to an S9 machine. I'll likely have to pay out of pocket for that.
My plan is to get an Rx from my doc; then negotiate the price. If my current DME will not meet the online price, I'll use one of the suppliers on the list.

[PsychoMike]

Edit: FEDEX just dropped off my supplies. I must say this is the worst job of packing I have ever seen. A dozen Chimpanzees with duct tape could have done better by random motion. Maybe it's time to look into a new DME!

A mask is a matter of personal preference -- I am quite happy with the Mirage Quattro FF mask.

I sometimes find that on-line stuff has chimps working in shipping...makes you shake your head sometimes.

The Mirage Quattro wasn't a bad mask in my case...it did seal well. My issue was the depth of the cushion / seal. I tend to side sleep and I had the hard frame pushing against the side of my ample schnozz...lead to soreness, and that wasn't acceptable. But yeah, masks are a personal choice which is why I have a short list of 4 others to try at this point.

[PaulaO2]

If your mechanic acted the way this DME is, wouldn't you just go to another?

If you needed pants in a certain size and one store stopped carrying them or kept saying "next shipment", wouldn't you go to another?

Why should we consider a DME any different than we would any other business? We shouldn't. They ain't. Knock the dust off your sandals and go elsewhere.

[trish6hundred]

Hi PsychoMike,
What Paula said.
I sure wouldn't stay with them if you aren't really getting what you need.

[PsychoMike]

Dust = knocked. It's not to say that I won't use DME #1, but they now have competition.

DME #2 is a full respiratory products company...O2 treatment / supplies, asthma (i.e. nebulizers) and sleep therapy. I dropped in just to see if the lady I thought was "the" CPAP lady was around...nope, but the other RT took me right in and, over about an hour, I had a chance to see what the fit was like for 4 masks at my typical pressures. No deep recliner, but also no issues with my getting my hands in there to push, pull, prod, adjust and reset the masks. Brownie points for the hands-on to do initial set-up, but hands-off to let me do the tweaking.

Currently have the Quattro Air to give a shot for about the next week....they do have a fee for a home trial, but I figure mailing a few back to the on-line suppliers would be about the same. They also have a sample of every mask they carry ready to go (which cannot be cheap). Besides, I can certainly live with a small fee to keep the sample pool stocked and clean....and I'll save it back in parking pretty quick too. If they do get a Simplus in, I'll likely get a chance to give that a whirl too before deciding.

Now....time to see if this one fits the bill....

[me50]

Hey all,

For those who have been following my saga of looking for a ffm for when I have nasal congestion, you'll know that I had tried a Mirage Quattro a couple weeks ago. That was a non-starter, so I returned it with the idea of trying a Quattro Air. Not in stock in my size...

Well, it's been a day shy of two weeks and still no QA at my usual DME. I offered up some other ideas of ones I'd be open to try on Sat. but no reply to my note. I know a couple other DMEs in the area have the QA, and another has 3 of the 4 alternates (in stock, including the QA) I suggested might be worth trying to my usual DME.

I'm considering jumping ship here...esp. with my current DME in a building that's a bit further from work and has pay parking, vs. this one with most of the masks in stock that is a little closer and has free parking...

How much loyalty do you typically show your DME and/or how much time do you give them to get stock / respond to suggestions? My therapy has been going well with just a nasal mask, but another bug came home (oh the joys of kids!) and I'm starting to get plugged up again...

I show them as much or as little loyalty as they show to me which in my case, most the time, once they make the sale, the loyalty is next to zero

[me50]

Dust = knocked. It's not to say that I won't use DME #1, but they now have competition.

DME #2 is a full respiratory products company...O2 treatment / supplies, asthma (i.e. nebulizers) and sleep therapy. I dropped in just to see if the lady I thought was "the" CPAP lady was around...nope, but the other RT took me right in and, over about an hour, I had a chance to see what the fit was like for 4 masks at my typical pressures. No deep recliner, but also no issues with my getting my hands in there to push, pull, prod, adjust and reset the masks. Brownie points for the hands-on to do initial set-up, but hands-off to let me do the tweaking.

Currently have the Quattro Air to give a shot for about the next week....they do have a fee for a home trial, but I figure mailing a few back to the on-line suppliers would be about the same. They also have a sample of every mask they carry ready to go (which cannot be cheap). Besides, I can certainly live with a small fee to keep the sample pool stocked and clean....and I'll save it back in parking pretty quick too. If they do get a Simplus in, I'll likely get a chance to give that a whirl too before deciding.

Now....time to see if this one fits the bill....

I am also on U.S. medicare advantage and the current DME I have does not have masks that you can try on to see how they feel and I was told it is b/c they don't have clean ones for that (they have all their samples on a head dummy but that is it). So, that sucks in my world...sorry for the language but it just does

[PaulaO2]

Personally, I would not deal with a DME that did not allow me to try out masks. It's like the Chevy dealer letting you look at the cars but not test drive any.