Purchasing a Refurbished CPAP vs APAP

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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Wulfman...
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Re: Purchasing a Refurbished CPAP vs APAP

Post by Wulfman... » Sun Jan 25, 2015 7:30 pm

accurate wrote:
Wulfman... wrote:
Sir NoddinOff wrote:
Wulfman... wrote:Seven of the ten machines I currently have were "previously owned". Most of those had 10 blower hours or less when I got them. Three had a few more hours. But, three of mine were purchased new from CPAP.COM.

Den
Three words Den: cpap machine slut Second Wind has good deals and are honest but you should also contact Accurate BioMed (CPAPtalk member 'accurate'). They often sell lightly used CPAP machines and quickly change stock on a week by week basis. I forget their website address but you can send a PM to 'accurate' and they will give you the URL.
Well, I believe I have all the ones I'm ever going to need in my lifetime.
And, I've been promoting acbio.com for quite a few years. Back in 2010, I bought some parts kits from them to repair a broken hose nipple on the outlet port of a "never used" machine I bought off of CPAPAuction.com (in that same year) and to have some spares handy.
So, I'm an admirer of theirs.......their capabilities and service.


Den

.
We changed our corporate headquarters from Missouri to Florida this year and it was a nightmare. Email failures (we're still ironing out the last of those problems), telephone failures, training new customer support staff, the usual headaches. I was so worried that we'd be dropping balls left and right. I know we failed a couple of times last year and wound up taking care of them to their satisfaction. So now I sometimes do a search on Accurate just to make sure we're taking care of you folks. You people have become a part of our customer service QA and it is always gratifying to see remarks like these in the threads.

Also, just to let you know, we are finalizing the Indiana Biomed shop so all three of our regional repair centers will be able to take care of all xpap pieces of equipment. Hopefully this will save our customers some shipping and improve turn around of the unit.

Thank you all so much for your continued support, but most of all your trust in our abilities with your machines.

I will now try to refrain from shamelessly bumping threads

Ian
Hi Ian,

Sorry to hear about the "challenges" of your corporate move, but hopefully things will get ironed out.

Best wishes for your future endeavors.


Den

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(5) REMstar Autos w/C-Flex & (6) REMstar Pro 2 CPAPs w/C-Flex - Pressure Setting = 14 cm.
"Passover" Humidification - ResMed Ultra Mirage FF - Encore Pro w/Card Reader & MyEncore software - Chiroflow pillow
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Sleeprider
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Re: Purchasing a Refurbished CPAP vs APAP

Post by Sleeprider » Sun Jan 25, 2015 9:43 pm

InsomniacGuy wrote:Thanks for asking!

There aren't issues with the loaner equipment... It's just that when the NIH-funded study ends, I'm on my own for equipment and doctor's visits. I was hoping to be magically all better and ask a primary care doctor for a prescription so I could get the equipment myself to continue therapy.

I've experimented with Sleepy Head software, and I notice that after 4 AM, my AHI goes up and the pressure goes up beyond 5-6 cm H2O which it's at for most of the night. My theory is that with my insomnia, I'm often awake in that time slot, and I think the equipment is mistakenly scoring OA's and H's and increasing the pressure although I'm awake. Same pattern on many days.

(Should I have started a new thread? This topic is a bit far afield from the original...)

Any thoughts?
To qualify for a NIH study you surely would have required a diagnosis and prescription for CPAP. Do you know your untreated AHI? These are pretty unusual circumstances. It sounds like you became aware of your sleep apnea and started CPAP treatment under a study program. If that is correct, you've been diagnosed and should be able to get a prescription...I don't know how else you could have been issued equipment.

Anyway, it seems they are not going to let you keep the "loaner" equipment. (You might make an offer). You should request/demand a copy of any test results, prescriptions, records as that is your right under HIPAA. You will eventually need this documentation to get masks and other equipment. As far as getting equipment, If you can't get the loaner, send a PM ASAP to Grayghost4 regarding his APAP he is selling.

Other than that, the first thought that comes to mind, is that, for you 5-6 cm is high pressure...wow, that is so low, most of us can't breath at that pressure. Does that actually work for you?

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InsomniacGuy
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Re: Purchasing a Refurbished CPAP vs APAP

Post by InsomniacGuy » Tue Jan 27, 2015 8:46 am

I have started a new thread, requesting any feedback on Sleepy Head daily screen shots and stats:
viewtopic/t103428/Feedback-on-Sleepy-He ... Stats.html

In reply to your post, I suspected I might have sleep apnea because of family history -- although I don't snore, I have had awful daytime sleepiness. Because I have awful health insurance, I found out volunteer subjects were being sought for a clinical trial; and the clinical trial was willing to screen people for sleep apnea -- they might even have preferred people who were undiagnosed and thus untreated...?

Thanks for the thought on collecting documents. As a study subject, I am not technically a patient, but I will do my best to gather the PSG results and anything else they will share for the sake of my own health and the health of my pocketbook. For a prescription, however, I will need to start a relationship with my own doctor and get equipment on my own soon.

5.0cm-7cm H2O is low? Well, I'm not sure if it's working because I don't feel that different from before therapy... maybe a smidge?

Thanks again for the thoughts.

Sleeprider
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Re: Purchasing a Refurbished CPAP vs APAP

Post by Sleeprider » Tue Jan 27, 2015 10:27 am

I think as a subject of a study, you are kept in the dark about any findings of sleep apnea. Your machine settings may indeed not be optimized as a parameter of the study. With the study complete, you can probably get access to the findings and any polysomnography results.

From looking at your posted data, there is not much question about whether you have sleep issues including apnea, but you show characteristics of both obstructive and central apnea. You may not be on the right machine, and an appropriate diagnostic study seems prudent in light of what you posted so far. We may be able to puzzle out what's going on and improve your sleep, but with a lot of periodic breathing, hypopnea and CA events, I'd sure want to know more about what is going on. You may need a machine with bilevel, a backup rate and/or adaptive servo ventilation. In all its wisdom, a forum has its limits.

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Machine: AirCurve™ 10 VAuto BiLevel Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Mask: AirFit™ P10 Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Sleepyhead software. Just changed from PRS1 BiPAP Auto DS760TS

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zorki1c
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Re: Purchasing a Refurbished CPAP vs APAP

Post by zorki1c » Tue Jan 27, 2015 7:25 pm

There are deals out there on used machines. There are always CPAP machines on our local Craig's List -- some with almost no hours on them. The sellers often try to get new retail for them but sometimes will settle for a lot less. A couple of years ago I got a Remstar Pro M to use as a backup and travel machine. The seller wanted $300 and I got it for $75. This year I found a newer RemStar Pro M Auto at a garage sale for $25.00! Sold the other machine for $75. A lot of the machines are low hours because people apparently get them, try to use them for a few weeks and then give up and stick the machine in a closet. Craig's List offers CPAPs. Ebay won't list them. The one thing to watch out for in used machine ares ones used by smokers. Probably won't ever get rid of the smell.

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