The Absurdity of Shopping for CPAP Equipment

I spend about a third of the hours of my life with a CPAP mask on. So do millions of others. And yet there is nowhere a person can go to examine the dozens of different mask models -- pick them up, look at them, listen to them, try them on.

Same thing with the machines themselves -- no showroom where you can look them over, listen to them, have an expert point out different features, and the like.

Instead I have to look at pictures on websites and youtube videos and try to imagine how things work, what they might feel like, how loud or quiet they might be, how well or poorly they would seal, and on and on.

And I'm reluctant to speculate over something this important, so I am still using the same machine and type of mask that were handed to me nine years ago. (I wasn't given any choices then either...)

What's up with this? With the huge number of CPAP users in the country, why are we all left staring at computer screens and imagining? I wouldn't buy a toaster oven or a cellphone without going to a store and checking out my options. So why am I left guessing about what is undoubtedly one of the most important pieces of equipment/technology I use every day of my life?

Can anyone explain why this little niche of the marketplace is so weird?

I think it is because you as the patient are a sidebar in the transaction. The true customer to the DME is generally an insurance company, and as noted they are not so concerned with your comfort, rather meeting their contractual obligation to you, the insured. This is further compromised by the fact that historically, the medical profession tells the patient whats right for them without regard to what the patient says, and disregards any complaints as the patient acting difficult. How long did it take the US medical establishment to agree that fibromyalgia was a medical problem, not just overwrought females entering menopause? IN short, Doctors are used to playing God, and DME's seek to please their customers, insurance companies and the US and State governments. No room for the patients in there.

When I was fitted for my CPAP 7 years or so ago I was sent to a place that had a "showroom" for masks and machines. I bet there's a similar place local to you as well.

We rely so much on internet information these days that I think sometimes we forget that it's still possible to do business in person at a storefront or office. How about giving the provider(s) in your area a call or visit to see what information they may be able to give you, before you make a purchase decision?

At my provider's office (in Canada, so I realize this may differ from where you are) there is a display of about 9-12 masks/headgear next to the reception desk. The company advertises their services by website, ads in local papers, and Facebook. They offer a free home overnight test, without a physician referral (although I was referred); plus a 1-2 month free trial of CPAP, including loaner mask switch-outs as needed to find the best fit, and follow-ups to ensure therapy is optimized.

I suggest you get more proactive and ask a few questions out in the real world.

Jean

TASmart wrote:I think it is because you as the patient are a sidebar in the transaction. The true customer to the DME is generally an insurance company...

...and, from the manufacturer's point of view their ONLY customer is the DME. Witness the lack of support or cooperation if/when an end-user attempts to get information about or ask for help with a product. Occasionally one may be successful, but not as the norm.

This is a medical problem. Go to a sleep dr/pulmonologist. If after a sleep lab test, if you are found to have sleep apnea, you wil be sent with a prescription for sleep apmea equipment to a medical supply place. Along with a respitory therapist you can choose a mask. If you dont like it you can get a different one. I believe u can do this 5 times a month. All this is possible only IF you have insurance or pay out of pocket. Otherwise you are on your own to fumble around trying to figure out if you really have sleep apena and where to go to buy some equipment. This is how it works. There are some people on this board that self treat. I am not one of them. I believe medical supervision is necessary

elmunc wrote:Instead I have to look at pictures on websites and youtube videos and try to imagine how things work, what they might feel like, how loud or quiet they might be, how well or poorly they would seal, and on and on.

why are we all left staring at computer screens and imagining? I wouldn't buy a toaster oven or a cellphone without going to a store and checking out my options.

It works for me.

And yes, I have bought a toaster oven and a cellphone without going to a store. Clothes and shoes also.

elmunc wrote:have an expert point out different features, and the like.

You ARE joking??

My DME doesn't have a showroom as such, but there is a display of machines...basically, all models of a manufacturer's machines look the same. It's the interior workings that are different. All you would need to see is a ResMed a Respironics and a Fisher and Paykel. The masks are a different story...seeing them is not as important as trying them. Even trying them at the DME may not mean it is the right mask for you until you try it overnight. Some DMEs will allow an exchange within 30 days. cpap.com offers return insurance.

There should be a place like Payless Shoes stores- but for cpap supples. you can try out different masks on your own. I 100% agree with the original post.

I am sure that most folks on this Board know that the owner's of cpaptalk.com have a B&M store in Stafford,TX (next door to Houston). It was very helpful seeing XPAP machinces side-by-side when I bought my ResMed machine. A picture may be worth a 1,000 words, but actually seeing what you are buying is worth so much more. If ever in Houston, stop by.

In my area, it's pretty easy to find a place that has a selection of masks to try. It's out of your pocket however (not a Medicare provider). What I would like to see is people having a chance to TRY several machines. In my case, I would have been tempted to give up cpap because the Respironics algorithm didn't work for me and I hate hate hated the straight pressure of 11. The Resmed did everything that I wanted.

FWIW, my current DME tells you straight up that they only supply masks from Resmed, Respironics and full face masks from F&P. However, I gotta say it was much smoother for my bro to get an alternative mask when he was at the hospital because the DME was in the basement. That is why we switched. When our former DME (Lincare) switched to a new office, there was no way he could get in there. Fine if you had a walker, not so fine in a wheelchair. Sure, they will come to your home, but quite-rightly, oxygen patients get precedence so you never really knew when someone would be coming.

AMESS wrote:This is a medical problem. Go to a sleep dr/pulmonologist. If after a sleep lab test, if you are found to have sleep apnea, you wil be sent with a prescription for sleep apmea equipment to a medical supply place. Along with a respitory therapist you can choose a mask. If you dont like it you can get a different one. I believe u can do this 5 times a month. All this is possible only IF you have insurance or pay out of pocket. Otherwise you are on your own to fumble around trying to figure out if you really have sleep apena and where to go to buy some equipment. This is how it works. There are some people on this board that self treat. I am not one of them. I believe medical supervision is necessary

Where the heck did you come up with that garbage?

LSAT, I noticed that, too.
Perhaps amess would be so kind as to share this Goldilocks/unicorn DME's name/location with us.
If this is true, why have so many of the rest of us only experienced
THE EXACT OPPOSITE?

elmunc wrote:I spend about a third of the hours of my life with a CPAP mask on. So do millions of others. And yet there is nowhere a person can go to examine the dozens of different mask models -- pick them up, look at them, listen to them, try them on.

Same thing with the machines themselves -- no showroom where you can look them over, listen to them, have an expert point out different features, and the like.

Instead I have to look at pictures on websites and youtube videos and try to imagine how things work, what they might feel like, how loud or quiet they might be, how well or poorly they would seal, and on and on.

And I'm reluctant to speculate over something this important, so I am still using the same machine and type of mask that were handed to me nine years ago. (I wasn't given any choices then either...)

What's up with this? With the huge number of CPAP users in the country, why are we all left staring at computer screens and imagining? I wouldn't buy a toaster oven or a cellphone without going to a store and checking out my options. So why am I left guessing about what is undoubtedly one of the most important pieces of equipment/technology I use every day of my life?

Can anyone explain why this little niche of the marketplace is so weird?

Don't feel bad, they wouldn't let me drive a new Jaguar or Rolls Royce, last weekend, even though I was willing to let them hold my shopping cart as colllateral.

It's a medical device, it's costly, do you want to pay even more to cover the cost of wasted products. I don't need to Road test Bedpans, I can read, and see the products. Most DME's only carry a few overpriced products and brands, they are there to make money, carrying everything would be costly, and opened product would not be sanitary or resellable as new. Jim

With my uniquely proportioned face, it took over 20 masks for me to find a halfway usable mask.
I would have benefited greatly from a cpap mask superstore, where every brand could be tried on, under pressure.
Oh, wait! That almost exactly describes the host of this forum! (cpap.com)
MASK INSURANCE can be purchased for most of the masks they sell. Sometimes it is FREE.
I have used it several times myself.
30 day return is possible in any of the lower 48 states.
Purchases are out of pocket only, but I saved money and time bypassing BCBSNE's silly games.