used cpap supplies

My CPAP therapy is going well now for a couple of years. I receive new CPAP supplies from a provider and my insurance pays for it. I have collected all the old supplies. This is not because I am a pack rat or a hoarder, I just feel bad throwing this good expensive stuff in the land fill. What is the proper thing to do with this equipment ? Is there anyway to give old supplies away to someone who may need, even used, supplies. I understand that after usage, it is not as effective, and I can tell this from monitoring the CPAP machine data. Any advice here ?

freelsjd wrote:My CPAP therapy is going well now for a couple of years. I receive new CPAP supplies from a provider and my insurance pays for it. I have collected all the old supplies. This is not because I am a pack rat or a hoarder, I just feel bad throwing this good expensive stuff in the land fill. What is the proper thing to do with this equipment ? Is there anyway to give old supplies away to someone who may need, even used, supplies. I understand that after usage, it is not as effective, and I can tell this from monitoring the CPAP machine data. Any advice here ?

Pugsy helps people out with masks and other equipment. A lot of us send her stuff.

Well, for starters, I'd say look through the collection to see if there are some items you might like to hang onto for backup use; it doesn't hurt to have a spare mask or two around with headgear to fit. If you get the flu sometime and you don't make it to the bathroom in time you might prefer to use a different mask for the rest of the night. If you drop a humidifier and it breaks, you might want to hang onto an old one that is still in good condition... for other items, Jaye's suggestion is a good one; Pugsy helps us all in a million ways.

for sure, I certainly do understand the backup concept, and that is done. I am talking about two years worth of supplies that I do not need.

freelsjd wrote:for sure, I certainly do understand the backup concept, and that is done. I am talking about two years worth of supplies that I do not need.

The demand for used stuff isn't as great as I thought it would be. See my topic here viewtopic/t97224/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=96 ... 27#p900827. I've given away 3 Climateline hoses, all in good condition, and one Mirage Liberty mask and one FX mask, both same as new. The other items have been on the list since I first posted on Mar 28.

Of course one problem with doing it this way is the post drifts away from the first page fairly quickly. As you can see I've bumped it back up 3 times. It had drifted to page 5 by the time I did the 2nd bump. Don't want to bump too often or regular readers may get annoyed!

All discussions with the requesters were initiated via PM and then moved to regular email to be as secure as practical.

idamtnboy wrote:The demand for used stuff isn't as great as I thought it would be. See my topic here viewtopic/t97224/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=96 ... 27#p900827.

I would guess part of the problem is you said don't ask for my stuff unless you pay out of pocket or have a high copay. Many people don't want to feel like they are being greedy if their copay isn't "high enough"

ubnoxus wrote:

idamtnboy wrote:The demand for used stuff isn't as great as I thought it would be. See my topic here viewtopic/t97224/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=96 ... 27#p900827.

I would guess part of the problem is you said don't ask for my stuff unless you pay out of pocket or have a high copay. Many people don't want to feel like they are being greedy if their copay isn't "high enough"

Good point. My first choice is to give the stuff to folks who would either go without or put up with supplies that are in really poor condition because obtaining new stuff is a genuine financial hardship. I may not have done the best job getting that across. Unfortunately, there is no good way on a forum like this to objectively determine that, so I leave it up to the requester to make that decision. I could be wrong, but in my way of thinking asking the recipient to pay shipping will mitigate any feeling of being greedy, and tends to weed out the true freeloader.

the other part is offering things that people are using