Getting a used machine

kman · Post by **kman** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 11:15 am

Hi,

I have been recently diagnosed with apnea (last week) and am in the process of getting all the equipment.

I found out that a old friend had/has apnea but no longer needs his machine and has offered it to me. Obviously, the mask and hoses need to be replaced and the unit needs to be calibrated etc. The machine is 5+ years old and my friend is unsure of what features it has.

I had a very hard time with the unit it the hospital and am not sure it would be wise to use a machine that was not specifically selected for me.

Does the actual machine make that much of a difference?

Thanks in advance

oldgearhead · Post by **oldgearhead** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 11:19 am

You will need to get the machine set-up for your titrated pressure.
You can do this yourself, or get a local DME to do it. Are you using
insurance, or not? Do you know your titrated pressure.

If you put the machine you have in your profile, then future questions
you ask will be answered sooner...

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): DME

Linda3032 · Post by **Linda3032** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:11 pm

As Oldgearhead said, you must know what pressure you need (titrated pressure).

It's possible that the name of the old machine is no longer in the listing of equipment for profiles. If nothing else, type the name of it here. It should be on the machine or paperwork.

Trying a used machine should be fine, if it gets reset. However, if you have insurance and are going to truly commit to treatment, then a new machine would be better. They have come a long way, Baby. ..

And why does your friend "no longer need the machine"? Hopefully he/she has a new one and this is a spare. If he is no longer treating his sleep apnea, you need to encourage him to start therapy again.

KeziasPurr · Post by **KeziasPurr** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 1:55 pm

Are you sure your friend's machine is the same type you need for your apnea? (ie. cpap, bipap, autopap)

blarg · Post by **blarg** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 7:27 pm

Probably the #1 biggest factor for you will be the mask, not the machine.

That said, machines have come a long way, and you may do significantly better with EPR/C-Flex or BiPAP etc, depending on what that old machine is exactly.

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 7:36 pm

You could do better with a new unit with the ability to save data, If your friend no longer needs his machine, he probably is untreated, or dead, for the most part XPAP treatment is for life, if not lives are shorter. A older machine will make treatment harder, but not much harder than using a dumb, low end machine, they are still making equiptment like that for patients that don't know they need better. Jim

ColoZZZ · Post by **ColoZZZ** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 2:34 pm

If you don't have good insurance coverage, you can also do some homework on machines & masks and go to craigslist - dot - com or other online "garage sales" and buy what you want used. I'd recommend craigslist if you're in one of the service areas because you'll meet the seller face to face and have a chance to inspect before buying.

make sure to do your homework though!

Good luck,

--Andy