Dme insanely overpriced

[ClarkK]

My DME acted too slow for me to even care about what they charge. I get most of my supplies at a grey market discount through eBay. I've also used CPAP.com with happy results.

If I had waited for my DME, I'd have been using the same nasal pillow for 3 months -- and a mask with severely compromised velcro

[palerider]

If I had waited for my DME, I'd have been using the same nasal pillow for 3 months -- and a mask with severely compromised velcro

huh, I've been using the same p10 pillow for 9 months. spares are still in the closet.

[Sonnyboy]

If I had waited for my DME, I'd have been using the same nasal pillow for 3 months -- and a mask with severely compromised velcro

huh, I've been using the same p10 pillow for 9 months. spares are still in the closet.

I could be wrong but possibly some of these supplies wear differently for people based on other products they use such as hair products or prescribed lotions????

[palerider]

If I had waited for my DME, I'd have been using the same nasal pillow for 3 months -- and a mask with severely compromised velcro

huh, I've been using the same p10 pillow for 9 months. spares are still in the closet.

I could be wrong but possibly some of these supplies wear differently for people based on other products they use such as hair products or prescribed lotions????

could be, could also be some people say "well, I'm getting these every 2 weeks/months/etc this one must be bad" and they toss it out....

pugsy had a thing where she thought the pillow was going bad after 10 months or something, but it turned out to be the headgear had just given up shrinking enough with washing... and the pillow was still good.

as with almost everything in cpap... ymmv

[Sonnyboy]

If I had waited for my DME, I'd have been using the same nasal pillow for 3 months -- and a mask with severely compromised velcro

huh, I've been using the same p10 pillow for 9 months. spares are still in the closet.

I could be wrong but possibly some of these supplies wear differently for people based on other products they use such as hair products or prescribed lotions????

could be, could also be some people say "well, I'm getting these every 2 weeks/months/etc this one must be bad" and they toss it out....

pugsy had a thing where she thought the pillow was going bad after 10 months or something, but it turned out to be the headgear had just given up shrinking enough with washing... and the pillow was still good.

as with almost everything in cpap... ymmv

.

I've only been doing this since November. I tossed one pillow because it seemed to leak, otherwise my pillows are working fine except I would like to try out the different sizes to determine which is really best for me. I do rotate the pillows I have, I mostly do this so they have time to dry after being washed. My first climateline tubing developed a hole fairly quickly and getting a replacement was a problem but it eventually did get replaced. I saved this tubing with a hole. I figure I can use duck tape if ever I run out of tubing. The elastic strap stretches over time and this is a problem for me because of the leaks. Now that I have a backup I will feel more comfortable trying to shorten the elastic strap.

[palerider]

I would like to try out the different sizes to determine which is really best for me.

that's a good idea... I thought medium would be good, but I liked large better.. or, my nose did

My first climateline tubing developed a hole fairly quickly and getting a replacement was a problem but it eventually did get replaced. I saved this tubing with a hole. I figure I can use duck tape if ever I run out of tubing. The elastic strap stretches over time and this is a problem for me because of the leaks. Now that I have a backup I will feel more comfortable trying to shorten the elastic strap.

hmm, I bet sugru would work well for patching something like that.. and last better than tape. if you get any, keep it in the fridge, it doubles or triples it's shelf life.

and, yes, having spares is always a good thing

[chunkyfrog]

@Sonnyboy, washing will restore most of the elasticity in the P10 headgear.

[Drowsy Dancer]

F4 tape is pricey but good for hoses. I keep a roll on hand for emergency repairs when traveling.

[SewTired]

Hi i'm new here. Got diagnosed with ahi of 129. After waiting for 1.5 weeks, i got the price for my cpap from the dme's billing company. The total cost is $1600+ or resmed airsense 10. I haven't met my annual in-network deductible so I have to pay the full amount. I am shocked at the price. That unit is only $808 here at cpap dot com. My out of network deductible is $4000 though. I HATE HATE HATE the freaking medical industry and my company by offering us only high deductible plans and increasing our insurance premiums. My company just took obamacare as lame excuse to switch us to 'consumer oriented' program.

Cancel your order and get a copy of your prescription and order either online or from secondwind. Ask your insurance company for a 'reimbursement' form. You won't be reimbursed, because obviously you have not met your deductible, but it will apply to your deductible should you have higher medical bills later on. The reimbursement, if any, is usually the out-of-network price.

Until you are fairly knowledgeable, I would hesitate to get a used one on Craigslist. Most of the people selling theirs don't know what they own, sometimes don't know the machine's history (they don't even know how to operate it) and price their machine based on the outrageous pricing you saw and not online prices. Considering that there is no warranty for these used machines, their pricing is silly. Make sure that any machine you buy, new or used, has the number of run hours that you are expecting. So know how to get that data.