Monthly charge from DME

[Smargie]

I've been playing phone tag with my DME, so no updates on my situation.

I have a question that is slightly off topic. There is a crack in my reservoir that is on the part that fits into the machine. It's very long but super shallow and I'm pretty sure that no water can get through it (yet). If I need to replace it before the six month mark (12/23) do I have to pay for the replacement or is that something they would cover? I didn't drop it or treat it roughly at all, so I didn't do anything to cause it.

[Okie bipap]

You can get one right now from cpap.com for $18.20. I also saw several on eBay for 20 to 24 dollars with free shipping. If you are lucky, your DME may replace it for you if you can ever reach them. This is why we recommend you have replacement items on hand at all times. I keep spares for everything we use including machines. It seems like things like to break at the most inconvenient times, such as three day week ends.

[Pugsy]

I keep a spare chamber at all times because some dumb ass (who will remain nameless ) has been known to drop her water chamber on the floor and damage the seal on a Friday night when there is zero chance of even talking to a DME until Monday morning.

Amazon Prime to the rescue.

[Smargie]

OKAY, you all talked me into just buying a back up chamber. Cash flow is tight in our house, though, so I'm still going to check if the DME will replace the one I have. What other back up supplies are absolutely necessary?

[Pugsy]

I also keep a back up complete mask or at least all the components to construct a complete mask if something unplanned should happen to the current mask. People can keep an old mask for this "just in case" scenario. It might not be ideal but it's better than no usable mask.

Spare hose...doesn't have to be heated (which I normally use) though. Just in case something happens to the regular hose beyond some DIY repairing. Again...you can let your insurance get you the replacement and just set it aside for safe keeping.
Non heated hoses are really cheap on EBay or Amazon and often with free shipping.

When I say "something happens" it means that either I do something stupid or one of my pets does something stupid.
If you don't have pets or you aren't clumsy like me...less chance of something happening.

So I let my insurance with its usual replacement allowance fund most of my spares. You have Medicare so the DME isn't supposed to just automatically send you supplies but when allowed....get a spare. Medicare wants you to call up the DME and say "I need so and so because it's getting tired" and that's enough to make Medicare happy as long as it is withing the allowable time frame.
It's probably the cheapest way to get spares most of the time.

You don't have to rush right out and get spares of everything when money is tight. You can plan ahead and let your insurance help you out.
Always do the math though. Is your 20% co pay using insurance more than it costs to just buy it outright.

[Smargie]

Thanks Pugsy. I have a terrier mix who loves to chew things so I make sure everything important is out of reach. Plus we keep her well supplied with things to chew...used water bottles, empty cream cheese containers, etc. are her favorite and work very well for our budget.

I'll have to check the schedule for when I can order supplies. Would it make you anxious to go without cpap for a few days? I have to admit that I still nap without it, and if I'm finding it really irritating at night I'll make sure I've done my 4 hours and then take it off. That's probably not the best attitude....But I have a condition which no doctor has been able to diagnose or help with. It's a bizarre cluster of symptoms that I won't go into here, but it completely knocks me off of my feet. I'm going through the tail end of it now. I only bring it up because it really messes with my sleep...this time it started Sunday evening and I wasn't able to get out of bed or come downstairs for 36 hours, which is typically how it starts. And then I'm very fatigued and sleep a lot during the day, which makes solid sleep during the night difficult. Last night I woke up after 3 hours and 50 minutes, couldn't sleep because my stomach hurt too much, so I lay awake watching the clock for 10 minutes and then took the mask off. Sorry to go so off topic! I guess that's just my long way of explaining that it's difficult for me to use cpap every time I'm asleep, the way I know it's supposed to be used. But at this point there's not much I can do about it.

Good point about making sure the insurance price isn't more than I could pay elsewhere.

One last question....I keep reading statements about having a full face mask to use as a back up for when you can't breathe out of your nose. I don't want to use my next insurance covered situation to buy one--I'm dying to try the Bleep! Also, if you aren't accustomed to using one I'd think it would be hard to just pull a FFM out when you're sick (yes, I know you could practice before hand, but it seems like they take a lot more getting used to). Do you think it's super important to have one?

[Pugsy]

I have been on cpap therapy for over 10 years now.
The first 6 years I didn't even own a full face mask. Didn't want one for one reason but had other reasons as well.
In the 10 years I have been on cpap I have had my share of colds and upper respiratory infections and not once have I had a situation where I couldn't get my nose cleared enough to breathe even just a little through it and once I got on humidified air I usually ended up breathing better in the morning than when I went to bed.
I did finally try a full face mask just to see what it was like and I suppose I could use it if I just had to but it really doesn't look like I am ever going to have to ....so I gave it away.

I have sort of slept without cpap on a rare occasion. Most recently earlier this week when I had a stomach bug and I just didn't want anything to be in my path if I had to run to the bathroom. You know how stomach bugs are....sometimes there is just a millisecond of a safety net before you make a big mess. I say sort of slept because I was so sick that the sleep wasn't solid by any means....too many trips to the bathroom or the wastebasket.

Don't burn your next insurance allotment on a full face mask...watch the forum because often someone is either giving one away or selling dirt cheap.
Use your insurance to get a mask that you want and stand a chance of using often.

[chunkyfrog]

Because I have nothing but misery with full face masks,
I am creative about keeping the nasal pathway usable.
I take a nightly antihistamine and use hypoallergenic filters to control my allergies.
Mucinex nasal spray is usually enough when a bug breaks through.
In extreme cases, I have "borrowed" a breathe right strip from the bullfrog.
Cpap has helped train my yap to stay mostly shut.
Thank goodness, because all chin straps cause me extreme pain.
(Probably a nerve thing . . .)

[Janknitz]

My nose gets so sore and tender when I have a cold or upper respiratory infection that I can't use a nasal mask for a month or more. A FF mask is actually pretty comforting when I'm sick because I can still use my CPAP and sleep. CPAP really helps with my cough variant asthma--the only time I don't cough is when I'm using my CPAP. So I can forgive all the annoyances of the FF mask. In the years before CPAP (and undiagnosed asthma) I would be awake for days when I had an upper respiratory thing. Now, at least I sleep.

I use a Padacheek liner for my FF mask, and I think that helps too. It's like burying my face in my "blankie" when I was a little kid.

[zoocrewphoto]

OKAY, you all talked me into just buying a back up chamber. Cash flow is tight in our house, though, so I'm still going to check if the DME will replace the one I have. What other back up supplies are absolutely necessary?

I keep a backup of everything. Mask, hose, water tank, filters, and machine. I bought the spare machine used, but I use it as a travel machine. My mom and I use the same model machine and the same model/size mask. So, my backups work for both of us. When she broke a piece of her mask, I was able to replace it immediately. When she had a problem with her machine doing weird things with pressure the night before I went out of town, I was able to switch out the machine and troubleshoot it later. It turned out that the filter cover had fallen off during a recent trip, and her machine had sucked in some dog hair. I was able to order a new filter cover, and just let her use my spare machine until the filter cover arrived. I have also loaned the power cord from my spare machine to somebody who was traveling in my area and brought the wrong cord by accident. He posted on the forum, and only had one bad night instead of a week of bad nights.

Both of us have trouble getting inusrance to cover cpap supplies. She has medicare, and they always want a doctor appointment with the sleep doctor before they will allow more supplies. This year is the first year since I got the cpap where I went past the deductible. So, I was checking ebay and craigslist for good deals supplies. I have also gotten lucky a few times. I found my spare machine at goodwill for $12.99. A Resmed S9 autoset. Major score on that one. (I did just see one on craigslist in Seattle for $25). I also found a climateline hose at goodwill for $6 (still sealed in the bag). It was in the hardware section. Mostly, I just keep an eye out of deals so that I can keep a stash and not have to pay too much because I am desparate.

If you have decent insurance, get supplies as often as you can even if you don't need them yet. Until you have an extra or two of each. Then, you can replace the backups as needed instead of being without something important.