Great resource here!

[Air Farce]

Hi y'all!

Stumbled in from a search engine, researching concentrators. Man, what a ferocious caveat emptor jungle out there! I was also skeptical here at first, but after perusing a few pages I see it's the 'real deal' and simply some folks with common problems standing together.

I'm in need of a new machine & found a couple to meet my needs at links on this site, at ridiculously affordable prices! I'll be asking lots of questions here as time goes on. One initial question is related to output. My current unit rates output at .50 - 5.0 LPM or liters per minute. I see these machines & your references to pressure, not volume? How might that correlate?

Currently using a machine from a medical provider that is a horror story, as both the provider & the machine. It's an AirSep Elite, about 3' x 1' x 1' dimensions, weight just under 60 lbs. Not sure of sound rating in decibels, but roughly similar to an Osterizer blender on medium speed, filled with steel marbles & Crisco. I can hear it outside easily! Wearing my target-shooting ear muffs to bed helps reduce it, then it's only like having my electric drill running on low beneath my pillow all night.

So anyways, hoping to get a better machine that I can actually use and also to research here to broaden my knowledge. Nice to see the strong group support & information resources to help each other through these inconveniences & difficulties. Thanks for all your contributions!

Sleep tight.....

[BlackSpinner]

Hi
Cpap.com is a great site and very help full. you might want to call them for the information you need.
They were very friendly and helpfull when I reversed the numbers on my credit card when ordering online. I didn't finish the call feeling like an inch tall idiot.

Good luck

[rested gal]

Welcome to the board, AF. You said you were looking for info about O2 concentrators...do you also use a CPAP machine for sleep apnea?

One initial question is related to output. My current unit rates output at .50 - 5.0 LPM or liters per minute. I see these machines & your references to pressure, not volume?

Your machine (AirSep Elite) is an oxygen concentrator, not a CPAP machine.

The machines you see most of us talking about in this forum are CPAP machines (continuous positive airway pressure) to treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea. CPAP machines themselves don't produce or add any O2 to the air they are blowing. CPAP machines blow just plain room air. If someone needs supplemental O2, that can be "bled in" from a separate O2 source -- connected to the CPAP circuit to add O2 to the CPAP therapy.

But CPAP machines in and of themselves are just glorified fans which push the soft collapsing tissue inside the throat out of the way, allowing a person with sleep apnea to breathe better while sleeping. CPAP machines aren't O2 concentrators and don't add O2 to the air they are blowing.

CPAP pressure is measured in "cm H2O" (centimeters water) -- the force of air needed to raise a column of water ___ centimeters. CPAP pressure of 10 cm H20 could push a column of water up ten centimeters.

Several people on this board use both CPAP and supplemental O2. Perhaps they'll notice your topic and will offer some suggestions about concentrators. In the meantime, once again...welcome.

[Air Farce]

Thanks for the welcome!

Well, that's most unfortunate for me on the difference in machines. I do in fact require oxygen, both at night and sometimes during the day. I was wondering what these machines you describe were, because something didn't sound quite right. Now I know, thanks!

Seems this helps explain [to a point] the ridiculous cost of concentrators. Problem is this current machine is so blasted noisy it's impossible to get a decent night's sleep so it's a lose-lose proposition so far. That is, it's only useable when I need oxygen more than sleep.

I'll contact as suggested and see what I can find out.

Thank you! Sleep tight....

[Air Farce]

Sorry, RG, seems I didn't answer your question.

No, I don't use a CPAP machine, just a concentrator. I was given a gizmo to take home & wear on my finger during sleep, which I then returned to docs. Apparently my O2 levels dropped for a time during the night so my physician wrote a prescription and a provider dropped this thing off, along with some bottled oxy. As far as the actual nature of my problem, no clue????

Thanks!

[rested gal]

Sorry, RG, seems I didn't answer your question.

No, I don't use a CPAP machine, just a concentrator. I was given a gizmo to take home & wear on my finger during sleep, which I then returned to docs. Apparently my O2 levels dropped for a time during the night so my physician wrote a prescription and a provider dropped this thing off, along with some bottled oxy. As far as the actual nature of my problem, no clue????

Thanks!

Lucky for you that you happened to drop in on this message board.

Lucky because.... since you wrote this...

"I was given a gizmo to take home & wear on my finger during sleep, which I then returned to docs. Apparently my O2 levels dropped for a time during the night"

.... you should ask your doctor to give you a referral to an accredited sleep lab for a PSG sleep study, for suspected OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea.) Don't take "no" for an answer. Don't let the doctor try to convince you that you probably don't have OSA because blah-blah-blah. Don't let the doctor tell you, "All you need is supplemental oxygen."

Get thee to a sleep study -- a real, attended NPSG (nocturnal polysomnogram) sleep study as soon as possible.

Ever been diagnosed with CHF (congestive heart failure) or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)? You don't have to have either of those to warrant a sleep study. I'm just thinking ahead...

Has anyone ever said you snored? Ever? Not that you have to do that to warrant a sleep study.

Seriously, do get the sleep study, no matter what.

It's very possible that if you have sleep apnea (and I'll bet you do) your O2 levels may stay up fine with CPAP keeping your throat open for better breathing of plain air during sleep. You might be able to kick the noisy O2 concentrator out of your house and not ever have to fool with that again....as long as you use the CPAP machine for every sleeping moment.

A sleep study, my friend. A Sleep study. Have that done. For sure.

[Julie]

And do listen to RG, because she's about the most knowledgable member on this forum!

[Hawthorne]

I have to second or third that suggestion! Rested Gal is right! You should get a formal sleep study to see if it is sleep apnea you have. If it is, you MAY be able to get rid of the oxygen. Cpap machines are much quieter, I understand. I don't (and most people don't) even notice the sound of a cpap machine running all night.

Julie is also right. Listen to Rested Gal! She is one of the most knowledgeable people on this forum!

[Uncle_Bob]

And do listen to RG, because she's about the most knowledgable member on this forum!

There are some really knowledgeable people on this forum, RG sure is one of them and i sure ain't However I do know that I had a full PSG done and my O2 was over 90% yet i was still diagnosed with sleep apnea.

[tattooyu]

Yes, yes! Listen to RG, -SWS and the plethora of other extremely knowledgeable folks on here!