The Aussie thread

[Max250]

-

[poshaus]

Cross posted from "To Rent or To Buy - dont know what to do" per Max advice - I think this could be of interest to many Aussies
---------------------------------------------
You could consider secondwind dot com, I just bought a NEW F&P HC245 APAP from him, landed in Aus for $AU620 and arrived in just 5 days
Mark is a great guy giving great service. [HC245 is rrp $1,995, secondwind use USPS]

The price of equipment in Aus and NZ is just insane, and the sleep industry has many shysters whose preoccupation is skimming your money rather than offering you good service and information.
That is not meant as a generalisation - of course there are also many excellent practioners out there.

I would be interested in other people's comments regarding regular maintenance and calibration, not something I've been aware of.

posh

[Max250]

-

[poshaus]

oops my bad ... I was referring to secondwindcpap dot com

[dsm]

Hi All,
Well I'm Scott and I currently live in Perth, although I am from Brisbane originally. I went through the Respiratory Sleep Disorders research clinic at Sir Charles Gardiner hospital for my sleep study and cpap trial. I picked up my Resmed S9 Elite and Respironics Easylife mask yesterday (From Perth CPAP).

I am just about to turn 30 (birthday is in 2 days!!) so I think I might be on the younger side for being diagnosed with OSA. My wife is currently working on her Doctorate in Neuropsychology and her thesis topic is on the links between OSA and Dementia, with a lot of her testing being on the improvement in memory and cognitive function in patients after the start of their CPAP therapy. So she had been trying to get me to do a sleep study for a while. My AHI during the study was 58, with my o2 levels getting down as low as 70%. During the 3 week CPAP trial my AHI dropped to 3.5. I will be 100% complient in my treatment, as I know the benefits and my wife will make sure

So yeah that's me, looking forward some good sleep!!

Scotto

That investigation your wife is doing is really interesting stuff. It would be great to hear about any conclusions or evidence emerging re links between OSA & dementia. My mother was a shocking snorer - undiagnosed OSA for well on 30 years. She passed away at 86 with serious dementia issues. She seemed to have just given up & died when she couldn't cope with not knowing being able to name her own family. She certainly recognized us but would say things like "are you my husband ?".

Anyway, as said, an interesting project.

Cheers

DSM

[billbolton]

I think the issue comes down to not having a back up machine in case of malfunction

Keep in mind that any basic CPAP will do for "back up", you don't need an S9 to maintain basic PAP treatment, if you are that worried about going without treatment for a few days.

Second hand S8 Lightweight CPAP flow generators can often be had for around AUD$400-500 and are fine for back up purposes.

Cheers,

Bill

[Max250]

-

[dsm]

Max

Below is the full URL to Aust customs GST exemptions for CPAPs & Masks etc: - it got mangled in the copying process

The code to use is B124 (See all the codes B123 to B128) They cover masks as well.

http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/minis ... ptions.htm

Cheers

DSM

[Brisaussie]

anyone have any recommendations for a Resmed supplier in Oz with good prices and service?

Air Liquide are a large national medical supply company and they have a few locations in SA. (Broken Hill, Edwardstown and Kent town) Hopefully one is near you.

If you can provide them with some examples of Australian companies who do better prices, you should be able to negotiate them down from full list price.

[Max250]

-

[Max250]

-

[dsm]

Max

With encouragement like that - went the extra (s)mile

Here is a link to the Customs info re importing by mail. Restates much of what I posted earlier.
http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page5653.asp

Cheers

DSM

[countman88]

I will probably be buying my next cpap, or apap, from USA, through either secondwind or Cpap.com. Secondwind has new machines too and postage is about US$65. If I buy from Cpap.com I will probably use the Shipto option for about $65 rather than pay their $150.
My first cpap 10 yrs ago was a used F & P, lasted about 24 months, and F&P gave me a new one free as it was under 5yrs old, rather than consider repairing it.
My present F&P has lasted 8 years and, touch wood, still going strong. I have never had it serviced or calibrated or cleaned in the 8 yrs, and change the pressure myself if needed after a sleep study.
i intend to buy Devibliss (?) Autoadjust intellipap, should be around US$500 landed. Will take the risk on warranty, considering I can send it back for about $50, and then have them send it back for about US$65 if needed.
Can always rent a machine for $85 a month while away being repaired. I use a mandibular splint (mouthguard) for short trips, and actually used one for 3 months at one stage, so can make do without the cpap for that time if pushed.

KenD
bris

[blizzardboy]

Hi there fellow Strines! I'm in SA.

I bought my CPAP machine through http://cpapaust.com/ and buy masks off eBay. Saved me a packet over buying from a DME.

Cheers,

[dsm]

I will probably be buying my next cpap, or apap, from USA, through either secondwind or Cpap.com. Secondwind has new machines too and postage is about US$65. If I buy from Cpap.com I will probably use the Shipto option for about $65 rather than pay their $150.
My first cpap 10 yrs ago was a used F & P, lasted about 24 months, and F&P gave me a new one free as it was under 5yrs old, rather than consider repairing it.
My present F&P has lasted 8 years and, touch wood, still going strong. I have never had it serviced or calibrated or cleaned in the 8 yrs, and change the pressure myself if needed after a sleep study.
i intend to buy Devibliss (?) Autoadjust intellipap, should be around US$500 landed. Will take the risk on warranty, considering I can send it back for about $50, and then have them send it back for about US$65 if needed.
Can always rent a machine for $85 a month while away being repaired. I use a mandibular splint (mouthguard) for short trips, and actually used one for 3 months at one stage, so can make do without the cpap for that time if pushed.

KenD
bris

Ken

I am interested in how you believe you can get a cpap from cpap.com for $US 65 shipping ? (to Australia ?).

My experience (& I'd love to see that it has changed) is that it will cost you in excess of $US120 once UPS
have added all their extra charges.

It would be terrific if we could get items here for that low a shipping cost.

Cheers

DSM

PS just went thru the exercise of buying (but didn't complete it) a $895 cpap & the shipping cost quoted to Sydney was $126. ?