A funny thing happened on the way to the Thrift Store...

[AndrewB]

Den
are we treating CPAP as narcotics and "recreational" that some jerk abused to get "fun" and need the CPAP special forces to regulate and persecute people like me who bought devices from Craiglist, thrift store and CPAPauction?

Nobody in their right mind will buy CPAP and masks without real needs. Who will buy CPAP for recreational purpose so that it threaten their life and others like alcohol and narcotics?

I remember reading somewhere that some athletes will use CPAP to improve their performance.

[cpapernewbie]

andrew
CPAP to improve athletes performance? HAHA, That's a good one!

[roster]

Yes. Athletes with sleep apnea.

[carbonman]

andrew
CPAP to improve athletes performance? HAHA, That's a good one!

Keep laughing!

Having just kicked out 60miles and looking forward to a night of cpap recovery
will anticipate another 56miles w/4K' of climbing tomorrow.......

There is no doubt that cpap improves this athletes performance.

See you on the road.

[dsm]

Actually, it happened in the Thrift Store (Savers in Phoenix, AZ). My wife and I had just come from her neurology appt. following her sleep study the previous week. We learned that, yes in fact, she suffers from acute apnea and stopped breathing during sleep 192-times within the 2-hr study period. So, of course we were getting her a CPAP. Unfortunately, our crappy insurance coverage offered to pay 50% of the cost over the deductible, so we were looking to buy our own with prescription in hand. So, after the office visit, we decided to shop the near-by Savers thrift store to check for kid's school uniforms and what did we find?

A lightly-used Respironics REMstar Pro M-series C-flex machine with an unused humidifier, manuals, unopened tubing, carry bag, unused filters, and power supply. I take it to the electrical outlet test station and it checks out as operational.

But, it had no price tag. I walk it up to the checkout and ask about the price. After some back-and-forth between employees, they agree: $7.99. Yeah, 8-bucks.

So, I buy the thing, take it home, clean it up, check its operation more thoroughly, enter "Provider Mode" (for I have learned how, being excellent at google searches) and set the machine for her pressure.

So, the next day the neurologists' staff calls my wife to schedule her 6-week follow-up and through conversation learns that we acquired a machine at Savers. Well, a little while later, they call back wanting us to bring it in to the office so they can "Check it" and make sure its "Calibrated" properly. They were aghast that Savers would be allowed to sell such a thing! My wife tells them her husband (me) is quite capable and has already set the machine to the prescribed pressure and in her best Jedi explains, "We don't need to bring it in." (hey, it works on me every friggin time) After some time on hold, while the office staff checked our story with the "Nurse", they relented and said they'd see her in 6-weeks. hmm.

$8. (Plus $130 for headgear and nasal pillows). Not bad, eh?

Sleep well!
BR

BR

That i a great find !!!. I have obtained a few bargains over the years but that one beats the lot. Allowing for the horrendous prices you have to pay just as co-pay, makes this purchase a real treat.

DSM

PS as for having it checked out, I supposed they would charge you $75 or so for the privilege of confirming what a fantastic bargain it was

[spincast01]

Thanks for all your comments! The machine is performing nicely for my Wife and we're both sleeping well and in the same bed, again!

Cheers!
BR

[sleepycarol]

Glad it is working for her.

[Rick B]

I can see it now at the county jail:
"What are you in for?"
"Oh wow, man, I got 90 days for snorting some air pressure at 25 cfm."
"What a rush."

[Roman Hokie]

I still don't get the whole "compliance" thing. My daughter had a DOC-band helmet as an infant. There was no "compliance-tracking" on it. And I have no "compliance-tracking" on my arch supports in my shoes either.

As for the serial number, the person who mentioned that may have a point. We bought, several years ago, a Rainbow vacuum on eBay. The serial number was not removed or defaced. For reporting that to the local Rainbow rep, we got a free gift.

[Kevin G.]

For a CPAP machine the calibration thing is not a big deal. Just make your own pressure device with some clear plastic tubing. It will probably be more accurante than a mechanical calibrated meter.

With an Apap it is not clear how you would measure other than the base pressure. What you need to use is your body as a feedback device. If It improves your sleep you do not care if the pressure is off by a little bit. Remember it increases the pressure in response to your symptoms.

Strictly speaking prescription drugs and equipment can only be sold by doctors and other licensed providers. For some drugs it is illegal to have them in your possession unless you have a prescription but I would dout that that applied to CPAP machines. I would not worry about the FDA comming after you. I would probably clean the new machine very good.

From personal experience I would not expect there to be any problems if you took the machine into a DME for repairs.