Portable CPAP Machines

I'm pretty new to all this and I haven't gotten a CPAP machine yet. I'm doing some shopping for one and I want to know how a normal machine would be better than the cheaper, portable options.

Prevail

Not sure what you mean by "portable". All Cpaps are portable. They're just small boxy things that plug into the wall at one end and have masks attached on the other by hoses. A lot of people take them on trips, though some are more practical for that (slightly smaller and lighter) than others, but the difference is a matter of a couple of inches and a pound or two, nothing more radical. Go to Cpap.com and find Cpaps, then "travel Cpaps" (or however they're designated). I think maybe that's what you're referring to, and while some are more convenient than others for travelling, the difference is not great between what we use at home and otherwise - many people use the same one. The "travel" ones are less likely to have data capability, and/or a few features of the ones we use at home, but each one is different and you'll need to browse a bit to see what's what, but even travel ones have readout windows for basics like hours used, AHI, etc.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, the travel sized machines are what I was referring to. I guess what I'm really wondering is why one would buy a machine which costs $2000 as opposed to a machine that costs $200.

Prevail

Two reasons - either the $2,000. machine you're looking at is actually a high(er) tech type for specific patients - they are usually called Bipap or Vpap, etc. machines, OR you're letting the DME charge your insurance their absurdly overpriced things because the insce. co's will pay for them (it's standard). However, if you get your insce. co's OK on it (most seem to say yes), then you could order online for 1/3 the price (check out Cpap.com) and submit to the company yourself, or just buy it outright and not submit. Does all this address what you meant?