Can I buy a used CPAP on eBay or Craigslist and set it up my

If you can't afford the $900 for the sleep study, is it harmful to experiment with a used CPAP machine?

My guess is that you'd start at a low setting and experiment?

Anyone have any expeirience with this, maybe some advice?

You cannot buy CPAP on e-Bay. no way!

Check e-Bay and you will find that easily...

Yes, you can buy from Craiglist and no problem if you teach yourself how to test, what to buy and do your homework properly.

I did that and saved myself thousands of dollars

I treat myself without any medical doctors and so far doing very well, again after lots of hardship and learning from others in this great forum. My guardian in CPAP is Dr Google and he is available on call 24 hours, consult him and you know why e-Bay is not listing CPAP

You can find one on Craigs List ( be sure what you are getting and go see it if you can). There are lots of people here who can help you get the optimum pressure set and help you interpret data, if you get "fully data capable" machine and buy the software for it. You should only buy a "fully data capable" machine, especially if you go this route.

Ebay is no longer allowed to sell cpap machines or mask, as others have said.

I picked up my wife's machine locally for $380, a nice Remstar Auto with humidifier, better than my Phillips 450P.
Got Encore Pro 2.2 and a Smart card reader and it cost less than my copays over the last year for the Sleepstudy,
lame Dr. who doesn't even have Encore Pro to read results and my DME who won't let me see my data, so I got my
own copy of Encore Pro

I can check both of our data as often as I like, we're both doing well. Although I may be geting a new mask, too much
dry mouth in the morning, seeing the post about negative pressure, I can see that in my waveforms. I still really need
to find a better Dr. who can work with me to interpret my data better.

mikey1b4 wrote:If you can't afford the $900 for the sleep study, is it harmful to experiment with a used CPAP machine

Mikey,

Do you have a prescription from a doctor? I am assuming not. If you did, I'd suggest going to a used vendor such as 2nd Wind CPAP. I don't think that they can sell to anyone who doesn't have a prescription.

The issue with buying random machines off of Craig's list is that you don't know where they came from, how they were cared for, or if they even work right. You don't want one that was sitting for years, was in a smoker's house, or is plugged with cat hair, or had someone die when they were using it. The upside with Craig's list is that people sometimes list brand new or only slightly used machines because they get a machine, then don't use it. One key is to check the number of blower hours on the machine. If you find one with less than 100 hours, you essentially have an almost new unit. I wouldn't be too concerned with hours up to maybe 750. Over that, and you might have a beater machine.

You also want to hold out for a relatively new model. In your case, it is absolutely essentially that you get an auto adjusting machine that is fully data capable. Just having a smart card doesn't mean that the box gives you useful data. Double check.

You can cause problems trying to treat yourself. This is not a good idea at all. The big thing is that you don't know what is wrong, so you don't know what kind of machine to get (there are several types), or even if you have something that a machine can treat. There are some cases where you can do more harm than good by using the wrong machine or wrong settings. Given that, I'd personally want to try something rather than doing nothing. Just understand that you are taking a non-zero risk no matter what you do.

The strategy would be to run your auto machine at a pressure range of 8 to 20 for about a week. Then look at the 95% number, and set your range 2 units below and 3 units above the 95% number. Than run for another week, and tweak it again. Check to see if you are maxing out. If you can get your AHI below 5 and wake up feeling good, then you can probably survive until you can get in for a real sleep study. If you cannot get this sorted out, or don't start feeling better, then you probably have a more complex case. That absolutely means seeing a doctor. It also means that you might have a life-threatening situation developing, which is why you would want to see a doctor.

Another tools in your arsenal should be a recording oximeter. Those things are down to around $100. You want to monitor your O2 levels every so often.

I cannot tell you that I would do this knowing what I know today. The reason is that I don't really know anything about this stuff, and I do know that my sleep study found two other serious but treatable problems. Knowning what I know today, I'd go get a sleep study even if I had to deliver pizzas until Christmas to pay for it.

-john-

Maybe 1-2 months ago [?] someone posted similar query - asking whether to start cpap without sleep study. Search for 'rested gal's recent posts as she did this years back and gave details/instructions [or send her pm].

It can be done, as long as you do some basic research and preparation. Good luck

How I got started on cpap:
Jan 25, 2005 subject: not diagnosed yet, many ? brand new here
my story and Poisson's reply with good reasons why a PSG sleep study is important.


My eventual sleep study:
Nov 19, 2005 subject: First Sleep Study...finally! - rested gal
sleepydave on that board goes by the nicknames StillAnotherGuest, Muffy, and NotMuffy here on cpaptalk. Many thanks to him for helping me get a real sleep study.