Cpap machines revisited

I had an earlier thread about them.

Since then, i learned that my insurance licks the sweat off of a dead mans balls.

1,000 out of pocket, or payments for a year for ONLY 300 a month!

berkeley that.

So, i went to craigslist.....

Seems i can pretty easily pick up one used for under a hundred bucks.  Thats much more better for something that im not sure i will/can use.

So, what do i need to look at in a used one, onther than mold, mildew, electrical problems and rust?

Dusterbd13 said:

I had an earlier thread about them.

Since then, i learned that my insurance licks the sweat off of a dead mans balls.

1,000 out of pocket, or payments for a year for ONLY 300 a month!

berkeley that.

So, i went to craigslist.....

Seems i can pretty easily pick up one used for under a hundred bucks.  Thats much more better for something that im not sure i will/can use.

 

So, what do i need to look at in a used one, onther than mold, mildew, electrical problems and rust?

I'll do a lot of sketchy crap, but I'm not sure I'd buy a used CPAP. My insurance was basically the same deal, except they wanted like $40 a month forever.

I bought one of these and it's going on 2.5 years old and has been 100% reliable and awesome. And that includes a lot of rough treatment, getting slapped around by baggage handlers, thrown into trucks and trailers, etc.

https://www.cpapsupplyusa.com/Respironics-System-One-Auto-CPAP-Humidifier.aspx

I read “crap machines” like 5 times and couldn’t figure out what the berkeley we were talking about.

My father and I both have the one JG posted. Spend the money for a new one, clean it regularly and be done with it my father’s is over 10 years old and still going. Mine was about 8 when a freak lightning struck took it out.

I go used as well on a lot of things but no way I’d go with a used cpap machine. No matter how much someone says a used unit is sanitized, how do you really know? I am happy with my ResMed Air Sense unit. Yes my insurance covers it but even if it didnt, I’d cut back on something else in life to help afford it. 

As for knowing first if it will help you in the end, get a sleep study done. The results from that took any guess work out of it for me. 

drainoil said:

I go used as well on a lot of things but no way I’d go with a used cpap machine. No matter how much someone says a used unit is sanitized, how do you really know? I am happy with my ResMed Air Sense unit. Yes my insurance covers it but even if it didnt, I’d cut back on something else in life to help afford it. 

As for knowing first if it will help you in the end, get a sleep study done. The results from that took any guess work out of it for me. 

This last sentence for sure....have you a chiropractor? Ok here it comes I'm a big MyPllow honk .....mine(DC) recommended  this and a decent$$$$ mattress........do it!!! Your continual headaches are BS you owe it to SWMBO and your entire family...oh and you too(even us here at GRM)peace out.

759NRNG said:

drainoil said:

I go used as well on a lot of things but no way I’d go with a used cpap machine. No matter how much someone says a used unit is sanitized, how do you really know? I am happy with my ResMed Air Sense unit. Yes my insurance covers it but even if it didnt, I’d cut back on something else in life to help afford it. 

As for knowing first if it will help you in the end, get a sleep study done. The results from that took any guess work out of it for me. 

This last sentence for sure....have you a chiropractor? Ok here it comes I'm a big MyPllow honk .....mine(DC) recommended  this and a decent$$$$ mattress........do it!!! your continual headaches are BS you owe to SWMBO and your entire family(even us here at GRM)peace out

Yes pillow and mattress are also very important. Having spent the past few nights at a hotel with a mattress that was about as supportive as a hammock, I was reminded once again of their relevance. I wound up going and buying an air mattress for the final night as it offered more support than the dang bed! I also brought my own pillow (however not a “my pillow”) having learned the hard way years ago. And yes I went to my “quack” today to help recover from the horrible hotel mattress debacle.

I had my chiropractor work on my back this morning before I left for work.

I don’t have this problem but I thought there were simpler options. Did I hear wrong?

Guess I can't complain as my insurance covered the whole cost of mine a year and a half ago. One of the best things I've gotten to help me sleep. Plus it stops my snoring as well which is a plus for the wife. The down side is the consumables are killer on the pocket book if bought on the intervals that they recommend. I have a Resi-Med unit and it works great. They even call you if you miss a night or two to check up on you. 

I'm with the going with new on this type of machine. To much unknown on a used one to chance it. 

I have had the sleep study. I need a cpap.

I also have a chiropractor that i go to regularly (well, not at the moment.  We tried chiropractor with a broken rib and it didn't end well). Insurance doesn't cover him either, but his fee is pretty cheap.

I have a hell of a time falling asleep and staying that way even under the best of circumstances. My fear is that I'll spend $$$$ on something that wont allow me to sleep at all, therfore i can't/wont use it, and i now have a $$$$ paperweight.  

I hadn't looked online for other prices than what i was quoted through the sleep study place. Im encouraged by tge reccomendations of many members here of the same $300 unit. 

Bur my concern of not being able to sleep at all with it still stands. 

As far as sanitizing the used machine, my plan had been to dissassemble the whole thing on a workbench and bleach/boiling water it prior to reassembly and use. However, the entire idea of a used machine may be pissing money away now that i have slept on the idea.

If they determined you need the machine get one, I don’t know anyone that has regretted doing it. Keep in mind that most people aren’t comfortable with it right away. It can take a while to get used to having a mask pump air into your face. I went a good 6 months before I could wear it the whole night but now I can’t sleep without it.

Serious non-dick question - are any of you gentlemen suggesting or wanting a breathing machine significantly overweight or obese?  If so, I would be looking in other directions.  CPAP is a crutch, not a solution in my opinion and experience.  If you had the choice between being tied to a machine for life vs making incremental lifestyle changes that will impact you in many ways, which would you chose?

Personal experience below - YMMV.

330 lbs, 6'1, 28 years old.  Always a big boy, was 6'1/250 as a freshman in HS, (think offensive lineman) Last 5 year activity level 0 - Woke up every morning with a wrecked lower back, couldnt sleep, etc.

300 lbs, 31 years old.  Activity level moderate - started riding my bike a bit like 300 miles a year and did some walking, still ate like a dumpster, dropped some LBs, back didnt hurt any more but was still a snoring machine and disturbed sleep.

250 lbs, 36 years old.  Activity level high - nightly walks or bike rides, 1200 miles on road and singletrack so far this year, another 3-400 on the trainer in the basement.  Wake up feeling awesome, sleep through the night, no longer snoring or disturbed sleep per my special lady.  Good combo of activity, less alcohol, and better eating.

Goal is 215-220 by spring 2019.  Its not hard!  I can coach you!

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

Wife had that one for about 5 years. Her levels are so high though  that with age it started losing pressure so they upgraded hers. THis is the one they upgraded her to: https://www.cpapsupplyusa.com/Respironics-DreamStation-Auto-CPAP-DOM-AFlex.aspx

You will probably need a new hose, and you will certainly need a new mask.  The machine itself will probably need a filter, but I wouldn't be too worried about it after cleaning.  

They are adjusted to your requirements, but are also self correcting to an extent.

It will take you a few weeks to get used to it, no question.  

93gsxturbo said:

Serious non-dick question - are any of you gentlemen suggesting or wanting a breathing machine significantly overweight or obese?  If so, I would be looking in other directions.  CPAP is a crutch, not a solution in my opinion and experience.  If you had the choice between being tied to a machine for life vs making incremental lifestyle changes that will impact you in many ways, which would you chose?

Of course. The fact that I'm a fatass has myriad negative impacts on my life, the fact that I have to use a CPAP is just one of them. I'm trying, but it ain't easy, and in the meantime, the CPAP has lowered my resting blood pressure by a good 10 points, so I'm gonna keep using it.

By the way, add me to the list of folks who wouldn't buy a used CPAP machine. But if you keep everything clean, the masks and hoses will last a hell of a lot longer than the suppliers say they will. And you can get supplies like filters on Amazon for pretty cheap.

93gsxturbo said:

Its not hard!  I can coach you!

It may or may not be hard - but it's boring.  You have to make excercise your hobby.  And as clearly beneficial as that would be, it's just not interesting to me.  Never has been.  It will always be a chore to me. Chores are necessary, I understand that.  But it still doesn't make them fun.

Duke said:

93gsxturbo said:

Its not hard!  I can coach you!

It may or may not be hard - but it's boring.  You have to make excercise your hobby.  And as clearly beneficial as that would be, it's just not interesting to me.  Never has been.  It will always be a chore to me. Chores are necessary, I understand that.  But it still doesn't make them fun.

Without getting this too in the weeds, exercise is not the key to success weight loss.  Its part of it, and it is nice for a little bump or helping you when you crush a frozen pizza and a 6 pack on Saturday.  Really though, success is all in diet and CICO.  Can't outrun the spoon.

For example, if you bust your ass and ride your bike 1500 miles in a year (an insurmountable number, right?  thats 15 miles every 3-4 days, every week of the year) at an average pace burns around 60-70 calories/mile.  90,000 calories burned yearly.  Big Mac and Fries for lunch every day during the work week washed down with a delicious full diesel Coke?  That is 1200 or so calories right there.  Do that 250 days a year - 300,000 calories, or 210,000 calories positive even though you were busting your hump riding your bike.  

3500 calories in a pound of fat.  Do the math.  

I am happy to share non-fad diets and meals that are working well for a cubicle dweller.  

Ahh... just like depression can be fixed by being happier. *sigh*

The wife has had sleep apnea since she was a child. She stops breathing something like 40-50 times per hour. Gets terrible sleep, memory problems, oxygenation issues. But yeah, the only reason she has a cpap is because she's fat (which she's not). 

93gsxturbo said:

Without getting this too in the weeds, exercise is not the key to success weight loss.  Its part of it, and it is nice for a little bump or helping you when you crush a frozen pizza and a 6 pack on Saturday.  Really though, success is all in diet and CICO.  Can't outrun the spoon.

For example, if you bust your ass and ride your bike 1500 miles in a year (an insurmountable number, right?  thats 15 miles every 3-4 days, every week of the year) at an average pace burns around 60-70 calories/mile.  90,000 calories burned yearly.  Big Mac and Fries for lunch every day during the work week washed down with a delicious full diesel Coke?  That is 1200 or so calories right there.  Do that 250 days a year - 300,000 calories, or 210,000 calories positive even though you were busting your hump riding your bike.  

3500 calories in a pound of fat.  Do the math.  

I am happy to share non-fad diets and meals that are working well for a cubicle dweller.  

All of that is true, but misses the point. Weight loss may be simple, but that doesn't mean it's easy.

They said I'm somewhere in the neighborhood of 120 time an hour.

And seth and dallas last year at the challenge contemplated kicking my ass out to the truck due to snoring. And im only slightly overweight according to my doctor. 

So im ok with needing one, its just that im a cheapass bastard.

Weight loss matters, at least in my case it did. I went from 270 lbs down to 205 and only needed CPAP 1-2 days/ week compared to 7 days when overweight. Slept sooo much better and I felt like I wasn't carrying bags of Sakrete on my body anymore.

I'd rather be thin, any day. Getting there is the challenge.

YMMV

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

Her's are up to 2 minutes between breathes at times. Put it this way, on her first sleep study they woke her 2 hours in and made her put a cpap on because the irregularities of her breathing were making the doctors nervous. At the time, she was about 15-20lbs overweight. Her condition was not weight related.

But hey, the non doctors in here can tell us that the only reason you need them is because you're fat. 

I have a 19 1/2 inch shirt collar, but I'm not fat about the neck.  My respirologist suggested he could use my throat for illustrations of a book, if he were to write one about sleep apnea.  Still have tonsils, and several years of repeated sore/swollen throats as my lovely little festering cauldrons of disease went through grade school just mean that I don't have a whole lotta tension left in the tissue of my throat, so it shuts itself off very easily.

I didn't really have the same great improvement that some people claim from the cpap...or so I thought until I tried to sleep without it.

I was diagnosed w/ Obstructive Sleep Apnea, meaning restriction in airway due to how I'm built (genetic). I was 195 lbs at the time, at 6'-1" not too bad. Sleep Doc said if I had a Bill Cowher chin I woulda been OK. First sleep study I awoke 72X / hour, second highest at the clinic at the time. CPAP has been a life changer, it kicked my ass and I fell asleep twice while at the wheel.

Weight loss did matter to me, my personal experience, I'll just leave it at that.

Somewhere, somewhere I read that sleep apnea actually can cause weight gain by changing your metabolism. Not going to look for a link, I'm done here.