C-PAP ?s

[TheElephant]

I use a c-pap at night. How do you keep the supplies coming to you once on the road. Would my medical supplier ship it to where ever I ask? Or do i have to have it shipped to a friendly home and have them forward it? Does it take a lot of battery power from the coach batteries? Any help is appreciated.

 

[B and C]

I use a bipap machine without the humidifier (takes way to much energy and is a big hassle to clean). I bought the 12V DC adapter for it so I don't have to use an inefficient inverter either.

I use a Breeze headgear (no longer made last I checked). It has nasal pillows as I have facial hair. I am trying to figure out what supplies you are using to need regular resupply. The filer on the intake is foam and cleans easily in soapy water. I do carry a spare but haven't needed to use it (yet). I have two headgears that I swap out weekly. I clean both sets once every two weeks. One of the headgears is over six years old and the other is probably five. I got tired of cleaning weekly. I bought an extra filter, tube, swivel and headset.

You can pick up supplies in nearly any major city as only the machine requires a prescription. I do have a spare machine that I bought on the black market without a prescription in case mine bites the dust. I cannot sleep without it. I have tried on two different occasions when the machine was left behind. Really long nights.

 

[TheElephant]

I get a new hose, new filters, and mask with nasal pillows (Phillips dreamwear), and new nasal pillows every three months with instructions to only use nasal pillows for two weeks. As far as I know I can not wash the filters.

 

[B and C]

No reason I can think of that you could not wash everything unless your filters are paper. They give you a reason? I've never washed the long hose but I don't use the humidifier either. I figure my exhaling does not get that far back down the tube.

Here is a youtube video from Phillips showing washing the pillows:

 

[TheElephant]

I will try it. Thank you for your input!

 

[travelaround]

I get supplies from Lincare but I think they overdo it, because I haven't been able to use all the things they send. I wash my hose and headset in vinegar every couple of weeks. I've never replaced them. I have an extra hose here in case I ever need it. The nasal pillow I wash daily with mild soap. I used to replace them every couple of weeks, but then realized there was no real reason to do that except to use up more Lincare supplies.

I feel like I have plenty of supplies for the next few years and the last few times Lincare called, I didn't order anything. No reason to. I have dozens of filters they've sent me and I don't really need them very often because my apartment's air is clean. (That will probably change when I'm living in the van.)

Anyhow, to answer your question, if I need supplies while traveling I'll call Lincare and have them sent to General Delivery of whatever post office I'm near. That should do it.

The alternative is to have them sent to my mail forwarding service, then have them sent from there to me wherever I am. I don't see any reason to do it that way.

Another alternative is to buy the supplies from Amazon... but then I'd have to pay for them instead of having my insurance pay for them.

 

[Anhedonic]

I also get my supplies every three months and I don't get through all of them, but for me the key things is the mask. It really has to be changed out every few months because after a while the soft bits that form to my face start to lose elasticity and gain a greater tendency to leak. Most of the other stuff can be washed, but I don't know any way to fix that.

 

[B and C]

You could always try out a nasal pillow mask. I have a pair of pillows that are over 6 years old that I use every other week.

 

[Honeys Park]

General delivery to most towns works. Honeys is available as a shipping point as well. many use my power to run. Them