Quoted:
You need a sleep study for multiple reasons, not the least being...you need to know the optimum settings for a cpap. There are variables which need custom tailoring to the individual's needs. 

It's not a 'one size fits all' type of endeavor. 

Quoted:
You need a sleep study for multiple reasons, not the least being...you need to know the optimum settings for a cpap. There are variables which need custom tailoring to the individual's needs. 

It's not a 'one size fits all' type of endeavor. 

Quoted:
Can you buy a CPAP from Amazon without a prescription?

Quoted:
You need a sleep study for multiple reasons, not the least being...you need to know the optimum settings for a cpap. There are variables which need custom tailoring to the individual's needs. 

It's not a 'one size fits all' type of endeavor. 

Quoted:
I snore.  Badly.  Also stop breathing according to my wife.  Tried the Pure Sleep mouthgaurd and it didn't work.

Wife wants me to do a sleep study, but my limited research suggests that they will recommend a C-Pap 187% of the time so I'm wondering if cutting out the middle man is a good idea.

38 years old, 6'1" and 195 lbs.  No medical problems.  Last physical and bloodwork says I'm healthy as a horse.

Thoughts or experiences appreciated.

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I have no insurance, a local sleep study is $5k.  Even with insurance it was $5k.

If apnea is a real thing, even a shot in the dark DIY with some guidance, might save a few of us.

You'd think with the knowledge of ARF, this could turn into a how-to-guide.

What does a fucked up and mis-calibrated  C-pap machine do to someone, kill them in their sleep?  Give them the aids?

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Federal law prohibits selling a CPAP machine or mask without a prescription.

Fuck with setting yourself, you could windup deaded.

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I want to see your blood test and a rundown of what you eat before believing you're healthy as a horse.

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Call around to different places.

You living in CO, the settings will be much different if you are at a higher elevation.

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I bought two Dreamstations from Amazon without a prescription.

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Yeah. It's also illegal to have more than 10 evil imported parts in one rifle.

cpap sources

And if blowing air up my nose is the most dangerous thing I ever ingested.....

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Some CPAP machines these days have wifi built into them. Once you plug them in they start trasmiting to a Monitoring Center and not over your wifi either.

So, they know where they are and who the original purchasers were, what the original setting were, if they been changed.  


That's how people get busted.

Under federal law, medical devices are categorized into 3 classes–class I, II, or III
CPAP fall under class 2 and need a script.
https://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidance/Overview/ClassifyYourDevice/

It the same as getting caught with illegal prescription drugs that you're not supposed to have in your possession.

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Do the sleep study....  its not that bad and most insurance covers it.....   it is a PITA to self titrate a CPAP machine, and they can do it quickly and get you back to being well rested without the guesswork.....

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I want to see your blood test and a rundown of what you eat before believing you're healthy as a horse.

Quoted:


Doesn't seem to be any arrests for having bootleg cpap machines that I can find.

Sounds like the people pushing the narrative of "only buy new with prescription and it's dangerous without us proffeshinals" is the cpap machine sellers and doctors.

Hmmm. Who would have a great financial stake in pushing such a notion?

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Had not thought of that.  I'll check.

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Your not supposed to but I bought my Resmed machine for $500 new on Amazon.  My insurance didn't cover anything and it was $900 at the local cpap place.  It was brand new sealed in the box.

Quoted:
I am a registered sleep technologist that does sleep studies and CPAP titrations for a living. There's a lot more that goes into establishing appropriate CPAP settings and mask selection/fitting than you would think. There are also different types of sleep apnea that require different operational modes of positive airway pressure to resolve properly.

Buying used devices off the internet are a bad idea; I'm waiting to hear of a lawsuit being filed someday because a CPAP patient with tuberculosis died, and the decedent's family hocked the person's contaminated CPAP unit on ebay to an unsuspecting/uninformed buyer. Plus, many units are dispensed on a lease or rental agreement due to insurance, so this bears the risk of dealing in stolen property.

Legitimate online sales can be a good long-term cost-saving strategy for established CPAP patients who already know what they need, but make sure you get good quality service and supply-replacements.

I do a lot of retitrations of CPAP pressures on people who were tested in other facilities that didn't quite get things right the first time, so you can guess what kind of chances the average lay-person would have setting their own CPAP and selecting the right mask properly. Get it wrong, and the blood-gases in your body become imbalanced, causing your body improperly sense when you need to breathe. Even worse, improper settings can be so uncomfortable or untheraputic that anxiety and intolerance can set in, making you never want to try CPAP ever again.

My most important skill in my work is being able to identify and remediate complications that arise, as well as coaching patients through the initial trial of CPAP to maximize their chances of tolerating CPAP. I can also tell you there is no book or medical reference text that I have found that really can teach anyone how to do that successfully.

AutoPAPs work within programmed threshold ranges established during a sleep study. As mentioned in an earlier post, getting drop-shipped an AutoPAP with a random mask, usually selected for maximum profit-margins instead of individual comfort/proper fit/suitability, following a home sleep-study is an unethical business practice that goes against established medical practice parameters. These businesses market this as a cost-saving measure to customers in order to line their own pockets by competing with local sleep centers, sacrificing the quality of your medical care in the process.

Cost of sleep studies is regulated by the reasonable and customary rates paid by insurers in your area, as well as Medicare's "We get the absolute best rate which we will dictate to you" policies. Most ethical sleep centers will work with the uninsured on pricing to keep things affordable, although they are required by CMS/Medicare to charge you more than CMS/Medicare itself pays.  

Customized dental-lab fabricated jaw-advancement devices are gaining in popularity; these work by adjusting the jaw forward to open the airway, although the effectiveness of these devices is very much individual-case dependent. Complications can reduce tolerance to this therapy, although it can be used in conjunction with CPAP therapy to reduce pressure requirements. They are very expensive. Don't even bother with the cheap fit-your-own style, they tend to not be very durable at all.

ENT surgical procedures to remove excessive airway tissues is another option, although again very much a case-by-case basis as far as effectiveness. Many people opt for this against recommendations, only to go on to use CPAP later. For the right cases based on individual physiology though, it can be very effective.


Search the archives for other threads we have had on obstructive sleep apnea and CPAP over the years. There's a lot of good information and user experiences detailed there.

Also, just so you know, sleep doctors/sleep centers cannot have financial-interest in CPAP and mask sales, due to federal law on self-referrals/conflict-of-interest. Some facilities will have a separate business-entity on the premises that handle sales, but again this is a separate business/owners.

Quoted:

I can also tell you there is no book or medical reference text that I have found that really can teach anyone how to do that successfully.

Quoted:
Do the sleep study. There are two types of sleep apnea and you need to know if a machine will help the type you have.

Here's an internet forum worth joining: www.cpaptalk.com

Quoted:
Federal law prohibits selling a CPAP machine or mask without a prescription.

Fuck with setting yourself, you could windup deaded.

Quoted:
I am a registered sleep technologist that does sleep studies and CPAP titrations for a living. There's a lot more that goes into establishing appropriate CPAP settings and mask selection/fitting than you would think. There are also different types of sleep apnea that require different operational modes of positive airway pressure to resolve properly.

Buying used devices off the internet are a bad idea; I'm waiting to hear of a lawsuit being filed someday because a CPAP patient with tuberculosis died, and the decedent's family hocked the person's contaminated CPAP unit on ebay to an unsuspecting/uninformed buyer. Plus, many units are dispensed on a lease or rental agreement due to insurance, so this bears the risk of dealing in stolen property.

Legitimate online sales can be a good long-term cost-saving strategy for established CPAP patients who already know what they need, but make sure you get good quality service and supply-replacements.

I do a lot of retitrations of CPAP pressures on people who were tested in other facilities that didn't quite get things right the first time, so you can guess what kind of chances the average lay-person would have setting their own CPAP and selecting the right mask properly. Get it wrong, and the blood-gases in your body become imbalanced, causing your body improperly sense when you need to breathe. Even worse, improper settings can be so uncomfortable or untheraputic that anxiety and intolerance can set in, making you never want to try CPAP ever again.

My most important skill in my work is being able to identify and remediate complications that arise, as well as coaching patients through the initial trial of CPAP to maximize their chances of tolerating CPAP. I can also tell you there is no book or medical reference text that I have found that really can teach anyone how to do that successfully.

AutoPAPs work within programmed threshold ranges established during a sleep study. As mentioned in an earlier post, getting drop-shipped an AutoPAP with a random mask, usually selected for maximum profit-margins instead of individual comfort/proper fit/suitability, following a home sleep-study is an unethical business practice that goes against established medical practice parameters. These businesses market this as a cost-saving measure to customers in order to line their own pockets by competing with local sleep centers, sacrificing the quality of your medical care in the process.

Cost of sleep studies is regulated by the reasonable and customary rates paid by insurers in your area, as well as Medicare's "We get the absolute best rate which we will dictate to you" policies. Most ethical sleep centers will work with the uninsured on pricing to keep things affordable, although they are required by CMS/Medicare to charge you more than CMS/Medicare itself pays.  

Customized dental-lab fabricated jaw-advancement devices are gaining in popularity; these work by adjusting the jaw forward to open the airway, although the effectiveness of these devices is very much individual-case dependent. Complications can reduce tolerance to this therapy, although it can be used in conjunction with CPAP therapy to reduce pressure requirements. They are very expensive. Don't even bother with the cheap fit-your-own style, they tend to not be very durable at all.

ENT surgical procedures to remove excessive airway tissues is another option, although again very much a case-by-case basis as far as effectiveness. Many people opt for this against recommendations, only to go on to use CPAP later. For the right cases based on individual physiology though, it can be very effective.


Search the archives for other threads we have had on obstructive sleep apnea and CPAP over the years. There's a lot of good information and user experiences detailed there.

Also, just so you know, sleep doctors/sleep centers cannot have financial-interest in CPAP and mask sales, due to federal law on self-referrals/conflict-of-interest. Some facilities will have a separate business-entity on the premises that handle sales, but again this is a separate business/owners.

Quoted:


To my knowledge it is not illegal to purchase or possess prescription drugs without a prescription, unless of course it's a scheduled substance.

Care to prove me wrong?