How Do I Get A Cpap Machine

Updated: March 14th, 2021

When starting CPAP therapy, information technology'southward important to get a automobile that works for y'all. This article will assist you in what you need to know when buying a CPAP machine so you can begin your CPAP therapy. Nosotros'll also talk over whether or not you should go through insurance or order your machine online, and what accessories are available.

I got diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) after my wife mentioned to my doctor that I had bug snoring. The doctor ordered a sleep written report, and the results came back that I had mild Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Like many of yous, the recommended handling for my OSA was to get-go using a CPAP Machine. For most people, talking to the physician is an important first stride. In order to get a CPAP machine, you'll first need to become a prescription for one. We'll embrace prescriptions next.

How to Become a Prescription for a CPAP Car?

Before y'all tin can buy a CPAP automobile, you'll need to get a prescription from a medical professional that specifies which kind of machine y'all should get. It will also specify what pressure level setting is needed to treat Sleep Apnea. Getting a prescription is not equally simple equally going into the physician's part and request for ane. A CPAP machine is a specialized medical device, and the doctor will need to comport a sleep study to know if you even have Sleep Apnea, to begin with.

A sleep study measures the following:

heart charge per unit
breathing
blood oxygen levels
how many times y'all finish breathing in the dark
how many times y'all wake upwardly at night

If the results of the slumber study show that you have Sleep Apnea, they'll prescribe a course of treatment, which may be done with a CPAP machine. The doc could besides prescribe BiPAP therapy, oral appliances, or recommend surgery.

How to Cull a CPAP Motorcar Manufacturer

When you go a CPAP auto through your insurance, you don't get to cull your CPAP motorcar manufacturer, and you lot don't get to select the features you desire. Just like sure car companies rank higher in terms of overall satisfaction, build quality, or value for the dollar, CPAP manufacturers follow the same route.

Some of the elevation CPAP machine brands today are Philips Respironics, ResMed, DeVilbiss, Fisher & Paykel, Somnetics, and Man Design Medical (HDM). At that place are several other primal players in the field that y'all can confidently consider, too. Hither'south a cheat sheet to the different manufacturers and what they bring to the table:

Philips Respironics: Formerly known as just "Respironics", this visitor debuted the first CPAP machine and continues to make loftier-quality machines with all the bells and whistles. On cost, they aren't usually the least expensive, but they aren't the about expensive either.

ResMed: ResMed is considered to be a leader in innovation, and consistently produce high-quality products that are well-liked past consumers. ResMed products are amid the best in the business organization, and many people swear past ResMed's quality. On toll, yous get what you pay for. ResMed machines are among the nearly expensive, but most customers detect that their products are worth the money.

DeVilbiss: DeVilbiss makes the IntelliPAP brand of machines, and isn't a major role player in the motorcar infinite. They brand quite a few masks and have been effectually for a while. On price, their machines are somewhat less expensive, so are their masks.

Fisher & Paykel: Fisher & Paykel is the manufacturer of the Icon line of machines, and was a major actor in the space. They're the makers of the pop Simplus mask and take quite a few masks in their catalog. On price, they tend to be a more expensive brand, but people actually enjoy the level of quality.

Somnetics: Somnetics currently manufactures the Transcend series of machines, and has been effectually for a while. People seem to like Somnetics' line of smaller travel machines, and they've done a lot to make CPAP smaller and more than portable. On price, they're mostly on the mid-to-lower stop of the spectrum.

Human Blueprint Medical: Makers of the Z1 series of CPAP machines, currently the merely machines sold on CPAP.com by Man Design Medical. They manufacture less expensive machines.

As with any big purchase, it helps to read the reviews. Customer Reviews will tell you a lot about the machine, and generally, it's better to get with a car that has generally skillful reviews.

Consider a Travel CPAP Automobile

Unless you're 100% certain y'all'll never sleep in a bed other than your ain, the portability factor is something to consider when looking to buy a CPAP automobile. If you spend a good role of your life on the road, a specially-designed, travel CPAP machine may be the respond.

Even if y'all don't travel frequently, in that location'south ever going to be situations in which you'll need to bring your machine to new sleeping environments. A machine that's lightweight and portable is going to be a amend fit than a large, beefy, heavy machine. Most modern CPAP machines are lightweight, and some even come with a carrying example, and so there's a take chances you can find a highly portable machine even if it's not listed as a travel machine. All it takes is paying attention to the weight and finding one that fits your needs.

Why is Humidification Important?

Not all CPAP devices offer a born or add-on humidifier, but this is an important accessory that should be considered by anyone looking for the most comfortable feel possible. When you lot're starting out with CPAP therapy, you may not think you demand a humidifier. In fact, the first couple of times I used my machine, I didn't put water in it. Boy, was I surprised when I first used the humidifier.

I institute that I didn't get a severely dry mouth from using my machine, and the difference was as dramatic equally light and dark. I presently learned that the humidifier keeps nasal passages and your mouth from drying out during CPAP use. Humidifiers also help lower the adventure of:

nasal infections
bloody noses
and other peripheral side-effects of using a CPAP car.

A humidification unit that disconnects from the primary CPAP automobile comes in handy when traveling, every bit the user and then has the choice of leaving the ofttimes-bulky humidifier section home for a night or ii. For me, humidification is a must-have when using a CPAP machine.

Discover a Quiet CPAP Machine Under thirty dB

Yep, you'll be sleeping while you lot use the CPAP machine, but you accept to be able to fall comatose in the first identify. And, anyone you share a bed with will certainly appreciate a CPAP motorcar with a depression racket level. Y'all tin can detect the noise rating in the specifications department for any CPAP car, and the magic number yous'll desire to keep in mind is 30.

Any unit rated at thirty dB or lower operates at what is generally referred to every bit a "whisper-level". Here are some tips to keep in mind when evaluating noise:

Even just a few decibels to a higher place the 30 mark can indicate a noisy automobile.
a CPAP machine in the 25-28 dB range is an exceptionally tranquility unit.

Learn About the Ramp-upwardly Feature and Whether You Need It

When I start started using a CPAP auto, I institute the force per unit area to be very difficult to get used to. I call up a meeting in the dr.'s office, fix to give up when he told me virtually the ramp feature that my auto had. What's a ramp feature? It's the power of a CPAP machine to start out at the lowest force per unit area, and gradually, over the course of 45 minutes or so to reach the recommended pressure for CPAP therapy.

Being advised to utilize the ramp feature was a big help, and one of the reasons my treatment has been a success. When the motorcar starts off at the low force per unit area, you'll barely notice it. Once yous autumn asleep, the machine increases to the recommended force per unit area. This manner, you're asleep before you would usually notice the pressure.

Most of the CPAP machines available take the ramp feature, and it's becoming more and more common in the market today.

Consider the Smart Data Recording Features

Modern CPAP machines that include some type of onboard data recording feature enable the user to conduct their own makeshift "sleep studies" at home. This provides relevant and important data gleaned during the patient's sleep cycles. Some record bones information only – like how long the individual slept or how long the machine was in employ. Others offer detailed readings similar:

leak rates
pressure level changes
apnea events
snoring episodes, and more.

Some CPAP machines volition send this information to a device via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, while others record information to a memory menu to be analyzed through a computer.

For some of the most popular machines, yous'll have a downloadable app that you can apply to bank check your sleep. For my auto, the app tells me how long I used it; how many times I experienced blockages; and whether my mask is leaking.

All of this is very helpful. If I run into that I had a lot of blockages during the nighttime, it would tell me that something wasn't right, and to consult with my dr.. It tin can likewise aid me troubleshoot some bug that I may have with my sleep at dwelling house.

What Does a CPAP Machine Price?

Getting a CPAP Auto on the cash market (like buying from CPAP.com or other online retailer) is going to cost less than what information technology would cost through the insurance company. CPAP motorcar cost also varies throughout the year, as machines keep and off sales, but by and large:

A CPAP machine is the least "fancy" of the three types, and cost between $300 – $700 dollars
APAP machines have greater composure and price between $600 – $one,000
BiPAP machines are the most complicated, and cost between $ane,000 – $two,000

Prices between different models of CPAP machines tend to fluctuate a lot, every bit unlike machines have different features. At that place's a large divergence in the degree of sophistication between a machine that costs $300 and a machine that costs $ane,000. As is true of almost whatsoever product, you do get what you pay for, and the all-time CPAP machines are among the about expensive.

Where Can You Buy a CPAP Machine?

Most people that are new to treating Slumber Apnea may not realize that they have options when it comes to starting CPAP therapy. It may seem similar the only choice is to go through your insurance company to get a CPAP machine. But at that place are other options bachelor!

Y'all could visit a local CPAP shop, but you lot may non find the selection is very good.

One of the best ways to get a CPAP machine is to guild online .

There you lot'll go the opportunity to get the verbal quality and type of auto that you lot demand for your therapy, and not get bogged downwardly by insurance red-record and regulations. If you lot want a travel machine, yous can get a travel CPAP auto. If you lot desire a pinnacle-of-the-line machine, you can get ane. If you want built-in humidification, y'all can go that too. Equally long every bit your prescription calls for information technology, y'all can gild it.

When you go through insurance, they cull the car and give you the mask they call back works the best. You have very little say in the type of automobile you get. Since the insurance company gets reimbursed the same whether you get a groovy machine or an average machine, they have little incentive to requite y'all the highest quality machine.

They give you the machine that works for them. The best way is to go the machine that works for you. This is why the cash marketplace for CPAP machines has grown rapidly over the past decade. Customers find that they don't have to compromise.

You'll also save on rental fees when you lot go a CPAP machine through the greenbacks market place online. Typically, when y'all get a CPAP machine from your insurance company, you're actually renting it. If you go through a period where you don't use the motorcar, the insurance company can have it from you. This is possible considering the insurance visitor is able to monitor machine usage statistics through the modem on the machine. If they notice usage slows or stops, many insurers volition no longer cover their portion of the rental and demand you send the auto back. When buying a motorcar on the cash market place, the retailer won't track or report on the data coming out of information technology. This is another reason to buy online, that most people may not know most.

Don't forget! CPAP machines don't come with masks so if you lot need to, read up on our "different types of CPAP masks" to make the best decision!

Daniela has researched and published over 60 articles covering topics that aim to inform and empower people living with Sleep Apnea. Equally an avid reader and researcher, Daniela continues to grow her knowledge about Sleep Apnea and CPAP therapy everyday with the help of coworkers, CPAP.com customers, and members of other CPAP communities online.