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Oxygen Concentrators


lbh
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Hi everyone -

I'm wondering if anybody has an opinion on oxygen generators.  Rather than having a tank that runs out and has to be refilled by a medical oxygen company, it has always seemed to me that it might be worth it to just buy a generator/concentrator.  Issues I see at the outset (ignoring the price tag for a moment) is that they don't appear to produce 100% O2 (93% +/- an error) and that they might not be strong enough to produce a high enough flow rate.

Has anybody purchased and been successful with a concentrator?  Any advice would be appreciated.  Thanks very much.

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lbh,

The concentrator is not recommended due to the low O2 content and low flow. The minimum flow for most people is 15LPM, but many need a higher flow of 25LPM and the O2 should be 100%

Generally it is recommended to get at least a 25LPM regulator. This will support hyperventilation for most CHer's.

good luck :)

spiny

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Two running at the same time would probably it way too expensive.  I'm finding them to be a few thousand dollars each.

Not to mention that THEY DON'T PRODUCE 100% O2.

I guess what I was trying to say was that if that's all you can get your hands on, make every attempt to get 2 of them. 100% O2, pressurized in a tank, is by far the best option.

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I'm also curious, lbh, about what problem you're trying to solve.  It sounded from your first post like you have a tank but are frustrated with having it run out and then waiting for it to be replaced by an oxygen supply company.  There are ways around that problem, including: (1) Get your O2 supplier to give you more than one large tank, which many will do; and (2) If your O2 supplier is completely unwilling to give you more than one tank, supplement your supply with welding oxygen.   I don't think (could be wrong) that you can buy a concentrator without going through an O2 supplier, but even if you could, I'm puzzled about why you still seem to be considering this option.

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This year was the first year I ever tried O2, and did abort the headaches.  Problem is that I would go through a tank per week and, when things were particularly rough, an entire large tank in one night.  Getting a new tank delivered for the next night, especially on short notice, was not always easy.  I figured that if I had a concentrator I could just use it without worrying about running out and spending hours the next day arranging for refills/pickups/dropoffs/etc.  I think you're right though - getting a couple large tanks at a time is probably the way to go.   

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Are you doing other things to speed up your aborts, such as quickly downing an energy drink just before you hit the O2, using an O2ptimask,  breathing as deep as you can (hyperventilating if the flow rate will support it), and/or using a higher-flow regulator (25 lpm-plus), which you can buy on your own? 

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Not sure what kind of mask I have, although it is a re-breather.  I do breathe deeply, and the O2 does a pretty good job of aborting the attack within about 10-15 minutes.  Trouble with having large tanks on hand all the time is the cost of having them.  That is what got me started with this concentrator thing.  It seemed like having a tank for a year would equal the cost of the concentrator. 

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The O2ptimask is specially made for people with CH.  Over and over, people who get it say it has speeded up their aborts substantially (and is more comfortable, for people where that's an issue).  You can see it here: http://www.clusterheadaches.com/khxc/

My overall point was that if you use some of those strategies to get quicker aborts, your tank could last longer.  Even with the higher flowrate regulators, you still could get a quick-enough abort that you wouldn't be using more O2.

Not to mention that a quick abort is in itself a better thing.

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