Insurance won’t approve my oxygen tank...sigh feeling helpless

[kat_92]

Well my doctor prescribed an o2 tank yesterday and my insurance won’t cover it. My headaches have started to ramp up a bit, probably because it’s now fall. I’ve been in contact with Batch working out the kinks to the d3 regimen. 

I have read all the info about welding o2, but I don’t really have anyone to help me transport the tanks and stuff  I’m feeling so depressed and discouraged at this point. It’s been 3 months of intense shaddow pain and it seems like it’s never going to go away. Everyone on this forum who has dealt with this for years is so strong 

 

[Boatman]

Hang in there Kat.. I'm sorry to hear that about your 02. I myself use welding 02 for similar reasons. Any chance you live in a populated area? It helps because on Craigslist and letgo people sell 02 tanks all the time. You might want to take a look.. some tanks are not too heavy.. the other thing you could try is just taking a ride to the welding/gas supplier near you because it's not uncommon for ch people to be use these places.. the supplier near me is very familiar with the condition. They might be more then willing to set you up with something. Refilling tanks is not expensive.. good luck. If you need any help don't be scared to ask..

 

[CHChris]

Don't give up on welding O2 just yet Kat.  Many of the welding supply shops in my area will also deliver tanks.  They do charge a fee, but I crunched the numbers one time and it was still cheaper than paying for medical O2 out of pocket.  You could call around to your local welding supply stores and see if they do deliver.  That could be a good way to save the time of visiting the ones that don't deliver.

Another thought would be to get a smaller tank and carry it around using a dolly.  125 cubic foot tanks can be fairly heavy, but with a dolly it is a breeze to move them.  That would be roughly the size of a medical M tank. 

 

[jon019]

...sorry if I missed this.... have you tried asking an O2 shop to accept self pay? Did that for many yrs....unknown if they are still willing, I'd try multiple outlets...this is dated but I paid $10/e-tank to start and eventually $14...

[CHfather]

51 minutes ago, CHChris said:

Another thought would be to get a smaller tank and carry it around using a dolly.  125 cubic foot tanks can be fairly heavy, but with a dolly it is a breeze to move them. 

I think most people would still need help getting a 120 cu ft tank into and out of a vehicle.  We have found that multiple smaller tanks (for example, three 40 cu ft tanks instead of one 120 cu ft tank) is more expensive but completely manageable.  Or two 60s, maybe.  One can get rolling carts/dollies that will hold two 60s.

[kat_92]

Thank you all so much for the responses. Okay so I have a question; you can buy a regulator that is 15 or 25 Lpn regardless of the flow rate the doctor prescribes? 

Kat 

[kat_92]

@Brain on fire I’m really trying. The days seem darker lately  finding myself feeling very depressed and anxious. Almost waiting for a full blown attack to come and ruin my life. It’s also been hard trying to explain to my family the sevarity of the situation. When I told them I got an O2 script that got their attention. 

Okay more about o2. So what are the purpose of demand valves? Also, let’s say the doc prescribed a flow rate of 5 lpm...I can buy a regulator and hook it on, and this delivers a stronger flow (i.e. 15 or 25 lpm)? But won’t this make the tank run out faster? 

[CHfather]

24 minutes ago, kat_92 said:

you can buy a regulator that is 15 or 25 Lpn regardless of the flow rate the doctor prescribes? 

Yes. Just be careful as you're buying.  Smaller medical tanks take one type of regulator (a CGA 870), but larger medical tanks and all welding tanks use a different type, CGA 540.  Then there are welding regulators, also CGA 540 but they are not sold by lpm.  They will support an lpm of at least 25, but you can set it for less. For more information about this, you could look at this file: https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/5627-notes-about-welding-o2/

Examples:

CGA 870:  https://www.amazon.com/EverOne-Oxygen-Regulator-Litersper-Connection/dp/B07L9P7V55/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=3ILK8Q00GFC82&keywords=cga+870+oxygen+regulator&qid=1569471449&s=gateway&sprefix=cga+870%2Caps%2C173&sr=8-3-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFFT0VSNlZVUEMzNUsmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAzNTQxNzczNTJPNDVGS1I3Q1A1JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA2NDMyNzBaRzNTVjdBSjJJUlcmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

Medical CGA 540 (looks like this--this one is NOT 25 lpm):  https://www.amazon.com/Medline-Valued-Oxygen-Regulator-Connector/dp/B00BLQKI86/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?keywords=cga+540+medical+oxygen+regulator+25&qid=1569471751&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmr0

Welding CGA 540: https://www.amazon.com/Welding-Gas-Welder-Regulator-cutting/dp/B00JJGL7LW/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=cga+540+oxygen+regulator+25&qid=1569471616&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzMk9DN1ZWVUNCMVlQJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMjU0NzQwMVEzMjhSR09LMjlFJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA0ODE0MjExNDRBRUxJMUxJQUZDJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

 

[kat_92]

@Brain on fireThanks for the great responses @CHfather. I really appreciate it. I’m sure I’ll be asking more questions when I get the 02 tank 

[kat_92]

@Brain on fire can you share some links for demand valves? Does any valve hook onto any tank? 

[CHfather]

I just wrote you a giant long response about how demand valve and regular mask work. They system rejected it and deleted it, and it's late for me to start again.  I'd suggest you read the part about oxygen in this and then ask any questions, but I'm sorry the other one is lost.  https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/6213-basic-non-busting-information/  (There is also something about shadows in there that might help you.)

The basics.  A standard mask system works by filling a bag on your mask (a "reservoir bag") with O2. When you inhale, you are breathing O2 out of the bag. The speed at which the bag fills is determined by the lpm that your regulator lets out of the tank.  The higher the lpm, the faster the bag fills. But not everyone needs the bag to fill superfast.  All you want is that the bag is full whenever you are ready to inhale, using an effective breathing technique (something like deep inhale/hold/full exhale/repeat). The bag refills after you have breathed in the O2 and while you are holding/exhaling.  For some people, 15 lpm is enough to have the bag full each time you are ready to inhale; others need more lpm to accomplish that.  With a demand valve system, there is no bag, and the O2 is available when you inhale (or when you press a button). You also have to have a high-flow regulator with a special fitting, called a DISS fitting. Demand valve is a nice thing, but (a) expensive and (b) you'd have to convince me that it actually saves significant O2, since I figure that each time you inhale you are using the same amount of O2 as you would with a standard mask at a reasonable lpm.  

As for your other question, yes you would use more O2 at 15lpm than at 5lpm, but you can't abort an attack at 5 lpm.  In any event, even if you could abort at 5lp, it's not three times as much at 15 because the abort would be much faster.

 

 

[CHfather]

3 minutes ago, Brain on fire said:

A demand valve is oxygen on demand-breathe in (through the mouth) you breath oxygen (no mask required)

No, I don't think so.  It has a mask.  I'm pretty sure my description in previous post is accurate.  I mean, maybe it could be a tube, but the definitional thing is that you have full oxygen on demand, either whenever you inhale or when you press a button. No bag to fill.

[CHfather]

Until recently, I was under the impression that one required a prescription for a demand valve, but they sometimes could be bought on a kind of "black market" at EBay (where my daughter got hers).  Someone recently posted that they had bought one from some medical supplier.  Maybe there's a link in one of the two O2-related posts I reference above.  As I said above, there are good things to be said about demand valves just because they're so easy to use and, in my daughter's case at least, the mask she got is very comfortably cushy (hers involves pressing a button to release the O2 rather than triggering the release just by inhaling).  But overall I think it's hard to justify the cost or effectiveness over just getting a good welding regulator and the "O2ptimask," now called the "ClusterO2 Kit." 

[Dennis]

I agree with @Jon19. Try to find a medical supply that will allow you to pay out of pocket. I found that most companies only wanted to sell to patients covered by insurance because they bill at a $200 per month rate. However, I did find one company that will sell to me directly for under $15 per tank if I pick them up. They are small tanks so I can throw them in the trunk of my car.