Portable oxygen concentrator

Posted by Stella Tucson @fraytv, Jun 5, 2023

I have bronchiectasis and I am looking for advice on portable oxygen concentrator’s. I am currently on 2L oxygen 24x7(since late Nov 2022) due to 2 separate stays in the hospital due to pneumonia/pseudomonas. At home I use a full size concentrator & when away from the house full size & portable tanks. It doesn’t look like I will be getting off the oxygen. I am thinking of purchasing a portable concentrator. I saw a person with a & portable continuous flow & it was very loud & they said it weighed 14 lbs. They got it from the local oxygen supplier going through insurance. I would like to get a lighter weight & quiet one. Here are my questions:

Any recommendations on brand/model & any to avoid?

If I purchase one do I need a prescription from a dr?

Should I get continuous flow or pulse? I use pulse on the portable ones.

The use of oxygen is new to me, learning everyday. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you!

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chickytina | @chickytina | Jun 3 10:00am

In reply to @vic83 "QUESTION? How often do you change the cannula on your stationary and portable oxygen concentrators? How..." + (show)

I never cleaned mine other than wiping it. When I had my oxygen, I had enough tubes that when it started to smell I would change it. I have very sensitive sense of smell so I could tell the difference.

rtmjohnson1 | @rtmjohnson1 | Jun 4 4:36pm

In reply to @vic83 "My doctor revised my prescription after the overnight oximetry came in...so he is prescribing O2 at..." + (show)

The pulse machines may or may not be pumping 2 LPM. The Inogen rep told me it’s just a calculated guess because they have no way to measure the rate you demand the pulse.
Don’t get all confused about LPMs and lose track of your goal. Mine is keeping the O2 blood level over 90%.
Buy you one of the Fingertip Pulse Oximeter Blood Oxygen Saturation Monitors that’s on Amazon. Cheapest is around $14 and most expensive is $35. U took mine to my doctor’s office and compared it to theirs and it was very accurate.

vic83 | @vic83 | Jun 4 5:11pm

In reply to @rtmjohnson1 "The pulse machines may or may not be pumping 2 LPM. The Inogen rep told me..." + (show)

Thanks for advice. Your Inogen rep honest. Mayo rehab person said the same thing - don't let perfect get in the way of good - and Inogen pulse dose not the same as continuous flow.
I had 3 oximeters, one stopped working. just ordered another. I tried out Inogen with oximeter test on the treadmill. I have prescription for 2L/min. If I just slow walking Inogen 2 fine, but if I want to get up to 3 METS (2.8 miles/min I think) then I put it on 3L and that seems to work. Uses up more battery but who cares.
I will blue tooth my new oximeter so I have report for Doc.

chickytina | @chickytina | Jun 6 12:52pm

In reply to @vic83 "Thanks for advice. Your Inogen rep honest. Mayo rehab person said the same thing - don't..." + (show)

At least for mine, you could plug in and use at the same time. So you wouldn't have to worry about using the battery up.

vic83 | @vic83 | Jun 17 6:29pm

In reply to @rtmjohnson1 "I have the Inogen G5 and very happy with it and the company. Their representatives have..." + (show)

I got a surprise. My stationary oxygen concentrator provider also gave me a portable Inogen G5 through Medicare at no cost to me. They said they bill the same price to Medicare whether I keep the portable or not. I have no idea why. But I am beginning to think that Inogen is giving out these discontinued models to O2 providers, because patient needs batteries (like printer ink) and Inogen charges a lot for the battery! And Inogen has stated product has 8-year life. So that 8 years of needing to purchase battery is recurring revenue for them since impossible to use any other battery.

My provider gave me carrying case and extra tubing, and one standard battery, but said I would need to buy my next battery as they do not carry Inogen products. I called Inogen and they said Medicare does not cover replacement batteries after first one dies. Is that your experience? Standard battery is $400, good for 500 charges they say. But there is an upkeep cost to these things!