Portable oxygen concentrator

I used an Ingen 5. It is a puffer. So the first thing you need to think about is if you can use a puffer. The good thing is that it goes up to 6 liters. It is able to go on the airplane, so that isn't an issue as well. I would suggest getting the double batteries though. Also it came with a car charger and it can charge and be in use at the same time (just not on the car charger). I would still switch over to the hospital's oxygen when I had appointments, since the ride to the hospital was about 1 hour and most of the time I was on 6 liters. It is also only 7 pounds with the battery and not that noisy like some of the others. Downside I believe it costs a little more.

My husband has Inogen portable for use outside the home and the majority of the participants in his pulmonary rehab group arrive using Inogen but use the tank while there and I don’t know the reason for that. His is very small and light but I think I have seen an smaller version recently.

If you would like a supplier, you might call Advanced Medical, Mpls., 763-732-1524, Andrew. Competitive prices. Honest. -At least that’s what I found-. Good luck.

I am on 3L oxygen full time. I have an Imogene One G5 puffer with single and double batteries along with home and car chargers. Works good for me! I use regular concentrator at home.

I too have bronchiectasis and have recently added oxygen to my daily living. Seriously, I don't have to use it all the time, but if I walk much or do anything physical, my oxygen level will drop to maybe 72-74 -- and that's not comfortable. I learned if your oxygen level is 88 or below, you qualify for medicare pay for the oxygen. I am 82 so of course have medicare. My doctor read the oxygen meter as I walked a bit and as soon as it hit 88, he said enough. Wrote a prescription which I then took to a pharmacy and they brought to my home both the tank and larger set up and an Inogen -- small. I don't know if you are old enough for Medicare, but if you are, it should not be a problem.

Yes I have Medicare Advantage. All of the oxygen stuff was set up for me by the hospital before I was discharged. I was told oxygen was temporary, here it is 7 months later & not able to get off of it. I have talked to the oxygen supplier in Tucson & they have told me what is required to get a portable concentrator. I just wanted to get other folks experience with it. Thank you so much for responding to my questions!

Thank you!

I started using an Inogen One G5 about 3 months ago. I purchased the unit outright from Inogen as since this is a long-term need, renting equipment made no sense financially. I purchased one single and two double batteries. The single is great for lighter activities as it weighs less. I got the two doubles to meet airline requirements for longer flights. Though please note that I just got back from England and the AA gate attendants at both O'Hare and Heathrow had no interest in checking my battery reserves.

Also.. you may want to check the 1-6 settings on this unit. My understanding from someone in the industry is that these are just machine settings, not liter settings. But I have not yet explored this further myself.

Thank you for replying. I will probably end up purchasing one. Can you please tell me if yours is quiet or loud? Hope you had a good trip!

Thank you. An 18-day trip... it was incredible.

The higher the setting the louder it is. I typically use it at 2, but go up to 3 if I am climbing lots of stairs or walking up a steep hill. The difference in volume between 2 and 3 is noticeable, but barely by someone more than 5' away. I guess I will say that it is more noisy than I thought it might be, but definitely less so than some others I have seen people using.

If purchasing, please note that you will still need a prescription. I bought mine directly from Inogen and used a well-written prescription from the Mayo. The prescription from my normal provider was not well written, so was rejected. Simple language skills.

You probably know that the unit comes with a cross-body bag which is great. I also bought a backpack carrier, but a third party one from a company called O2TOTES on Amazon. I used both on the trip depending on what activities were on the schedule. They also make a fanny pack carrier, but the difference in my hip and waist measurements were not enough to keep it from sliding down.