Re: Seeking Nebulizer Info-Suggestions-Feedback

[Guest guest]

Do a search on this board for Omron's Microair model. Several of us

have it. It runs on AA batteries (pretty much a must for Terry and

me, since we live in Hurricane country) and it's so small, the case

for it is slightly larger than a hard shell case for eyeglasses.

Works GREAT. Online cost about $225-$250. I have one of the real

bulky ones that's about 5 years old and weighs a ton from before I

got the microair. I don't even know where it is!

Addy

--- In , " instdesgn1 " <instdesgn1@...>

wrote:

>

> My pulmo did suggest using a nebulizer when I've used albuterol

> (Proair) 3 times in 5 minutes (which she said was a no-no). I have

> one from about 4 years ago that the insurance paid for but ... it's

> noisy and cumbersome and when I'm staggering around & disoriented

> from shortness of breath in the middle of the night it's very hard

to

> get set up. Also, it's not at all portable and wakes up my hubby.

> (Reminds me of the early home hair dryers)

>

> The pulmo's office is going to request a nebulizer for me and I'm

> hoping the insurance will pay. Just in case they do not or in case

> they want to provide the same klutzy thing I have now I might look

> into buying something myself.

>

> What do the prices run?

> How big are they?

> How complicated are they?

> How noisy?

> Can any of them run on batteries?

> What types are the easiest to use?

> Anything in particular to look for?

> Anything I can put in my purse?

> Sanitation issues?

> Big long hoses?

> Some way to store the ampules (?) of albuterol that go in it?

> Any way to set it on a table to keep one's hands free?

> Buy online or in store? (have never seen one in store)

>

> Thx

>

[Guest guest]

Regular inhalers do not work for me so nebbing is all I can do.

Have been doing this since 1988 and have worn out several machines.

I have a neb machine in my house, at work and a small one that runs on

the cigarette lighter in the car for trips and travel. I have a drawer

in my desk next to my machine that i store my meds in. The travel

machine comes in a case that has pockets for the meds that go with it.

I neb with xopenex, pulmicort and atrovent 2 to 4 times a day

depending on how much I need it.

Insurance pays for everything!

The small one for trips has a regular plug in also so it can be used

at home too. It is VERY QUIET!

Doug

Group founder

Nebbing as I type

[Guest guest]

I use Omron's Microair model. Be sure to buy nickel metal hydride rechargeable

batteries and charger at like Bestbuy or an electronics store. It comes with

several batteries that way you have extra charged sets of batteries ready if

needed.

 

I bought my Omron Microair when I was going on my honeymoon and we were out of

the country. It was so convenient for traveling and it fits in my purse.

Noiseless. We brought the extra batteries and charger with us. I pulled it out

of my purse when we got to the humid jungle in Chichen Itza.  

 

It kept it with me at all times for a while and kept my epi pen in the container

with the portable neb. I don't need to kept with me at all times anymore because

of my vast improvement on Xolair. Best to you on your search. It was so nice not

to be connected to an outlet or have a " turbo " nebulizer my husband had to turn

up our TV so loud to hear over the neb.lol

 

You do need to clean it with vingear and water pretty frequently it uses a

vibrating mesh technology and needs to be kept clean to work properly.

 

Best to you,

 

Laurie

From: instdesgn1 <instdesgn1@...>

Subject: [ ] Seeking Nebulizer Info-Suggestions-Feedback

Date: Tuesday, July 22, 2008, 9:22 PM

My pulmo did suggest using a nebulizer when I've used albuterol

(Proair) 3 times in 5 minutes (which she said was a no-no). I have

one from about 4 years ago that the insurance paid for but ... it's

noisy and cumbersome and when I'm staggering around & disoriented

from shortness of breath in the middle of the night it's very hard to

get set up. Also, it's not at all portable and wakes up my hubby.

(Reminds me of the early home hair dryers)

The pulmo's office is going to request a nebulizer for me and I'm

hoping the insurance will pay. Just in case they do not or in case

they want to provide the same klutzy thing I have now I might look

into buying something myself.

What do the prices run?

How big are they?

How complicated are they?

How noisy?

Can any of them run on batteries?

What types are the easiest to use?

Anything in particular to look for?

Anything I can put in my purse?

Sanitation issues?

Big long hoses?

Some way to store the ampules (?) of albuterol that go in it?

Any way to set it on a table to keep one's hands free?

Buy online or in store? (have never seen one in store)

Thx

[Guest guest]

ditto what everyone else said about the omron microair. i got mine

about 4 years ago and my compressor neb has been in the closet

collecting dust ever since.

this is where i got mine -

http://www.portablenebs.com/ but as i recall, they do not bill

insurance, so i had to pay for it. i think i tried to submit it with

BCBS and they spit it back with some excuse. to me, it was $200

investment in my quality of life.

heather

--- In , " instdesgn1 " <instdesgn1@...>

wrote:

>

> My pulmo did suggest using a nebulizer when I've used albuterol

> (Proair) 3 times in 5 minutes (which she said was a no-no). I

have

> one from about 4 years ago that the insurance paid for but ...

it's

> noisy and cumbersome and when I'm staggering around & disoriented

> from shortness of breath in the middle of the night it's very hard

to

> get set up. Also, it's not at all portable and wakes up my

hubby.

> (Reminds me of the early home hair dryers)

>

> The pulmo's office is going to request a nebulizer for me and I'm

> hoping the insurance will pay. Just in case they do not or in

case

> they want to provide the same klutzy thing I have now I might look

> into buying something myself.

>

> What do the prices run?

> How big are they?

> How complicated are they?

> How noisy?

> Can any of them run on batteries?

> What types are the easiest to use?

> Anything in particular to look for?

> Anything I can put in my purse?

> Sanitation issues?

> Big long hoses?

> Some way to store the ampules (?) of albuterol that go in it?

> Any way to set it on a table to keep one's hands free?

> Buy online or in store? (have never seen one in store)

>

> Thx

>

[Guest guest]

>

> ditto what everyone else said about the omron microair. i got mine

> about 4 years ago and my compressor neb has been in the closet

> collecting dust ever since.

>

> this is where i got mine -

> http://www.portablenebs.com/ but as i recall, they do not bill

> insurance, so i had to pay for it. i think i tried to submit it with

> BCBS and they spit it back with some excuse. to me, it was $200

> investment in my quality of life.

>

> heather

>

,

I had one like that and it broke 2 times in one year. My home medical

equipment provider traded it for another brand. They no longer sell

them because so many people were bringing them back.

Doug

[Guest guest]

I have a Pari-Trek-S and I have been real happy with it. I plug it in the

car power points (lighter) and have done nebs that way. I did not buy the

battery pack for it as I usually have power options available. But there is

one.

It is light, compact and comes in a carry case that can hold other meds. I

have carried in my pack will traveling.

Insurance did cover part of it for me.

B.

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of uca79iii

Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:31 PM

Subject: [ ] Re: Seeking Nebulizer Info-Suggestions-Feedback

>

> ditto what everyone else said about the omron microair. i got mine

> about 4 years ago and my compressor neb has been in the closet

> collecting dust ever since.

>

> this is where i got mine -

> http://www.portablenebs.com/ but as i recall, they do not bill

> insurance, so i had to pay for it. i think i tried to submit it with

> BCBS and they spit it back with some excuse. to me, it was $200

> investment in my quality of life.

>

> heather

>

,

I had one like that and it broke 2 times in one year. My home medical

equipment provider traded it for another brand. They no longer sell

them because so many people were bringing them back.

Doug

[Guest guest]

Ditto what Doug said, I had heard really good things about the Omron

but had a horrible personal experience with it, so luckily it had been

5 years since I had gotten my compressor one and insurance paid for my

2nd portable (80/20 of UCR - which turned out to be around $30). I

went to one of the local med supply places and they also had horror

stories about the Omron. maybe it's just our area, who knows? I

ended up getting the Aeroneb Go which takes AA batteries and it's

tiny. I've had it about 5 years now and never had a problem with it,

although the last 3 it hasn't been used much since I've been on Xolair

lol. Here's the link for it: http://www.aerogen.com/aeroneb-go-

micropump-nebulizer-system.html

...having allergy nightmares in Alabama, but no asthma problems.

> ,

>

> I had one like that and it broke 2 times in one year. My home medical

> equipment provider traded it for another brand. They no longer sell

> them because so many people were bringing them back.

>

> Doug

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

>

> Ditto what Doug said, I had heard really good things about the Omron

> but had a horrible personal experience with it, so luckily it had been

> 5 years since I had gotten my compressor one and insurance paid for my

> 2nd portable (80/20 of UCR - which turned out to be around $30). I

> went to one of the local med supply places and they also had horror

> stories about the Omron. maybe it's just our area, who knows? I

> ended up getting the Aeroneb Go which takes AA batteries and it's

> tiny. I've had it about 5 years now and never had a problem with it,

> although the last 3 it hasn't been used much since I've been on Xolair

> lol. Here's the link for it: http://www.aerogen.com/aeroneb-go-

> micropump-nebulizer-system.html

>

> ...having allergy nightmares in Alabama, but no asthma problems.

>

>

,

Your post did not include the full url for some reason. I found the

page and here is the url again for anyone who wants to see it:

http://www.aerogen.com/aeroneb-go-micropump-nebulizer-system.html

Hope that works

Doug

[Guest guest]

wow - mine's going on 5 years and still going strong. granted, its

not abused like it was in the beginning, but this latest flare has

caused me to go thru 2+ boxes of albuterol, all with my omron, and

aside from replacing the batteries, i had no issues.

sorry yours didn't make it!!!

heather

>

>

> > ,

> >

> > I had one like that and it broke 2 times in one year. My home

medical

> > equipment provider traded it for another brand. They no longer

sell

> > them because so many people were bringing them back.

> >

> > Doug

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I just went to the website ... I take it that

the compressor types are the noisy ones.  Must be what I have now plus it's

heavy and gets hot. 

 

I noticed something about an adult facial mask that seems to go with the

nebulizer.  Has anyone used one?  Is there a particular reason for using it?  

(I was thinking about possibly going to sleep while nebbing.)   I didn't see any

photos of the masks. 

 

Re those with the mouthpiece ...my current nebulizer puts out a fine mist that

looks sort've like smoke.  Do the small portable ones do that too?  i.e., have

you ever had people look at you strangely while driving/riding in the car?   It

seems to be like half the med must be lost .... 

 

I'm still waiting on the pulmo's office (and probably insurance) to find out

what they will pay for ... or not.  Didn't see any prices on the one I checked

out but assume they will become apparent later! 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Re: a nebulizer mask, I use a mask to neb b/c we (my pulmo, GP &

I) figured out a few years ago that due to the fact that by nature

I'm not a patient person, I would bite on the mouthpiece in order to

have both hands free while I was doing a treatment and would thus

cause a tightening of the muscles in my jaw/throat, and I was

perceiving this 'tightness' as a worsening of my asthma (obviously it

wasn't). So, I use a mask while nebbing (there is no way to bite down

on it, and both hands are free), my pulmo likes it better (as do I).

A respiratory therapist in one hospital a few years ago gave me a

hard time when I asked if I could use a mask (he said that its not

effective and doesn't deliver the medicine well), but my pulmo (who

would know this) said a mask was actually a way to make sure you get

all the medicine, which is why they use masks in the NICU and for

very incapacitated individuals who can't hold a nebulizer cup at all.

So I pefer a mask actually. It looks just like an oxygen mask with a

hole in the bottom or the front (depending on your nebulizer cup),

with a little elastic band that holds the mask on your face.

As far as trying to sleep though, another thing doctors have told

me is to make sure you're sitting up while doing a neb, and I know my

machine at least won't deliver the medicine if you're lying down. So

I don't know if sleeping while nebbing is recommended.

Hope this helps!

Meagan

--- In , SD Designer <instdesgn1@...>

wrote:

>

> Thanks for all the suggestions.  I just went to the website ... I

take it that the compressor types are the noisy ones.  Must be what I

have now plus it's heavy and gets hot. 

>  

> I noticed something about an adult facial mask that seems to go

with the nebulizer.  Has anyone used one?  Is there a particular

reason for using it?   (I was thinking about possibly going to sleep

while nebbing.)   I didn't see any photos of the masks. 

>  

> Re those with the mouthpiece ...my current nebulizer puts out a

fine mist that looks sort've like smoke.  Do the small portable ones

do that too?  i.e., have you ever had people look at you strangely

while driving/riding in the car?   It seems to be like half the med

must be lost .... 

>  

> I'm still waiting on the pulmo's office (and probably insurance) to

find out what they will pay for ... or not.  Didn't see any prices on

the one I checked out but assume they will become apparent later! 

>  

>  

>  

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I have been going round and round now for a few weeks with nebulizer

vendors who do not want to sell me the MicroAir Vibrating Mesh

Nebulizer NE-U22V (portable) because I have insurance. That's

right. As soon as they find out I have insurance they claim they

don't do business with the supplier.

I have a prescription and the insurance has agreed to pay. (A sub of

BCBS)

So far Apria was ready to sell until they found out I was using

insurance, Praxair claimed they had shipped one which they later

admitted they did not. Option Care (affiliated with Walgreens) was

ready to ship until they found out about the insurance.

It's amazing that when I call these companies they immediately tell

me that (a) the insurance will not pay for the neb (WRONG - the

insurance has already approved the purchase)

( the insurance will not pay for the battery (WRONG - it comes with

a battery and insurance DOES pay)

© they can't get it (WRONG - they don't want to get it because the

profit margin is not high enough)

This really begins to sound like something related to the " Fair Trade

and Deceptive Practices Act " it seems like.

It's very important for me to have this - I agree, the doctor agrees,

and the insurance agrees. The problem is with the vendor!!!

Any ideas? Just call me breathless !!!

[Guest guest]

Have you called any of your local respiratory or med supply companies

and asked if they carry it and if they'll sell it to you and bill

your insurance? That's what they do. (Maybe these are the companies

you called, I can't tell). Have you talked to the folks at

www.portablenebs.com? Alternatively, have you asked your insurance

company if they will reimburse you if you pay up front? Have you

asked your insurance company if they have a covered respiratory care

provider you can get this from?

Addy

--- In , " instdesgn1 " <instdesgn1@...>

wrote:

>

> I have been going round and round now for a few weeks with

nebulizer

> vendors who do not want to sell me the MicroAir Vibrating Mesh

> Nebulizer NE-U22V (portable) because I have insurance. That's

> right. As soon as they find out I have insurance they claim they

> don't do business with the supplier.

>

> I have a prescription and the insurance has agreed to pay. (A sub

of

> BCBS)

>

> So far Apria was ready to sell until they found out I was using

> insurance, Praxair claimed they had shipped one which they later

> admitted they did not. Option Care (affiliated with Walgreens) was

> ready to ship until they found out about the insurance.

>

> It's amazing that when I call these companies they immediately tell

> me that (a) the insurance will not pay for the neb (WRONG - the

> insurance has already approved the purchase)

> ( the insurance will not pay for the battery (WRONG - it comes

with

> a battery and insurance DOES pay)

> © they can't get it (WRONG - they don't want to get it because

the

> profit margin is not high enough)

>

> This really begins to sound like something related to the " Fair

Trade

> and Deceptive Practices Act " it seems like.

>

> It's very important for me to have this - I agree, the doctor

agrees,

> and the insurance agrees. The problem is with the vendor!!!

>

> Any ideas? Just call me breathless !!!

>

[Guest guest]

We have 2 medical supply companies in our metro area of 100,000

people. If they don't carry what I need, they special order it and bill

the insurance.

I am also a CPAP user. I need a certain type of mask that both

companies in town do not carry. The medical supply company I use

special ordered it and billed my insurance. It was shipped to my door

within 3 days.

Most of the time, regular asthma inhalers do not work for me.

Therefore, I own 3 nebulizers: One at home one at office and one I

use the car and on trips.

Even on xolair, I still neb 4 to 5x a day. Before xolair, nebbing did

not work about 1/2 the time and I was on 50mg of pred daily.

Now, I am COMPLETELY off pred and the nebs work

The neb machine I have at home broke the other day and was still under

warranty. I bought this machine from a different medical company in

another city and the company I use now does not carry it.

The company here were happy to send it off to the manufacturer for me

for repair or replacement. It took a week and at NO cost to me or my

insurance. I got a brand new one shipped to my door within 10 days.

Surely, there is a company as good as mine where you live and can help

the customer get what they want.

Happily nebbing as I type

Doug