The beast is back and this year we are without health insurance.  The oxygen really helped last year.  Anyone have any idea how much oxygen costs without insurance?  I have a feeling I am not going to like the answer but we will have to bite the bullet and do it for my husbands sanity.  I feel so bad for him.  It is the weekend now and I am guessing he will have to wait until Monday to get set up.  Thanks in advance for any answers.

Where are you?

    Potter

Go the welding route. Go to any welding supply house. Tell them you have a live bait well you need to oxygenate. Hell, they probabaly won't even ask what you need it for, just don't tell them it's for human consumption, you just need a tank and a regulator.

Since you probably don't have any gear, get creative. Take a trash bag, poke a small hole in the bottom, run the line from the regulator into that hole and tape it up air tight. Gather the top of the bag in your hand, fill the bag up with 02, suck out of the top, move your mouth away to exhale, repeat. You are now the proud owner of a non re breather "bag".

As Potter asked, let us know where you live, there's a lot of people out there willing to help. No one likes seeing a CH'er hurt.

Joe

We are in a suburb of Pittsburgh PA

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I would lease an M tank of welders oxygen,  buy a regulator from harbor freight and an opti mask here.

     Potter

The cost for welding O2 seems to vary greatly from location to location.....here in Seagoville, Texas it cost me $150 deposit on a large cylinder with an $8 monthly rental fee and $21 a refill.  I've got the regulator Potter spoke about from Harbor Freight and I believe they're under $50 bucks........the Opti2mask is available here for $27.50.

Dallas Denny

After the initial outlay for equipment... it is VERY affordable. Refills for an M tank are in the $15-$30 range. O2ptimask is $27.50 here, regulators can be had for under $50 and tanks are in the $300-$350 range brand new. That's it.
I always encourage people to buy their own equipment as it saves rental costs and is immediately available when you need it. I used to get into these situations where I wasn't in cycle, paying rent for equipment, and would return it... only to find it a major inconvenience to get it all back once I needed it. I NEVER regretted making the initial investment.
Good luck and ask any questions you may have regarding this.

Never buy the tank. Mine was 200 bucks one time lease.  If the tank needs anything it's on their dime.

    potter

That's a good deal, preferred if you can find it. Otherwise I would say... never buy a medical O2 tank, nobody will fill it unless it is theirs. Welding supply is a different thing completely.

I have no insurance and had to go the welders route.

Poor credit, so could not lease tank.

To purchase a large 200ft welders o2 tank cost me $335 incl tax and the tank included the 1st fill.  This is a 1x purchase.

Optimask from this website was around $31 incl shipping.  This is a 1x purchase.

I got a 0 - 60 lpm regulator from Flotec for $128 incl shipping.  Harbor Freight sells welders regulators for much less, like $35 or so.  This is a 1x purchase.

O2 refills for me are $33 incl tax.  Depending on your o2 usage, will determine your o2 refill cost.  I go through a large 200 ft o2 tank in a fast 2 or 3 days, so MY o2 cost is probably higher than others that are in low cycle.

Don't forget to add the cost of gasoline for travel to/from welders supply house and whatever you value your time to be if you need to take time off work, etc to get your o2 refilled.

Conclusion:
Overall o2 cost w/o insurance will vary by individual needs per cycle, but what I listed is MY cost without insurance.

Hope this helps you put together a budget/better understanding of costs involved for o2 without insurance.

Good Luck

Well, got my answer from the medical equipment supplier.  It is going to cost us $186.78 per month.  That includes unlimited M tanks.  Only problem is they will only give us one at a time.  If we wanted 2, it would double.  We will just have to be vigilant on watching the gauge.  I didn't think that was too bad.  Generally, my husbands cycles last around 6 weeks.

That's not too bad. Do pusue the insurance company about paying for this. Show them the cost of imitrex injectables, print out the information Batch has compiled with the studies justifying the use of 02 for CH. I was with Kaiser and for many years I went out of pocket for my oxygen, until a Nurse Practitioner, who worked for the neuro, contacted member services and insisted 02 be covered. Hoping it works as well for him as it has for me.

joe

I am new to this forum.  I am seeking to get an oxygen setup in the L.A. area (El Segundo) and would appreciate any help on where to find a tank and refills.  Thanks in advance.
Joe

Joe,

If you have a prescription for home oxygen therapy you can usually dicker with the home oxygen providers on a cash and carry price well below what they charge medical insurance companies.  This is your least expensive option.  I'd ask for an aluminum M60 and Apria usually carries them.

If you want to go the DIY route with welder's oxygen, any good welding supply company will do...  just don't tell them how you intend to use the oxygen. 

They usually charge the replacement cost of the cylinder ~ $250 depending on the cylinder size (I suggest an M-size with 3995 liters) when you pick it up and $35 to $40 dollars to drop off the empty and pick up a fully charged cylinder.  They weigh over 70 lbs so get a cart to move it around safely.

Of course you'll need a CGA-540 0-15 or 0-25 liter/minute medical oxygen regulator or you can make do nicely with a welder's O2 regulator...  Harbor Freight Tools sells a good welder's O2 regulator for $35 to $45.

If you want a smaller cylinder as a roadie or for work, you'll need a transfiller adapter with a CGA-540 fitting on one end and a CGA-870 fitting on the other end.  These run around $99 to $200.  See the following link:

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Finally, you'll need a good oxygen mask and the CH.com store tab at the left of this page has just what you need.

Your final alternative is to start the anti-inflammatory regimen...  The odds are you're vitamin D3 deficient.  83% of the CH'ers who start this regimen experience a significant reduction in the frequency, severity and duration of their CH.  60% experience a lasting pain free response.

See the following link for details:

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Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch