How do people obtain regulated medical devices like CPAP without a prescription? I assume a sleep study is required to get a prescription from a doctor.
I think there's a loophole in that you can buy CPAP machines without a prescription from second-hand sellers. Last I checked it looked pretty inexpensive, too. So, really, you don't need a prescription to try one if you really wanted to.
There's probably some safety concerns, but I've become cynical about a lot of it. Doctors of course want everyone to go to the doctor first, but is it really that dangerous to use a CPAP machine if you didn't need one?
Apparently dry nose and skin irritation. I wouldn't worry too much about it. But if you can get a doctor's appointment you might get an insurance to pay for your experiment.
You can buy used ones from someone who has bought it with a prescription.
It can be preferable to going through the "proper channels", since it can take many months to get the machine through the US medical system, and you need to get some goddamn SLEEP.
Have you tried? I had a tough time buying a used CPAP on eBay. I had a saved search on file for over a year before I was successful. Every listing that came up, eBay would quash because of the prescription requirement. I finally got one that was a buy-it-now where the seller and I managed to consummate the deal within a few minutes of the listing going online, before the eBay secret police could remove it.
