NEW VEST VS. OLD VEST..

[JBUCCA]

just a ????? is the new model vest REALLY better? i have the old one weighing like 30 lb... and my insurance keeps denying me and my dr. for paying for the new one.. and i have my husbands insr. which is great, but i still cant it with out paying 6000.00.. so is the new one better. or is it just smaller????? i want to know from you guys. hands on is always better than reading on google....

 

[JBUCCA]

just a ????? is the new model vest REALLY better? i have the old one weighing like 30 lb... and my insurance keeps denying me and my dr. for paying for the new one.. and i have my husbands insr. which is great, but i still cant it with out paying 6000.00.. so is the new one better. or is it just smaller????? i want to know from you guys. hands on is always better than reading on google....

 

[Faust]

From what I know, as long as you also have a pressure dial on your older vest (only the real ancient one didn't have it that I know of), the only difference between the newest one and the older one is that the newest one is digital and is much smaller and therefore much more portable. It has a bag to carry it also. So as long as you don't have any need for portability, you don't really need the newest vest.

 

[Faust]

From what I know, as long as you also have a pressure dial on your older vest (only the real ancient one didn't have it that I know of), the only difference between the newest one and the older one is that the newest one is digital and is much smaller and therefore much more portable. It has a bag to carry it also. So as long as you don't have any need for portability, you don't really need the newest vest.

 

[skh]

I'm working on trying to get my daughter the smaller more portable one. Not sure what our insurance will say. It would sure make traveling a lot easier.

Sue

 

[skh]

I'm working on trying to get my daughter the smaller more portable one. Not sure what our insurance will say. It would sure make traveling a lot easier.

Sue

 

[thelizardqueen]

We don't have vests in Canada. Wish we did though.

 

[thelizardqueen]

We don't have vests in Canada. Wish we did though.

 

[Ben]

I had the old 102 model for the past 14 years. I loved the results it gave me, but by no means was the thing portable!
I just got my new Respirtech vest today! Quite excited! It is a new Minnesota based company. They definitely did their homework. The tubes lock into the machine and the vest...so no popping off. It comes in a very well made case that is specifically designed to fit in an overhead compartment of a plane. The case also holds the tubes, vest and plugs for it. It is pretty slick...you can set-up the plans as you want them...so it can run from 5 to 20 over 10 minutes, then back down to 7, then up to 30, etc. And it doesnt just do 4,5, 6...it does 4.1, 4.2... So it suppose to be more effective in that way. And as soon as you enter everything in it remembers it and you don't have to re-enter it everytime you are ready to do a treatment. You can manually just set it as well...like how the Hill Rom was wokrks. I dont claim to understand all the technology, but the size, the treatment it gave me, the way you can customize it as you like, the ease of use and pretty much everything else...I must say so far I am very impressed! The vest itself breathes much better as well...so it isn't as hot as my old one was. My FEV 1 was at 114% last appointment, so I dont expect to see any improvements on them. But with all the traveling I do this new machine will make a huge impact on my life!
Just thought I would add that to the conversation. As I use it more and more I can give more personal opinons on the machine as well.
Thanks for listening.... <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[Ben]

I had the old 102 model for the past 14 years. I loved the results it gave me, but by no means was the thing portable!
I just got my new Respirtech vest today! Quite excited! It is a new Minnesota based company. They definitely did their homework. The tubes lock into the machine and the vest...so no popping off. It comes in a very well made case that is specifically designed to fit in an overhead compartment of a plane. The case also holds the tubes, vest and plugs for it. It is pretty slick...you can set-up the plans as you want them...so it can run from 5 to 20 over 10 minutes, then back down to 7, then up to 30, etc. And it doesnt just do 4,5, 6...it does 4.1, 4.2... So it suppose to be more effective in that way. And as soon as you enter everything in it remembers it and you don't have to re-enter it everytime you are ready to do a treatment. You can manually just set it as well...like how the Hill Rom was wokrks. I dont claim to understand all the technology, but the size, the treatment it gave me, the way you can customize it as you like, the ease of use and pretty much everything else...I must say so far I am very impressed! The vest itself breathes much better as well...so it isn't as hot as my old one was. My FEV 1 was at 114% last appointment, so I dont expect to see any improvements on them. But with all the traveling I do this new machine will make a huge impact on my life!
Just thought I would add that to the conversation. As I use it more and more I can give more personal opinons on the machine as well.
Thanks for listening.... <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[skh]

Ben, if not too personal, did your insurance help pay for the new model? This is the model that I would like my daughter to get. Dr. Milla from the U of MN is one of her CF docs and from what I understand they have not started to prescribe for this new model yet? I will have to contact them again and find out what the status is.

Sue

 

[skh]

Ben, if not too personal, did your insurance help pay for the new model? This is the model that I would like my daughter to get. Dr. Milla from the U of MN is one of her CF docs and from what I understand they have not started to prescribe for this new model yet? I will have to contact them again and find out what the status is.

Sue

 

[LouLou]

Hil-rom is legally required to tell our insurance if we have a 103 at home. Even if it's a totally different insurance co. than when you got the vest (me 9 years ago). What I'm thinking is maybe I'd have a better chance of getting this portable one from Respirtech since they have no info to pass on to my insurance co. and my doc. would write me a script for it no questions asked. I feel like I have a much better chance of getting it if it's just a request for new DME - not a request for a DME that I have at home that I want a portable version of. Has anyone used both brands and can compare the two?

 

[LouLou]

Hil-rom is legally required to tell our insurance if we have a 103 at home. Even if it's a totally different insurance co. than when you got the vest (me 9 years ago). What I'm thinking is maybe I'd have a better chance of getting this portable one from Respirtech since they have no info to pass on to my insurance co. and my doc. would write me a script for it no questions asked. I feel like I have a much better chance of getting it if it's just a request for new DME - not a request for a DME that I have at home that I want a portable version of. Has anyone used both brands and can compare the two?

 

[Ben]

Hi Sue!
I see Dr. Warwick at the U of M and he wrote the prescription for me. And yes insurance paid for a percentage of the cost of it, but not as much because they aren't quite yet an in-network provider. As I understand it they are still going through the legal hoops to get that done. Good luck on getting it...I am impressed with the amount of thought they put into it...seems very well made too! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[Ben]

Hi Sue!
I see Dr. Warwick at the U of M and he wrote the prescription for me. And yes insurance paid for a percentage of the cost of it, but not as much because they aren't quite yet an in-network provider. As I understand it they are still going through the legal hoops to get that done. Good luck on getting it...I am impressed with the amount of thought they put into it...seems very well made too! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[Alyssa]

We just tried the medpulse brand for 30 days, then had the Hill-Rom (The Vest) guy come out and bring his new model 103 had it about a week -- I had no idea there was a 3rd company -- Respirtech --

So now I want to know what we are missing? Should we try out the Respirtech before purchasing the Vest by Hill Rom?

The tubes coming off has happened a couple of times, but the the portability and carrying case is better with the Vest over the medpulse.

Has anyone used both the Vest and Respirtech and could say which is better and why? Also how much does the new Respirtech unit weigh?

 

[Alyssa]

We just tried the medpulse brand for 30 days, then had the Hill-Rom (The Vest) guy come out and bring his new model 103 had it about a week -- I had no idea there was a 3rd company -- Respirtech --

So now I want to know what we are missing? Should we try out the Respirtech before purchasing the Vest by Hill Rom?

The tubes coming off has happened a couple of times, but the the portability and carrying case is better with the Vest over the medpulse.

Has anyone used both the Vest and Respirtech and could say which is better and why? Also how much does the new Respirtech unit weigh?

 

[skh]

Hi Ben,
Thanks for the response. The model that Abby is using now works great just not very convenient for trips or camping in the summer. The model she has now is so darn heavy it's hard for me to get it in and out of my vehicle let alone carry it into a hotel! I don't know if I should even ask for the new model since it would just be for convenience but I just keep thinking anything that makes her life easier is worth it. But maybe I'm being selfish...? I know last August Dr. Milla has mentioned to my husband the possibility of getting one for Abby.

I will be checking with Abby's doc at the U of M this week and see what we can do about getting her this new model. Is this the one that Dr. Warwick helped design? I believe it is - if so you can view it at this website: www.respirtech.com Josh Olson who works at the U of M provided me with some information regarding the new model. I have been chatting via email with Josh who has been very helpful when I have needed to set up appointments for Abby.

Keep me posted as to how it's working for you.

 

[skh]

Hi Ben,
Thanks for the response. The model that Abby is using now works great just not very convenient for trips or camping in the summer. The model she has now is so darn heavy it's hard for me to get it in and out of my vehicle let alone carry it into a hotel! I don't know if I should even ask for the new model since it would just be for convenience but I just keep thinking anything that makes her life easier is worth it. But maybe I'm being selfish...? I know last August Dr. Milla has mentioned to my husband the possibility of getting one for Abby.

I will be checking with Abby's doc at the U of M this week and see what we can do about getting her this new model. Is this the one that Dr. Warwick helped design? I believe it is - if so you can view it at this website: www.respirtech.com Josh Olson who works at the U of M provided me with some information regarding the new model. I have been chatting via email with Josh who has been very helpful when I have needed to set up appointments for Abby.

Keep me posted as to how it's working for you.