Vacation with or without CPAP

Evaluate the decisions you have already made. How many pairs of shoes are you taking "just in case?" Just one pair left behind pays for the CPAP's weight. Are there other items of clothing that also fit the "just in case" model. One valid "just in case" is the CPAP - you should know by now, after 20 years of experience, this is one "just in case" that always ends up in the "critically needed" category.

Have you had a fairly recent sleep study? If your sleep apnea happens to be mild, or it is primarily positional and can be avoided by not back sleeping, or if your oxygen levels don't drop much, you may be be able to look at some other ways to mitigate the effects of not using CPAP for a short period. Maybe wearing a cervical collar and/or getting a dental device would put your events in a tolerable range. Without knowing any of these answers, I could not suggest 10 days off of CPAP. That would scare me too much to try it because my apnea is too severe to even consider it. But there are cases where I wouldn't be scared for the person, although the last week of their trip they'll likely feel like crap. Hopefully you still have time to figure out at home if you're a good candidate for pulling this off or if it's a bad idea. If snoring is a component of your untreated OSA, anyone traveling with you might want a say in this.

What about taking a travel CPAP but not a humidifier?

Travel CPAP machines seem pretty small and lightweight. Has anyone who normally uses added humidity traveled in Europe without it? Perhaps it depends a lot on the country and the time of year?

JimW159 wrote:after 20 years of experience, this is one "just in case" that always ends up in the "critically needed" category.

ya know I thought the very same thing - 20yrs and asking this question? since we haven't heard back from this op with any other details now I wondering if they are using an older model which is a bit larger? when I travel I take my home cpap and I never leave home without it.

roeso wrote:Hi,
I am traveling to Europe for 10 days and don't want to carry the extra weight of the CPAP. I have successfully used a CPAP for 20 Years. What has been your experience of NOT using your CPAP for an extended amount of time?? Do you have suggestions on how to sleep without a CPAP and not feel tired??
thanks
Roe

Hi roeso,

No panic, you sure will survive.
I would, as suggested, try a few days without CPAP at home. You may actually be surprised not sleeping to bad and only slowly get more tired. I never take the CPAP for one night somewhere else. I also survive 3 weeks without CPAP in Thailand. I sure was more tired. But the area I went they have lots of power failure, one every 2 days and you never knew how long they last. People are used to it and just stop working. Tough for hospitals as they also stop working.

By the way, if you plane coming over Switzerland, you are welcome to stop by, use my CPAP for a night and recover.
PM me

Put me down with almost every previous poster on this thread... absolutely take your CPAP along on the trip. To me, IMO, the length of your trip is immaterial. Take it along whether one night or one month. Traveling to Europe for 10 days likely means that you are checking luggage anyway.

I travel for up to a week with just carry-on bags, especially if no "fancy" clothes are needed on a given trip. As someone has already posted, you can have your carry-on, a personal item such as a computer bag AND the CPAP case. Because it is a medical device, it should not count against your carry-on limit in the US or in Europe. You might get challenged... simply say "breathing machine" and they'll wave you on.

As for security, I travel very frequently, and the only time I have ever had to remove the machine from the case at security was Athens, Greece.