Anyone "take breaks" from their CPAP?

[OceanGoingGal]

Please take your equipment with you. I sleep away from my house at least 2 nights every week. It is part of my job as a relief to the live in companions who live in the supported living homes I work in. Some weeks I spend a night here and a night there then 2 nights at home. Anyway the idea I am trying to convey is that I move around a lot. I have to pack, unpack and set up my equipment a lot. I also am an avid cruiser and cruise every chance I get. So far I have not cruised since starting the therapy. I do plan to take it with me in December when I cruise again. It is a nuisance I admit. One weekend I left my cord at home by mistake and I was miserable all night. I had not realised how much of a difference the machine has made in my life. I was right back to the numerous apneas and the feeling that I could not breathe. In the morning I drove home to get the forgotten cord. Having your machine with you will help you enjoy your cruise much more. Don't risk the consequences. Take your C-pap.

Laura

[alnhwrd]

This was inspired by a famous doctor whom I have known from childhood.

Do you stop your CPAP use?

I do not stop it, Rip-a-Van
I do not stop my CPAP use

Would you stop it here or there?

I do not stop it anywhere!

I would not stop it for a cruise,
I would not stop it for a snooze.

I do not stop it on a plane,
I do not stop it when in Maine.

I would not stop it on a trip,
Not even on the Mississip.

I would not stop it near or far,
Or anywhere I drove by car.

I like to sleep, and so you see,
I always use it ceaselessly.

To see the Pope,
Should I elope,
On trucks and trains,
To buy a crane,

I would not stop it, Rip-a-Van!!!

And neither should you.

[BlackSpinner]

So on Sunday I got a nice migraine. The first in a long time. I spread out on the couch near the AC with my ice pack in the back of my neck and a cold wet cloth on my head and took a few Ibuprofen and woke up gasping with my head feeling worse. So I crawled into my loft bed hooked up wriggled my wet cloth through my mask and went to sleep again.

Not ever going to sleep with out my mask again!

[Muse-Inc]

I used to get migraines so horrid someone would drive me to one of those 'doc in box' places (now called Urgent Care) for a knockout shot; afterwards, I had about 15 mins to get someplace to sleep for the next 12-14 hrs (wouldn't shoot me up if I was driving). I started taking 400 mgms magnesium citrate for palpitations and wow my migraines disappeared along with the palpitations -- that was in 2000. Since then, I've had the aura twice and both times drinking a diet Coke aborted the migraine. Might investigate trying that.

Migraines...miserable things, you have my sympathy.

[ozij]

This was inspired by a famous doctor whom I have known from childhood.

alnhwrd, I'm sure I met that doctor somewhere too!
Love it.

O.

[BlackSpinner]

[quote="Muse-Inc". I started taking 400 mgms magnesium citrate for palpitations and wow my migraines disappeared along with the palpitations.[/quote]

They are nowhere near as bad as before my hysterectomy. Sunday was hot humid & polluted (asthma acting up) with a major weather front coming through after a week of incredible stress at work, sick dog, sick kid and sore foot. It was relatively minor compared to the past. Most of them these days have relatively little pain but all the side effects of nausea, dizziness, confusion of senses but no sledge hammer. The few really bad ones are due to exposure to paints, cleaning chemicals and construction glues and other nasties like that.

[Jason S.]

When I do I always regret it. It seems my untreated OSA post CPAP (i.e. sleeping without CPAP) is MUCH worse than it was prior to my starting CPAP 6 months ago. Its like CPAP is a crutch and without the crutch, I can't walk.

[rested gal]

This was inspired by a famous doctor whom I have known from childhood.

alnhwrd, I'm sure I met that doctor somewhere too!
Love it.

O.

Ditto!
Well done, alnhwrd!!

[OutaSync]

Now really!! How hard is it to take your CPAP with you? If I can do it, you can do it. Cruising is easy with CPAP. All you have to do is set it up once and you won't have to move it until time to pack. The stewards don't mess with it. If you are worried about that, stick everything in the nightstand drawer. I don't even unplug it. Run your extension cord near the wall-no problem, they can vacuum around it. Most cruise lines will supply an extension cord and distilled water. Again-no problem. Call ahead and ask for it, it will be waiting for you in your cabin.

I might also suggest that you take one of those suction cups with a hook that you can get anywhere. Stick it to the mirror and hang your freshly washed mask to dry. It keeps it off the counter, that they are required to clean, and out of the way. I use one at home, as well. Take a big clip and a stretchy headband and attach the clip with the headband to the curtain behind the bed. Run your hose through the headband. That will keep it out of your way while you sleep if you do not have a hose cozy (or similar). If there is a mirror over the bed, as in an inside room, use a suction cup with a hook to hang you hose threaded through headband (or other stretchy material).

But mostly have fun!! And you can't be good company if you haven't slept well. So if you can't do it for yourself, do it for your companion.

Bev

[sleepyprm]

I tried traveling once without it too - never again. We all know that travel can be exhausting. Not breathing and sleeping poorly contribute to the exhaustion and runs down our immune systems. Take it with you and enjoy your vacation to the fullest. You'll have the added bonus of good health.

[roster]

This was inspired by a famous doctor whom I have known from childhood.

Do you stop your CPAP use?

I do not stop it, Rip-a-Van
I do not stop my CPAP use

Would you stop it here or there?

I do not stop it anywhere!

I would not stop it for a cruise,
I would not stop it for a snooze.

I do not stop it on a plane,
I do not stop it when in Maine.

I would not stop it on a trip,
Not even on the Mississip.

I would not stop it near or far,
Or anywhere I drove by car.

I like to sleep, and so you see,
I always use it ceaselessly.

To see the Pope,
Should I elope,
On trucks and trains,
To buy a crane,

I would not stop it, Rip-a-Van!!!

And neither should you.

Good one Alnhwrd!

Appropriate too, since the doctor also wrote the Sleep Book. http://www.amazon.com/Seusss-Sleep-Book ... 0394800915

[goose]

This was inspired by a famous doctor whom I have known from childhood.

Ditto!
Well done, alnhwrd!!

Double ditto from here.....
I wouldn't even consider it....
enjoy the trip!!
cheers
goose

[dowen]

My condition is fairly mild and my pressure is low. For me the jury is still out on whether CPAP is all that beneficial. I definitely do Not feel transformed by it. Some nights I don't wear my mask and I can't say as I feel any different the next day than the nights I do. When I take a trips, which is not that often, I intend to take breaks.

Enjoy your trip!

[roster]

My condition is fairly mild and my pressure is low. For me the jury is still out on whether CPAP is all that beneficial. I definitely do Not feel transformed by it. Some nights I don't wear my mask and I can't say as I feel any different the next day than the nights I do. When I take a trips, which is not that often, I intend to take breaks.

..........

Dowen,

Sorry to say it again, but you have no software/card reader and therefore cannot tell whether your CPAP therapy is effective. The pressure could be wrong and you could be having undetected mask leaks. This could be why you feel the same on days when you don't use CPAP - you could be having just as many apneas with CPAP as without (I know from my own horrible experience).

Sleep studies are hard -- sleeping in strange bed with all that stuff hooked up to you. .....

Yep, it is nothing like sleeping at home, so how do we expect the sleep lab to get the pressure correct in this one night in a strange environment, hooked up, microphones recording you, and technicians watching you with infrared cameras?

It's DYI, IMO and you need the tools to do it correctly and monitor it over the years.

About a mild case, AHI of 5 is the mildest. So tell someone they are going to be choked and awakened 35 to 40 times per night for years. What do you think their physical and mental health will be like as they age?

Regards,

[boston]

seems to me you wouldnt be able to enjoy the cruise to the fullest, just recall how you were pre-cpap. I wouldnt want to pay all the money for a cruise and end up sleeping through most of it. You could find a MUCH cheaper hotel closer to home to do that in.