CPAP EMBARRASSMENT WHILE NAPPING IN CAR

[garyland]

I am planning a trip to Canada later this summer and was wondering if anyone here has been a passenger in a car and wanted to take a nap with their CPAP (using a backup battery) but was concerned about other drivers staring at you.

[JayC]

You will be sleeping, or at the least have your eyes closed........how is it that you will even know they are staring?!?!?!?!?!?! And who cares.....

Do what you need........"those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind....."

J (who is planning an overnight train trip and will be masking up in coach.....)

[sleepymama]

i agree. don't worry about what others think. it may seem odd or weird to them if they have no familiarity with sleep apnea. i know i felt that way when my mom brought hom a machine. either way if you are travelling with friends i'm sure they will understand.

[bearded_two]

I doubt that many, if any, people will even notice. If somebody does notice, chances are good that it is because they recognize that it is a CPAP mask -- and they will think that it is a good idea to be wearing while napping in a car. Perhaps you might give another CPAP user or their partner (who is tired of hearing their partner snoring while they are driving) the idea of a passenger using a CPAP while traveling in a car.

This leaves a few people who may notice and might stare out of curiosity because it is something that they haven't seen before. So what if a few people do stare at you? They would be staring because they can't figure out what you are wearing. You'll be sleep so you won't know if anybody is staring and you'll probably never see those people again. If you do happen to see one of those people at a gas station or rest area, they may ask you about it, and you will have a chance to explain what a CPAP machine is.

[chunkyfrog]

The thought of freaking out the passengers in other cars strikes me as very funny--
The drivers are supposed to be watching the road; if they can't stay on task, it's not your fault.
It's perfectly all right to use CPAP while traveling, as long as it's not while driving.
On a train or bus, you could wear a T-shirt that says," I could be SNORING"

[torontoCPAPguy]

I'd rather be embarrassed than dead.

I don't care what others think.

There is nothing to be embarrassed about.

If after all this you are still worried, you can:
(a) cover your head with a towel
(b) deep tint the windows
(c) get a stick-on window shade for $5 at WalMart
(d) paint a clown face on your mask and get a bright red wig.
(e) put a sign on the side of the car "Podunk Volunteer Ambulance Service" and exceed the speed limit (like this one).

Seriously? After spending almost a month on life support in hospital in Critical Care (one step ABOVE ICU) where there is little (very little) dignity I can assure you that wearing a wee mask on one's face while having a nap is NOT embarrassing but it may get you pulled over a couple of times or garner a police escort to the state line! Yay! Think of the fun.

Oh... one other thing. If you are alone in the car you should put a sign on the window that says "I am not sick and I am not dead... just having a nap".

[BlackSpinner]

Having many times driven a car full of medieval dressed folks with weapons on the roof, sci fi conventioners and other bizarrely dressed folks, I can assure you there is nothing new on the road. You haven't lived until you have driven into a truck stop with a bunch of men in tights and cod pieces and ladies in long dresses and veils, or changed a tire at one am in full gear.
A cpap mask is a little piece of plastic on the face.

[maggie22561]

My husband and I just recently returned from a 12 hour straight road trip. How I wish I'd had a battery pack on my CPAP so I could have used it to nap. As it was I napped and woke every few minutes either snoring or gasping. I felt worse than if I hadn't napped at all.
Let other travelers look. So what? Are you afraid people will think you look funny and will laugh? If they are ignorant enough to do than they aren't worth the energy required to care about what they think in the first place.
Use it. How you feel after your nap is way more important than what some stranger thinks.

[nanwilson]

This thread reminds me of the time we were travelling across the country with our kids ages 4 and 5. Our daughter age 4 slept with her eyes open, we never thought anything about it until we were stopped at a gas station in Wyoming. She was sound asleep across the back seats in full view of the window, when 3 cop cars rolled up surrounding our car. The gas attendant had noticed her with her eyes open & not moving in the back window and thought she was dead. Hence, he called the cops........By the time we embarrassingly explained she was only asleep the crowd around our car was huge. Once she woke up from the commotion and the crowd (and police) dispersed, we sheepishly drove away.
Cheers
Nan

[garyland]

I was thinking of putting a blanket over myself, but my friend who will be driving my get pulled over at the US/Canadian border for transporting a "dead body" across the border.

[TheTwinsMom1]

I think they would only look at you funny if you were hosed up and trying to drive LOL

[JohnBFisher]

Just put together a sign for your window that reads:

And here you thought you were flying low!
We fly so low we need these masks to breathe!

Of course, be REAL careful to follow the speed limits with a sign like that. 8^)

[echo]

There can be advantages to this idea: viewtopic.php?t=11882