CPAP Alternatives

[gshifrin]

I apologize in advance if this is a FAQ but I did do some searching and couldn't find it anywhere.

For background, I've been using a CPAP machine for over 5 years and I love it. I've only gone one night without it (a flight home from Hawaii) and barely slept at all.

I'm committed to a 7-day camping trip coming up in May and, yes, I saw lots of discussions on battery-operated CPAP's. I checked with my doctor and she thought I'd be okay without my CPAP, just somewhat fatigued from lack of restful sleep.

I'm wondering if any long-term CPAP users have investigated the various anti-snoring devices out there. I did a search on Amazon and found a few that sounded reasonable: Stop Snoring Mouth Piece, Respironics Premium Chin Strap, Nasivent Tube, and so on.

Also, has anyone found if sleeping pills can provide restful sleep without a CPAP machine?

Thanks in advance.

Jerry

[Lizistired]

Here is another thread you might be interested in since you have time to try it and see if it mught be an option.

viewtopic/t61721/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=61509

[Mary Z]

If your doc says it's ok and the daytime sleepiness would not be too severe I think I would go for it. The ideal would be a dental device fitted by a dentist, but a cheaper boil and bite would be worth a try. You could also wear a cervical collar and if you could sleep semi upright in a lounge chair.
Have fun

PS: there all all kinds of batteries and invertors available, too, but I don't know the details.

[Pugsy]

Sleeping pills might give the appearance of restful sleep, stress on the word might. It would depend on how many events, how severe and would it help you "sleep through" possible disruptions. Of course sleeping pills wouldn't do anything to actually treat the events and even sleeping pill induced sleep might not be all that restorative but in a pinch, better than no sleep at all.

I think many people say that after they have been on the machine a while that if they don't use it they actually feel so much worse because it is such an abrupt change as opposed to the gradual crappy feeling that accumulated prior to cpap. Only you will be able to determine how much it might affect how you feel overall.

If I couldn't use my machine for some reason I would probably try one of those boil n bite mouth guards and try to sleep propped up as much as possible and stay off my back as much as possible and probably take a pill too. Due to issues with my cervical spine I likely wouldn't be able to sleep with cervical collar but I could see where it might help some also.

I suppose you could try a night without the machine now to see for sure how it impacts how you feel. Obviously not the best alternative but it sure would be awful if you found that just one night is so awful that the entire trip would be misery because you felt so awful..

Maybe a combination of ideas would give you somewhat of a decent night of sleep so the whole trip wouldn't be ruined by feeling so awful.

I would be in a world of hurt even if I had a battery setup to take camping. I cannot go without the humidifier and that sucks up the battery big time. I would probably experiment ahead of time just to see what the ramifications might turn out to be instead of waiting till the trip. It might help to know what you face.

[DoriC]

Hi Jerry, Welcome. I'm a bit confused. Why would your Dr be OK with you having apneas for 7 nights? You barely slept for one night on your trip from Hawaii. I don't see how you would enjoy your camping trip with that much fatigue and stress on your body. What is your objection to using a battery? Keep us posted.

[VulcanD3]

I apologize in advance if this is a FAQ but I did do some searching and couldn't find it anywhere.

For background, I've been using a CPAP machine for over 5 years and I love it. I've only gone one night without it (a flight home from Hawaii) and barely slept at all.

I'm committed to a 7-day camping trip coming up in May and, yes, I saw lots of discussions on battery-operated CPAP's. I checked with my doctor and she thought I'd be okay without my CPAP, just somewhat fatigued from lack of restful sleep.

I'm wondering if any long-term CPAP users have investigated the various anti-snoring devices out there. I did a search on Amazon and found a few that sounded reasonable: Stop Snoring Mouth Piece, Respironics Premium Chin Strap, Nasivent Tube, and so on.

Also, has anyone found if sleeping pills can provide restful sleep without a CPAP machine?

Thanks in advance.

Jerry

I'm just a little more then surprised that your Dr. is alright with you not using your cpap for 7 days. My Dr. is exactly the opposite. Wants me to use mine even if I take a nap.
Be careful and make a wise informed decision.

[gshifrin]

Thanks all for the comments and suggestions. I'm reluctant to try the cervical collar but I do like the suggestion for a contour pillow - I'll give that a try.

As for the option of a battery-powered CPAP, I didn't see any that lasted more than 2-3 nights (without connecting some sort of power generator) and this is a 7-day trip. If there is another battery powered option I'd love to hear of it. I will be in a group environment so don't wish to be disturbing anyone with a power generator.

I looked up the "boil n bite mouth guards" but don't understand how (if?) they're related to apnea - the descriptions seem to say that they're for people who grind their teeth at night (I don't).

I don't know of any risk besides fatigue associated with going CPAPless. I do occasionally take naps in the afternoon and that seems to be okay. I don't know how familiar my new doc is with OSA (my long-term PCP moved away recently) so I'd appreciate hearing of any other concerns there might be.

I'm also thinking that sleeping outdoors at a high altitude might possibly be beneficial in terms of getting restful sleep just due to the exertion and cool temps.

Thanks again for your suggestions. They give me a few things to check out.

[Ltmedic66]

There are loads of risks of sleeping with OSA without CPAP, depending on how bad your apnea is. Your are, esentially, holding your breath for long periods of time...enough that your blood oxygen levels drop. The most severe risks include heart attack and stroke. The more gradual risks involve killing off brain cells, all of the risks that go along with fatigue, and that general crappy feeling that we all know so well. OSA is also links with lots of other diseases, including cancer and diabetes, so you should treat it.

If you are worried about bothering other people on the trip, what you you think your snoring will do? Find a way to either use you CPAP or some other device that effectively keeps your airway open.

[LinkC]

Have you considered an oral appliance? (A mouthpiece that holds your lower jaw forward.)

I have no experience so I can't really recommend any, but it seems it might be better than nothing on a temporary basis.

[SRSDDS]

If your doc says it's ok and the daytime sleepiness would not be too severe I think I would go for it. The ideal would be a dental device fitted by a dentist, but a cheaper boil and bite would be worth a try. You could also wear a cervical collar and if you could sleep semi upright in a lounge chair.
Have fun

The oral device is great for preventing snoring, but it really cannot be accomplished with a "boil and bite" device. Go to your dentist and request an anti-snoring device and he'll likely be glad to oblige. Should cost a few hundred dollars, but will last for a long time. BTW, in the interest of full disclosure, I am a dentist.
Stephen

[nineteencats]

I think many people say that after they have been on the machine a while that if they don't use it they actually feel so much worse because it is such an abrupt change as opposed to the gradual crappy feeling that accumulated prior to cpap.

This has been my experience -- if I go without my machine for a night, I feel like absolute hell the next day. I really miss camping

[MidnightOwl]

Hi Jerry,

I miss camping! I went a couple of times after starting cpap (without the cpap) and I just didn't enjoy it as much. The trips weren't totally ruined but I haven't felt driven to do it again either. I had a great deal of trouble falling asleep at night and I didn't enjoy the extra late night bathroom trips much either. If I do it again it will be with a battery or perhaps with something like provent if it seems like it's working for people. I don't have any suggestions on cpap alternatives for you but I'll be eagerly watching for your reports on anything you find out.

I recommend doing as pugsy suggests and trying to sleep without your cpap at home for a night or two and see how you feel.

You do know that there are battery alternatives beyond those sold specifically for cpaps and they are cheaper too? If you aren't walking in you might be able to take one or more batteries. Or something that could be recharged from the car. I do agree with you that using a generator on a group trip is not something you can do.

You may be hearing conflicting opinions about whether it's safe to do without your cpap from posters because there is such a wide range of severity here. If you don't already know where you fit in to the spectrum you should find out. Much of the information is in the summary you should have gotten after testing. More of it is available in the detailed test reports. It may make a difference whether you had long apneas where your oxygen dropped significantly or hypopneas where you woke slightly before that could happen. It's probably even more important for you to know this since you say your PCP is not that well informed on sleep.

I'm also thinking that sleeping outdoors at a high altitude might possibly be beneficial in terms of getting restful sleep just due to the exertion and cool temps.

This is the one thing you've said that makes me a bit nervous. How much altitude are you talking about? I believe I've seen something to the effect that altitude makes apnea worse. I won't swear to it. I've been living and traveling close to sea level but that's one of the things that's been on my list of things to look into before making any trips high into the rockies. I must admit just the words "sleeping outdoors at a high altitude" have reawakened my desire to do just that.

Midnightowl

[Burkebang]

If your camping trip does not involve too much hiking and if you have the camp site near your car, just beg, borrow, steal or even BUY a car battery Any car battery will easily give you a weeks worth of sleep without humidifier.

In a recent thread a guy who has this battery: http://www.batterypowersolutions.net/C- ... Pack.shtml
Tells us how he gets 4 nights of sleep with it. It can also be charged from a car or if you have access to mains power during the days. You can easily hike with this. In the worst case, you get 3 nights of poor sleep in stead of 7.

viewtopic/t81634/High-capacity-LithiumI ... Packs.html

[eeckel]

Have you thought about Provent? It went well for me on a recent trip out of the country when I was afraid to take my cpap machine through customs. I had vivid dreams and felt good the next day. You need a prescription to order them.