CPAP & high elevations

[pdx1953]

I'm a newbie here so please excuse me if this issue has been addressed before.

I began using a CPAP in 1995 after a sleep study found I had more than 400 involuntary muscle movements in an 8 hour period. I have Post-Polio Syndrome & some of the side effects are the muscle movements & a reduction in lung function. My PPS Doc said I'd been doing the equivalent of dancing the Macarena all night & that's why I was waking up so tired every morning. I still remember waking up the first morning after using my CPAP: I thought, "This is what it feels like to get a good night’s sleep!" I now use a Bi-PAP with a heated humidifier and it works well.

Question 1 - I live at about 200' above sea level but am considering a move to Costa Rica where I'll live at 3500 - 4000 ft. When I fly for 5 - 7 hrs. I'm very tired when I get to my destination, apparently because the cabin is pressurized to about 6000'. Have you experienced shortness of breath, lack of energy, etc? at these levels?

Question 2 - I use the Res-Med Ultra Mirage & have "CPAP forehead" from the forehead rest. I've adjusted it to exert as little pressure as possible but I still have indentations & red marks. I tried a nasal mask but it wouldn't stay in place very long. Do you know if there's anything on the market to help or have you come up with a work-around?

Question 3 – I recently went on Medicare & have Parts A & B. How often will Medicare pay for replacement masks, hoses, etc? How about a new machine? I’ve had this one for over 5 years & when I had private insurance they’d give me a new one every 3 years or so.

Thanks in advance for your answers.

[billbolton]

apparently because the cabin is pressurized to about 6000'.

Cabin Pressure is tyically set at around 2400 metres (~8000')

Most contemporary xPAP kit has automatic altitude adjustment up to 8000'

Cheers,

Bill

[Pugsy]

Welcome to the forum.

For your mask indentation on your forehead you might try a mask liner or forehead pad from Padacheeks.
http://www.padacheek.com/Forehead_pads.html

The air at higher altitudes contains less oxygen. While the cpap machines will adjust our bodies take a bit more time to get use to getting by with less oxygen all the time. I suspect that is why you have a few symptoms. Long term our bodies adjust but it takes time. Sort of like moving to Denver. Don't know how long it takes to adjust though.

Medicare may require proper documentation regarding the diagnosis and DME supplier should be able to supply what it needed as it is fairly common for people to switch over to Medicare.

Medicare replacement schedule can be found here and on the web at other places.
Machines were 5 year for replacement last I heard but someone the other day said that their DME says that Medicare may be going with "if it is broken and can't be fixed" instead of 5 years but I haven't seen documentation to confirm that.
You can call Medicare and ask them what all is involved and confirm about machine replacement.
http://www.cpapreplacementmask.com/medicarefaqs.jsp

[pdx1953]

Thanks for the great information. I cobbled together a fleece forehead pad a few years ago but the one from Pad A Cheek is just what I was looking for.

Sleep easy!