A week without CPAP, how big an issue?

[JerseyBiker]

As you can tell from my username and avatar I'm a biker. My wife and I take at least one but sometimes 2 (week long) motorcycle trips a year. I also do a couple weekend rides. I am very limited on how much baggage I can carry on my bike. My CPAP system with humidifier came in a nice carry case but it's quite large and bulky. I don't know if I can bring it with me along with the clothes and other necessities we need. I know that sometimes when you start taking certain medications that you can not stop taking them suddenly because doing say can cause problems. Are there any such concerns with stopping CPAP once you start? The other related issue is that my CPAP gear is rented by my medical insurance from Apria Healthcare for a year. After a year it is mine to keep but in the meantime I have to send them the SD memory card each month to show that I am in compliance. I wonder if I miss a week would I no longer be in compliance even if I use it all the rest of the month?

[chunkyfrog]

Consider it the most important thing to pack--because it is.

[steeve]

Welcome Jersey Biker, You are in the right place to get info and help.

I also ride and would not think of being off cpap for a week. Having a Goldwing with matching trailer I have a lot more room than some, but feel the cpap is just as important as my toothbrush,underwear and other list of items we feel are must haves. Of course I haven't always had this bike and understand " space premium"

As for the usage I'm sure insurances are different but I think 4 Hrs. a night is the norm. But you either need the machine are you don't. It's your health.

Keep the shiny side up and be safe.

[old dude]

Using it doesn't build up any immunity, nor as far as I know does it make you more dependent. It's only going to affect the night in question. As far as being more or less problematic, I guess it just depends on whether or not the night you pick to not use it happens to be the night that it catches up with you. I'm not trying to be preachy or scary, and I don't know how bad your apnea was untreated. Mine was bad enough that if my machine broke in the middle of the night and I had no backup, I'd drink coffee and stay awake until I could do something about it. Every time I see an obituary that says "he died peacefully in his sleep" I always wonder if it was untreated sleep apnea. Using therapy every night for a year doesn't help if the precipitating event occurs on the 366th day.

I have a couple of close friends who have been diagnosed and refuse to use therapy because they just don't like it, and I always worry about them.

As far as compliance is concerned, check with your DME to see what your insurance company requires. I would think what you're proposing would shoot a big hole in it.

By the way, I ride also but since one of my Harleys is a trike trunk space isn't a problem for me on that one!

[Pugsy]

Most insurance compliance requirements mimic Medicare's compliance standards and that is 70% of the nights within a 30 day period much have 4 hours or more usage. 7 days of no use out of 30 days is going to push close to the compliance requirements. Using it 8 hours one night and 0 hours the next night doesn't buy you 2 days of compliance...it only buys you one day..
Check with your insurance company to be absolutely certain exactly what their compliance requirements might be.
There might be some wiggle room in there depending on how long you have used the machine.
Don't go by what the DME tells you..get your information directly from your insurance company. DMEs don't know every little detail about every insurance company and/or plan. Most often you get the generic response which is geared towards Medicare's requirements since most insurance companies will use it but your insurance may not.

That said...only in very special circumstances would I ever willingly go without my machine for a week.
There is one...someone asked once...a week long float down the Snake River where carrying the cpap machine would put it in great peril from possible water damage. My desire for the float trip would outweigh my common sense need to use the cpap machine every night. I have always wanted to do that float...not smart in terms of common sense but it is what it is.

You have to decide just how much that trip is worth to you.
It might be like my Snake River float trip...worth feeling like crap but it sure would dampen the enjoyment. I have slept without my machine only 1 night (except for illness like a stomach bug) due to travel and forgetting the long hose.....it was a horrible, horrible night's sleep and I felt horrible the next day.

[JohnBFisher]

... I wonder if I miss a week would I no longer be in compliance even if I use it all the rest of the month? ...

The short answer is "Yes!". You must use your unit at least four hours per night for 70% of the nights during the 30 day period of your "month".

In general, you must use your CPAP at least 4 hours per night, 70% of the nights for insurance companies to pay for the device. This criterion is based on Medicare’s standard that, in turn, is based on studies that show at least 4 hours of use are required for the cardiovascular benefit of treatment. This compliance is typically measured over a continuous period of 30 days within the first 3 months that you have the CPAP.

See: http://sleepdisorders.about.com/od/livi ... r-CPAP.htm

Additionally, not using your CPAP can degrade your ability to safely drive. For an automobile driver that can lead them to turn their car into a deadly uncontrolled missile which could hurt you and others. As a biker, this could lead to a deadly mishap (for you) at full speed. Worse yet, failure to use CPAP can dramatically increase your liability in the event of an accident.

In short - as someone with obstructive sleep apnea - you are always safer (from harm and liability) if you remain compliant.

You can always NOT take the humidifier - use the unit without it. That greatly shrinks what you must take. If you will always be where you can plug it into power, then you don't need to worry about batteries. If you won't have power, then you must take your own power. You can use Powerlet products to charge a battery during the day while you are riding.

The following battery pack and converter would allow you to power your PR System One unit off a lithium ion battery.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/cpap.c ... cable.html

You can use a small inverter to charge the battery during the day, keeping it in your luggage. and using Powerlet connectors to cleanly run power to your luggage area. Hope that helps.

[Pinhead]

Also a biker and cpap is one of the first things packed. Skip the humidifler to save room. I also have a wing and have another pack that go on top of my trunk when both my wife and I travel. If needed I carry a battery charger that I hook into the cigar lighter to charge during the day.

[nanwilson]

My son (who is also on cpap) is planning a big bike trip this summer and his first priority was his cpap machine and charger. He figured out just how much space his cpap will take up and will use the rest of the space for whatever else he needs. He says he will only pack what he "really needs" in the rest of the space . Don't you think your sleep and health are more important than an extra pair of jeans . If you have crappy sleep for a week, then YOU are the MENACE on the road for everyone else.

[chunkyfrog]

When I fall asleep without my machine, I become groggy, headachy, and SNORE!--loudly enough so NOBODY (else) sleeps.

[Drowsy Dancer]

I personally would not go without my machine voluntarily for a week.

You can skip the humifier to reduce bulk (as was noted above).

[ems]

Most insurance compliance requirements mimic Medicare's compliance standards and that is 70% of the nights within a 30 day period much have 4 hours or more usage. 7 days of no use out of 30 days is going to push close to the compliance requirements. Using it 8 hours one night and 0 hours the next night doesn't buy you 2 days of compliance...it only buys you one day.. Check with your insurance company to be absolutely certain exactly what their compliance requirements might be.T here might be some wiggle room in there depending on how long you have used the machine.
Don't go by what the DME tells you..get your information directly from your insurance company. DMEs don't know every little detail about every insurance company and/or plan. Most often you get the generic response which is geared towards Medicare's requirements since most insurance companies will use it but your insurance may not.

And after you've read the above which I agree with...

I don't take my machine on vacation. I went on vacation for three weeks and didn't use it. I think it all depends on your overall health tho and only you know about that. I was fine not using it and didn't even notice the difference. Usually I don't take 3 weeks vacation... it's usually 2 or 3 days here or there. I'm always been just fine and until or if I have a situation which dictates that I do otherwise, I'll continue doing it the way I have.

[Bill44133]

Consider it the most important thing to pack--because it is.

+1

Unless of course having a stroke or heart attack because Oxygen Level drops to much doesn't matter to you...

or

Unless you have figured out another way to sleep and breath at the same time without cpap...


I wish you well...

[ems]

Unless of course having a stroke or heart attack because Oxygen Level drops to much doesn't matter to you...

or

Unless you have figured out another way to sleep and breath at the same time without cpap...


I wish you well...

That is my point. Thankfully, I don't have heart problems and my BP isn't high, a bit on the low side. I see my doctor regularly and am smart enough to know when I can't do without my machine for a few nites... or if my doctor says I must use it every nite.

I need to exercise every day... I find that 30 minutes a day hard to fit in... and that's more important for me to start doing than using my machine 365 days a year. Missing a few nites here and there is not going to kill me. If things start to change and I see the need to use it every single nite, then I will.

[Chilibit]

I think it depends on your state. Your need for the therapy. In my case, I would not consider it an issue not to take it at all. And I don't consider that to be an irresponsible statement. In the last year I have not used the device just once. Could I tell that I had not the next day. No, not at all. Perhaps that is not true for all, but it is for me. For a week? I have no empirical data. My suspicion is that I would be just fine though I admit I would be actively monitoring my state to be cautious.

[old dude]

Chillbit and ems, help me understand how you're going to know in advance which nights an apnea episode is likely to trigger a heart attack or stroke, and which nights it is not likely to happen.

It sounds to me as if your AHI must not have been very high to start with; perhaps you don't really need therapy at all. If you can pick the nights it's necessary and teach us how you do it you'll be very popular here.