Travel APAP & battery pack/ inverters

[Deep3sleeper]

Hi
I am using Dreamstation APAP for an year and I see much improvement.

Please provide any suggestions for

- Travel APAP machines ... Ideal to use in flights, car, camping

- Battery pack - inverters for Dreamstation

One last thing, since I started to use APAP, I gained about 10-15lb
Not sure it's due to age or due to device usage.
I used to be in the 170-175lb range before..


Thanks

[CapnLoki]

Please provide any suggestions for

- Travel APAP machines ... Ideal to use in flights, car, camping

- Battery pack - inverters for Dreamstation

This is a very broad question and there's no simple answer. Here's a thread where I discuss a number of the issues:

viewtopic/t114012/Choosing-a-Battery.html

quick thoughts: "travel cpaps" tend to be a compromise. If saving a pound and a few cubic inches is important there are few choices. Otherwise I recommend getting a duplicate of your current (or maybe a cheaper version, etc.) so that the therapy is familiar and parts are interchangeable. I have two almost identical machines, one that stays at home, the other travels.

Avoid inverters - they waste a lot of power. The Dreamstation can be run directly from 12V with an inexpensive adapter.

[ChicagoGranny]

One last thing, since I started to use APAP, I gained about 10-15lb
Not sure it's due to age or due to device usage.

Due to eating and drinking.

[Guest]

There are many reasons to use the same model cpap for travel and home use.
A couple are the interchangeable parts like the
humidifier
power brick
DC power cord
heated hose, etc.
Not to mention the overall familiarity with the operation esp. when traveling and in a rush you don't want to have "not remember" how to do something - you want it to be second nature.

If you have special pressure requirements a travel cpap version may not be avail. Some have very limited pressures and I am not aware of a bipap version. Things like exhale relief, humidifier, heated hose, battery operation, etc may not be avail. The older mini travel models that ran on internal battery - those batteries are no longer avail afaik also had some of the other limitations already mentioned.

Battery operation is on the pricey side and unless you travel weekly for work may not be worth the money, imo.
Battery operation for home power outages or camping, etc. is a must imo.
Always, always test your battery operation months before needed, not the nite or week before.

[Woody]

Sorry to hear you gained weight after starting cpap. Weight is a odd issue
with us . Some of us do lose weight after we start some gain some weight
and some like me just stay the same drat it. I weighed about 300lb 10 years
ago when I started using cpap and still weigh about 300 lbs. But on 2 occasions
I lost about 50 lbs only to regain it. When I lost those 50lbs my average apap
pressure dropped from 14 way down to 13 then when I put the weight back on
the pressure jumped up to 15. Well at least the pressure went down some when
I lost a few lbs for some of us the opposit hapens when we lose and we need
more pressure.

On a personal note about diet. I hate this but on a day I eat a lot of carbs
my average pressure tends to be 11 to 12 and my AHI from 1.5 to 2.5 . But
on days I eat sort of low carb and cut the calories back my pressure jumps
up to 14 to 15 and my AHI is in the 3.5 to 6.5 range . I sure wonder what
is causing that.