Alternating CPAP and oral appliance?

[onthefreeway]

Does anyone on this board go back and forth between CPAP and an oral appliance? I love my CPAP but also live in fear of a prolonged power outage and am wondering if it would pay to have an oral appliance as a back up (and also for travel!!!). My OSA is "severe" but my AHI average is 1.0, so there's no doubt the CPAP is doing its job. Treatment w/ an oral appliance may not be as effective but I am wondering if it's worth it to get one for emergencies ...

[Cardsfan]

Mine cost $500 and Hurts my jaw. I used it maby 7 nights total before I got my machine.
If the power did go out, it would be cheaper to drive to a hotel for the night Vs $500 for an dental appliance, which I am not sure even works for me.
Do you live where the power goes out alot?

[LSAT]

Does anyone on this board go back and forth between CPAP and an oral appliance? I love my CPAP but also live in fear of a prolonged power outage and am wondering if it would pay to have an oral appliance as a back up (and also for travel!!!). My OSA is "severe" but my AHI average is 1.0, so there's no doubt the CPAP is doing its job. Treatment w/ an oral appliance may not be as effective but I am wondering if it's worth it to get one for emergencies ...

I don't know how often your power goes out, but when you think of all the years you had SA and didn't know it, do you think it would be a catastrophe to sleep without it for a few hours? In the event of this happening, you could sleep in a recliner or propped up. Personally, If I was in an area that had lots of prolonged power outages, I would be concerned about refrigeration also...a generator may be another choice,

[Goofproof]

If you are really worried, buy yourself something useful, a recliner. Before I made my dentist richer, I'd set up a battery backup system, and keep my truck fueled up. The longest power I've lived thru, except for Viet Nam, was 4 hours.

It's also important to buy a brand of XPAP that runs off of 12 volts, K.I.S.S.... Works. That way you can use it in the car or truck too. Jim

[ChicagoGranny]

Treatment w/ an oral appliance may not be as effective

My guess is you can't know until you try an oral appliance. Gramps and I both had them made. For us, they are not even effective for 30-minute naps. And neither of us could tolerate them a full night - just too much junk in the mouth.

prolonged power outage

Would you be able to use a small portable generator? https://www.google.com/search?q=honda+g ... 8&oe=utf-8

[WindCpap]

I think I would try Provent before an oral appliance for things like backcountry camping.

[Not Fade]

drive to a hotel for the night

I did that this year. We had an overnight outage, and I drove 10 miles to a hotel. Taxes and all cost me $109, and I used the hotel's hot water, bed linens and towels and got a free breakfast.

[Gasper62]

You might want to consider acquiring a battery back up system/power inverter or a minimal generator set to power the PAP machine that is working for you. Honda makes some very small, very quiet units that are just slightly larger than a portable sewing machine case which would power your refrigerator plus your PAP machine.

Here's one of them: http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com ... HwodKuICgQ

[Heart Jumping]

I'd just buy a decent UPS system and keep it plugged in somewhere, and move it to the bedroom if you need to make it through the night. If you can find a spec on the maximum power your CPAP draws, there are UPS calculators online that you can then use to size the UPS to make sure it will last the night.

Of course there are more advanced systems such as generators you can feed via the gas line that could keep you going for an indefinite amount of time, it all depends on how long you want to be able to go without power and how much money you want to spend.

[chunkyfrog]

If the power goes off, I can take the DeVillBiss out to the car and recline the seat.

[WindCpap]

For the price of an oral appliance, you can buy the DC-DC adapter for your unit, a deep cycle battery,a good battery charger, and a UPS. Set up the UPS to alarm a few minutes before the battery dies, and switch over to the battery for the rest of the night. Or you could buy a high capacity UPS. Same result.

[onthefreeway]

Our power is very stable but in this part of the world, earthquakes are always in the back of the mind (especially "the big one"). So periodically I wonder about power outages lasting weeks or more. I am grateful for the tips provided! I just keep procrastinating about doing what's needed for peace of mind. And I keep hoping that one day those AIRING devices will be widely available (and rechargeable). Thanks again for the links. (And I think I'll pass on the oral appliances!)

[Goofproof]

I'd just buy a decent UPS system and keep it plugged in somewhere, and move it to the bedroom if you need to make it through the night. If you can find a spec on the maximum power your CPAP draws, there are UPS calculators online that you can then use to size the UPS to make sure it will last the night.

Of course there are more advanced systems such as generators you can feed via the gas line that could keep you going for an indefinite amount of time, it all depends on how long you want to be able to go without power and how much money you want to spend.

UPS Systems are great, except they are NOT cost effective. To make up one big enough to run a XPAP one night would be way to much money, compared to a deep storage system, which would last 3 nights or more. Jim

[Journey to Sleep]

I've had a few power outages during the night with my CPAP...and slept through all of them. No problems.

[Journey to Sleep]

However, I think owning an oral device in case of emergencies is a good idea.

If the zombie apocalypse happens, no way in hell I'm sleeping in the woods without something to prevent me from snoring.