Vacation with or without CPAP

Hi,
I am traveling to Europe for 10 days and don't want to carry the extra weight of the CPAP. I have successfully used a CPAP for 20 Years. What has been your experience of NOT using your CPAP for an extended amount of time?? Do you have suggestions on how to sleep without a CPAP and not feel tired??
thanks
Roe

roeso wrote:Hi,
I am traveling to Europe for 10 days and don't want to carry the extra weight of the CPAP. I have successfully used a CPAP for 20 Years. What has been your experience of NOT using your CPAP for an extended amount of time?? Do you have suggestions on how to sleep without a CPAP and not feel tired??
thanks
Roe

I have taken extended vacations and always take my CPAP with me because I'm more rested and able to enjoy the vacation when I keep up with my therapy. Can't answer how to cope without it. As for the weight, my CPAP case has a loop on the side that hooks onto my wheeled carry-on bag, so I rarely have to lift and carry it.

I would not want to RUIN a wonderful trip by being sleep-deprived the entire time!
But that is just me.
There is also the added health hazard of skipping treatment.
We had a friend who passed away while visiting his home town in Europe.
It cost his family $20,000 to bring his remains back to the US.
---and that was thirty years ago.

roeso wrote:Hi,
I am traveling to Europe for 10 days and don't want to carry the extra weight of the CPAP. I have successfully used a CPAP for 20 Years. What has been your experience of NOT using your CPAP for an extended amount of time?? Do you have suggestions on how to sleep without a CPAP and not feel tired??
thanks
Roe

Try it at home before you leave - then pack accordingly.

Hi Roe,

I've only been using CPAP now for about 18 months not 20 years like you have, but on the odd nights when I've not used my machine over this period it has been a rude reminder of just how bad things get when the apnea isn't treated. I guess that when I was untreated I had adjusted to the horrible sleep, constant bathroom visits overnight, blocked nose, night sweats, racing heart and so forth. I certainly don't want to be slammed with all that again, especially on a holiday, which is supposed to be fun.

I'm off to Scotland tomorrow and haven't packed my bags yet, but my travel CPAP machine is packed and I've checked it twice to make sure I have everything I need. I live in fear of forgetting to take something like my mask, for example!.

My advice is please take your machine with you, even if it is a schlepp, but it will ensure that you have a great holiday.

Enjoy.

My recommendation is to take it with you and use it. However, to use it or not is a personal decision only you can make. Some members of this forum will try to tell you that you will die if you don't use the machine. Just stop and think, how many years did you have sleep apnea before you started using your machine. You survived that long without it. At the same time, try to remember how you felt when you didn't use the machine. Do you want to spend two weeks in Europe feeling like that? You will no doubt survive two weeks without your machine. After I had back surgery two years ago, I went for about two weeks without my machine because the medication I was on made me so nauseous, I could not stand t have the mask on my face without my stomach starting to churn and attempting to empty itself. I chose to sleep without the machine in order to prevent the nausea which would have kept me awake anyway.

roeso wrote:Hi,
I am traveling to Europe for 10 days and don't want to carry the extra weight of the CPAP. I have successfully used a CPAP for 20 Years. What has been your experience of NOT using your CPAP for an extended amount of time?? Do you have suggestions on how to sleep without a CPAP and not feel tired??
thanks
Roe

I have it with me, period. I wouldn't consider going without it. In the field on battery power, in a hotel, sleeping on someone's couch - I won't go without it. When was the last time you skipped a night and how did it feel? My "policy" is dictated by the last time I was stuck without a working machine - I was exhausted and asleep by 6 pm the next day - 30 minutes after I got home. Thankfully I was a passenger and not a driver on the trip home else I might have met tree at the side of the road. Also wouldn't wanna waste the money on a trip like that and be barely able to stay awake for most of it. Or worse.

Okie bipap wrote: Some members of this forum will try to tell you that you will die if you don't use the machine. Just stop and think, how many years did you have sleep apnea before you started using your machine. You survived that long without it.

Keep in mind that before treatment lousy unrestfull sleep was normal, we adapted. Just as we adapted slowly after starting treatment.

But to suddenly stop treatment for any reason now is not unlike jumping out the 5th floor window - you may survive with a broken leg (or two) or a fractured skull or not depending how you land and how lucky you are. IOW suddenly stopping is a shock to your body.

But then dieing in your sleep should not be as painful either.

Suppose you live and only have a stroke, would that be any better? Not being able to speak, walk, talk, or raise your dominant hand for the rest of your life is not the way I would want to live.

I don't recommend going without, but buying a travel machine for a one time vacation is pretty costly. It all depends on how well you do without the machine. My problem isn't sleep apnea, so it's hard for me to say. Some folks can go without for awhile if they sleep on their side. Can you? Have you tried? I suggest an experiment with this before ruining your vacation due to exhaustion.

And don't forget your machine can go as a second carry-on (no charge) because it's medical.

If weight is a problem, leave something ELSE behind.
Europe has SHOPPING,
I had only had my cpap for 3 days when I took it along to a professional symposium.
For the first time EVER, I was able to ABSORB THE MATERIAL from classes and lectures--even the dull ones.
Life without my cpap is barely surviving (knock on wood).

As others have so unanimously pointed out, take it with you. The reasons and benefits are manifold, and here's another: it's just a matter of time before the forum's resident Angel of Death, Goofproof, appears and vividly evokes your early and untimely demise. It's what he does. I'm not knocking it; we all need the occasional visit from the Grim Sleeper to remind us of the ultimate downside of non-compliance, namely a precipitated shuffle off this mortal coil.

My father rarely took more than three days' clothing for even a three week excursion, but he NEVER traveled without his Cpap. As others have pointed out, your Cpap can go as an additional carryon at NO CHARGE because it is medical equipment. If you don't wish to schlep your home Cpap with you, here is an economical alternative I found on Craigslist: https://pullman.craigslist.org/hab/d/ae ... 54571.html

RicaLynn wrote:If you don't wish to schlep your home Cpap with you, here is an economical alternative I found on Craigslist: pullman. craigslist. org/hab/d/ae ... 54571

I don't think that seller is a user and I would have to see it working before I bought it thru the mail.

Keeping in mind that is made by Aeiomed (not Aeromed) and they are no longer in business if that matters to the buyer.

roeso wrote:Hi,
I am traveling to Europe for 10 days and don't want to carry the extra weight of the CPAP. I have successfully used a CPAP for 20 Years. What has been your experience of NOT using your CPAP for an extended amount of time?? Do you have suggestions on how to sleep without a CPAP and not feel tired??
thanks
Roe

Bad sleep. Major headaches. Feel like crap.

Some people do better sitting up. I am NOT one of them. I can snort myself awake while sitting up to watch tv. I used to sleep terribly while traveling. Far worse than at home. With cpap, I sleep awesome while traveling, even better than at home.

I recently took a trip to Mexico to attend a wedding. Three flights each way. I had a regular large luggage, a carry-on rolling luggage, a small duffel inside the plane, and the cpap bag. I had no problems at all. Well worth it.