Camping/Is it safe to go a few days withiut using the CPAP M

In my case, I would get numerous requests to move my campsite.
(Maybe even from the wildlife)
My snoring is THAT loud!

jan54 wrote:I have been using CPAP for less than a year and have not yet been camping with my machine. However, once last summer my husband and I rented a tiny little log cabin at a SD state park (for $35 per night) which we enjoyed greatly. We still cooked outside, still used a nearby outhouse, still sat in front of a campfire and watched a great sunset over a lake. We also enjoyed the airconditioned very tiny cabin. I have just reserved this same tiny cabin (with electricity, obviously) for a couple of nights later this month. I'll have to check the internet pictures of this cabin and see about the location of a built-in shelf next to the bed so I have someplace to put the CPAP machine. (I don't remember from last year), but I can always just throw in an overturned storage container and bring an extension cord.
You can figure out someway to "camp" that is still medically safe for you.

Ha..dont worry about a shelf,just put it on the floor. Its better that its lower than you anyway.

don2019 wrote:Can I go camping witout a Cpap machine/ no power to run it?

This just in ...
viewtopic/t67111/Skipping-CPAP-may-not- ... u-but.html
but it sure can.

don2019 wrote:Can I go camping witout a Cpap machine/ no power to run it?

I gets down to how bad your apnea is ... if you have severe sleep apnea, it might not kill you, but you might wish that it did! Without my ASV machine, I do NOT sleep. If I try to go without it, I feel *horrible* the next day.

But if you have milder sleep apnea, then it might not be as much of a problem for you. For example, you might sleep better if you can keep your head elevated.

What's the impact to your health? Well, you might see your blood pressure jump if you stop breathing a lot. Obviously not good for you. How healthy are you otherwise? Do heart problems run in your family? Do strokes run in your family? If you are at risk of adverse health problems, then I would stay away from sleeping without CPAP. If you are fairly healthy, no other family history, then consider it ... but assume you may feel crummy during the day. Don't try to do a major hike until you know how you will feel.

Hope that helps.

LINKS to Battery operation, camping, power outage
viewtopic.php?t=9682

Hi,

I went camping in the Speyside area of Scotland for a few days a couple of weeks ago and didn't take my CPAP as I underestimated my reliance on it. Our plan was to Climb Schiehallion and Cairngorm and stay in the area for five days. Unfortunately I couldn't manage any of the climbs as I felt really groggy and had a constant headache, you all know the various symptoms.

I felt sorry for my buddy as he was really keen to go walking and I felt like I was holding him back, not the guy I used to be but nothing I could do about it.

Anyway, for what it's worth I would make every effort to take CPAP with you on any camping trip, even for a single night. I know I will never camp out again without my CPAP, unless I have absolutely no other alternative. I am camping tonight at a friends where there is a large gathering but I will have an extension lead into the tent for power!

I use a RESMED S8 and I know it can take a 12v supply, I just need to look into that now and get myself fixed up with a suitable leisure battery and connectors. Sourcing this stuff locally is a problem though.

I hope your camping goes well...

Cheers the noo...

Aldo.

Since I love camping so much, and couldn't afford the battery pack, not to mention the risk of something happening to my machine, I went without camping for four nights. I was very nervous the first night because we were doing alot of hiking, and I knew if I felt like crap, it wasn't going to happen.
What I did was made sure I ate very well, and didn't drink alcohol...I tasted a bit of beer we bought locally, but that was it. To my surprise, I woke the first morning at six feeling normal! The whole trip went fine and I was able to function normally. Although for me camping and beer go hand in hand, I think the crisp air and no alcohol helped greatly. I tried it one night when I came back to the city, but it didn't work
For the record, I have pretty bad apnea...it robbed me of my personality for two years, and continues to haunt me on occasion. So I guess it depends how severe your apnea is?

apneazombie wrote:... The whole trip went fine and I was able to function normally. ... I think the crisp air and no alcohol helped greatly. I tried it one night when I came back to the city, but it didn't work. ... So I guess it depends how severe your apnea is? ...

I suspect the lack of alcohol and the exercise helped. Being completely worn out, a tad dehydrated, and possibly being on harder than normal (for you) ground, would tend to make you sleep lightly - but effectively - enough to minimize some of the apneas.

Glad it worked well for you. It won't for everyone. But it just goes to show that sometimes the only way we will know if it will work is to just go and try it. Thanks for sharing your results.

I just got back from 8 days of camping without my ASV (no electric and not enough sunlight in the mountains to recharge batteries). I slept great and my daughter and husband reported that I did not snore much at all. Apparently I've gotten into the habit of breathing through my nose, and that probably made a difference in the snoring. I woke up feeling great every morning, way before the hubby and kid. Hiked or kayaked every day.

Now that I'm back, I'm feeling tired again and waking up several times a night with mask/hose issues.

chunkyfrog wrote:In my case, I would get numerous requests to move my campsite.
(Maybe even from the wildlife)
My snoring is THAT loud!

I think I camped next to you once back in 2002. Actually I was maybe 4 sites over. Was that you keeping me up?

Last year I went camping. Paid for a site with power. Pull up to the site no power hook ups. Did not want to dissapoint my daughter so stayed for the weekend. Woke up with headaches each morning and a sore throat from snoring. Never again.

I don't care to try and go without my machine...sooo I have a backup system all ready and waiting to be used again. I refuse to go anywhere overnight without my machine so everything goes with me.

This is a stupid, off-topic question- but if you can't keep food in the car or the tent, where are you supposed to keep it? I'm new to the whole camping thing and wouldn't keeping it outside still invite the bears near? I would want the bears far away.

No, don't go without your machine. It's not safe.

To the off topic person asking about bear proofing their food. Call the rangers where you are going to camp, or google bear proofing food. Bears are smarter at getting to your food than you are at hiding it. I think you can hoist it up in the air, but bears can climb and I'm not sure about that as a solution.

The campground we go to supplies steel lockers that are cemented to the ground. A couple of bears from time to time have figured out how to break into them if they are not closed properly. We don't even leave scented shampoo or toothpaste anywhere but in that locker. Any trash accumulated after the trash collection center closes at 8 p.m. goes in there as well.

At the entrance to the campground they keep a very beat up and torn open cooler labled "$15,000 cooler". Someone stored it on the backseat of what used to be their car. Before the windows were broken, the seats torn up, and the exterior scratched and dented all around.

When camping out on the trails or in the wilderness, food gets put into a bear canister and hung 9 feet from the ground.