CPAP anything new for backpacking/camping

[spraguejoe]

Curious about experiences with any battery powered cpap and the pluses and minuses of the unit you use. Hating being tied to electric and that dictating what I can do. Thanks!

 

[tops911]

I spent $300 on a fancy battery for my CPAP. I tried it out in the house and it lasted 1 hour. What a waste of money. I can do an over night trip but by the second night of no CPAP I'm getting a bad headaches.
It sucks being reliant on a CPAP.

 

[OH->CO]

Full disclosure: I am a dentist. If I had sleep apnea I would be getting a snore device made at a dentists office. I do not see how people can tolerate a CPAP over what a intra-oral sleep device can provide. Somebody near you may even specialize in these types of devices if you do some research. Google: Silent nite to get an idea of what one of them can look like

 

[spraguejoe]

I spent $300 on a fancy battery for my CPAP. I tried it out in the house and it lasted 1 hour. What a waste of money. I can do an over night trip but by the second night of no CPAP I'm getting a bad headaches.
It sucks being reliant on a CPAP.

Yes it does! Man that sucks, sorry to hear the battery didn't work out. Surely some one has a good unit out there. I would think the demand is only increasing.

 

[spraguejoe]

Full disclosure: I am a dentist. If I had sleep apnea I would be getting a snore device made at a dentists office. I do not see how people can tolerate a CPAP over what a intra-oral sleep device can provide. Somebody near you may even specialize in these types of devices if you do some research. Google: Silent nite to get an idea of what one of them can look like

Interested.... Does the device work for Hypopnea? I have way more of those. It's the shallow breathing issues while asleep--like getting 30% less oxygen type.

 

[OH->CO]

Interested.... Does the device work for Hypopnea? I have way more of those. It's the shallow breathing issues while asleep--like getting 30% less oxygen type.

I think that is probably an ideal scenario for this kind of device. They help with Mild and maybe moderate apnea but not severe. I am no expert but I would be doing it if I had apnea (or hypopnea)

 

[spraguejoe]

Got it. Well I'll definitely look into it and see if anyone around me is offering these devices. It would make things a lot simpler.

I think that is probably an ideal scenario for this kind of device. They help with Mild and maybe moderate apnea but not severe. I am no expert but I would be doing it if I had apnea (or hypopnea)

 

[Ridge Ghost]

Full disclosure: I am a dentist. If I had sleep apnea I would be getting a snore device made at a dentists office. I do not see how people can tolerate a CPAP over what a intra-oral sleep device can provide. Somebody near you may even specialize in these types of devices if you do some research. Google: Silent nite to get an idea of what one of them can look like

Have you had any patients complain about jaw pain or misalignment? I asked my dentist about these type of devices as a simpler alternative to a CPAP, and he steered my away based on prior negative experiences.

 

[mfllood3800]

I bought the wife a battery pack and it lasted 6 hours just fine. We did turn down the heater - humidifier and other electrical draws, and just used the breathing needs. It worked good. But I had a generator to recharge it, not sure how being reliant on solar would handle that chore.

 

[OH->CO]

Have you had any patients complain about jaw pain or misalignment? I asked my dentist about these type of devices as a simpler alternative to a CPAP, and he steered my away based on prior negative experiences.

I have not had that issue. I know it is something that can happen but if you communicate closely with a knowledgeable dentist it will go smoothly. Maybe ask for a referral to a sleep/TMJ dentist

 

[mthayr]

Curious about experiences with any battery powered cpap and the pluses and minuses of the unit you use. Hating being tied to electric and that dictating what I can do. Thanks!

If you turn off humidification and use a non-heated hose, you should get at least a night out of the small-ish battery packs. If base camping, do yourself a favor and get a solar panel (120W) and a 500Wh power station (sometimes referred to as a "solar generator") and leave them at camp during the day - using a 12V adapter (saves having to run the inverter) my CPAP will run several nights off the power station w/o heat/humidification and the panel usually completely recharges the battery daily.

For spike camping, I usually suck it up until I can get back to the truck for a good night's sleep. YMMV.

 

[kjw]

I use the teeth plates for apnea. Doc recommended a cpap but after explaining to him how much time I’m not around power he hooked
me up with a specialist to get the plates made. I started with completely neutral plates to just get used to sleeping with them and then slowly made adjustments until the right adjustment was made to minimize the apnea. My jaw is a little wonky in the morning but by the time I brush my teeth everything is back to normal. Have had no issues with use in the mtns. There is some nights where I just get sick of having the plates in my mouth and take them out but the same could probably be said for cpap. Just thought I’d throw out my experience for those curious

 

[Shraggs]

There are few threads, one I contibuted with a lot of info you can search on. My summary:

I backpack hunt and have severe apnea. I use HSM z1 auto pap. It is one pound. It auto senses altitude pressure changes automatically. It works great and use all the time for overnights local business travel too.

I have 3 goal zero Sherpa 50 battery packs. Each wis one pound, but I don’t necessarily take all of them. At 70 degrees I can get 15-16 hours from one. At 34 degrees it’s about 8 hours. I also have a goal zero trifold nomad 20 watt solar charger. In my back yard and tending it will fully charge a Sherpa 50 in 4 hours on a sunny day. In real mountain conditions mixed light it’s an all day process to get it mostly charged. So you may loosed a day of hunting. It’s 1.5 pounds.

I’ve migrated to a base camp and spike out 1-3 nights cause just easier for me to take one or two Sherpa 50. By using a sticky toe warmer on each side when cold I can get battery life up to 10 hours each. Hunting, two 5 hour nights is reasonable so one unit.

The pain about my equipment is I plug a female 12v batter adapter in it and then a 12v male end to the cpap. Seamlessly works but a lot of wires. Newer technology is a usb power, but then you need a battery source that has the higher usb. None on the market that I’ve tested work more than a hour or two despite their claims. Goal zero has discontinued the Sherpa 50 and a new design Sherpa 100 or 150 cant remember has twice the power and a high power usb. Very pricey but that would be my next purchase along with a new hdm with the usb power cord.

Appreciate dentist honesty. Be sure you absolutely know your degree of apnea. Those dental devices are very expensive and have been studied well in mild apnea, causally in moderate. None I’m aware of in severe apnea. My recall in moderate is 25% success measured subjectively in post sleep from patient. Not medically monitored. Would not risk my life and multiple thousands of dollars if you have severe apnea.

If apnea, there is a price to pay to stay safe if you go into backcountry hinting in weight and expense. I for one want to go high and kill stuff.

 

[spraguejoe]

There are few threads, one I contibuted with a lot of info you can search on. My summary:

I backpack hunt and have severe apnea. I use HSM z1 auto pap. It is one pound. It auto senses altitude pressure changes automatically. It works great and use all the time for overnights local business travel too.

I have 3 goal zero Sherpa 50 battery packs. Each wis one pound, but I don’t necessarily take all of them. At 70 degrees I can get 15-16 hours from one. At 34 degrees it’s about 8 hours. I also have a goal zero trifold nomad 20 watt solar charger. In my back yard and tending it will fully charge a Sherpa 50 in 4 hours on a sunny day. In real mountain conditions mixed light it’s an all day process to get it mostly charged. So you may loosed a day of hunting. It’s 1.5 pounds.

I’ve migrated to a base camp and spike out 1-3 nights cause just easier for me to take one or two Sherpa 50. By using a sticky toe warmer on each side when cold I can get battery life up to 10 hours each. Hunting, two 5 hour nights is reasonable so one unit.

The pain about my equipment is I plug a female 12v batter adapter in it and then a 12v male end to the cpap. Seamlessly works but a lot of wires. Newer technology is a usb power, but then you need a battery source that has the higher usb. None on the market that I’ve tested work more than a hour or two despite their claims. Goal zero has discontinued the Sherpa 50 and a new design Sherpa 100 or 150 cant remember has twice the power and a high power usb. Very pricey but that would be my next purchase along with a new hdm with the usb power cord.

Appreciate dentist honesty. Be sure you absolutely know your degree of apnea. Those dental devices are very expensive and have been studied well in mild apnea, causally in moderate. None I’m aware of in severe apnea. My recall in moderate is 25% success measured subjectively in post sleep from patient. Not medically monitored. Would not risk my life and multiple thousands of dollars if you have severe apnea.

If apnea, there is a price to pay to stay safe if you go into backcountry hinting in weight and expense. I for one want to go high and kill stuff.

Wow thanks for the info.! Not sure how I had totally missed seeing the last two responses... (you and another persons).

I will definitely look into the Z1. I really need a battery powered one for all the times we lose power at home as well (seems to be all the time lately and I absolutely have the worst sleep, if I can, and predominantly end up just sitting up in the chair until power is restored).

I've looked into the pacemaker type stimulation implants as well (though haven't been to the Dr to see if I'd even be a candidate yet).

I will definitely dig deeper into other threads you'd made on the subject. Appreciate the experience, and feedback!

 

[spraguejoe]

If you turn off humidification and use a non-heated hose, you should get at least a night out of the small-ish battery packs. If base camping, do yourself a favor and get a solar panel (120W) and a 500Wh power station (sometimes referred to as a "solar generator") and leave them at camp during the day - using a 12V adapter (saves having to run the inverter) my CPAP will run several nights off the power station w/o heat/humidification and the panel usually completely recharges the battery daily.

For spike camping, I usually suck it up until I can get back to the truck for a good night's sleep. YMMV.

Appreciate the info! (I apologize I have no clue how I had missed the last two responses. Just stumbled back upon them after we had been out of electricity at home and I was sitting in a chair waiting on power to come back on so I could sleep...). Thanks for the experience and knowledge.

I could simply set a solar station up on my back porch and have it ready to go at a moments notice I'll look into that for sure.

Thanks!

 

[spraguejoe]

I use the teeth plates for apnea. Doc recommended a cpap but after explaining to him how much time I’m not around power he hooked
me up with a specialist to get the plates made. I started with completely neutral plates to just get used to sleeping with them and then slowly made adjustments until the right adjustment was made to minimize the apnea. My jaw is a little wonky in the morning but by the time I brush my teeth everything is back to normal. Have had no issues with use in the mtns. There is some nights where I just get sick of having the plates in my mouth and take them out but the same could probably be said for cpap. Just thought I’d throw out my experience for those curious

So curious did they do a sleep study after the plates were adjusted to the therapeutic level? Just curious whether you got a feel for how much success they were having to reduce your frequency of occurances/how much better you feel with the plates. Personally I don't think I have an abnormalities or have never had a Dr say anything about that. I think mine is possibly more of nerve issue. So that has led me to check into the pacemaker type stimulation implant. Not sure I'm even a candidate etc. etc. But that seems like it would be way handy if it did.

Currently, I'm really attached to my CPAP it's made that big of a difference for me. If I don't have it--I'm all plugged up, sore throat, ears hurt, have way more sinus troubles, shoulders and back/diaphragm area is sore as all get out, etc. If I don't sleep with mine. (Well I get about 3hrs sleep, which if I have all those things when I wake up I don't know as you'd call it sleep!)

Really is crazy to think how poorly I had been sleeping prior to the CPAP. Yes they suck and it's another thing, but man it has changed my life for the better. Just looking for someway to adapt so I can continue to do stuff without being way hindered by the must of being "plugged in".

Thanks for the comment and info!

 

[kjw]

Yes. They did do a sleep a follow up sleep study and it showed improvement. The doctor felt
It could be better so they got me another plate with a more aggressive adjustment. I have not had a study with this final study to know for sure but I can definitely tell a difference the day after I don’t use them. I would like to try the cpap just to get a feel for it and see if it’s better than what I have. Which talking with people I feel like the cpap gets better results but the plates are very convenient for the outdoors. (Disclaimer: I have 3 daughters 8,7,5 so being tired is also expected )

 

[kjw]

A down side to the plates I have found out is dental work. I recently had a very small chip in a tooth. Didn’t think much of it when the dentist repaired it. So small I didn’t even need any numbing meds. I thought everything felt normal until I put the plates in that night and it felt like they were upside down. The plates are perfectly matched to your teeth so any little change feels ridiculous.

 

[rayporter]

i had one of these battery boosters from harbor freight that cost 30 bucks. it would run the cpap for three 8 hour nights.
it died and i built a pack with 3 deer feeder batteries in a plastic 30 cal ammo box that got 3 seven hour nights.
there are better options available now.
https://www.amazon.com/Clore-Automo...&sprefix=battery+booster,aps,280&sr=8-32&th=1

 

[Aluminum Rain]

I backpack hunt. My apnea isnt terrible and i can sleep ok without cpap at home if need be but the first few days at elevation seem to exacerbate it. So i bought the attached gear. Resmed Air Mini and Medistrom batteries. Air Mini is 11oz and batteries are 20 oz each. A battery will last 3 nights at 5-6 hrs sleep. Total setup is 3lb 12 oz with hose and mask. Less with only one battery. The Air Mini is considerably louder than your normal machine but it is tolerable for me. You can charge batteries with a solar charger too. Binoculars for size reference.View attachment 204709

My post from a different thread. Dental device gave me headache and didnt stop apnea very much.