CPAP Users

[Z0rst]

This is timely.

I just got a transcend 2 for travel and hammock camping. I got the multi-day battery with it. It is pretty darn small. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, and was thinking about the best way to hang it and run the hose, and whether or not I needed the humidifier during the winter. It will be interesting to see how the battery is affected by cold conditions (its a lithium battery).
http://www.cpap.com/productpage/tran...somnetics.html

I purchased an oral mask, hoping it would be better for side sleeping. My allergies/sinus would work with nasal pillows. The oral mask is also smaller for travel. Unfortunately, when I hooked it up to my regular machine with a humidifier, it was a drool fest. It was hard to swallow with the machine going and the mask. So, I felt like I was gagging on spit at times. But maybe without the humidifier and more practice it might work.

BTW- I previously tried a dental piece that moved my jaw forward. I had one cast at the dentists so it would fit right in my mouth. It worked, but eventually I felt it was hurting my teeth. I drooled more with it, but swallowing was less of a problem and just kept a handkerchief on the pillow. It takes a while to get your jaw use to the new position, so it isn't something one can just pickup and use while only on a camping trip.

I too was wondering about insulating the hose. During winter, should we run the hose under the underquilt to warm the air up?

Is the condensation in the mask a bad thing or does it act like a self-humidifier?

What about keeping the machine itself from freezing? Do I need to get a hammock sock?

glad this thread was started!

[Tinmar]

I have a nasal pillow and will give it a try next trip. On my last hang, I did use a buff to cover mask and it helped with condensation.

[nomoore]

I have a DeVilbess Intellipap Auto CPAP which has a small footprint. It also takes direct 12v power. So I bought a 17Ah AGM type battery and hooked it up. AGM batteries are the type commonly found in computer UPS systems (uninterruptable power supply). I use a battery tender charger to charge it. 17Ah gives me 2 nights at a pressure of 12cm H2O, easy. I calculated that it would give me 3 nights but I never tried it out. For more info on camping with a CPAP look up the CPAPtalk forums. I hang my battery from a rope harness. For my CPAP I took a toaster oven pan and drilled some holes, 1 in each corner. Then I built a rope harness to hang from those holes.

http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/a...p?albumid=1098

[HURTHEART]

My ResMed Autoset (Same as a CPAP only with variable pressure, adjusts to my breathing). I use a halo, with nasal cushions. My hose rains out all the time, until, I bought a little quilt for it. Just like a sleeping bag, a zipper runs the full length of the hose. That stopped the rain out. My device is humidified, however, I can adjust the amount of moisture to a certain point. I do not notice extra humidity in my hammock.

The instructions with my ResMed S8 AutoSet II warn be to be careful and use the converter designed specificately for my machine. They explained the reason, it made sense, I have just forgotten what it said. This is my sixth machine, and the first with a warning about the converter. I decided the battery set up was too expensive for this machine, so I am using my older machine when we are away from electricity, when we are in a park where I can run my outdoor extension cord, I just plug in, leave my machine under my hammock on top of my pack. I am good to go.

I stop breathing during the night, my heart was stopping during the night before they implanted my Defibrillator, so I have to use the device, it and my shoulder computer, keep me above ground in every sense of the word.