Any backpackers with Sleep Apnea?

Steve:

how did your Yosemite backpack go. I just started using a cpap in Dec. 2009 and have been an avid backpacker prior to using the cpap and did Tuolomme to Agnew Meadows over Labor Day Weekend 2009 4days/3nights and may go from Tuolomme to White Wolf this year via Grand Canyon of the Tuolomme.

I notice that when I am outdoors and sleeping in a tent that my apnea/snoring often greatly decreases. My wife can get through the night in the same tent when often she is not able to do so in an enclosed room (she uses earplugs)

Given the expense and extra equipment and weight, I am likely to not use the cpap on backpacking trips, but I'm reading about various methods for using a cpap to look at options.

Thanks for all of the posts.

Looks like this thread started in 2006, about when I started thru-hiking with my cpap gear.

I deal with sleep deprivation by sleeping without my cpap (basically just resting) until about midnight, then taking ambien and using my cpap until the ambien wears off (about 6 hours later). My cpap.com battery (2.5 pounds) gives me 2 nites of decent sleep.

I might buy a second battery, so as to get in extra nights before recharging, but hate to add the extra weight and really cannot afford spending about $400 for the 2nd battery.

My big issue now is with the bulkiness of my gear. During my hike on the Florida Trail next month I will try two recent changes: a hose that is only 3 feet long and a new mask that is cloth rather than plastic. Hiking season: I am so excited!

While I can only speak for myself, I have OSA (level 11 on my machine when I use that contraption) and suffer from AMS myself. My home is situated at @ 1000'Sea level and went to do some day hiking up to Mt. Baldy in So.CA. Each time I would get a somewhat gaseous stomach and queasy. My second trip I made it up and on the way back I got so sick that I threw up. I now use an RX for the altitude (Diamox). In addition I also tried a dental appliance since I was anticipating a B/P trip and didn't want to bring my CPAP. The problem for me with the D/A is that as a mouth breather I thrust it forward during my sleep and feel no better in the morning. As a kid I use to spit my retainer out and while that hasn’t happened, I'm still tired. What my ENT Dr. suggested was an old fashioned cure for OSA (it's mostly when I'm on my back) is to have a ball sewn into the back with fabric so that when I roll on to my back I move to my side instead (the ENT took a look at my sleep study and discovered that most of my OSA is on my back and not on my side). Has anyone else used this method? I use it at home, but have to acclimate to wearing shirts, but if it solves it, then I'm good. I've been trying it and I have to admit if I don't sleep on my back I'm fine. Perhaps others can benefit from this as well. As an aside, I probably don't get less O2 as it is- I suffer from bradycardia which might also explain why I get so tired, but more than likely it’s OSA if I sleep on my back. I’ve tried CPAP but being a stomach sleeper I can never get comfortable with most of the masks and the nasal devices make my ears feel really full to where I’m always yawning to clear them. I hate CPAP’s as a result.

I was going to experiment with an "OSA Backpack" this summer on the AT, but an attack of acute pancreatitis put an end to that till next year.

The "OSA Backpack" is basically a silnylon stuff sack made as a tube with shoulder and hip straps that you stuff with extra clothing or sothr soft stuff like leaves or grass to keep you side sleeping, and not supine.

I will field try it next year, and will play with the evolution of the design as time permits this winter. I did sort of OK with just attempts at deliberate side sleeping during a month long AT hike in 2009, but near the end of the month, I was getting pretty tired and would often not be able to make the daily miles near the end of the trip.

I cut the trip short because of the fatigue buildup, and reaching a natural and easy exit point.

There is something new available, which would be a great solution for backpacking. You can check it out at proventtherapy.com. I have asked my doctor for a prescription. It's worth a try. It is a disposable device that you place on your nostrils. It has worked for lots of people.

Sorry to revive such an old thread, but there is some good info here! Thank you all for posting.

I have sleep apnea, relatively mild I guess, 7 cm/h2o. For car and motorcycle camping I've been using an Aeiomed Everest 3 (!) with its proprietary battery: http://www.cpap.com/cpap-machine/aeiomed-everest-3-travel-cpap-machine.html I can get at least two 7-hour nights out of it. I'd like to get back to backpacking and bikepacking, so reducing weight and bulk is now a priority…but the CPAP has been a tough nut to crack.

Anyone try this? http://www.cpap.com/productpage/transcend-II-travel-cpap-machine-somnetics.html At $450 for the machine itself, plus another $250 for the battery, it's out of reach for me at the moment, but looks like something worth looking into.

Definitely will check out the dental appliance, digeridoo and nose valve dealies. All better than carrying any kind of CPAP….

Rob in Seattle