Anyone with a CPAP machine go camping?

Arthur Hucksake · 7 Jun 2019 at 14:12

Sleep Apnea proper sucks.

My CPAP machine seems to be making more noise than normal (when I breath in).

Only had it about 6 weeks and not sure why it's started to get louder.

Psymonkee · 7 Jun 2019 at 14:24

Megahurtz400 said:
Wondered if I have this myself as no matter how much sleep I get I wake up feeling exhausted

Also if I end up on my back in my sleep apparently my snoring is rather seismic!

Is the best bet to go to GP and just say "I'm worried I have sleep apnea as I'm exhausted every morning" and they'll hopefully take it from there?

It's been answered already but absolutely make an appointment! More than likely saved my life too!

Scania · 7 Jun 2019 at 14:26

Arthur Hucksake said:
Sleep Apnea proper sucks.

My CPAP machine seems to be making more noise than normal (when I breath in).

Only had it about 6 weeks and not sure why it's started to get louder.

Try adjusting the mask, you should barely be able to hear it.

You need to find the balance between it being tight enough to not leak without being uncomfortable - took me about a year! (I was diagnosed in 2013)

Scania · 7 Jun 2019 at 14:28

Double post.

Arthur Hucksake · 7 Jun 2019 at 14:33

Scania said:
Try adjusting the mask, you should barely be able to hear it.

You need to find the balance between it being tight enough to not leak without being uncomfortable - took me about a year! (I was diagnosed in 2013)

The sound appears to be coming from the machine itself, or the piping perhaps. Got a comfy fit on my face.

Psycho Sonny · 7 Jun 2019 at 14:52

Arthur Hucksake said:
The sound appears to be coming from the machine itself, or the piping perhaps. Got a comfy fit on my face.

The machine should not be placed on the floor. You should also be cleaning it regularly (mask and piping, humidifier tank, etc.)

Psymonkee · 7 Jun 2019 at 15:33

Psycho Sonny said:
The machine should not be placed on the floor. You should also be cleaning it regularly (mask and piping, humidifier tank, etc.)

Heh, about that! Mine lives on the floor but the filter keeps the air clean.

Arthur Hucksake said:
The sound appears to be coming from the machine itself, or the piping perhaps. Got a comfy fit on my face.

Check near the air intake - if mine makes a noise there's usually a book or t shirt a bit too close to it.

GhostlyPea · 7 Jun 2019 at 15:38

I got issued one after going to the doctors last year (and the Kings sleep clinic). One of the biggest factors was simply weight - I've dropped 8 stone since then and it's almost gone (another 3.5st to go) but the machine definitely helped. I couldn't imagine taking one camping though

- GP

Scania · 7 Jun 2019 at 16:48

Arthur Hucksake said:
The sound appears to be coming from the machine itself, or the piping perhaps. Got a comfy fit on my face.

If I’m in a room with a hard floor I find putting a pillow over the machine greatly reduces any noise - I don’t hear it say in carpet - an alternative is use some padding between the machine and the hard floor.

mzal · 7 Jun 2019 at 17:08

Arthur Hucksake said:
The sound appears to be coming from the machine itself, or the piping perhaps. Got a comfy fit on my face.

Check the main air pipe. Mine got suddenly louder and it had a small split on the pipe just after it left the machine. It was making a lot more noise and the machine was turning up the pressure to compensate.

Psycho Sonny · 7 Jun 2019 at 17:15

mzal said:
Check the main air pipe. Mine got suddenly louder and it had a small split on the pipe just after it left the machine. It was making a lot more noise and the machine was turning up the pressure to compensate.

modern machines can detect air leaks and tell you if it's leaking.

mzal · 7 Jun 2019 at 19:08

Psycho Sonny said:
modern machines can detect air leaks and tell you if it's leaking.

Do all modern machines do this though and how reliable is it? Mine is a modern machine (Dreamstation) and I got no warnings from it I just noticed a leak on the pipe. It has previously warned me of mask leaks though when I have had a poorly fitting mask.

Malevolence · 7 Jun 2019 at 19:19

The Judge said:
Mine was bad enough they took the HGV licence off me. Thankfully I sortta knew it was coming and planed ahead

Please tell me that's a typo and you're not currently a pilot.

Throrik · 7 Jun 2019 at 19:37

BowdonUK said:
I use a BiPAP, similar to the CPAP machine.

I think some machines have a special battery you can buy. But I know also they can be hooked up to general cpap batteries too.

Having sleep apnea or other breathing conditions left untreated can be a killer. It's no joke. If you're snoring, waking up feeling like your choking, or generally don't feel refreshed after sleeping, then get yourself checked out.

If you're on BIPAP and need a way to get out without having to faff around with batteries on your normal machine get a NIPPY.

http://www.nippyventilator.com/products/nippy-3-plus/

We got one on the NHS for my mum who has end-stage COPD and requires 20+ Hours BIPAP and 24/7 o2 and this was a drastic QOL improvement as it went from her being housebound for 5+ years to going out every weekend to the shops in a chair, it's a bit of a faff if you're on o2 as well as you end up with a load of machinery but it's definitely doable, especially in a chair.

scotty365 · 8 Jun 2019 at 13:25

McGray said:
I wonder how they powered these during the war?

Hmmm
The divorce courts were always at your disposal though.

WantoN · 8 Jun 2019 at 21:17

McGray said:
I wonder how they powered these during the war?

Weird comment. There’s plenty of illnesses, diseases and disorders that went undiagnosed, and untreated, in our past. That’s why we live longer these days.

WantoN · 23 Jun 2019 at 15:38

So my tent finally arrived, after a year of waiting. It looks awesome and I’m excited to try it out. With all the fancy bits, and how easy it is to put up and down given its size, im quite impressed, but it’s early days

We’re doing a test run locally with electrical hookup, but I’m going to get one of the battery banks off Amazon with a dedicated plug socket that @Hades suggested, I’ll check the wattage of my Philips unit and give myself some headroom.

Hopefully it works, as the dedicated ones are very expensive, especially the 3 to 5 night variants.

I’ll report back on its efficacy and link it when I’ve finished testing.

EDIT : Hmmmmm, I’ve just looked at those power banks. It states 2-5 hours for a CPAP machine for one with an apparent 40,000mah rating, early double that of the 2 to 5 day version from Eu-Pap at half the capacity. Perhaps it has something to do with stepping up and converting the voltage, then the stepping it down and back to DC on the CPAP adapter.

May end up with an Eu-pap battery after all.

mzal · 23 Jun 2019 at 16:03

WantoN said:
So my tent finally arrived, after a year of waiting. It looks awesome and I’m excited to try it out. With all the fancy bits, and how easy it is to put up and down given its size, im quite impressed, but it’s early days

We’re doing a test run locally with electrical hookup, but I’m going to get one of the battery banks off Amazon with a dedicated plug socket that @Hades suggested, I’ll check the wattage of my Philips unit and give myself some headroom.

Hopefully it works, as the dedicated ones are very expensive, especially the 3 to 5 night variants.

I’ll report back on its efficacy and link it when I’ve finished testing.

EDIT : Hmmmmm, I’ve just looked at those power banks. It states 2-5 hours for a CPAP machine for one with an apparent 40,000mah rating, early double that of the 2 to 5 day version from Eu-Pap at half the capacity. Perhaps it has something to do with stepping up and converting the voltage, then the stepping it down and back to DC on the CPAP adapter.

May end up with an Eu-pap battery after all.

What tent is it?

I am now taking my philips CPAP away for two nights camping on a regular basis. I use a 12v cigarette/accessory socket lead direct from philips(£25), a clip on cigarette socket adapter (£5) and a 10Ah 12v agm lead acid battery(£20-30) and manage two nights no problem. Much cheaper than the Lithium packs. If I am going away for longer or in the car or van I have a bigger battery I take.

godinman · 23 Jun 2019 at 16:06

80w @ 12v is 6.6amps. You'd use 66ah for a 10 hr kip so an 80ah 12v battery would be a minimum really as you have to add a bit of capacity.

6.6 amps sounds rather high, are you sure that's continuous? Might be worth getting a cheap plug in electricity monitor to test it at home.

We use the tracer batteries for work and can confirm they're good quality.

mzal · 23 Jun 2019 at 16:26

godinman said:
80w @ 12v is 6.6amps. You'd use 66ah for a 10 hr kip so an 80ah 12v battery would be a minimum really as you have to add a bit of capacity.

6.6 amps sounds rather high, are you sure that's continuous? Might be worth getting a cheap plug in electricity monitor to test it at home.

We use the tracer batteries for work and can confirm they're good quality.

The 80w power supply is to give head room and to take into account the heating element in the optional humidifier. I have just tested mine without the humidifier and it peaks at 15.7w and the low is 2.9w as it fluctuates as i inhale and exhale.