Sleep Apnea

“Ok.. a new wrinkle in the never ending saga of Ramblinrev and his medical complaints. Just found out I have some rather sever sleep apnea. Any one out there on a cpap machine at home? What do you do when you go overnight? They do make a battery for this unit, but the battery alone weighs 35 lbs. That's worse than a car battery. Not exactly ultralight gear.”

“perhaps this may help?

http://www.healthyresources.com/sleep/magazines/psnews/”

“My sleep apnea has all but gone away since I drastically increased my marijuana use, not to mention I've become a lot more spiritual, increased appetite, compassionate and horny.”

“Just go without it.

I had to share a two man stateroom on a sea trial once with a coworker with sleep apnea.
Worse night's sleep I ever had.
The guy would snore very loudly very randomly and at times stop breathing.

He survived, so I guess if you pitch your tent away from others, you'll survive too.”

“You could always get a wheel barrow...
or a burro maybe?”

“well i have sleep apnea and have had it for many years. yup i use a cpap at home, every night and if i really want to take an afternoon nap i will use it. it actually helped my migraines. i travel with it and we try to get campgrounds that have electric because the hubby can't take more than 2 nights without it. i bought a car battery but it didn't work to well. when i am without it i use the nasal strips and a throat spray. can't remember who but someone made a remark on the last ocala trip about a strange noise coming from my direction......
btw let me know if you get one because they can be hard to get use to at first.”

“I got a cpap today. As I was talking to the tech who is also a camper but not a backpacker, he said he could go without it for a night. But if he went two nights he was not feeling rested for about three nights after that. I have been wondering if that would translate into a loss of endurance or performance. I suspect I have had this all my life but has only been confirmed in the past couple of weeks. I have lived 55 years without the cpap so I don't think I would keel over and cack in the tent. But if there are ways of maintaining performance and endurance I would like to be able to do that.

I am suspecting that sleep deprivation has played a major role in the loss of my energy and my weak performance. Time of course will tell.

As far as getting used to it... I don't think that will be a problem. I took a nap this afternoon even without the humidifier and had a very good experience.”

“I have some pretty serious apnea and I have used "the machine" for about 5 years now. When I went hiking/camping, as you might guess, the friggin thing was weight prohibitive. As most of my trips were one or two nights and for the most part, easy trekkin', I dealt without it. But, as I attempted to extend myself, I tried twice to hike the AT through the Smokies and failed both times, mostly because 4 hrs sleep a night ain't gonna cut it. I tried taking a couple of Benadryls and a shot of whiskey and that would only work for about 4 hrs for me as well.
Last August I had a trip to Glacier booked for a week and 50 miles and I was pretty much determined to not waste my money and blow the trip off.
I investigated several alternative possible surgical solutions including a new experimental deal called the Pillar Procedure. None of these was recommended by the Rx.
However, and I am certain this may not be the best way for everyone, what he did do was prescribe a sleep aid. I wondered how this would affect the apnea but I made the trip anyway. I am a survivor of the 70's and a life on the road in the music industry and lord knows I have taken a wide variety of what I considered entertainment value items and lived through it.
I could not have completed the trip without Momma's Little Helpers! Of course I was also bone weary by the time I reached the camping areas but I would go through the usual end of day motions, rest, eat, take a pill, and I slept like a baby, feeling completely rested and ready to go the next morning.
I was sleeping more than 8 hrs. No campfires allowed so I was asleep by 7:30 or 8 pm and I arose maybe the same time next morning. On the trail by 9.
My companion said that I still snored like a logging operation but I slept.
I continue to use the things and I only do so when I go on trips. It makes a huge difference.
For those of you suffering from this thing I sympathize. Again, this may not be the best idea but it helps me enjoy something I love to do.”

“eman, good to hear from you again.

my best friend has this and has to sleep with a darth vader machine. he found out the hard way one afternoon when he started having seizures. scared the sh1t out of his wife”

“Damn. I'm going to get the sleep study done. My Doc recommended it, but I've been putting it off. I fell asleep at a stop light the other night on my way home from work.

Time to get'er done.”

“OK, I'm on the machine now. 3 nights to be exact. I thank those of you that emailed me, you helped push me to get it done. It seems that 9% of all males have this to one degree or another.

Those of you that get the..."hey, do you know you quite breathing while your asleep" line might want to see a doc. I have been told that by my wife, climbing partners and friends for years.”

“Hey, tell me how you feel in a week or so.”

“mtnsteve, don't be surprised if it takes a while to get use to the machine.
I first started on one 2 yrs ago. After 2 weeks of not sleeping and getting a cold I stopped using mine. I started back a few months ago. Within a week I was sick again with a cold. The Dr changed by reg humidifer to a heated humidifer. That has helped some but I still have problems with it.
Good luck with it. I have heard that once you get use to it that you have a hard time sleeping without it.

When I go backpacking I make sure I sleep far way from everyone else since my snoring would wake the dead.”

“Get a tracheotomy. Sure its ugly, and you can't talk; but you'll get a good nights sleep.”