Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Gear Forum :: Sleep apnea?
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old_salt |
quote Tman: "quote old_salt: "I'm buying a Transcend 2 unit with 3 batteries and a solar charger. Should have it next week." Got my new Transcend mini and have used it. I have a Red Med 10 unit that is my primary home unit. I got the Transcend for travel only and to serve as backup in a power outage. I did not choose humidifier because I won't use it when I travel. That said, I like it for the reasons I got it. The noise level is about the same as my old Red Med 8, so it doesn't bother me. It is more than most folks will tolerate. I would bring ear plugs, not for myself, but for others when camping. As for the lack of humidification, I used saline nasal spray before and after use. Just carry Kleenex. Bottom line, it's a keeper. It will go on canoe trips in Quetico, to the wilds of Alaska, and anywhere else I may go. If you have questions, please post them. Sorry for sideways picture. Transcend is in foreground with Res Med behind for size comparison. It really is about the size of a soda can and very lightweight, less than 1 lb. |
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BuckFlicks |
I'll check out that battery. If nothing else, I need a backup for when the power goes out at home. |
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Wally13 |
How heavy are the 20,000 mha batteries from Battery geeks taht you use with the Phillips Respironics. ? |
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Tman |
No, but my Resmed was 6 years old and had a wonky switch. Try looking for used units on CL, ebay, etc. Lots of them out there from people who didn't stick with the CPAP. |
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Tman |
quote Wally13: "Tman, 5 lbs |
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BWPaddler |
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Tman |
Bottom line - don't let Apnea/CPAP hold you back from your dreams and adventures. It can be done! |
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Wally13 |
In 2012 I bought a Lightweight Travel Lithium Battery Pack for my ResMed CPAP Machine from a website cpapXchange CPAPXCHANGE Battery Pack I am not sure if the battery technology has gotten better since I purchased this CPAP setup in 2012 but this Lithium Battery Pack has served me well. It is a bit on the expensive side $299 but it is the lightest system I could find. Right now on sale at cpapxchange for $297.99 The unit consists of a 12 volt converter that plugs into 12 rechargeable Lithium ion batteries tied in series and then plugs into my Resmed9 CPAP machine. I take off the humidifier when I go paddling since it uses more battery power. I can get 2 nights sleep per battery pack averaging 16 hours total per battery pack. I bring along 4 lithium battery packs with me and they weigh about 1.5 lbs. each. I do not recharge them on my trip. I found this system to be lighter than most battery setups but I am still hoping that I can someday get the weight down even further. There is a new light weight travel CPAP machine called "Transcend" that is advertising on the radio that looks like a possibility but I have read some negative reviews. 3 years ago I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea using a sleep test and my Resmed9 machine and my Resmed AirFit P10 mask has been a God send. I can't sleep without CPAP. I have tried oral devices etc. and these substitutes just don't measure up. I have used this set up the last 5 trips to Quetico and it has worked well. CPAP users may want to give it a try. I talked to a gal at CpapXchange and she told me that you would have to "special order" the lithium 12 AA battery pack with connector for $184 per pack ...ouch ... my extra sets of batteries were way cheaper back then and didn't have to be a "special order" ( may want to call Battery Geeks) One battery pack comes with the $279 package with converter and bag etc. But since one battery pack will only do 2 nights on a Resmed 9 you will have to order extra battery packs for your overnight trips ... unless you can figure out a lightweight and reliable system to recharge them in the wilderness. Solar ? CPAP users ... let me know if you find some better way to power up a CPAP machine for a 10 day trip? I am sure open to new technology but this setup I use has worked well for me the past 5 years. |
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Tman |
Short answer since I have pretty direct experience to yours. I switched from a Resmed to a Phillips Respironics a couple of years ago because the Phillips operates directly on 12v. Therefore, you do not need to use an inverter or transformer with a battery. Both are inefficient so you get better battery life. I went from getting 2 long or 3 short nights with my Resmed9 to 5 long or 6 short nights with my Respironics using a Battery Geeks 20,000mha battery. I own one battery and rent a second one from BG for longer trips. |
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BuckFlicks |
Has anyone found a portable camping solution to this? I've used one of those contraptions that you put in your mouth to pull the jaw forward, but they don't work (well.) It mitigates the snoring a little bit, but I fear that now I've become dependent on my CPAP and attempting to sleep without it would result in very little sleep with even less quality sleep. |
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old_salt |
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Zulu |
There was a thread on this site about a year ago covering some other lighter weight options. |
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Grandma L |
quote Zulu: "I use an inverter and smaller 25 pound deep cycle battery for trips not requiring too long of a portage or car camping. I can get three or four nights out of the battery without using the humidifier option. Yup, I did a search of the site and there are a couple of good threads with lots of information - check it out. |
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Northwoodsman |
Last year I purchased a couple of batteries, an adapter, and an inverter for my Resmed AirSense 10. I learned a lot from testing it at home. Put it in airplane mode to turn off the data sender. Don't use the ClimateAir hose because the unit senses it and turns things on that you have manually turned off. You can't use heat or the humidifier on a battery, it will drain the battery in a couple of hours. Set the pressure as low as you can but so it is still effective. Very few solar chargers will produce enough power to charge the batteries. The most that I could get was 2.5 nights out of 2 batteries connected in tandem. I concluded that with the clean cool crisp air, being dead tired from traveling all day, being relaxed (no technology to connect to the office), and taking Ambien (prescribed), that I was able leave my $700 battery set up at home. I have only had the CPAP machine for 2 years so I can still get by without it on occasion. I travel with it, but not willing to lug everything into the BWCA. If it's not a life or death situation, I would try sleeping at home without it for a few nights. |
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HowardSprague |
quote old_salt: "Paging Wally 13 to the red courtesy phone..." Paging HP as well,... |
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BuckFlicks |
I'm patiently waiting for the Airing to hit the market. That'll be a game changer. Airing -nightly disposable micro CPAP |
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Tman |
quote old_salt: "I'm buying a Transcend 2 unit with 3 batteries and a solar charger. Should have it next week." Please report back after you have had a chance to use it. I looked at it when I got the Respironics but my DME did not recommend it for daily use and I didn't have the funds to buy a second unit out of pocket at the time. |
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BuckFlicks |
My wife's is leased and she and never uses it (but she still complains about not sleeping well and always being tired. She also tends to reject anything that doesn't fit into her established routine without giving it a proper chance - so she'd rather complain about stuff than actually resolve the issue.) I'm sure they're probably going to take it away from her before too long. If they don't take it away from her and she decides she's not going to use it, it would be a better option for me for travelling, it's about half the size of mine and the humidifier is built in. |
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old_salt |
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RTurner |
old_salt: "Roger, Hi Salt, After about 3-4 calls with the DME, they admitted that they have had trouble with the solar chargers. I'm not sure why they thought it might have been a battery problem at first, although, I did have trouble with the mobile charger too. In any case, I got them to send me a complete new order...CPAP, battery and chargers. I've had the battery charging on the solar charger for 3 days, but it still does not seem to be fully charged. Going to try it tonight and I'll see what happens. I only expect to get a few hours out of it. At this point, I think my best option is just to buy a couple more batteries and charge all 3 of them at home before I go on a trip. That should get me 6 nights. Not really wild about the idea of spending close to $800.00 on batteries after spending so much on the CPAP, but I'm not sure what my other options are. Without a CPAP, I don't breathe, and no one within 1/4 mile of me will get any sleep. |
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old_salt |
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Northwoodsman |
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RTurner |
I recently purchased one, and it worked great when I charged the battery at home, but I just had it down to my family's beach house last week, and I could not get the battery to recharge. I got two nights (about 14 hours) out of the battery and about 3 hours the third night before it died. During the day though, I had it plugged into the solar charger all day long. The second day was very sunny, and I even had the solar panel on an angle and rotated it and adjusted the angle every hour so it was pointed directly at the sun, and I don't think the battery charged at all. I even left it plugged into the mobile charger in my car and let my car run overnight, all to no avail. I had the DME overnight me a new battery and had the exact same problem. Very frustrating. thanks, Roger |
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old_salt |
I had a similar experience on my canoe trip this year. The solar charger did not work. I haven’t tried a car charger (don’t have one). It charges fine with the AC plug. I may get more batteries. I got about 1 1/2 nights per charge as I suspect my demand is greater. My prescription is for variable pressure. I agree that aspect is disappointing. |
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MagicPaddler |
More info at https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php/136168-My-backpacking-camping-CPAP-battery-solution?highlight=cpap |
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old_salt |
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RTurner |
I ran my machine on the battery and it ran all night... kind of surprised since I only charged with the solar charger. I'll keep running it until the battery dies, then try to charge from solar panel again and see what happens. In my head, I'm kicking around the idea of a transcend battery loaner pool or library. Instead of everyone buying enough batteries to get through a trip, (I think I would need 3-4 to get through the trip I have planned, or my typical vacation at the family beach house), we could get a group together, each person with a battery, and when someone is going on a trip that would require more than one battery, they borrow from the group. The user pays for shipping the battery both from and back to the original owner. I haven't fully thought it out yet, but I hate the idea of having to buy almost 1000$ worth of batteries that are going to sit unused most of the year. I only do a trip or two per year. Maybe I'll float the idea on some CPA forums and see what people think. This would all be so much easier if they could just make a good solar charger |
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BuckFlicks |
The power supply is completely self-contained, so it's just the unit, the power cord (no brick) and the mask. About 1/3 the size of my old CPAP travel case, and maybe 1/4 the weight. Makes packing for weekend or long weekend trips 100% easier. I have yet to find a battery for it, but I haven't really searched thoroughly. I've used it for 2 trips visiting friends so far and I have to give it 2 thumbs up. The batteries for my S9 won't work for it, I don't think. |
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Tman |
quote old_salt: "quote Tman: "quote old_salt: "I'm buying a Transcend 2 unit with 3 batteries and a solar charger. Should have it next week." Trust me, I do think of my CPAP as a medical necessity. My sleep doc says I am the most compliant patient she has. I haven't slept a night without CPAP since 2008, and that includes somewhere around 200 nights camping. The good news is that I am able to use my Respironics and battery very well when camping so I haven't felt the need to spend more to purchase the Transcend unit. Having said that, my 51 year old knees are telling me to find ways to reduce pack weight so I'm interested in your experience. Will be backpacking for 10 nights in Glacier National Park this July with 4 teenagers and will need every advantage I can get to keep up with them! |
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old_salt |
quote Tman: "quote old_salt: "I'm buying a Transcend 2 unit with 3 batteries and a solar charger. Should have it next week." You probably need to think of a battery CPAP like you would any other piece of essential gear. You wouldn't skimp on your tent or sleeping bag or anything else important for enjoying your trip. Your CPAP will provide quality sleep and keep you alive. When I think of it that way, spending $1000 or so is great insurance. I haven't bought the unit yet, but likely will soon. What I learned is that my insurance won't cover this or any battery powered unit, because they lack the compliance chip and camping is not considered a medical necessity. That means we pay for it. Cpap.com and cpapxchange.com are probably the best-priced sites. I let insurance pay for a new Resmed 10 home unit and this one will be dedicated to camping & travel. When I purchase it, I will not get the humidifier, just the basic unit + 3 batteries + solar charger. Each battery weighs about 1lb. Each battery will provide 2 nights, and with the solar charger, should be able to get enough nights for a 10 day trip. I will use saline nasal spray to replace humidifier. I will report back after I get unit and use it a few nights. |
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old_salt |
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Tman |
quote old_salt: "Don't take my last response personally, it was meant for anyone reading who suffers from sleep apnea." No problem! I guess I did respond a little defensively. Totally agree with you that CPAP should be considered essential gear. Without it I would feel miserable and, more importantly, probably not be in a condition to make good decisions. The good news is that there are options for just about any type of camper. A buddy of mine has rigged up a sealed deep cell battery on a cart for car and canoe camping. It will run his CPAP for well over a week for less than $100. Not what I would want to haul in a backpack but it works for his types of camping. With insurance buying my respironics unit I've got about $550 invested and have never let CPAP hold me back from any adventure. |
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Captn Tony |
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