Sleep Disorders in the Field

[captain_kirk]

Gentlemen, ( to some, I do use the term very loosely )
I now use a CPAP every night. I have checked on line for a rechargable battery to power a CPAP in the field and find them quite expensive at around $400.00. I once saw someone a Shiloh 2007 obtaining power from a car battery with some kind of adaptation wiring. I am sure there is someone out there that has an economical solution to my delima. As always, I remain,
Your servant,
Kirk Fuller

[Craig L Barry]

A rechargeable marine battery, a recharger for it and an AC converter may set you back $100 to $150, and will provide enough juice to power your CPAP for two full nights. The fellows I know that use these machines power them that way and report good results. Judging from the snoring I hear at night, a few more should probably bring their CPAPs, too.

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

Just for the lads who might be wondering....
CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) is used for such things as Sleep Apnea Syndrome treatment.
(Sleep Apnea can be fatal for some lads.)

CHS

[RJSamp]

Gentlemen, ( to some, I do use the term very loosely )
I now use a CPAP every night. I have checked on line for a rechargable battery to power a CPAP in the field and find them quite expensive at around $400.00. I once saw someone a Shiloh 2007 obtaining power from a car battery with some kind of adaptation wiring. I am sure there is someone out there that has an economical solution to my delima. As always, I remain,
Your servant,
Kirk Fuller

I helped carry out a couple of marine batteries for a soldier. 1 per night. This was at Antietam 140. Worked like a charm.

[flattop32355]

Most definitely a "modern-ism" that we in the hobby should be willing to accept as necessary. I hope you find an economic and reliable solution.

[bob 125th nysvi]

Gentlemen, ( to some, I do use the term very loosely )
I now use a CPAP every night. I have checked on line for a rechargable battery to power a CPAP in the field and find them quite expensive at around $400.00. I once saw someone a Shiloh 2007 obtaining power from a car battery with some kind of adaptation wiring. I am sure there is someone out there that has an economical solution to my delima. As always, I remain,
Your servant,
Kirk Fuller

What have your doctors told you you can do about it? I used to use one at home too but managed to lose a lot of weight and they wound up resetting my machine at its lowest pressure setting. Don't use it any more.

There are cures.

But quite honestly it is your life we are talking about here (I know used to stop breathing for up 15 secinds at a time) seems like $400 is a pretty small price to pay and some of it may be covered by insurance. tell them you want it as a back up for when the pwoer goes out.

[Spinster]

Kirk,

Call the tech support number for your particular machine. Its in that direction book in your case.

The nice folks at the other end of the line for my machine do tell me that a deep cycle marine battery is the proper 'off grid' power for mine, and we're currently looking at the various boxes and crates around here in an attempt to make it less obnoxious in a period setting.

I'd also like to be able to secure the thing in a wooden box with feet on it, and have nothing more than the hose line to pull out at night. Since a good rain can cause a lot of damage to this sort of equipment, you need to think about what you will set it on, how you will suspend the hose, and, if your machine also requires a distilled water supply, where you are going to keep that.

Your machine may be different though, and its a pricey thing to blow out with the wrong power supply.

By the way, having spent the weekend hooked up with an extension cord to a handy plug in the historical home on site, I discovered that the face mask marks are most intriguing to the tourists, who ask questions about every little thing they see. :-)

As time passes, and your heath improves, you may find that an occassional night without carries no harm. For others, its meant that instead of driving home on Sunday, they check into a motel, plug in the machine and get a night of real sleep with properly moving air before driving home.

While right now I'm really greatful for this machine, its supplemental oxygen, and all the other bells and whistles that come with it--still, its going to be a real pain in the tookus in the field. It does however, beat the heck out of that little 'failure to move air at all' problem I had back in the winter.

[NoahBriggs]

A fellow I know from way back also carried a CPAP into the field. He had constructed for him a small crate which carried machine and the battery. it was wicked heavy, and we called it "the Ark of the Covenant" because it was very similar to the crate used to transport the Ark in Raiders.

[BigDuke634]

When I got my CPAP, I did ask about camping. The technician told me that there was a model available that was battery powered.

[Regular3]

seems like $400 is a pretty small price to pay and some of it may be covered by insurance. tell them you want it as a back up for when the pwoer goes out.My Navy son was just diagnosed with sleep apnea and issued a CPAP machine ... The machine was free, but even the military will not cover the battery. Go figure.

[MickCole]

I have one of the expemsive batteries for my CPAP machine. I initially was hesitant about the cost, I do not regret the purchase. There have been enough occasions when I have been able to camp instead of staying in a motel to largely pay for the battery. On occasion, I do go a night or two without the CPAP, as at the recent Glendale Malvern Hill campaigner event where it simply would not have been practical to use it.
Mick Cole

[Major Duane]

I hadn't even considered this line of thinking to be honest. I've just started to use a CPAP (at the ripe "old" age of 36) and hadn't even considered taking it into the field with me. I know all cases are different, but I'm told mine is "severe" (stop breathing 40-50 seconds at a clip...but my oxygen efficiency is 98%) I just went to an event and slept without it. Honestly, I haven't made it through the night with the darn thing on my face since I got it. It DOES take some getting used too.

Of all the conversations I NEVER thought I'd have about reenacting. :D

John Adams
Huckleberry Mess

[Rick Keating]

I've suffered from sleep apnea for more than several years. After I got my CPAP I picked up an inverter and a marine battery (120 amp). I charge the battery before I leave home and I've gotten three nights easily.

I absolutely cannot go a night without my breathing machine. It's a pain having to carry this stuff but without it I would have to do day trips.

Good luck, it can be done.

Oh, I found the inverter online and it was about $50 or $60 dollars. It just clips to the battery posts. The marine battery was (at the time) about $80.

Rick Keating

[militiaman1835]

I just got back from a LH at Jekyll Island Ga. Where once again I used my cpap, I bought two power supply units from SPORTSMANS GUIDE a couple years back. They not only run my machine for one night you have a light if needed and they'll jump your car!! Plus not as bulky as a battery. My cpap goes in my single bag knapsack and power unit in a wooden ammo box. Jim Hensley

[Huck]

If you really wish to have something other than CPAP, you can get a mouth guard which keeps your jaw in place while you sleep. You see the commercial for I hate CPAP dot com.

I can say that because I don't have to drag out my CPAP machine to the field and some sort of generator for power and two, I can roll the small about the size of two football mouth guards in a small piece of cloth and place it in my pocket.


Just my humble opinion.

[Mint Julep]

Well, I'm glad to see so many others discussing this. I've been using a CPAP for a few years now and can't imagine living without it. I have not considered using it in the field, but can see that it is possible. Thanks for the tips.

I have been going without it at some events, just going through a list of things to make my breathing easier before bedtime. I use the breathright strips while I sleep. I try to prop myself up a bit so I'm not so flat. I use a nasal spray to insure that my sinuses are not clogged while I sleep (as they often are).

But, most importantly, I don't try to drive home Sunday night. I stay in a cheap motel and get a decent sleep before driving home Monday.

Right now, I'm trying to work off some weight so my reliance on the machine will go down.