Just wondering, if anyone on this board has had to travel with their sleeping partner "Cpap". This is possibly a new "relationship" for me and was wondering if anyone had experiences to relay.
Those who know what I am talking about need only respond if you are willing.
As for the rest of you, this post just might give you a bit of a chuckle
ok , I'll ask....what is CPAP?
Should be no problem. The island has a fairly reliable source of electricy absent some event, like a big storm or some other catastrophe.
In case you are wondering--"electricy" is the Belizian/Creole short hand word for the Gingo word "electricity." Either that, or I didn't preview my last post.
Yeah, give us a clue, Gela - what are you talking about?
My wife says I need one of those contraptions.
I think I just need more rum.
We will see.
Well folks, it seems that doctors have discovered that I stop breathing during sleep-this "partner" helps me breathe while I sleep AND wake up the next day.
Thanks Kailani - I know that electricity has been reasonably reliable on AC. I'm just trying to figure out how to include this new experience in my life.
Jim - I would much prefer your medicine versus mine. Maybe there's a happy medium?? :rolleyes:
I know what a Cpap is, friend uses one. Guess it depends on where you stay & how close the electical outlet is to the bed. Other good uses are inflating air mattresses & kids backyard swimming pools.
Hey Gela,
Electriciciy... power surgers may interup. But I would think you would be fine, cause ifin it were bad you would wake yourself up kinda. You just GO and have a great time, isn't that what be LIFE?!?
Gela, email me.
I'll give you the respiratory therapist's tips and tricks...LOL
[email protected]CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. It is prescribed for people who suffer from Sleep Apnea. In laymans terms...it provides flow to keep the airway open and unobstructed. People who suffer from Sleep Apnea stop breathing many times during the night and can suffer from very low levels of oxygenation due to this. A classic symptom is waking up after a full night of sleep and being extremely tired.
Hi, My wife and myself are respiratory therapists. I don't work in home health, but still many patients bring in thier home units to our hospital. In this part of the USA, {MO} they call them bipap-masks. You are very well informed about positive pressure airways. My question about travelling in Belize with the CPAP-MX, is does your partner utilize a low flow oxygen via a oxygen concentrator, or a e-tank ? Many people needs to bleed in the O2, or medical oxygen to maintain their oxygen saturation. I hope for you, and him it would be easier if you don't need it. Best-Wishes, Mel S....Damn it's cold here it's 6 degrees this morning ! I need a coconut grove and a green reef........
See - every one learns something new every day!
Sandshaker - I've emailed you.
I'm waiting for doctors to determine specific equipment requirements and settings. I'm researching all my options and trying to understand all of challenges ahead of me. This will solve only part of the mystery of my health issues, but at least with a little effort, I should begin to feel a bit better anyway.
The one thing that has kept me going is looking forward to my next trip to AC. If I didn't have that, I'm not sure I could have taken what I've been going through. And of course, the support I've received on this message board has made a big difference as well.
105 days to AC and counting!
Gela,
I guess if you have a 105 days left, that makes it 107 for me. Thanks for the count and good luck in getting your needs taken care of,so you could enjoy your trip with the rest of us.
Is that comparable to SIDS?You do nto have to answer, just curious, cuz I never heard of it or anyone having it.
Jackie
O Jackie, glad we get to start the count down. Thinking about Belize always lifts my spirits.
Yes, I believe sleep apnea can be equivalent to SIDs in infants. There are different types and severities.
Thanks all...learned something new...
Gela,
Thanks,like Axeman said, you learn something knew everyday.
Hope all goes well!!You are staying at Coconuts, right?
Jackie
SIDS is a phenomenon that takes place with infants, usually 2 years old and under. The cause of SIDS is still debatable, but in very young infants, probably conected to an under-developed respiratory system or some neurological problem.
Sleep apnea is primarily seen in adults but sometimes in children as well. There are different kinds of sleep apnea. This website will give you an overall explanation of sleep apnea and how it is diagnosed and treated.
http://www.sleepapnea.org/ Gela...got your email and will answer today.
Mel S....glad I ain't in MO....LOL
Of course we get all your "Snow Birds" down here in Florida...and of course they are all patients right now with the common flu, bronchitis and pneumonia!!! Thanks for the workload buddy!....LOL
P.S. It's 26 degrees as we speak....ugh! Got a bonfire going in the fireplace!
Sorry if your getting swamped with pts. with resp. problems down there. We had about 14 schools closed up due to the flu. If there is any sense of justice, or the yin and yang deal going on; the people of the deep south travel to Branson, MO in the summer. We get tons of tourists flew into our health center in Springfield,Mo. MVA's, COPD, Post-MI etc....the combination of the high tech. and central american enviornment is pretty wild. Neb. Tx's, Vents. and Fly-fishing on the flats. Computer syst. and Rice and Beans with stewed gibnut. For me, the changes of latitudes, changes my attitudes, helps me make it more pleasurable. Nice to meet another sputum-Dude ! Mel S...
LOL
Spent 10 days on AC last year and Sweet Hubby uses a CPAP machine nightly. We had no problem at all. It travelled as his second carry-on (aren't husbands lucky that we pack all of their miscellaneous junk in our purses so they normally only have to manage one carry-on?). We did buy and bring a surge protector because we had heard that there were periodic power surges and we didn't want to fry the ridiculously expensive thingy. (And I could not have survived in the same room/hotel/island/country with his amazingly-loud snoring had it been skizzled!)CPAPs take a little bit of getting used to for the partner but they are a WHOLE lot better than the alternative snoring, leg jerks and wakefulness. I was told before he got it that they were really loud and difficult to sleep with. Bunk. Sweet Hubby's makes a restful "white-noise" kind of hum.
Have a wonderful, restful vacation.
BankerWoman, I appreciate a first hand (or in your case, second hand) experience report. I have yet to get my machine (going to a clinic this weekend - yippee!) but if it fixes some of my health issues - I've gotta give it a try. Good point about the serge protector - did you just buy one of those "strips" or do they make a special one for the cpap? The supposed good news is that the machine does not count as a carryon now (at least according to research and phone calls I made to airports/airlines) so I will forever have to check luggage so that I can take my precious machine with me (unless I wear all my cloths on me in layers - now that would be a site!).
Thanks again - Gela
G - do not buy one of those "strips" thinking it is a surge protector, unless you spend $40 or $50 - those $5 Wal-Mart types are not surge protectors, just glorified extension cords.
Gela: Sorry that I didn't read closely enough to realize that your "partner" WAS the CPAP rather than going with someone who would be using the CPAP... The surge protector Sweet Hubby bought was not the run-of-the-mill version you might buy at WalMart. It was considerably more expensive (about $25 as I remember) and made especially to protect sensitive electronic equipment from large power surges. That being said, we bought it at Best Buy so they are easily available.
Are you saying that now the airlines won't LET you bring a CPAP onboard as a carryon (requiring it to be checked as baggage) OR are you saying that you'd prefer to do so? I'm hoping the second as we are soon headed for St. George and we don't want to take a chance with it being handled as "gently" as the rest of checked luggage always is
. That and this is a piece of equipment that CAN'T get lost (as checked baggage often is...) or Sweet Hubby will find himself sleeping out on the beach. Am anxious to find out what you know on the subject.
On the issue of acclimating yourself to the CPAP, take it slow and know that none of the people I know on CPAP (including my husband, my uncle and a friend) felt like they could stand it for the first few nights. All of them ended up being quite content with it after a week or two and realize now how much better the quality of their sleep - and their lives - are because of their new sleeping companion.
BankerWoman, I'm sorry - I think I confused you. The cpap is not considered your one piece carryon allowed. It can be a second (plus your one personal item - purse, etc.). Given that I will have a carryon, the cpap, and my purse - I'm now forced to check the rest (in the past I usually took carryon only).
I have a pretty good idea the challenges ahead of me to try to find the right match of equipment and developing tolerance. I'm glad to get this going so that it's just routine by the time I travel. Again thanks to all of you for your input. It has helped a great deal!
Decided to jump in on this topic. Hubby is on BIPAP similar to CPAP but uses distilled water to keep is throat from drying out. We also are going to Belize in June and will need to buy distilled water for the thing. Is distilled water available there. Thanks
Due to the low IQ and bad attitude of many of the "security checkers" at US airports, I strongly advise you to be prepared for unpleasant confrontations by obtaining from your doctor a letter ON THE DOCTOR'S LETTERHEAD stating that s/he is your doctor and has directed you to use use the machine daily and that failure to do so could be life threatening. The letter should also DESCRIBE the machine in exquisite detail so that there can be no doubt that the machine you are carrying is in fact that which the doc has described.
The letter should also state that the machine is very fragile and should not be checked as luggage.
susangg - Yes, I intend on having a letter with me. I've heard of such stories. I will come as prepared as I can. I'll be darned if I'm going to let this minor incovenience limit me in my life! Since I don't know what kind of machine I'm going to have, I too am curious as to the availability of distilled water in AC. Can anybody comment??
Thanks.
Thanks for the carry-on info, Gela. Sweet Hubby uses the distilled water only in the winter when the air here in the Midwest is unusually dry but I do remember that the grocery across from the pop/beer distributor did have distilled water when we were there last April. Thanks, Susan, on the heads-up regarding a letter from his doctor. We had absolutely no problem last year in Chicago, Houston or at Goldson but you never know when or where it could come up. Better to be prepared...