Sleep Apnea and Hunting ?

[Trigger50]

I've just been diagnosed w moderate to severe sleep apnea. I'm 47 years old, in good health and not overweight. For the last 2 years I've been snoring really bad and I can sleep 8 hrs a day and still need a mid day nap. I don't have alot of energy.
I'm on a waiting list for a cpap machine. I've researched the mouth guard option but I've heard alot of people cant tolerate the mouth guard and it can cause other problems.
I'm really nervous how being tied to a cpap machine will hinder my back country hunting trips?
Do you guys have any advice or are dealing w the same prob.

 

[brushcreek]

i use a CPAP when home, mouth guard when i have no access to electricity or don't want to fool with packing the CPAP

 

[Deleted member 18333]

What's wrong with 8 hours of sleep and a mid day nap? Sounds like my most enjoyable hunts.

 

[kansasdad]

Off the grid hunting requires a bit of pre-planning, but is do-able for sure. I purchased a very big battery bank, good for 2 nights of sleep without humidifier, and made sure the 12 volt recharge was recharging as we were leaving base camp to where we were going to hunt. It is about the size of and twice the weight of a hard cover book, and comes with a hefty pricetag ($325).

I've also used (less successfully than CPAP) the mandibular advance device that hooks to your teeth. As a dentist, I was able to get this "wholesale" and not retail. I did start to see some changes in the way my jaw functioned, and was happy to switch to CPAP.

My wife sleeps better when I'm using the CPAP. My fellow adventurers will sleep better when I'm using the CPAP. Cue the chainsaw/growling grizzly bear memes) if that's not happening.

 

[treedagain]

I basically use a RV/marine battery with a invertor. I can get 3-4 nights per battery with no recharge. To charge I simply hook jumper cables and run for a bit while I cook dinner. Then I have had a single last a week.

 

[recon6036]

“For the last 2 years I've been snoring really bad and I can sleep 8 hrs a day and still need a mid day nap. I don't have alot of energy”

This is me exactly. Snoring was very rare for me until a year or so ago. Now my wife says my snoring is constant. Time for a sleep study she says. Guess, I should listen to her.

 

[rwc101]

My dad uses a car battery for his CPAP when he goes pronghorn hunting with me.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I snore some but I've been told it's not too bad. My wife doesn't complain. She sleeps peacefully at the cemetery next to my son. If this COVID threat ever eases off I'll get a referral to sleep clinic. I sleep on average a little less than four hours a night plus naps during the day. Not good. Glad I don't have to hold down a job.

Everyone I know who's gone to the machine say it's made a huge difference in their vitality and rest patterns. Sure made a difference for my diabetic brother. He's also on the computer insulin pump and if he's not hooked up to CPAP that damn alarm is going off all night in the camper. When he rests better his metabolism seems to fluctuate less. I hope you get something worked out.

 

[MT_Chad]

I was diagnosed in my mid 20s with severe sleep apnea. I felt hung over every day, no energy, and was falling asleep driving. Bad deal. Getting my CPAP literally changed my life. I can count on 1 hand the number of nights I've been without it. Truck camping I use a deep cycle. For everything else I have a few different battery packs I use with a solar panel. If I'm going super light for 1 night only, I have a drug store mouth guard that works okay, it makes your jaw and teeth hurt though. The CPAP takes getting used to, stick it out, it's worth it.

 

[longbow51]

The dental device is roughly half as effective as a CPAP machine just FYI.

 

[tom338]

My cpap had a power inverter option. I hook up to a 12 deep cycle battery. Usually lasts 7-10 days. Not sure what I'm going to do on a back country hunt yet...

 

[Wild Bill]

I'm 47 years old, in good health and not overweight. For the last 2 years I've been snoring really bad and I can sleep 8 hrs a day and still need a mid day nap. I don't have alot of energy.

This is most 47 year old men in America. Give or take the overweight.

 

[rustneversleeps]

I’ve done many a nights backcountry with the CPAP. Spent forever trying to figure out the best setup, as I can’t do the mouthpiece and worried about messing up my bite/jaw. Tried leaving it at home and was miserable the whole hunt. My current setup:

-Resmed air mini w/F20 facemask
-Freedom V2 battery w/air mini kit (2-3 nights 1.7 lbs)

Im probably packing an extra 3-4lbs but it’s worth it to me for a good (better than bad) nights sleep. If I need 1 or 2 more days I’ll use my 20mah battery pack to get a little charge, but going to invest in a lightweight solar charger.

 

[MThuntr]

For those of you that have started snorting in the past few years...please don't take offense...consider checking your weight and losing a few lbs if your winter weight has stuck around into summer. That does seem to help with sleep issues.

I can't help with the apnea part for the OP. If you're car camping I know there are options but for a backpack trip then I think you're limited.

 

[WIbiggame]

Check this out too covered by most insurance companies.

Sleep Apnea Treatment | Inspire® therapy

Inspire® therapy offers a proven sleep apnea treatment when CPAP doesn't work. No mask. No hose. Just a better way to breathe and sleep naturally.

www.inspiresleep.com

 

[JAG]

What's wrong with 8 hours of sleep and a mid day nap? Sounds like my most enjoyable hunts.

I agree, but the quality of that eight hours is terrible for people with apnea. During the wake period, you are exhausted and in a fog all day long.

 

[JAG]

I pulled up an old email trying to convince a couple of CPAP users to camp with me in the backcountry. I could not sway them, but here's the result of my research from 6 months ago:

Battery features from best to least important are watt-hours (Wh for short), if the CPAP plug fits (most seem to be DC), and weight. The watt-hours measurement is a universal measurement that tells us how much battery power is available. I compared CPAP-specific batteries (very light 1-2 pounds) with back-up batteries on Amazon that sell for more (less?) than half price.

Many backpackers already bring their C-PAP machines with them and there are some affordable and lightweight options. I started with CPAP.com. Two (2) samples of many batteries they sell are shown below as 1a. and 1b. Two (2) other comparable batteries from Amazon show a significant price difference from the "medical-cpap-batteries" and are fairly lightweight (5.6 or 3.6 pounds).

Option 1a: BPS Freedom V2 Travel CPAP Battery + Machine Cable Kits has 99.9 watt-hours of power capacity and weighs 1.7 pounds. This V2 battery lasts from 1-3 nights; up to six with a second battery. Each one is $349.99.

BPS Freedom V2 (99.9 Wh) Runtimes for Popular CPAP Machines

Machine	Single Battery	Dual Battery
AirSense, AirCurve, or AirStart	1-3 Nights	3-5 Nights
AirMini	1-3 Nights	3-6 Nights
DreamStation Series	1-2 Nights	2-4 Nights
S9	1-3 Nights	3-5 Nights

Option 1b: EXP 48 Battery (153.6 Wh) = "Four full nights of CPAP use"
12-24V/2A Outlets. $379.99.

Option 2a: Amazon's AimTom Battery (155 Wh); 110V AC, DC 12V, and USB Outlets, 3.6 Pounds; $129.99. This is an "Amazon's Choice" item.

Option 2b: FlashFish Portable Power Station (222 Wh) 110V AC, DC 9-12V, 5.6 pounds.

Option 3: This likely won't work for a CPAP or yours for that matter, but my backup battery for my iPhone and hearing aids has 100.5 Wh. It only has USB outlets. This cost me $45.99, charges my phone almost seven times, weighs 0.78 pounds.

I have a 28W solar charger and it has three ports for charging other devices. It works great in direct sun, but cloudy weather makes it ineffective. When in the backcountry, I don't get a signal, so I turn it on Airplane mode and it lasts for three days.

 

[rustneversleeps]

For those of you that have started snorting in the past few years...please don't take offense...consider checking your weight and losing a few lbs if your winter weight has stuck around into summer. That does seem to help with sleep issues.

I can't help with the apnea part for the OP. If you're car camping I know there are options but for a backpack trip then I think you're limited.

I'm in almost the best hunting shape I've been in my life...have had apnea for 10+ years and have never been overweight. Sleep doctor said its because of thicker neck (TWSS). Always thought it was super overweight people that had sleep apnea, but definitely not always the case.

 

[fishing4sanity]

I love reading the epic tales of bighorn, mountain goat, etc. hunting on here, but unfortunately find my personal experience in the threads about sleep apnea, hearing loss, poor vision, etc. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea in my 20's and skinny as a rail, but hated the CPAP machine. As time and weight advanced the apnea worsened and I had to use the machine. Now, most of the time I use the extra car battery method. Lots of good responses here, for backcountry hunting I'd look at rustneversleeps and JAG's posts.

 

[TimeOnTarget]

Interesting to stumble upon this thread.

For probably 5 years now I've had terrible sleep. Sometimes I feel like I catch myself stop breathing even before I fall asleep, at least very very shallow breaths. These past couple weeks has brought me to my wits end though and I'm determined to get to the bottom of it. I even woke up mid dream of not being able to breathe. I never really had an issue until I got into good shape at about 30yrs old. Funny how things work sometimes.