CPAP on layovers
 

I know I’ve flown with guys before that use CPAP machines on overnights, but never worried about options available. Until now since I need one. My Dr has prescribed the same machine my wife has (AirSense 10 by Resmed), but I’m hoping for something a bit more travel friendly. I see the Resmed AirMini comes highly recommended, but UHC says they’ll pay for the Z2 Travel by Human Design. I’m looking for pilot reviews on both. Or other suggestions.

Thanks!

This one works great:

Philips Respironics DreamStation Go Auto Travel CPAP (google for it)

And then I would highly recommend this med tech's YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/Freecpapadvice

Philips is off the market for now due to the insulation recall. IMHO, fight with the insurance company for the travel resmed airmini.

Edit: don't spend the extra money for it though, all the travel machines are no where near as good as the full machine.

I have the Z2 by Breas. It's OK. Not as good as my full sized Airsense that everybody has, but it does the job. The one thing I don't like is the reporting software is crap. The Airsense gives you those nice progress stats, and you would think that I only use my travel device an hour a night.

Edit. To the OP: What is the Z2 by Human Design? Are you sure it is not the Breas?

Just don’t do what I did, especially if your data is monitored by the FAA. I started CPAP 5 years ago while grounded for an unrelated matter. Got the Phillips Respironics Dreamstation, which was fine until recalled for potential carcinogens this year.

Like you, I wanted portability when I returned to flying. Insurance was out of contention until I had the first unit for 5 years. I settled on the Dreamstation Go from the same manufacturer (I wrongly assumed data gathering advantages by having the same brand at home and on the road) and hunted for the best price I could find on the Internet. With a backup battery for airborne use and some other accessories I shelled out around $1300 for this set-up.

Turns out a DME supplier working with insurance will go to some lengths to fix issues; random Internet supplier on a cash deal, not so much. Because the supplier and manufacturer seem to have no vested interest in helping me, I never got the data gathering in order for my portable machine. It’s small, light and “cute” and it works, but no data is no bueno for the FAA. So I ended up lugging my “brick” around on trips. The portable was a waste of money for me. I haven’t given up on it entirely, but I got so sick and tired of trying to hunt down a Phillips rep to get me dialed-in, I just caved in and use the big boy for everything. Which sucks for my wife when I try to sneak out of the room at O-dark:30, having packed 99% of my $tuff the night before, only to wrangle cords and tubes and a humidifier reservoir in the dark. BTW, you’ll want humidification.

If you do score a portable, don’t worry about battery power unless you need it for a serious off-grid situations. Although my crew rest facilities had power, I thought the battery would ease the utilization of CPAP while airborne. It was such a hassle to deploy on the airplane, I just blew it off.

My usage compliance criteria call for a certain number of hours per sleep session, 75% of the time. I never get those hours on the plane so I just skip it. I still end up with something like 90% compliance in the course of a year. Not using the CPAP on the airplane is in no way a violation of my therapy prescription nor the FAA criteria for my medical. Aside from the bulk and weight of the Dreamstation, carrying it is okay. I just learned that my overnight bag could sacrifice a lot of crap that I carried.

My choices are those of an apnea denier. I believe my diagnosis is legit. It’s minor. I never felt bad or sleepy when I should have been alert. I slept well before CPAP and I sleep awesome with it. I snored, which never bothered me consciously. My spouse is much relieved by my CPAP use, but I couldn’t care less aside from the benefits to her. I play the game and use the thing, but my non- FAA docs say I really don’t need CPAP. Keep my situation and attitude in mind before deciding airplane use of CPAP is not called for. It’s simply not for me.

Bottom line: insurance is going to but you just one piece of equipment. Spending your own $ ona portable is not worth it. If you can only have one, a full featured machine can be workable for home and travel.

Thanks for the info. So do you have both then? I’m contemplating letting insurance get the AirSense for home and purchasing a more travel friendly one for work.

The Human Design and Breas units are the same. Something about parent companies and name changes.

The travel ones are a lot harsher than the full machine, you may want to wait a bit since you are just starting therapy.

Gotcha. That is what I thought. I have the 'full size unit' for home use, and the Breas for travel. Like Mesabah said, it is a little 'harsher' than the Airsense. I can't really think of a better word than that. It's not unbearable, but it is not quite as comfortable as the Airsense. That thing was a life changer. My wife loves it because she doesn't think I am gonna forget to breathe and die in the middle of the night. I believe that we were able to get the insurance to pay for it as well as the home unit. She's out at a meeting right now, but I will let you know. If I remember correctly, there is some special deal that Delta gets on it.

I just lug my full size airsense everywhere. The bag does hang backwards over my LW roller handle but occasionally a luggage nazi will ***** its not black (its medical so exempt)

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Do you use water in it on layovers? That’s one concern I have with it - lugging 2 to 3 nights worth of distilled water for it. Although I found out today there’s a plug for it to use without water.

Yes. Bottled water is good enough. I went on a 6 month deployment without any RO water and its fine. Just need to clean minerals out occasionally.

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OK, here's the skinny on this. Delta is the only airline whose insurance will pay for a travel CPAP. But.... you might have to pull teeth a little in order to get that deal. The company is Apria, and they supposedly got a memo (from Delta I think or maybe UHC... I am not sure) in Jan of this year that said they would pay for a travel unit. You need to go online and look at the units... and then CALL THEM. that is where the tooth extraction comes in. They may or may not remember that they had that memo, and they need to be reminded of it. My wife did all this, and went back and forth between UHC and Apria numerous times, and Apria finally conceded that yes, it is in fact covered.

Good luck.

Thanks. I did an online chat with UHC and they sent me a form to fill out for that travel one, which is the Z2. What I failed to do was clarify that they’d do that on top of the AirSense, which will only cost about $130 out of pocket.

Thanks all for the info and reviews.

How did you find out you need it?

could not see his toes

That is a fairly ignorant assertion.

My wife had been on me for a while to get a sleep study done because of my snoring and the number of family members (none of them overweight) with OSA issues, so I did. The study showed mild (9 per hour) apnea.

Before anyone sees a Doctor for possible sleep apnea issue I would consult your AME. The FAA has a somewhat complicated protocol before allowing a pilot to return to flying who has a sleep apnea diagnosis. It might be good to also consult with AMAS. They can insure as smooth a process as possible and help avoid pitfalls.

Totally agree, and wish I had done that as well. That being said, for me anyway, it is a process but seems fairly straight forward, and much more streamlined than a few years ago. According to AMAS, a diagnosis of OSA does disqualify a medical, but only until 7 nights of data using treatment can be obtained. Then the treatment data and a slew of other paperwork from the pulmonologist is sent to the FAA. I can return to work while it is being evaluated. I do have to burn some sick time (I’m fine with that) to get the data in, but will be fine to work after that. Then I think it’s a paperwork issue to get a Special issuance, then have documented data showing 75% usage at least 6 hours a night every 12 months. Or something like that.

But your point is well taken. I should’ve looked into all this first, but I was convinced I did NOT have an OSA problem. Definitely go through AMAS first. It’s ‘free’ and takes the guesswork out of it.

Oh great, another government mask mandate thread!

*Rimshot* i see what ya did there.

Please pardon my ignorance. What or who is AMAS?

Would ALPA aeromedical be of any help? Anyone tried that route?


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AMAS is ALPA aeromedical

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https://academic.oup.com/jcem/articl...701?login=true

sure,

Yeah, not everyone that needs a CPAP is overweight... but of the ones I have flown with 100% were

I'm 6'5" 215.

The VA claims I have sleep apnea due to morbid obesity.

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Maybe try a custom mouthpiece before going through all that? My PureSleep mouthpiece is comfortable to sleep in and stopped my snoring and breathing problems. It doesn't require a medical exam or prescription. YMMV.

Is there any differences to using a cpap internationally? Any pointers?

Have a power adaptor?

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That is for very mild cases of apnea and for people who snore. It could be an option for some pilots though.

Mainly power adaptation; just as with most computers, the “brick” power supply will produce the correct voltage to the machine- at least that’s the case with my Phillips Respironics unit. It’s just a matter having the correct adapter to connect to the wall outlet. Many places around the world are far behind us in hotel electrical provisions. It’s not uncommon to have a bed situated nowhere near an outlet. My cord is about 6’ and usually can adapt to weird electrical layouts, especially utilizing the fill hose length. But I’ve wished for an extension cord more than once. I have rearranged furniture when required.

The Aussies are CPAP Nazis during COVID. Special layover “ facility” for you. Basically an ICU disguised in an apartment building. You’re not a guest, you’re a patient due to the threat to society and yourself imposed by your CPAP. No room service food or delivery , it’s DIY meal prep in a small kitchen, stocked with crap you don’t want to eat. It’s totally insane! I’ve had my CPAP confiscated by the government authorities (nearly canceling a Delta flight).

You don’t want to go there! I won’t elaborate about AU anymore here, but if you’re on the 350 or are otherwise likely to go down under with a CPAP, feel free to PM.

Couple of quick n dirty inputs:
 

re..How do you know if you have sleep apnea?
Many symptoms listed with a quick google search. To confirm---You can get a "recording pulse oximeter" for 50-150 bucks. It will record your oxygen level as you sleep. Try it for a couple nights and see if you notice a "sawtooth wave" where your oxygen level ramps down over a 30-45 second period and then jumps rapidly upward when you finally gasp for a breath. IF you have an issue, you'll be convinced of it (and the magnitude) before you stick your toe in the water with your doc and the FAA.

re..carrying distilled water.
My brother has been using CPAP for over 15 years. He uses tap water. Think about it. Tap water is distilled water with some extra minerals in it (unless you're in Flint, Michigan or something). In the morning, you have a slightly higher concentration of minerals in the water that's left in your machine. Dump that out, rinse it and use new water the next night. Or, drag around bottles of water and explain whazzup with that to every TSA guy you encounter. As previously mentioned, you can clean it out much easier than you can carry the bottles of water.

re..Z2 noise/roughness. Recommend turning their pressure relief feature to the lowest value. Lose the inline muffler thing that comes with it, saving some packing space as well. Put machine below the level of the bed behind a (noise absorbing) pillow. Go to amazon and get a "travelhose" collapsible CPAP hose, makes it much quieter.

Hope some of that helps.

CCN

Cool. Thanks!

Adding to CCNs info.....I struggled with a diagnosis of sleep apnea for some time. Was initially told is was OSA....obstructive type. Didnt adapt well to cpap machine and just used an O2 concentrator at home for awhile. Found out thru personal research about "central" apnea. After 2 sleep studies it was determined central was my problem. Prescribed a different machine and now have consistent O2 levels and no breathing stoppage. Before it was at "severe" levels.

BS. Your BMI is 25.5. Lose 5# and you are a healthy weight. Morbidly obese (BMI>40) would be 335#. Not saying you are BSing, but someone is, and as you get tall BMI becomes too restrictive.

The Navy flagged me as Obese due to weight vs height in my medical record. That's the VA stance on why I'm "obese".


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BMI is the most retarded health measurement ever conceived.

Isn't that a little politically incorrect? :D I can't resist anything that has a "Mongo" in it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkzaOwAmDmA

So, what is a better way?

Total body fat seems increasingly easy to measure.

Calipers work. There are scales that do a fairly decent job. Delta used to do a dunk tank that would cycle around the bases. MRI the fancy way to look for fat tucked in around the organs.

Honestly though? A quick look at 99% of people with their shirt off while on a scale tells the tale. It ain’t rocket science.

Yeah, have to agree. seems most of the people that don't agree with BMI can't see their toes tho.