I recently traveled to SE Asia for 11 days and was unable to take my CPAP.  I have been back 12 days and am exhausted and have times during the day when I feel about to fall asleep against my will.  This is over and above the normal jetlag we all experienced upon returning.  I have been using my CPAP since I returned home.  Does anyone know how long it will take to "catch up" and this exhaustion to end?

why were you unable to take your machine? I have been using mine for the last week in Thailand. And I have 3 more weeks over here in this part of the world. I think using it on vacation has been good for me since I am still getting used to it.

I was planning on taking it and even got a letter from my doctor, but we (as a group) decided not to check any baggage.  We had 6 different flights to go through security (some of them tight connections) and I didn't want to have to pull it out of my bag, maybe put it together, etc. at all those foreign airports (most of them in Southeast Asia).  It ended up being the right decision because the plug adaptors I was told to get weren't the right ones AND where we were only had power about 50% of the time anyway.

However, since I have gotten home I have used my CPAP every night but have had terrible insomnia and extreme fatigue.  I also have those nice little episodes where I  fall asleep during the day for a few seconds at a time.  I'm hoping everything gets back to normal soon, I have been back two weeks today.  I have been told that jetlag can last one day per time zone traveled so that would have been 12 days!  So added to the lack of CPAP for almost two weeks, I'm sure that will make it take longer.

Hope you have a great trip and your jetlag isn't bad when you get back.

FWIW, I have not been asked to even take it out of the travel case outside of the USA so far. And while I have a plug adapter the hotels I have been staying in have hybrid receptacles that will take US style or the two round pin plugs. So, for future reference that should be not an issue. However not having any power at all would be.

Are you sure you didn't get a tropical disease of some sort while you were over here? Your extreme fatigue could potentially be related to that. But of course if you are not sleeping that is probably your biggest issue.

Actually, we weren't at a hotel so there would really have not been a way to use it (especially with the power out so much  of the time).  Because of the rural area we were in, this was probably an unusual set of circumstances.  As for catching a bug, I have definitely been keeping an eye out to make sure I didn't.  If this continues, I will see my physician.  

As for now, I really expect the insomnia now and the lack of sleep on my trip was the biggest contributor of my current state.  I do feel like I'm on the upswing now except for the continued insomnia and effects of that.

I would think that on future trips I would go ahead and take my CPAP.

I hope you are having a great trip.  Are you there for business or pleasure?

Yeah, I know what you mean about  check in.  I have only travelled with it twice.  Once to Texas on a business trip, I just put it inside my luggage.  Cost $25 extra each way!

2nd time I checked it in on Airtran ($49 down) for a bag over 50#) to Sarassota.  Since this one I had to pay for myself (vacation), on  the way back I carried it on.  First sent it thru the XRay.  The rejected it.  Then had to take it out of the bag.  They flagged it for inspection.  They swabbed it down for explosives.  Then they passed it.  

I do not know if that is the standard treatment for carry on cpap, but it was a time taker to get thru.  I think, in general, I will check it in the future.

TSA has a special page on their website devoted to CPAP. They say you should take it out of the case and put it in a bin like a laptop. They will swab it as a matter of course. But at JFK on my way out I don't think they swabbed it they just looked at it by the xray machine. Frankly I didn't think it really added much time to getting through security. You have to check in so early anyway an extra couple of minutes shouldn't matter. At IAD they did the swab and it added maybe a minute max to my trip through security. They were also extremely polite. Personally I don't think I would ever check an expensive piece of equipment like this. Since it is medical equipment it is not supposed to count against your carry on bag limit.

That's what I was afraid of happening Spanz.  I didn't want to be stuck in an airport where I didn't know the language trying to get through security with it.  Especially with some of the tight connections we had.  And when I say Southeast Asia, I'm not talking about when we were going through Japan, I'm talking smaller places like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), and Indonesia.  I was just concerned about the time and possibly it getting confiscated.

spanz wrote:

Yeah, I know what you mean about  check in.  I have only travelled with it twice.  Once to Texas on a business trip, I just put it inside my luggage.  Cost $25 extra each way!

2nd time I checked it in on Airtran ($49 down) for a bag over 50#) to Sarassota.  Since this one I had to pay for myself (vacation), on  the way back I carried it on.  First sent it thru the XRay.  The rejected it.  Then had to take it out of the bag.  They flagged it for inspection.  They swabbed it down for explosives.  Then they passed it.  

I do not know if that is the standard treatment for carry on cpap, but it was a time taker to get thru.  I think, in general, I will check it in the future.

Checking in your XPAP equipment is not a good idea and is not recommended by any of the manufacturers, DMe's, support groups or sleep clinics. There is a high risk of damage to the unit, even if surrounded by clothes or padded material.

Best advice is to take it as cabin luggage.....it is allowed as a medical device in addition to the normal cabin luggage allowance. Over the past 5 years I think I have travelled to every continent (with my CPAP). It has only been swabbed once (Frankfurt). On a few occassions I have had to remove it from the bag (like a laptop) to go through the scanner..........majority of times I placed it (in the bag) for scanning. Worst case scenario is a few extra minutes.........I believe that the US is stricter now (about 3 years since I was there), but still only amounts to a swab test.

Daniel.


_________________
The untreated Sleep Apnoea sufferer died quietly in his sleep.......
Unlike his three passengers who died screaming !!!!!!

(Anon)

Are you sure about being able to carry it on as a 3rd piece?  I had not heard of that.  That would make a big difference.

Still, if you were making a long trip, and had other checked baggage, it is so much more convenient to have it checked.  I had it inside its padded carrying case, and then inside another fairly hard sided luggage piece.  I can not imagine it getting too shook up, unless they ran a fork lift over it or something like that.

spanz wrote:

Are you sure about being able to carry it on as a 3rd piece?  I had not heard of that.  That would make a big difference.

Still, if you were making a long trip, and had other checked baggage, it is so much more convenient to have it checked.  I had it inside its padded carrying case, and then inside another fairly hard sided luggage piece.  I can not imagine it getting too shook up, unless they ran a fork lift over it or something like that.

If the airline allowance is 2 bags for carry on........then CPAP is allowed as a 3rd. It's covered under FAA regulations.

We had a post here some months ago.........about placing a CPAP machine in checked baggage..........machine got broken.

It may be convenient, but the risk factor of damage increases considerably.........have you ever seen the treatment that your checked baggage gets.....not pretty.

Daniel.


_________________
The untreated Sleep Apnoea sufferer died quietly in his sleep.......
Unlike his three passengers who died screaming !!!!!!

(Anon)

Just my experience with checked items - A few years ago, I carefully packed a stoneware platter that was going to be a Christmas gift.  I wrapped it securely in a couple of sweaters and packed it in the middle of my checked bag.  When I got to my destination and opened my luggage, I discovered that the TSA or whoever had decided to hand-search my luggage after it was checked.  The platter was smashed to bits, and there was a note in my suitcase that said they had damaged an item during their search, and if I had any complaints, I could take the matter up with the Department of Homeland Security!

Needless to say, I no longer pack anything in my checked luggage that I ever want to see whole again.  Actually, I usually just stuff whatever I can into a carry-on bag and don't check anything at all.  I would never trust the airlines enough to pack my vpap in checked-in baggage.  Too easy to get broken, or get lost and delayed in transit for three or four days. (That's happened to me, too!)

jrinker

Just look at http://www.sleepapnea.org/news/travel.html

There is a link on that page (http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/rules/20011029.htm) that states medical devices cannot be consodered as carry on.  So you get an additiona bag.  That document is a summary

The official government in it's full 70 page for is at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/08-1228.pdf.

You will see in all of those that a CPAP machine is considered to be a medical assistve device and that the airlines are not allowed to consider it in any carry on restrictions.

spanz wrote:

Yeah, I know what you mean about  check in.  I have only travelled with it twice.  Once to Texas on a business trip, I just put it inside my luggage.  Cost $25 extra each way!

2nd time I checked it in on Airtran ($49 down) for a bag over 50#) to Sarassota.  Since this one I had to pay for myself (vacation), on  the way back I carried it on.  First sent it thru the XRay.  The rejected it.  Then had to take it out of the bag.  They flagged it for inspection.  They swabbed it down for explosives.  Then they passed it.  

I do not know if that is the standard treatment for carry on cpap, but it was a time taker to get thru.  I think, in general, I will check it in the future.

My rule of thumb: the smaller the airport, the more fuss the security makes  

Outside the US and Canada, I usually tell security that "I'm travelling with a 'breathing machine'. What would you like me to do with it?"  I tell them before I put it thru x-ray and they tell me how they would like to handle the process. Some scan in the case, some scan outside the case in a bin, some want to swab, some only want the cpap, not the humidifier, some want both, etc.... As more and more cpaps are travelling, more and more security staff are familliar with them.

Carry-on cpap vs. packed cpap: Someone on this board once said that "baggage handlers can break an anvil" Very clever and oh, so true! I wouldn't trust my cpap to a baggage handler anywhere!