Camping with known Medical Conditions how do you prevent becoming a casualty, Diabetes, Sleep Apnea and Cholesterol

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PatriotT4R

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Hello, Everyone just wanted to throw this subject out there to see peoples responses on how they mitigate a possible medical emergency while on the trail. I'm 49 soon to 50 after my 20 year stint in the Military my health has declined a little partly my fault I admit but some ailments have come with age. My most troublesome predicament is type II diabetes which in the most part I have under control as long as I refrain from the sweets, testing my sugar levels daily are fairly simple in a controlled environment however, with the carbs sometimes needed for the trail to keep energy up this can be problematic. So when I go out out on the trail I bring diet drinks or sweeteners nothing with actual granular sugars. I also bring my test strips, along with my meter kit w/ alcohol pads, I can definitely feel the change in my body when my sugars are off up or to low. I also bring an A1C level check kit which can be found at Walgreens or most pharmacies, as long as my levels being under 7 I'm good but, there are times the levels do get higher give or take .3. Sleep Apnea is the other problem I was finally able to get my CPAP machine replaced with a newer smaller compact size which is perfect for the trail. However it is a pain to run a power supply directly to the machine which takes some figuring out usually I can run a power cord to a generator if available, but there are other times I do not have the option and I go without the use of the machine. Does anyone know if the market sells solar powered sleep apnea CPAP machines? So the last issue is controlling the two above mentioned problems along with high cholesterol ... Yep without the drugs and diet I would be a walking heart attack waiting to happen. Its difficult at best to maintain all these ailments so I would like to know who else on this forum has similar problems and how do you maintain a healthy lifestyle while on the trail?
 
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Jim SoG

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Got all 3 of your "illnesses"...I also take all my diabetic stuff, I dont test A1c as I understand it, it is our 90 day level, so 1 day swing should not be a disaster, and a .3 swing is about nothing, at least in my case....LOL. The CPAP I never took but checked out a guys who is ran off truck battery so that is what I shall do as the wife said the animals in the area will appreciate the silence LOL. I take a ton (20ish) pills in the morning and half that at night, I got me special pill container with each day marked (AM&PM) and pre load it with my pills, my 2 insulin's I put in a container in the cooler...

Jim
 

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Get something like the ArkPak, add a 75-95ah battery and solar to keep it charged up and you should be good to go. You likey don't have to get a battery that large but you would need to check how many amps per hour your machine draws. If you have to run something off of an inverter it will be less power efficient than 12 volt. Keep searching the internet and other forums because I have seen this topic come up many times.


 
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Codebeagle

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I’m able to control my diabetes and blood pressure through diet and meds, so I just plan the right meals and snacks and preload a daily med case with what I need, like Jim mentioned.

I take my CPAP and run it off a deep cycle marine battery using a 12v DC adapter from ResMed. I get 4 nights on a single charge if I turn off the humidifier. In the future, I hope to get a solar solution in place for recharging for longer trips. Worst case I bring along more batteries.
 
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I have type 2 and apnea as well. For the diabetes, I try to stick with high protein, low carb foods while camping. Makes it simple enough.

As far as the cpap, you could pick up a so called "solar generator" and a 12v adapter for your cpap. You may not need to charge the battery pack at all, depending on how long you go out.

I'm still looking into this myself.
 

Lanlubber In Remembrance

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Hello, Everyone just wanted to throw this subject out there to see peoples responses on how they mitigate a possible medical emergency while on the trail. I'm 49 soon to 50 after my 20 year stint in the Military my health has declined a little partly my fault I admit but some ailments have come with age. My most troublesome predicament is type II diabetes which in the most part I have under control as long as I refrain from the sweets, testing my sugar levels daily are fairly simple in a controlled environment however, with the carbs sometimes needed for the trail to keep energy up this can be problematic. So when I go out out on the trail I bring diet drinks or sweeteners nothing with actual granular sugars. I also bring my test strips, along with my meter kit w/ alcohol pads, I can definitely feel the change in my body when my sugars are off up or to low. I also bring an A1C level check kit which can be found at Walgreens or most pharmacies, as long as my levels being under 7 I'm good but, there are times the levels do get higher give or take .3. Sleep Apnea is the other problem I was finally able to get my CPAP machine replaced with a newer smaller compact size which is perfect for the trail. However it is a pain to run a power supply directly to the machine which takes some figuring out usually I can run a power cord to a generator if available, but there are other times I do not have the option and I go without the use of the machine. Does anyone know if the market sells solar powered sleep apnea CPAP machines? So the last issue is controlling the two above mentioned problems along with high cholesterol ... Yep without the drugs and diet I would be a walking heart attack waiting to happen. Its difficult at best to maintain all these ailments so I would like to know who else on this forum has similar problems and how do you maintain a healthy lifestyle while on the trail?
I'm type two diabetic. I've been one since 1985. I am now 84 years old. First of all you cannot change your diet just because you are away from home. You must maintain a sugar free diet which includes eating the high carb meals of any sort. Just because you burn more calories when camping, hiking or other activities doesn't mean you can eat energy foods, that's a no no. The exercise is great for the diabetic, and most don't get near enough especially when you have jobs that are sitting. The high cholesterol is something all diabetics have. I have been in the range of 370 many times, all caused by lack of exercise and wrong foods. Quantity is the biggest factor in controlling diabetes. Keep your diet in the range of 1800 calories a day, the same is for people with heart problems. Eat a lot of protein
but eat a lot of green foods that you like. It has taken a lot of work for me since I also have thyroid problems which make me hungry all the time and I have a problem with weight. My best advise is for you to eat 5-6 times a day and always eat diabetic healthy. You may experience a little weakness and dizziness when you burn down your calories and your sugar level drops below 80, That is to be expected and is something you will get use to. Learn to accept the fact that you can no longer be the man you were and live with the man you are. Prostate problems will follow no matter what you do to overcome them. With the CPAP machine you just need to figure out the amount of power you need to make it run. There are so many portable sources of power to run things like that it is hard to tell you what to do about it. Go online for answers, google your problem with CPAP energy needs, I'm sure something will come up. In the end the answer will lie in your acceptance of what is or isn't enough within your ability to do things and stay with your medical needs. Advise is cheap and you can receive a lot from people like me who know what your problems are and will be. I wish you good health and a happy life which you can have, it's all up to you but stay away from the energy drinks and food. All the energy you will need has to come from a good diet 24/7 and exercise (not strenuous) all you can. Walking, not running, is the best you can get !
 

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So I took a look at my wife's cpap machine. A Philips Respironics dream station. Turns out it run's off of 12v! The adapter output is 12V so it should run fine off of a battery. (says this as he blow's up wifes cpap machine) I'm gonna look at the adapter plug and get one that matches and put some alligator clips on the other end. Should be low cost! Will post results.
 
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Codebeagle

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So I took a look at my wife's cpap machine. A Philips Respironics dream station. Turns out it run's off of 12v! The adapter output is 12V so it should run fine off of a battery. (says this as he blow's up wifes cpap machine) I'm gonna look at the adapter plug and get one that matches and put some alligator clips on the other end. Should be low cost! Will post results.
Looks like there's a good chance an adapter with the clips already exists, maybe something like this:
 

keoke526

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CPAP, humidifier on, YETI 400 lithium, and one 100 watt panel just for it. Been running that setup and camping anywhere from 30-90 degree weather. Never had a problem on the cloudy days getting back to 100% percent.
 
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SquidVicious

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CPAP, humidifier on, YETI 400 lithium, and one 100 watt panel just for it. Been running that setup and camping anywhere from 30-90 degree weather. Never had a problem on the cloudy days getting back to 100% percent.
I’ll be saving this info about cpap. Short trips I can skip it but a week long, gotta keep the percentage of use up.
 

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CPAP, humidifier off, 1st gen Goal Zero 400, DC power cord for the CPAP. Lasts me four nights plus I'm charging two phones off of it.

It would only last about a night and a half with the AC power adaptor that came with it. Purchasing the DC adaptor really reduced my stress of going for long weekends.

Getting lithium in my van camper in the Spring with solar/alternator charging and hoping that will take care of all my basic power needs (Dometic fridge, CPAP, lights, fantastic fan, charging phone, maybe I'm being optimistic). The Goal Zero can just be for emergencies then.