After posting a whimsical “Top ten ways to screw up a Peacock Bass trip” on the Peackbass Association website, I was surprised at the number of emails I got regarding the two words “CPAP machine”. People are curious about this subject because they know that I spend a great deal of time traveling and much of it is spent in the remote wilds of the Amazon Jungle. To most, jungle and CPAP machine just don’t mix and no, my life style is not defined by the length of my extension cord. To help me stay out in front of the emails here is the back ground on CPAP machines and there being used in the Amazon Jungle.

Like many, I used to snore like the best of them. Snoring is often, but not always, associated with sleep apnea, for which I was diagnosed in 2006, and my father in 1976. In my father’s case, the only corrective action for sleep apnea was a tracheotomy, a hole in his throat, for which my father still has to this day! The tracheotomy simply allows air to bypass his vocal cords when he sleeps. In the day time he inserts a plug and as a lawyer he wears a coat and tie resulting in very few people knowing he has a hole in his throat, the 1976 cure for sleep apnea.

Thirty years later when diagnosed with Sleep Apnea, I had a choice of several options, of which a tracheotomy was one! Today however, most people elect to use a CPAP machine to confront the many health related issues brought on by sleep apnea. Myself included.

A CPAP, continuous positive airway pressure, machine is basically a small devise that produces a constant supply of air at a prescribed, consistent level of pressure. A hose connects the machine to the user wearing a mask over his/her nose. The result is the constriction of the airway that accurse when one relaxes as they sleep is reversed by the air pressure supplied by the CPAP Machine. End result, no more snoring and most importantly a good nights sleep for the first time in years. Sure beats a hole in the throat!

Most associate snoring and Sleep Apnea with people being over weight. While heredity, age and weight do facilitate the eventual onset of Sleep Apnea, weight alone is not a cause. I am in fact 6’2” and 195 pounds. Just so happens it runs in the family and I am not getting any younger.

People however shy away from addressing the issue of sleep apnea. Snoring does not bother them and the wife moved down the hall to the other bedroom years ago. It becomes another person’s problem. Yes, the hose from the machine to the mask can be at times cumbersome. No denying that it has no curb appeal for the single person but for those who need it, the results of a CPAP machine are off the charts. They have become so important to my own health that while you can only wear one at a time, I have four of them. Two of them no bigger than a cigar box.

Most CPAP machines run on AC current but more and more are switching over to DC current and in the absence of AC current, a simple car battery will suffice in powering a DC powered machine. I bought a small motorcycle battery to see how long it would power my CPAP machine. After two weeks of running my CPAP machine all night without recharging, I was satisfied that it would work if I was ever without AC for any length of time. In most Amazon destinations, there is AC power and where there is not, there is almost always a marine or car battery. CPAP machines are in fact so common in the Amazon that the ship, Amazon Blackwater Explorer, was built with the needs of CPAP machines in mind.

Because most fishing trips result in people sharing a room, people with CPAP machines are considered hot property on the “roommate circuit” for the simple fact that the user will most definitely not snore.

The other day I had a group of dear friends who wanted to join me on the Jatapo River in Northern Brazil. Problem was that one of the group had a legendary snoring problem. Because we would be staying in tents, his presents would keep the entire camp awake. It was a tough phone call to make but I had to call him and tell him that he could not join us on this trip. Gratefully he understood. Strangely enough, he is also a doctor.

If you have read this far you probably have an interest in the subject brought on by personal experience. I normally recommend people to seek out medical advice from a professional rather than an internet bulletin board but in this case the diagnosis may in fact come from your spouse down the hall. Rather than come back from the Amazon with 7 people who never want to travel with you again, see your doctor about having a sleep study done. It sure made a measurable difference in my life.

Dave Caywood/2008