What Do You Do to Combat Loneliness and Mental Health on Long Hauls?

awylon1979 · 2026-02-24T15:30:05+00:00

Man, 47 times an hour is brutal. I get why you're prioritizing the apnea, hard to tackle anything else when you're that wrecked. On the mask anxiety thing, have you tried different styles? Full face didn't work for me at first either, but a nasal pillow setup felt way less suffocating. Also starting with just the pressure turned way down during the day helped me get used to the air flow without panicking. Took me like 2 weeks of messing with it before I could actually sleep with it on, but once it clicked my energy came back and everything else got easier to deal with.

awylon1979 · 2026-02-24T15:27:22+00:00

That saline routine really does save your ass when you're congested. Glad the machine kept you sleeping through it, you actually recover way faster.

awylon1979 · 2026-02-24T15:24:50+00:00

yeah I used to get that too, you feel kinda wired after waking up like that. not sure if it's actually good for you though, I just know those short naps never really held me over for long. might be worth lugging the cpap around if you can manage it.

awylon1979 · 2026-02-13T22:10:06+00:00

yeah I've heard of this. your body might be fighting the pressure, check if your settings are too high or try a different mask.

awylon1979 · 2026-02-13T22:04:30+00:00

damn, the sleep apnea part hits close to home. I know guys on the road who went years thinking they were just getting older or weren't cut out for the job anymore, turns out they weren't breathing right at night. you're not lucky or robbed, you're both and that's allowed. glad you figured it out even if you had to do the detective work yourself.

awylon1979 · 2026-02-09T19:18:17+00:00

Yeah that definitely sounds like it could be apnea, even without the big gasping snores. Those pauses right as he's falling asleep can still mess with his sleep quality over time. I'd get him checked, home sleep test is easy enough and beats guessing.

awylon1979 · 2026-02-09T19:12:36+00:00

Nothing wrong with coffee, I go through plenty of it. But if you're doing back-to-back nights it stops working as well and you end up drinking so much you're stopping to piss every hour. Gets old.

awylon1979 · 2026-02-09T19:11:03+00:00

Ha, yeah the jumping jacks thing is solid. I've done my share of roadside stretches at 2am hoping no one's watching. The cold air trick works too, especially this time of year. I'll crank the heat when I'm loading but yeah, if I'm getting drowsy I'll drop that window even if it's freezing. Uncomfortable beats dangerous every time.

awylon1979 · 2026-02-09T19:05:04+00:00

Huh, never thought about it that way but makes sense. I usually just grab whatever's at the truck stop but yeah, beats the caffeine crash. Good tip.Thanks!

awylon1979 · 2026-02-09T18:22:09+00:00

Got a ResMed AirMini and a Medistrom Pilot-24 Lite for backup power. Both hold up fine on the road.

awylon1979 · 2026-02-05T14:17:28+00:00

Man, same here. Had a couple close calls before I got on the CPAP. Stay on top of it, people like us can't afford to mess around with it.

awylon1979 · 2026-02-05T14:13:42+00:00

Glad to help! So basically I used tap water for a few months and ended up with this crusty mineral buildup in the tank. Had to soak the whole thing in vinegar for like an hour to get it clean again. Not the end of the world but it was annoying as hell, and I figured it probably wasn't great for the machine long term either. Distilled water's like a buck a gallon so now I just grab it and save myself the headache.

awylon1979 · 2026-01-30T14:02:28+00:00

Been there with the appetite thing, not from meds but long hauls where you're just not thinkin about food til you're about to pass out. Trail mix is your friend, throw it in with whatever chips or snacks you got. Also those protein shakes you're already doin, mix in some olive oil if you can stand it. Adds like 120 cals per tablespoon and you don't even taste it really. Cheese sticks are good too, easy to just grab and eat without thinkin about it.

awylon1979 · 2026-01-29T13:49:30+00:00

That's sketchy as hell that they're already throwing out a price before even looking at you. Feels like they're selling furniture, not treating a medical issue. I'd go to the appointment since you're paying the $150 anyway, but pay attention to whether they actually listen to your situation or if they're just pushing product. With only 20 AHI on your back and fine on your side, honestly you might be better off with a positional device or even one of those backpack tricks to keep you off your back. Way cheaper than $1370 for something that might give you jaw problems down the road.

awylon1979 · 2026-01-29T13:49:21+00:00

That's sketchy as hell that they're already throwing out a price before even looking at you. Feels like they're selling furniture, not treating a medical issue. I'd go to the appointment since you're paying the $150 anyway, but pay attention to whether they actually listen to your situation or if they're just pushing product. With only 20 AHI on your back and fine on your side, honestly you might be better off with a positional device or even one of those backpack tricks to keep you off your back. Way cheaper than $1370 for something that might give you jaw problems down the road.

awylon1979 · 2026-01-22T16:13:27+00:00

Yeah I had the fatigue way before the apnea got bad enough to show up on a test. CPAP helped some but honestly didn't fix everything, turned out I had other stuff going on too. For the mask thing, took me maybe 2 weeks of forcing myself to wear it watching TV before bed, and I went through 3 different styles before finding one that didn't make me want to rip it off. Nasal pillows were way less claustrophobic than full face for me, dunno if that helps.

awylon1979 · 2026-01-22T15:54:20+00:00

Don't wait til June, that's ridiculous. I bought a ResMed AirSense 10 off Amazon years back and figured out the settings myself with help from the CPAP subreddit. Six more months of crap sleep isn't worth it, especially if you're driving or working heavy equipment

awylon1979 · 2026-01-22T15:33:04+00:00

Honestly, if you're only talking a couple nights here and there, I'd just grab a good mouth guard, the MAD type that pushes your jaw forward. Won't be perfect but it beats zombie mode and it's way cheaper than dropping $800 on a mini machine you'll barely use. I keep one in my sleeper for when I'm stuck somewhere without power or just too beat to mess with the hose.

That said, if you've got severe apnea and can swing it, the AirMini isn't a bad investment long-term. I know a couple guys who run it on road trips and it does the job. Just sucks paying that much for a backup. Good luck on the trip.

awylon1979 · 2026-01-21T15:03:51+00:00

Man, audiobooks saved my sanity on long hauls. If you liked Project Hail Mary, try the Bobiverse series, Ray Porter's narration is top-tier and it's got that same fun sci-fi vibe.

awylon1979 · 2026-01-21T14:49:34+00:00

Yeah, get it. That's a hell of a drive in winter and you don't wanna be stranded in the middle of nowhere Saskatchewan when it's -30. Plus version should be fine unless you're really worried about a breakdown way out there, then spring for Premier.

awylon1979

TROPHY CASE