OT : CPAP experience ?

CPAP stands for Controlled Positive Air Pressure (or somethng
like that). Its an air pump which pumps air to a face mask so
that air is slightly forced into your lungs - worn at night - stops
snoring - minimizes sleep apnea.

I've been on mine for 5 months. I'm not happy. Tried two
masks. It's a real pain. Can't tell that I'm any better, although I
don't have as many vivid dreams as i did. Imagine s8x with
someone wearing a diving helmet.

Anybody have any really great success stories with this
equipment? Any suggestions?

I would get winded easy and tire out. Went to the doctor for a checkup and he said my lungs weren't working right, sent me to a specialist and everything checked out. Asked a few questions (do I fall asleep driving, watching TV, snore accessive,etc). Sent me to a sleep clinic, got a cpap, and live happily ever after....
I was like new as far as getting tired and winded in a couple days.

What is your problem (mask leaking, just uncomfortable)?

Did you go to a real sleep clinic and get wired up for a couple nights to get it adjusted for you, or did someone hand you one off the shelf?

I've got one of these pillows

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20125283

and sleep on my back as flat as possible. I have the nose mask and a full face one. Like the nose one better, but need to replace the one I have.

Don't know how I lived without mine.

Dave

I had a nerve problem, and COULD not breath while laying down. They fixed me up with a BIPAP. It actually would do the breathing for me. I HATED the full mask. Got me a nose only one and finally could sleep with it on! Try a different style of mask is all I can say. My condition improved enough that I don't need to use it anymore! Greg

i tried both masks and use the full face mask.it yook me over a year to get used to it.lots of ranting raveing and rageing,rip it off in the night and throw it. the noise of it and a oxygenconcenetrator were very hard to get used to. now i wear the mask real loose so will leak a little and i get along pretty well with it

i seem to sleep better, and wake up feeling better, i have to use the full mask when my allergies are acting up as my nose is stopped up and I breathe through my mouth. The new machines are smaller and quieter. I flip the hose upwards so that i can roll over better. use the water-addin, when its excessive dry.

my wife really sleeps good as she says now i dont snore and keep her awake.

17 years and counting. No more Acid Reflux. Full face mask.
I like mine.
John

(quoted from post at 14:59:47 04/01/10)
my wife really sleeps good as she says now i dont snore and keep her awake.

Click to expand...

Mine snores like an idiot now........Think you could get her to go get a mask?????????

Never did like that woman...............

I've had a Bi-PAP for about 3 years. Can't sleep without it, even though I don't especially care for it. One thing I know for sure, my wife can't sleep unless I have it on. My Dr told me in a nutshell: Not everyone that has heart trouble has sleep apnea, but he could gaurantee me that everyone that has sleep apnea will have heart troubles later in life. Good enough for me. If you finally give up and quit fighting it, you will get used to it. Two of my fellow workers use one, and swear by it. Keep trying masks until you get one that fits good.

Try nose only.

Put pillow over head.

Pull covers over pillow.

Relax.

Don't let kids sneak in and fart in machine.

What pressure are you at?
I was real tired all the time, snored very loud, and in depression until the sleep apnea test.
I"m at 13 cm of water - -started at 11 and was alright with either a nose only mask or a nose pillow rig, but after 2nd sleep test, I now need a full face mask at 13cm-water.
A mask has to fit, not leak, and be reasonable comfortable to wear it. The use of a CPAP Support (pillow)also helps to Not push the mask off my face when I roll on my side.
PLEASE KEEP TRYING - -get more masks, try a pillow/support made for CPAP!!
For if you"re not breathing, your brain tells the heart to pump harder thus raising your blood pressure - -then tells the kidney to quit concentrating urine and making urine because there is too much fluid in the body causing high blood pressure,you eat all the time to ake up for the lost sleep and gain 50 lbs - -thus, the lungs are strained, the heart is overworked, blood pressure is up to cause night-time heart attacks or strokes, and the kidneys never rest - -and your brain never gets to the deep level of sleep to make the enzymes needed to guard against depression - - Man, its a for-d@mn real descending spiral physically and mentally!!!!
Best Wishes - -Hang in There!!!!

They make a full face mask this is super flexible. The air pressure inside sort of inflates it and makes the seal. I have used one for at least 12 years. Cant hardly do without it.

Even have a 12v battery inverter so I can use it at the hunting cabin which has no electricity. One of my hunting buddies uses one as well.


Keep trying. I have not done it but mean to put a support arm on the wall with a bunge cord to take up slack in the hose so it doesn't press to one side.

Gene

3 years on C-Pap and now I am 22 #'s lighter and use an Oxygen generator with tube canelles only. Feel so much better and actually sleep better than when on c-pap. I have the machine in another room and ran the tubing thru the wall to the bed. Noise is not an issue any more. I don't stop breathing for long periods as I did before I went on the c-pap machine. I had to try 4 different masks before one worked for me.

Thanks!
Been wondering about this sleep apania thing. Wife keeps poking me to roll over at night (nope - quit snoring).
Gonna have to check into it! Doctor or others?

Weeeellll,
Guess you have to open your email thing.

love mine. wish i woulda had it soooner it would have steered me away from 2 heart attacks.
I've had mine for 9years and have never even dreamed of sleeping without it. when u find the rite mask, the light will come on.

answers to ???
- had a doctor referral
-had two nights at a sleep study lab
- at 13 pressure level
- use a memory foam pillow
- I'm used to the nuisance - it's the noise when the mask slips and the wind whistles and moans until I awake - bothers the lady beside me.
- looks like I need to do mask testing

I tried one for about a month a few years ago. Never could get to sleep with the mask on over my nose and mouth. I slept better without it. I have to roll over all the time. Thought about a nose mask but I have chronic rhinitis. My nose is plugged about all the time and probably from something I'm alergic to. Dr. give me a new nose spray a month ago that seems to help. I went cold turkey on cheese and milk products to see if that was a cause. Not much difference in 2 weeks so far. My worst problem is restless leg syndrome. Every few days it gets worse. Kick around and can't lay still. Used aspirin for years but now it bothers my stomach and colon and gives me the runs. Tried the other over the counter stuff and nothing worked like aspirin. Tried some prescription a few years ago, Requip and it didn't help. I can't sleep, I can't breathe, and I can't lay still. No hope. My blood pressure is ok.

Ask your doc for a prescription for Zanaflex. That will stop the kicking & let you sleep. Works for me.

I shouldn't read this near midnite after a few beers. I thought it said CR@P experience! Sorry

It takes some getting used too. I have had one nearly 3 years. My pressure is 18. Like being hooked to an air compressor. But I am afraid not to use it. One of my problems is stopped up sinuses. I can't tell that I wake up feeling any better. Going to have the sinus roto rootered next week. I hope that helps. Good luck with yours.

You guys are describeing some of the symtoms that I have been experencing.maybe Ishould see a doctor.I'm only 53 ,sounds like an 'old mans'thing.I dont snore,but my nose is always pluged and I seem to be always tired.My wife has been pushing me to see a doc for months but I have been resisting.I'm embarrased,and scared,tothink that I might be sick.

My wife is diabetic.spend lots on her medicine ,
doctors,etc.there.is nothing left for me.We have no ins(cant afford it).What do we do?

Well Delta, you can spend a few grand for a one night sleep study. Then a grand for a breathing pulmonary test to check that. Then a grand for the ear, nose, and throat specialist to take xrays and check if your nostrils are clear or if surgery will help. Then check to see if your tonsils affect your breathing. Another grand with an allergist to look for allergies.

Or maybe you can find a doctor who will diagnose you without all those studies and tests and prescribe the cpap. They cost about $1500 to $2000 but they do a rent to buy on monthly payments usually but they may have wanted a third down or so. Insurance paid 80% of my monthly payments and the down payment. I quit using mine after a month but kept paying the 20% copay to keep the darn thing.

Call the health equipment places that sell those things and see who they recommend for a doctor who may not stick you with a bunch of unnecessary tests. Good luck.

If you can lay still and sleep then it will work for you. I am a side and stomach sleeper and have to roll over to each side a lot especially with the restless legs. Can't sleep on my back without laying awake till 4 am which was what happened during the month I tried the cpap. I haven't given up though, with this new nasal spray working, Omnaris, I can breathe through my nose with my mouth closed now. Maybe there is hope.

My wife had trouble sleeping and snoring. She went to a ENT doctor. He took xrays and said he could fix it with surgury. Before surgury he said he was going in to cut these nodules off in the upper part of the nostrils under the eyes and she also had a place on her septum that could use a scraping. He wanted to see if he could fix it by doing the nodules and not mess with the septum, the conservative approach he said. I told him with the price of surgery to do it all at once. The rest of the story is obvious. After the $6000 surgery, she still snores and has trouble breathing. Our share is 20%. There is no way we are going back to that bozo so he can rake in another 6 grand while we pay another 20%.

Thanks Ted, I will. I checked and that is a muscle relaxer. I got tight leg muscles about like a sprinter. Got a massage a couple weeks ago on my legs which didn't help a bit. She suggested a muscle relaxer. I can lay in bed and get a charley horse in my thigh if I'm not careful. Two nights ago I slept on the couch so I could trade off hanging a leg up over the back of the couch for relief.

Dr. give me tramadol, a pain med, to deal with my rotator cuffs and elbow tendonitis issues. He thinks I may just have tendonitis in my shoulders and not tears in the cuffs. The pain was subsiding in my shoulders to where I didn't need the pain pill and then I messed them up again cutting down trees with the chain saw last saturday. Back to the drawing board.

Me also. Funny how BEER does that to you.

I use a nose-only mask most of the time, but keep a full-face around for when I'm stuffed up.

Maybe the mask is too tight? Keep going back to your medical supply place and complain. They don't want to lose you as a customer; they'll make you happy.

It worked wonders on my sleep, but I was expecting my weight and blood pressure to go down... No such luck!

BTW, you've got to take it off for s3x!

I have the nose mask style. Too many hits to the face and smashed nose that surgery didn’t completely repair. Best nights sleep and most alert days I've had in years when wearing the thing.
I still hate it however and sometime try sleeping on my side instead. I should admit to myself I need the cpac and should use it every night.
It’s damaging to the heart and causes high blood pressure spikes when not able to breath for 1+ minute in one’s sleep. Then suddenly gasp with an adrenalin jolt. It’s why so many “healthy” people die in their sleep from heart attack or stroke.
Chronic sleep depravation also contributes to diabetes, high blood cholesterol and chemical changes in the brain.
Getting the humidity adjusted is important. Too little and become dried out. Too much and either starve for air with a airlock or choke on water.
There are dual pressure units that sense inhalation and exhalation. They increase the pressure for inhaling and drop pressure to exhale. Much better to use.

(quoted from post at 23:30:33 04/01/10) Well Delta, you can spend a few grand for a one night sleep study. .

Click to expand...

No wonder health insurance is so expensive...................
I had my GP doctor visit, lung specialist visit, 4 nights in a sleep clinic, my machine (complete) and a follow up/adjustment check for just under $3000................

after falling asleep standing up looking at a map on the hood of my truck with an engineer I went in for sleep study...sleep apnea over the years has left me with enlarged heart & in aterial fibulation with hypertension... that was 8 yrs. ago...I don't close my eyes without my CPAP machine...used to get up 10 or 12 times a night to pee now go to sleep at 10pm & don't wake up til the dog wants out at 6am...this sleep stuff will KILL you...if you snore you HAVE some sort of sleep problem...I use the nose pillows with machine set on 12hg & humidifier...made me a different man...get the sleep study done!..can't believe that in these days & times you can go without insurance..cost me $650 a mounth for wife [who is disabled] & I to stay on insurance...at 62 yrs old I work two full time jobs ..one just to pay insurance & buy medicine & other for household needs & my tractors...get one weekend off each Mo...find yourself a job with ins...take care ...Kent

I got mine out that I haven't used in 5 years. Cleaned it up and works fine. Remstar plus with coflex. I had the mirage swift nasal pillows mask. Guess I was wrong about the full face deal.

I turned the pressure down to 10. Used 2 nights now. I wake up about every hour to hour and a half. Had to nap this after noon. Fri night I used the 45 minute ramp and then everytime I woke up, I hit the ramp button again. Last night I used the ramp at the start and just rolled over when ever I woke up. Guess I'll up the pressure a little to what it was set at and try the darn thing for a while.

(quoted from post at 07:43:52 04/02/10) Me also. Funny how BEER does that to you.

Click to expand...

Beer not the cause for me. It is just after 8 am....guess I should use my glasses....