CPAP followup...

WearyTraveler

I posted a question a while back asking for recommendations about which CPAP to get.

I ended up getting a Resmed AirSense 10 and the small nostril air pillows.

My God - did it make a difference!

I?m told that CPAPs allow you to wake up more refreshed. I don?t know about that. I feel better in the morning though.

I no longer snore. So Ms. WT certainly wakes up more refreshed!
I often wake up in the same position that I remember laying down in. So much, much less tossing and turning. So, again, Ms. WT loves my CPAP.
I rarely have to get up at night for a head call. Wow, feels so much better not to be up every 2 hour So!
And, being a stomach sleeper, the small air nostril setup stays in place while I sleep. And the mask model I have has the tub up on top. So it?s not in my way when I do roll over.

So - if any of you are on the fence about whether it?s worth it or not, TRY IT!

bambihunter

A lot of people new to CPAP type technology will try it for a few days then not again. It sounds like you took right to it. I have a lot of allergies so I went with a full face type (Mirage Quattro I think) so that if my nasal passages are plugged up, I can still use it and breathe through my mouth. Before I was diagnosed with it, I literally was falling asleep while standing at work, even while driving on occasion. I had never even heard of OSA (obstructive sleep apnea). I am on my 3rd machine, also the same model as yours. I like it for the most part. I notice sometimes if I take either a real long or short breath that the machine will pulse continuously until my next regular one. My 2nd CPAP could run without the humidifier even connected so it was nice for travel as without humidifier, it was about half the size. If you travel much, throw a ~10' cheap extension cord in your CPAP bag as often hotels either don't have enough outlets, or they are in the wrong place. They also make a little tray that goes between the mattress and box springs that some use. I personally always drag a dresser to the edge of the bed. I put it in a drawer generally so I don't pull it off.
I, like you, don't wake up feeling refreshed, but at least I am not falling asleep when I shouldn't be now so that's an improvement. They are working on a self contained battery powered CPAP machine that is very small. It is for camping and such. It has been made and is allegedly going FDA testing. I know my friends with me on our CO elk trips would certainly appreciate it as would I. By the time I end a week (or longer) remote trip, I am fighting it again plus snore all night bugging them. At least I am nice and purposely stay up a bit to at least let them fall asleep first. After that, they are on their own.

babun

I have used a cpap with a full face mask for over 7 years. Also a resmed unit.

The first time I used , the next day I sent a email to the doctor/technicians that set me up with it.

I thanked them for giving back my life to me.

Was refreshed the very next morn.

My doctor said I would have less heart troubles now because during deep sleep your body repairs itself, and rests the heart.

I like the full face mask, because it causes you to close your eyes because of pressure on the face/eye muscles.

pulsarnc

As with my guns they will have to pry my cpap from my cold dead fingers!

SW0320

pulsarnc wrote:

As with my guns they will have to pry my cpap from my cold dead fingers!

That is a quote I agree with completely. Without my CPAP I would not be able function with the low amount of sleep I was getting each night.

Wish I could be like wife. She takes off her glasses and she falls asleep for 8 hours within a minute and nothing will bother her.

We live about 10 miles from end of runway for base with C5A Galaxy?s. During first Gulf war for the build up C5?s went over house about every 1/2 hour at night at about 2,500 ft., wife never woke up once.

grdad45

I also use the AirSense 10 with the Dreamwear mask. I won't lie down for a nap without it! I call it my lifesaver, and marriage saver. The Airsense 10 is my third CPAP/APAP system, and is the most user friendly one I have had.
Anyone who doesn't try them for at least 5 nights when prescribed before giving up is not doing themselves and spouses justice.

Mobuck

For those unable to sleep w/o life support life is short.
I went on a hunting trip with a friend who requires life support while sleeping (CPAP). If I had not been able to wedge my ear plugs deep enough to buffer the sound of the life support pump, I'd probably have suffocated him with a pillow.
There are some darned good salesmen scattered around health care. In order to convince a person to wear a scuba mask while sleeping, you've got to be GOOD.

grdad45

Mobuck wrote:

For those unable to sleep w/o life support life is short.
I went on a hunting trip with a friend who requires life support while sleeping (CPAP). If I had not been able to wedge my ear plugs deep enough to buffer the sound of the life support pump, I'd probably have suffocated him with a pillow.
There are some darned good salesmen scattered around health care. In order to convince a person to wear a scuba mask while sleeping, you've got to be GOOD.

My CPAP unit is the quietest one on the market. It never interferes with my or my wife's sleep. Sleep apnea is the killer, starving the brain of oxygen, affecting blood pressure, and slowly killing the rest of the organs. I had a co-worker who refused to use his machine, and died in his sleep at 42 years old. Autopsy showed he dies of asphyxiation. "Do not judge, lest you be judged"

babun

grdad45 wrote:

Mobuck wrote:

For those unable to sleep w/o life support life is short.
I went on a hunting trip with a friend who requires life support while sleeping (CPAP). If I had not been able to wedge my ear plugs deep enough to buffer the sound of the life support pump, I'd probably have suffocated him with a pillow.
There are some darned good salesmen scattered around health care. In order to convince a person to wear a scuba mask while sleeping, you've got to be GOOD.

My CPAP unit is the quietest one on the market. It never interferes with my or my wife's sleep. Sleep apnea is the killer, starving the brain of oxygen, affecting blood pressure, and slowly killing the rest of the organs. I had a co-worker who refused to use his machine, and died in his sleep at 42 years old. Autopsy showed he dies of asphyxiation. "Do not judge, lest you be judged"

+92 to 99 {that's o2 blood saturation}

Go take a sleep study test over night, you might just be surprised how your body works {or doesn't work} thru the night. My first over night test showed I stop breathing 5 times.
Your body "should" kick you out of it before damage is done. Note the word 'SHOULD".
Twice during my first test the technicians had to turn on the oxygen, they have "go help him" limit levels about blood o2 levels.

bambihunter

When I had my sleep test done, I was supposed to be there all night. They got me all hooked up and I went to sleep and they woke me up shortly after and said I could go home if I wanted. I asked if there was something wrong. He said there is no need to continue. They said (at the time) that anything over 30 is excessive and I had already recorded 152 events and there was no point of continuing the test. I am not sure how it works and what exactly those numbers really mean.
Other than when my apnea got real bad, I have always had trouble falling asleep but sleep solid once I do. Now, with my back, I can't sleep more than 1/2 hour to maybe an hour before I have to switch positions. Heck, I used to be able to go longer than that in bed without having to switch positions.

hillbille

+1 bambi I slept just less than 300 minutes for my test, woke up about 4:30, 5 am had to pee, nurse unhooked me and when I came back, she said I could leave If I wanted, seems I had had 224 episodes in about 300 minutes of sleep. I never knew I was that bad. I still don't feel great in the morning, but I sleep most of night and when I get up in morning I don't feel dead tired like I hadn't gone to bed, so it does seem to help....

hoosier

I have a BI-PAP. Constant push of air in and then allows me to breath out normally with out pressure.Better than my CPAP was. but $$$, insurance pad for most of it.

I've been using one for years. Sleep on my back with no pillow better air flow. I get do get a bit stiff in the morning because I don't roll around in bed.

Even have an old CCPAP that insurance replaced when it got too old, so for it I got a Dream Station overnite battery pack for trips in the the woods.

babun

Those "events" are the times you stopped breathing. Most are just a short time like holding your breath for a second. I had many of them too. But they said 5 were TOO long, Bad Ju-Ju!
Got the impression any one of the 5 could have been life threatening, I "came out " of it,3 times before they got the oxygen flowing. Twice the O2 probably saved damage from being done.
Scary Shiiittt.

bambihunter

I had a recent O2 test while I was sleeping and though I was under the recommended, it was close and insurance wouldn't cover it. I have seen a few O2 generators on CL and a few other places for a couple hundred. I've been thinking about going ahead and getting one to use with my CPAP (well technically an auto-PAP). Has anyone else added O2 to their OSA treatments? If so, how did you do with it?

shilowar

pulsarnc wrote:

As with my guns they will have to pry my cpap from my cold dead fingers!

Me too....completely dependent on it for decent sleep.

Mobuck

"Do not judge, lest you be judged"

Nah, I'll stick to my original thought: "If a human can't sleep w/o life support, well maybe that's a sign".