CPAP users?

[Jst1mr]

Got a sleep study coming up to (probably) diagnose sleep apnea. Have been reluctant to take the test due to thinking I could never adapt to sleeping with the machine hooked up to me, but I have heard others rave about how much it has helped them...anyone care to share experiences?

 

[HAWKEYE10]

I have sleep apena very bad but I hate the CPAP machine. I have tried and tried to get use to it but no luck. I hope you have better luck than me. Don

 

[David LaPell]

A friend of mine took one of those studies, and he found out alot more and some of it led to him getting away from the CPAP machine.

 

[GKC]

Got a sleep study coming up to (probably) diagnose sleep apnea. Have been reluctant to take the test due to thinking I could never adapt to sleeping with the machine hooked up to me, but I have heard others rave about how much it has helped them...anyone care to share experiences?

I snored terribly for years...always felt draggy during the day...got to the point that I was falling asleep in meetings, when driving, etc. After reading and hearing about sleep apnea, my wife filmed me when I was asleep (without my knowledge) and I was horrified...I would literally stop breathing for a long time, then gasp for breath, and then stop breathing again. After seeing that, I went to my doctor and he sent me to a sleep clinic. Sleep apnea can be very dangerous, and can lead to heart attacks or strokes.

I had to report in the evening, and had to spend the night. They wired me to a monitor, as well as filmed me, and said that I would sleep as I usually did for the first half of the night, and then they would put me on a CPAP for the second half, to see what difference it made. After I had been asleep for about an hour, they woke me up and said they had never seem anyone with such a bad case of sleep apnea, and they were going to go ahead and put me on a CPAP machine. They did so, and I got the most delicious, wonderful sleep I have ever had! I woke up feeling so refreshed and energized, it was amazing!

The CPAP machine uses a steady stream of air pressure to keep your air way open. That is what causes sleep apnea, an obstruction of the airway...some cases can be surgically corrected, like if it is due to too much tissue in the throat, but others (like mine) are because I have too much double chin. Even some thin people have sleep apnea, though.

I have used a CPAP machine ever since, and that was in 1997. There are various kinds, and use various masks, including some that cover the nose and mouth, nose only, or even nasal inserts that just go in the nostrils. Mine is a small mask that just covers my nose. Some units include a humidifier that adds warm moisture to the air. Most units have a "ramp up" feature so that the force of the air gradually increases when you turn it on so you don't feel like you are being "blown up" like a balloon. I don't need that, myself...I guess I am used to it.

I didn't find it hard at all to get used to it...and if the power goes out at night, I immediately wake up because I can't breathe! I sleep very well with mine...the one thing that is different is that before, I never slept on my back...just on my side or stomach. I also thrashed around a lot. Now, since I have the CPAP, I sleep flat on my back, and I don't move once I go to sleep.

Good luck with your sleep study, and if you need a CPAP, I think you will find that it helps a great deal.

 

[Opie]

My experience is very close to Ken's.

I have used CPAP for about 8 years. It did not take long for me to get used to the machine. Sleeping well is worth having something on your face all night.

I use a mask with the nasal inserts. It worked for me at the beginning, and I haven't seen a need to try any of the other styles.

 

[sureshotbob]

My wife alway's said that I sometime stop breathing and snore. But a few week's ago I was in the hospital for a blood clot in my leg and they had me on all kind's of monitor's .They said that I have sleep apnia so now I have a oxygen generator and a back up oxygen bottle at the house to use at night. It dosn't have a mask just two little tube's that are put in my nose. I hate it but do sleep much better now the only thing it dry's out my sinus a bit.

 

[GKC]

A friend of mine took one of those studies, and he found out alot more and some of it led to him getting away from the CPAP machine.

Not asking to argue, but out or curiosity: what issues or concerns made him stop using the CPAP?

 

[absolutevil]

Been using one now for a few years. All I can tell you is if you need one, use it. I feel 100% better now during the day. I used a mask that just covered my nose but after a few years I switched to one that covers my nose and mouth because air was escaping from my mouth during the night. Just find a mask that you can and will use and be prepared to try a few before you find one that you like. The company I get my masks from will bring them right to my home, I can try different ones and even change masks if I don't like the one I have. You will feel better after using it, even the first night. Remember people with sleep apnea, like me, can die from it if you don't treat it with something like the cpap. So if they tell you to use it, even if it takes a while to get used to the stupid thing, PLEASE USE IT. Good Luck!

 

[Rugskipper]

I did the sleep study. Never even got to stage 3 let alone REM sleep. Woke up 83 times in 1 hour. I was exhausted all the time, falling asleep at stop lights, etc. I have a Bipap now. 8 years and counting. Full pressure on inhale, reduced pressure on exhale. It saved my life.

 

[harleyvato]

I have been on one for about a year and have never slept better.My experience mirrors many of the other posters in that I never realized how mny times I woke up at night.I ended having to fine tune the pressure for comfort but after that was good to go.I very much reccomend the heated humidifier option.

 

[CW Spook]

Been on CPAP for about 3 1/2 years. I sleep much better, usually clear through the night, where before I was making bathroom runs 4 or 5 times a night just because I was never really getting to sleep. I use a full face mask and also have the humidifier on my Remstar M-series machine. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to the mask, but it's second nature now.

 

[dougb1946]

If you have apnea, use the CPAP. Keep trying masks till you get one that fits. It took me one nite to learn to love it. Sleep is really under rated, and a full nites sleep is truly a thing of beauty. The physical effects of sleep loss are really scary, up to and including death. The old joke, "I want to die in my sleep. like my dad did. Not screaming, like the passengers in his car" applies to Apnea victims.

 

[bobcat]

I had my study last Nov., and a titration study done in Jan., been on the CPAP since Feb., I have the full face mask, and have never slept better. My wife described me alot like GKC, and I've got more energy and sleep through the night all of the time now.

I have an irregular heartbeat, and my cardiologist has been gently pushing me to have a sleep study for years, saying that sleep apnea increases the risk of heart attacks and being overly tired greatly aggravates my irregular heartbeat.

My machine has a humidifier that has helped my sinuses and nasal passages tremedously, it's so dry up here that static electricity is constant when you walk, and my mouth was so dry from snoring, it was almost glued shut in the morning. THe machine helps that to an unbelievable degree. It also has the ramp up feature, but I reduced that to almost immediate full force, I felt I wasn't getting enough air with the ramp up when I first put on the mask. My machine is set on 11, I don't know how high they go, but it's higher that a few guys at work who have CPAPs. THe setting is one thing the sleep study determines, the Doc reads your results and determines the pressure you need to keep your airway open.

They're nothing to fear, and the respiratory techs will work will you on the type of mask you wear, especially if you have claustrophobia.

Good luck, and the machines will make you feel better if you have apnea...

 

[Revoman]

I needed a CPAP 20 years ago but refused to wear it.

Last year I went to another sleep study and have been using a CPAP for six months. The machines today are so much better and quieter.

If you need it, get used to it. Now I can't sleep without it, I actually have dreams again.

Plus my wife can sleep again, all positives.

 

[cudamank]

About 4 years on my cpap. Same as the above, snored most of my life, even as a young teen. I use a full face mask set at 16. Well I wasn't excited about it, it has helped my health. Two years ago lost a lifetime friend, he was 39, been diagnosed as sleep apnea, but didn't want the hassle of the mask. There are full face masks, and ones that just cover your nose. Find one that works for you.

MOST IMPORTANTLY GO AND HAVE THE SLEEP STUDY DONE!

 

[cballman]

I have also used one for a couple of years. The answer a question is that if you can do without it is to loose weight and become skinny. I It also helps the wife to sleep better except when the mask moves and starts pushing air out and "thats when the fights started." To bad that I am a sound sleeper that I dont even know when it started. It does take a little bit of time to get used to the machine but it is well worth the sleep and keeping the wife happy.

 

[HCD]

Danger-Danger-Danger

Danger-Danger-DangerPlease do the sleep study, if you have apnea and your Dr. says to use a C-PAP or a Bi-Pap please do it. To ignore this advice WILL KILL YOU. I have been using a bi-pap for 2 years, the people telling you about not sleeping are bang on. If you are not sleeping you are not living.

My study shows I quit breathing 16 and a 1/2 minutes an hour. If you are not breathing, the carbon monoxide builds up in your organs-it's not expelled and that can cause all kinds of damage to your heart, kidneys, liver---well you get the idea.

As in another thread a few months ago I said I have been a construction worker my whole life. I am now 56 years old and I will never work again, I am doing better now but the damage apnea did to me will never be undone. It almost cost me my life I spent a week in ICU. Please listen to your Dr. do it now. The buildup of carbon dioxide is the killer. Remember “in goes the good air out goes the bad”. If the bad don’t go out you are in trouble. Don’t even worry about the comfort level, who cares about that. Do it or die. Your choice.

 

[phs3194]

CPAP for 14 years now. It will make a huge difference in the way you sleep. Finding a mask that really fits is very important. Air blowing in your eyes or leaking around the seal can ruin your night. I just changed from a nasal mask to the nasal pillows. For me they are perfect.

Get the sleep study soon. It is always better to have all the available information when making decisions about your health. If you then decide that sleeping with a mask on your face is not for you, it will at least be an informed decision. Be aware that sleep studies are expensive. I recently had one done ( a titration study). The cost was a little over 3 grand. Because I had it done at a hospital that participates in my health plan, my insurance paid 90%. Check with your insurance carrier to make sure that you don't need to be pre-approved. Good luck and sleep well.

 

[HCD]

Gentlemen
Respectfully I will say this. Forget cost, forget comfort. You may, “may is the operative word” only have 2 options. Do it and live better, don’t do it and die. I can’t emphasize this enough. If you are not expelling the bad gasses you will not live.

 

[mwtdvm]

Am I the longest user?

Since 1995... Undiagnosed since 1982.. I can sleep upright but w/out REM sleep.
I love mine. Strap it on and I am ASLEEP! I usually wake up to "take care for business".. And then back to the land of Nod.

As others have stated, the prolonged starvation of your heart can result in heart muscle damage. When I was getting my "validation study" done the nurse said... "Good you haven't had your heat attack yet".

I made it thirteen years with a time bomb ticking in my chest. Don't let that happen to you!!