How do you like CPAP?

[recycled sixtie]

I have got my own CPAP machine now and overall I am pleased with it and the results. The mask takes a while to get used to though. Sometimes I just take it off to get a break from it. Overall I feel better after using it. Your thoughts?

[Starless]

Been using one for many years, actually I'm on my 3rd. First one was replaced due to age, and second one had a recall from Philips. I'm used to it, but I prefer no mask. My insurance covers all expenses as long as i use it for 4+ hours per night for 21 out of 30 days. But I tend to take it off after 5 hrs or so. If I start snoring and wake up my wife, I put it back on. I do sleep better, and so does my wife.

[cantdrv55]

I’ve been a CPAP user for years as well. If I don’t use it for some reason, I wake up with dry mouth and sore throat and am very tired.

[id10t]

Took 2 or 3 days to get used to it. Now you can have it right after you pry it from my cold dead face.

[LWJ]

Hate it. Had one for 22ish years. Need it medically. It is a struggle.

[A930Rocket]

I’ve been using The type that covers your nose only for a few years. I sleep better, but still wake up in the middle of the night to adjust it. Dry mouth can be a problem, but I use mouth tape for that.

I woke up one night feeling like a balloon. My nose mask had migrated to my mouth! Haha

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by cantdrv55

I’ve been a CPAP user for years as well. If I don’t use it for some reason, I wake up with dry mouth and sore throat and am very tired.

This ^^^^. I don't use the full "fighter pilot" mask, I use the nose pillows.

[wdfifteen]

I've been using a full face mask for 7 years and it has really changed my life. In the sleep study I woke to the barely-unconscious sleep state (stage 1) 18 times in 6 hours and spent almost no time in deep sleep. I never really felt rested. Now I wake to stage1 sleep 1 or 2 times a night. It's a big improvement in my life and worth the inconvenience.

Funny thing, I used to have the dream almost every night that I was awake and couldn't sleep. I would look at the clock at 11:00 and think I was lying there awake for an hour. Then I looked at the clock and it was 3:00 AM. It was exhausting and I was in a perpetual bad mood. I guess I was dreaming in stage 1 sleep and not really getting any rest. That stopped when I started using the CPAP.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by juanbenae

This ^^^^. I don't use the full "fighter pilot" mask, I use the nose pillows.

Me too. Been using it for years. The nose pillows and headgear is so light I barely notice it.

But I’ve experimented with and without it, and indefinitely sleep and feel much better with it.

I tried out the full fighter pilot mask. Yikes. I couldn’t deal with that.

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by McLovin

Me too. Been using it for years. The nose pillows and headgear is so light I barely notice it.

But I’ve experimented with and without it, and indefinitely sleep and feel much better with it.

I tried out the full fighter pilot mask. Yikes. I couldn’t deal with that.

agreed, I used the fighter pilot mask like half a night and went back to the pillows in the middle of that night.

when I talk to "non-believers" I mention to check the obituaries to see how "died peacefully in his sleep" has decreased since PAPS have become so prevalent. funny thing is gasping for air causing heart or other failures causing death is so far from peaceful....

a friend of mine died at 39 due to what I believe was sleep apnea. he was over weight, did not live healthy and would fall asleep at stop lights and while we were watching a football game or something like that. i'm confident a PAP would have prolonged his life had he used one.

[Jeff Higgins]

I've been using one since I retired five years ago. Just the nose "pillows", no full face mask. I've settled into a quiet "truce" with it, learning to accept its advantages while I absolutely despise wearing it. It makes a very noticeable difference in how well I sleep (not to mention my long suffering wife, and our two dogs. Probably the neighbors as well.). Which, ultimately, makes for a far better day. Its advantages are real. That doesn't mean I can't hate it.

[Pazuzu]

I've used it for a few months now. The primary symptoms (snoring, not sleeping at night but sleeping the rest of the time, etc) were all fixed basically instantly, within a few days. I used to fall asleep in front of the TV basically every night, now it never happens. I would fall asleep at work every afternoon after lunch, now that never happens. I would fall asleep while stuck in traffic basically every day, now that never happens. It's absolutely frightening how often I would zonk out during the day, because I wasn't zonking out at night.


There were other symptoms that I never realized existed, which were also fixed.

For example, apparently breathing at night helps keep stomach acid from rolling back up through your esophagus at night, the air flow keeps everything kinda in place. Stop breathing for 30 seconds, and that acid works it way up. I was having increasingly bad instances where acid was coming up, anywhere from heartburn to squirting into my mouth and nose to vomiting.

CPAP ended that 100%.

Surprisingly, I also don't get up to pee every night anymore. It was like clockwork, I'd get up at 2 or 2:30 to pee, every night. No big deal, it happens. But, turns out I was only getting up because my body was all stressed from not sleeping. I never get up to pee now.

Additionally, I use a full face mask (for now). The Darth Vader sound actually drowns out some background sounds, which means I sleep right through the neighborhood cats fighting, or the guy next door starting his truck in the morning, etc.

Finally, or course, my lifestyle efficiency has increased, because I'm not spending 2 or 3 hours a day trying just to stay awake. I would literally be put into a zombie state, where I would be half awake sitting at my desk and pretty much unable to break out of it. I'd spend an hour sitting there, just trying to wake up enough to get up and walk around. Very unsettling, very destructive.

[Halm]

About 10 years ago, I started feeling really tired in mid-afternoon. It was a real problem when on-site at a client location. Then I was diagnosed with sleep apnea about 7 years ago. And I was told that a CPAP would fix my problem. No joy for 6 years, still felt tired. Last January I changed from a Pulmonologist to a Neurologist who changed my diagnosis to Hypersomnia with Sleep Apnea. He added a prescription for Modafinil to help me stay awake. Hated the stuff, really messed with my sleep. On a follow-up visit he bumped my CPAP pressure to make sure the airways stayed open. My AHI numbers dropped significantly and after a week or so of good sleep, the tiredness went away.

I use a nose only, Pico mask. It was irritating the nostril openings after a few months of use so I added a RemZzzs liner. Much more comfortable and I think I get a better seal with it.

[A930Rocket]

I’ve had my Resmed machine for several years. How do you adjust the air pressure?

I have hypothyroidism (thyroid not working) and one of the symptoms is fatigue, among others. No matter how well I sleep at night, I’m still tired during the day. On meds and see the doc for a checkup in a couple of weeks. I hope I can get this worked out, because I fight it all day and I’m worthless on the weekends.

[Halm]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

I’ve had my Resmed machine for several years. How do you adjust the air pressure?

I have a Phillips CPAP, so not familiar with the Resmed. But a quick Google found this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcPp1i0XuYU

[A930Rocket]

Thanks. My Resmed is an S9, so not much adjustment I could find.

[zakthor]

I've had a sort of 'central apnea' since at least high school. I apparently stop breathing for a minute and then gasp for breath. I also have some broken nose that can't move air well.

Right around age 50 I started waking with concussion symptoms that started getting worse. Something with age I wasn't tolerating the asphyxiation any more.

Got diagnosed and given an airsense 11. I can't breathe through nose so wear the 'chuck yeager'. The machine and I fought every night, mask was hovercrafting off my face so I had to cinch it super tight. I needed it but it would fill my stomach with air and cause me to vomit. Not nice to wake up puking out your nose into the mask.

Dr let me try an aircurve 10 vauto. Is like the airsense but its super sensitive to your exhale. Airsense is 'cpap' - continuous pressure. The aircurve detects your breathing and drops pressure when you try and breathe out.

Anyway, the switch to aircurve was a miracle for me, I'm in heaven now. Apparently the usual is for dr to prescribe the airsense and if customer has a problem they throw an aircurve at them. Insurance wants them to try the airsense since its cheaper.

I just got my father to go through the aircurve trial and he can't believe he didn't get one sooner.

[A930Rocket]

Originally Posted by zakthor

…. I can't breathe through nose so wear the 'chuck yeager'. The machine and I fought every night, mask was hovercrafting off my face so I had to cinch it super tight. …

That’s the problem I had with the fighter mask. I had to keep it super tight to try and keep it from flapping and waking me up. But, no matter how tight I made it, it flapped. That and being a side sleeper, it just didn’t work.

I wanted it to work, because I have narrow nasal passages.

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

That’s the problem I had with the fighter mask. I had to keep it super tight to try and keep it from flapping and waking me up. But, no matter how tight I made it, it flapped. That and being a side sleeper, it just didn’t work.

I wanted it to work, because I have narrow nasal passages.

In addition to the ResMed CPAP I wear a BreatheRight nasal strip as I have a deviated septum on one side of my nose. The nasal strip allows me to breathe more freely through both sides of the nose.

Overall this combination has worked for me. I have the kind of mask that fits over the nose and mouth. Also as mentioned above CPAP can reduce acid reflux.

[zakthor]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

That’s the problem I had with the fighter mask. I had to keep it super tight to try and keep it from flapping and waking me up. But, no matter how tight I made it, it flapped. That and being a side sleeper, it just didn’t work.

I wanted it to work, because I have narrow nasal passages.

Yeah, sorry to be a broken record here, I'll try one more time:

If you haven't been able to get a face mask to work, and you need one, then get your doctor to prescribe you a bipap machine like the aircurve 10.

The 'C' in CPAP means 'continuous pressure', it is like running a shop vac into your mouth. The fancier resmed 'CPAP' vauto machines actually have a small amount of pressure reduction for exhale, but that relief is small and wasn't nearly enough for me.

BiPAP is bivalve, the machine is built to honor an inhale and exhale pressure. Mine is set to 8(cmH2O) input and 4 for my exhale. The transition from inhale to exhale is imperceptible to me. Is magic.

Moving to BiPAP totally solved my issues with the chuck yeager mask.

I delayed getting a machine for a decade because I thought the 'sleep center' was totally an insurance scam. There's a big profit incentive for them to give everyone one of these devices. Turns out I was wrong, the machine is a huge huge help for me, I should have done it years earlier before it became an actual crisis.

To get the bipap machine I had to go back and insist on another face to face, spoke with tech and then doctor and got up in the office manager's face. I was suffering and I wasn't going to let them forget it. They had me try a chin strap, various nose fittings but nothing worked. I was skeptical that the machine would help but it COMPLETELY fixed my problem.

They had to handle all the insurance stuff and because my previous contract was so new I had to pay about $500 to switch machines but well worth it.