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Cpap and getting better sleep: What's your experience?
I was in the hospital for pneumonia and while I was getting a nebulizer treatment the therapist asked if I use a Cpap at home, at the time I didn't have one. Now mind you I was only sleeping for 2 hrs a night during my pneumonia bout (2 weeks) and the therapist asked if I were open to using a BPAP (what they call it in a hospital) it was a large machine and I said of course. Upon using it I still only slept for 2 hours but it was a very restful 2 hours of sleep and was welcomed. I told my Pulmonologist and got set up for a sleep study, and it is all history. I sleep more restful (have much less visits to the bathroom at night) and use it religiously. Medicare covered my testing and machine. After my test my doc told me I stopped breathing x amount of times a minute, and was restless (tossed and turned) an ungodly amount of time during my test. On the follow up test (with the Cpap) the number decreased significantly. My sister snores like a constant thunder storm and she went for a test and got her Cpap, and now she doesn't snore at all and tells me she sleeps much better.
There are two ways to use the machine, with a nostril mask (so to speak) and a full mask (you usually see on TV movies). The latter is what I use, I couldn't get use to the nostril application, and if you were to catch a cold, I don't know how well it would work, but I use the mask never the less. Hope this helps, and do read the instructions about your machine.
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Hi Teresa @hopeful33250 -- I might take it on a road trip but I'm not lugging it around on a flight. You can detach it from the humidifier to make it a little less cumbersome but I think I can go a few days without it. I admire folks that have been using one for a long time also. Just talked with a lady at the office whose husband has to use one. He hated it but she made it do it or she wasn't going to stay with him. She said she was not going to have him dying in bed from stopping breathing. Credits to him for sticking with it.
One problem I see in retrospect is that after you are diagnosed with CPAP it's all scary stuff and it gets pushed on you really fast. I think there should be some time when you get the RX to get the CPAP for a serious conversation on which mask type works best for you and some expertise in adjusting it, what to do when something is not working, etc.. You can't do this in a 10 or 15 minute session with a CPAP salesperson/rep in the Mayo Sleep Medicine store or any medical store. I guess that's where the on the job training comes in and we just have to learn as we go. I'm sure my deviated septum is not helping matters either. Right now I feel like I need to slow down and stop making changes so fast and take some measurements on each change that I make to see if it helps or not. Easy for me to say ☺
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1 Reaction@johnbishop As I've been reading everyone's posts here that is the impression that I am getting. Adjusting is a process. This is not a one-size-fits-all sort of change. Hmmm All sorts of credit to you. I'm sure your persistence will pay off down the road!
Teresa
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2 ReactionsI've watched all the videos on the Dreammapper.com website. They did help some, which is how I found the mask resistance setting (X1 for the Dreamware full face mask).
-- https://www.mydreammapper.com/Learn/Equipment
I bought a hose stand that slides under the mattress and keeps the hose off of the floor. It works great for the top of the head connector. I don't put it on the side of the bed though. I slip it under the mattress at the top side of the bed that I sleep on.
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1 ReactionThanks Teresa, I really hope so. I know it's a slow road. A few people I have talked with that I didn't know used a CPAP have told me it took them over a year to get full benefits of using it. I'm just impatient...I think my dear Mother should have named me Jimmy...gimme, gimme ☺
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2 Reactions@hopeful33250; @johnbishop- As I mentioned in an earlier post I've been using C-pap for many years. I have always taken it along on vacations which was initially a real pain going through TSA at airports, but it seems now it has brcome much easier. It is part of my carry on and its funny now that it seems I notice many people carrying there C-paps through airports so perhaps that is why they have backed off how they dealt with them earlier on. They do sell smaller machines for travel as well as battery operated ones even for camping, but I have never felt the need to invest in any of these as yet. I too am a mouth breather and the best mask for me would be a full face type, but I just can't find one that fits so I've used a chin strap to deal with that. Even a 1/2 hr. nap with a C-pap makes a huge difference! Happy REM sleep to all. Jim @thankful.
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4 Reactions@johnbishop Hi, John. I think the CPAP and BiPAP makers fail when they market the machines in a bag that is just big enough for the machine. If a person going to fly they often want the machine bag to be large enough to hold to hold whatever else they would take on the flight. Mine usually come in the small bag which i place under the seat in front of me, and operate the machine there. I would prefer a smaller machine I could take out of the bag which would go overhead then place it on my table to operate it. It could be round so I could wrap the tube around it.
Yes, it is scary, and my first couple months I took off the mask and threw it many times. Now after 31 years, I would not even think about going to sleep without it if I have a choice. It saves my life every time I put it on. My ECH tells that I have had many heart attack episodes, and I would bet most of them were from OSA.
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4 Reactions@johnhans I have mounted a small three foot mast next to my bed, attached to the nightstand where I keep my BiPAP. I run the tube to a loop on top, then down to me. This way the excess water just condenses in the colder tube and runs back down to the reservoir, and nothing pulls on the tube. I used to sleep on my front or side but this is much better.
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3 ReactionsHello @oldkarl
You certainly are a testimony to the value of the CPAP. I am glad that you adjusted to this way of sleeping. After 31 years, your experience speaks volumes to those who are just beginners!
Teresa
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2 ReactionsI have been wearing a CPAP for about 15-16 years; I really don't remember when I got it. I sleep on both sides and my back, kinda like a wave just rolling all night. Drives my best half crazy, but it is much better than tossing accompanied by a freight train roar. I have a terrible time with dry mouth and tried to go back to a full mask from my nose pillow, but it did not help and I could not find a material that did not cause my face to sweat and then develop a rash, so back to nose pillow. I also have not been able to take full advantage of mine as higher pressures cause me to swallow air and I wake up with much bigger problems than missing a few breaths. I am unable to sleep in a lab and am being set up for a self-titrating machine to give my doc the data they need. I do take mine everywhere I go. If I nap in my recliner, I move my machine to the den. Before my first test, a friend of a friend died in his sleep while waiting to for a study, so I never sleep without mine. Forgot to take my power cord to the outer banks one year and had to drive back to the mainland and go to several computer stores until I found someone with a huge box full of spare power supply cords and one fit my machine perfectly. Sorry for my verbosity.
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6 ReactionsHi @oldkarl -- I haven't been on a long vacation for a long time. I would probably figure out a way to take part of my setup with me if I ever go on a long trip again. On the bright side, I haven't thrown my mask down yet. ☺
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