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Cpap and getting better sleep: What's your experience?
Sleep Health | Last Active: Sep 15, 2022 | Replies (356)Comment receiving replies
Hi, @johnhans @johnbishop @dawn_giacabazi @thankful @beatricefay @cece55 and others,
My husband just got a CPAP after a sleep study last week. I have some questions as a spouse of a person using a CPAP, if you don't mind. Wondering if you can remind me how long it takes for a new user to get used to using the CPAP? It seems my husband is still getting used to falling asleep with it.
I am getting used to falling asleep with the noise, also, which is like white noise in a way and I think should not be bad at all to get used to. The great thing is that I'm not fighting to get to sleep with snoring noises or awakening in the middle of the night to snoring and trying to kindly ask him to flip over or the like. I'm seeing my sleep improve already, thankfully.
The other question I have may be more petty, but it's important to me. We just moved this summer, and I've been busy making our bedroom and master bath attractive. Just today I met with a seamstress I've worked with for years about making curtains for our bedroom, and I'm excited about them. At the same time, with the CPAP coming home, I feel like my work to beautify is now competing with the CPAP equipment making our room look a bit like a hospital room and the humidifier water piece and the mouthpiece on our bathroom counter (which I like to keep cleared off, except for hand soap, some greenery, etc.).
I'm not concerning myself about this too much this week, as I'm just reveling in the fact my sleep is on track to improve (I probably lost 1+ hours per night before, due to snoring). I know I'll want to work on this in the future, though. Do you have any tricks for keeping these pieces of equipment in an attractive way?
Replies to "Hi, @johnhans @johnbishop @dawn_giacabazi @thankful @beatricefay @cece55 and others, My husband just got a CPAP after..."
@lisalucier- Well, lets see Lisa. It's been many years since I started using C-pap, but what I've said in many posts is how important the mask feels & works for your husband. I just remember fumbling with a leaky mask for days on end and wanted (and may have) flung the darn thing across the room. Once he finds a mask that fits and experiences that wonderful rem sleep again there's no turning back! My answer may be slightly simplified, but for me that describes my experience.
I can assure you that finding that "right" mask is not always that easy as many on this subject will detest. Hopefully you have a local medical supply store nearby that you may have meet with a Respiratory Therapist that assisted him in picking up his machine and mask at and they will be available to assist with any issues he may be having with mask or other possible issues.
The ramp feature I found real important so I could often fall asleep before the pressure increases by much. It can be set for a variety of different times and for me 15 minutes worked great.
Btw, my wife really did grow to enjoy the white noise the C-pap provided especially in lieu of my snoring!
As for the bedroom decor that has never been an issue for us, but I understand what you are saying.
Depending on the type of nightstand he has I suppose a person could make minimal modifications and install the C-pap inside the cabinet? I think you could make a creative cozy for his machine like a football on his nightstand. 🙂 Happy Zzzz's...
Jim@thankful.
Hi....it has been quite a while since I posted on here. I can't believe it will be a year in January since I started wearing my CPAP
It is true that everyone is different when it comes to a new user getting used to the CPAP. For me, it was a second mask which the Respiratory Therapist recommended. The first one I chose just looked nice and I had no idea that you don't choose a mask on how it looks! 🙂 It was the dreamwear mask with the air flow coming out of the top. I hated it and would rip it off at night and throw it against
the wall! Then the therapist, knowing that I was claustrophobic, suggested the Resmed Swift FX For Her. It is the lightest weight mask and does not leak! It took me approximately two months to become adjusted. I will say that about once a month, I will have a night when I am uncomfortable for about an hour. I don't know why...my mask just feels wrong and then I fall asleep. When I talk to other people, they know just what I am talking about.
I can give you some advice on the hospital room feeling. As a liscensed Interior Designer, here is how I handled my bedroom and the feeling of so much equipment on the nightstand. I also have a heart machine which I am blue-toothed to at night that downloads my EKG to the cardiologist's office in the middle of the night. I have a hear link monitor under my skin for afib. The answer is ...get larger
nightstands! If you have the room, a larger nightstand won't call as much attention to the paraphernalia on the surface. Hope this idea helps.
Blessings and hello to all my fellow CPAP users! CeCe55
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Zonkers Lisa! @lisalucier - I'm probably not a good person to answer this but my bathroom is already cluttered with my Sonicare toothbrush, partial denture cup, electric razor, and a gallon of distilled water I keep on the bathroom counter for the humidifier tank. I used to leave my mask on a paper towel after washing it in the morning but I have a SoClean 2 now and only wash the parts on weekends when I do it. The SoClean sits next to the CPAP on my night stand next to the bed. I do have to hide everything when company comes though ☺ If you have large bathroom maybe a shelf off to the side would work?
Getting used to the CPAP really depends (IMHO) on how well you can adjust to the mask. Once I got used to the mask it wasn't too bad. My Mayo sleep doctor told me to wear it for 30 minutes or so while watching TV but I never did it because that would mean moving it back and forth. Is your husband bothered by the mask or uncomfortable with it on?
Glad to hear your sleep is better too!