@johnbishop @thankful @johnhans - thanks to all of you for your input. It's all very helpful, as we are new to this (for ourselves, vs. theoretically). I think - from what I understand - that so far the mask he got in the second half of the night in his sleep study is all right for him. I did forewarn him from what many have said in this thread and in others that there seems to be a trial and error period for the mask. So far, so good. I will keep checking with him. I think right now having something in his mouth, some contraption on his face/head is quite different for him with falling asleep. I'm hoping that this mask is indeed a "thumbs up" for him. I will keep checking with him on that to make sure he's as comfortable as he can be. He is about as unfussy and not particular as they come, so possibly this mask will indeed be okay.

johnhans, you make some excellent points about the real issue being to avoid a stroke or heart attack (vs. lovely decor). That is indeed true, and his dad has had some heart troubles over time, so I'd like for my husband to stay out of heart trouble, if at all possible.

johnbishop actually suggested a local medical supply store, and they evidently did a great job of getting him set up with what he needed, setting expectations and explaining how all this goes. Thank you, John. Interesting that the store's employees also told him that insurance would not pay for the device if there was not evidence of him using it the first 30 days and his reports coming in.

I don't know anything about the ramp feature, thankful. I will have to check with him on that. He always stuns me with how quickly he can fall asleep - many times it's literally 60 seconds. I almost always take 10+ minutes (but maybe that will go down now!). I didn't realize the pressure goes up at a certain point. I assume that is to get to optimal pressure, but it's distracting or noisy when trying to get to sleep?

Yeah, good point on the cabinet or the like in a nightstand, thankful. Right now we have antique pieces for nightstands (a trunk and a small table), till we come across some we like and that will match well with our dressers (we were not the first owners of either dresser, but love them both). One of our antique tables with two levels might be an option (storing it on the lower level). Ultimately, we should choose nightstands based on the CPAP, is what is becoming clear to me now. I know it also depends heavily on what turns out to be convenient for him.

Any other tips for a newbie to using a CPAP that I should pass along?