1. < Sleep Health

Cpap and getting better sleep: What's your experience?

Posted by steve1948 @steve1948, Feb 24, 2017

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.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Sleep Health Support Group.

Moderator
Lisa Lucier, Moderator | @lisalucier | Oct 28, 2019
In reply to @johnbishop "Hi Lisa @lisalucier -- I think needing and wanting a travel CPAP may be 2 questions..." + (show)
@johnbishop

Hi Lisa @lisalucier -- I think needing and wanting a travel CPAP may be 2 questions ☺ It just is a little smaller and easier to take with you and you can leave your current one hooked up for when you come back. Since I got the Dreamstation Go my AHI numbers are much better than with my other one and I haven't been able to figure it out yet. I stopped using the humidifier on the Dreamstation Go and it hasn't made any difference yet so I may put it back on and run it for a week to see if my numbers change.

Do you have a small case that you can put his CPAP machine, hose and mask in? or will it easily fit in a suitcase?

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Hi, @johnbishop - the case he got with the CPAP is kind of like a rather large toilet/dopp kit or like a tiny suitcase, maybe the size of a shoebox. Seems like it would take up quite a bit of room (not sure about weight), but my husband goes rather minimal when packing so perhaps it won't be a deal for him. I need to check with him on this. Leaving it behind won't be a great idea, or I won't sleep on vacation.:)

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1 reply
Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Oct 28, 2019
In reply to @lisalucier "Hi, @johnbishop - the case he got with the CPAP is kind of like a rather..." + (show)
@lisalucier

Hi, @johnbishop - the case he got with the CPAP is kind of like a rather large toilet/dopp kit or like a tiny suitcase, maybe the size of a shoebox. Seems like it would take up quite a bit of room (not sure about weight), but my husband goes rather minimal when packing so perhaps it won't be a deal for him. I need to check with him on this. Leaving it behind won't be a great idea, or I won't sleep on vacation.:)

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Lisa @lisalucier this is my Dreamstation Go travel CPAP case with the humidifier tank in the case. The CPAP and humidifier will fit in the case but nothing else. The battery pack will also fit in the case if the humidifier is not attached.
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Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Oct 29, 2019

Well, last night I put the humidifier back on my Dreamstation Go Auto Travel CPAP and was extremely surprised when I woke up and saw that my AHI for the night was 1.0 and a new low since I've been using a CPAP. I've switched to using the travel CPAP as my everyday machine since the numbers have been much better. I think the difference is because the Dreamstation CPAP which was what was recommended by the sleep medicine doctor is a normal continuous pressure machine and the Dreamstation Go is an Auto CPAP (automatically adjusting pressure PAP machine). Both have the same settings recommended by my doctor but the travel CPAP has never caused my mask to vibrate when the pressure was too high. I think that's because it is continuously adjusting the pressure up and down whereas the CPAP keeps going up unless you hit the ramp button to start the pressure all over again starting at the 4 ppm ramp setting. I started using the Dreamstation Go on Oct 11th and the AHI numbers are consistently under 4 now which is what the sleep doctor wanted them to be. I'm still feeling tired during the day but hopefully that will continue to get better.

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1 reply
johnhans | @johnhans | Oct 29, 2019

@johnbishop thank you for this encouraging word. Congratulations on getting your numbers so low. Makes me wonder why the auto CPAP has become so prevalent.

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thankful | @thankful | Oct 29, 2019
In reply to @johnbishop "Well, last night I put the humidifier back on my Dreamstation Go Auto Travel CPAP and..." + (show)
@johnbishop

Well, last night I put the humidifier back on my Dreamstation Go Auto Travel CPAP and was extremely surprised when I woke up and saw that my AHI for the night was 1.0 and a new low since I've been using a CPAP. I've switched to using the travel CPAP as my everyday machine since the numbers have been much better. I think the difference is because the Dreamstation CPAP which was what was recommended by the sleep medicine doctor is a normal continuous pressure machine and the Dreamstation Go is an Auto CPAP (automatically adjusting pressure PAP machine). Both have the same settings recommended by my doctor but the travel CPAP has never caused my mask to vibrate when the pressure was too high. I think that's because it is continuously adjusting the pressure up and down whereas the CPAP keeps going up unless you hit the ramp button to start the pressure all over again starting at the 4 ppm ramp setting. I started using the Dreamstation Go on Oct 11th and the AHI numbers are consistently under 4 now which is what the sleep doctor wanted them to be. I'm still feeling tired during the day but hopefully that will continue to get better.

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@johnbishop- Very happy to hear your news! So much of this stuff isn't just numbers, but also how we view our progress. I remember when I met with the Sleep Therapist a few years back and I was concerned about the constant leaky mask thing and yet he turned it all upside down when he showed me the AHI scores and the consistant 7-8 hr. of C-pap use for many, many months.
That appt. really changed my outlook about the leaky mask issue. Just recently I've been on a role of 2 green happy faces and scores of 95-98 on my Resmed My Air site. Not sure what has happened?
When you travel do you pack your new machine in your suitcase or do you carry it separately in its bag with your carry on?
Happy Zzzz's my friend! Jim@thankful

REPLY
1 reply
Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Oct 29, 2019
In reply to @thankful "@johnbishop- Very happy to hear your news! So much of this stuff isn't just numbers, but..." + (show)
@thankful

@johnbishop- Very happy to hear your news! So much of this stuff isn't just numbers, but also how we view our progress. I remember when I met with the Sleep Therapist a few years back and I was concerned about the constant leaky mask thing and yet he turned it all upside down when he showed me the AHI scores and the consistant 7-8 hr. of C-pap use for many, many months.
That appt. really changed my outlook about the leaky mask issue. Just recently I've been on a role of 2 green happy faces and scores of 95-98 on my Resmed My Air site. Not sure what has happened?
When you travel do you pack your new machine in your suitcase or do you carry it separately in its bag with your carry on?
Happy Zzzz's my friend! Jim@thankful

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Hi Jim @thankful - We've only made one trip to my wife's sisters house in Illinois so they could spend some time together while I got to watch sports, sports and more sports with my brother-in-law who loves his sports. It was an overall restful trip and I had been wanting to test the travel CPAP. Another thing I like is that it takes up less space on the beside dresser/table. I had thought about buying the battery pack that goes with it. The power cord plugs into the battery pack so it won't miss a beat if you have a power failure. We experienced one a few months ago during the night while using my normal CPAP and it was quite an experience. I woke up out of a dead sleep trying to catch my breath because it stopped pushing air and the mask had a good seal even with the cloth cover.

The mask, hose and power cord fit in a small cloth bag that comes with it. Nice that you can put the mask into it during the day when you wake up when traveling. The CPAP fits in the hard case for traveling. All of it fit nicely in my suitcase which was really and oversized gym bag that I've had forever and use for 2 to 3 day trips although I can fit a weeks worth of clothes with a couple of pairs of jeans.

REPLY
1 reply
thankful | @thankful | Oct 30, 2019
In reply to @johnbishop "Hi Jim @thankful - We've only made one trip to my wife's sisters house in Illinois..." + (show)
@johnbishop

Hi Jim @thankful - We've only made one trip to my wife's sisters house in Illinois so they could spend some time together while I got to watch sports, sports and more sports with my brother-in-law who loves his sports. It was an overall restful trip and I had been wanting to test the travel CPAP. Another thing I like is that it takes up less space on the beside dresser/table. I had thought about buying the battery pack that goes with it. The power cord plugs into the battery pack so it won't miss a beat if you have a power failure. We experienced one a few months ago during the night while using my normal CPAP and it was quite an experience. I woke up out of a dead sleep trying to catch my breath because it stopped pushing air and the mask had a good seal even with the cloth cover.

The mask, hose and power cord fit in a small cloth bag that comes with it. Nice that you can put the mask into it during the day when you wake up when traveling. The CPAP fits in the hard case for traveling. All of it fit nicely in my suitcase which was really and oversized gym bag that I've had forever and use for 2 to 3 day trips although I can fit a weeks worth of clothes with a couple of pairs of jeans.

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@johnbishop- Sounds perfect! I haven't run into that kind of a situation with the power going off, but I could see that would definitely be startling! Do you have an idea what the cost of that that machine with the battery would cost and do you think it is a better price online vs through my local medical supplies store?
Happy Zzzz's my friend. Jim@thankful

REPLY
1 reply
Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Oct 30, 2019
In reply to @thankful "@johnbishop- Sounds perfect! I haven't run into that kind of a situation with the power going..." + (show)
@thankful

@johnbishop- Sounds perfect! I haven't run into that kind of a situation with the power going off, but I could see that would definitely be startling! Do you have an idea what the cost of that that machine with the battery would cost and do you think it is a better price online vs through my local medical supplies store?
Happy Zzzz's my friend. Jim@thankful

Jump to this post

@thankful -- I think the cost would be a little cheaper online. When I tried to buy it local they wanted the full retail price that the manufacturer charges. I paid $1,049 for the Dreamstation Go Auto CPAP, the humidifier and the larger carrying case. The place I purchased mine from has the CPAP onsale now for $749 (reg $849), the battery is $295 (reg price), heated humidifier is $275. It is kind of spendy but it has helped me. Here's the online store where I bought mine - https://www.thecpapshop.com/philips-respironics-dreamstation-go-auto-travel-cpap-machine

Happy Zzzz's to you too my friend!

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Moderator
Lisa Lucier, Moderator | @lisalucier | Nov 22, 2019

Many of you have gotten to chat with @johnhans, one of the members in this CPAP discussion. To learn a little more about him and what makes him tick, please take a moment to read his Connect member spotlight, https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/about-connect/newsfeed-post/encouraging-others-by-letting-them-know-ive-made-it-meet-johnhans/. Also, share it with others, if you'd like, on your social media accounts.

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stolzy | @stolzy | Dec 15, 2019

I got a BPAP with this type you can change it to CPAP I got asthma and at first, I could not use a CAPAP and I had to get a BPAP since I am taking a NUCALA shots for my asthma I switch my machine back to cpap also I got a cleaner too and I love it

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