Sleep Apnea / CPAP

[ashling]

I posted this in Chrnic Health group the other day, but apparently nobod's home:

I got my new mask delivered a couple of weeks ago. I have gotten more sleep with it in the last few weeks with this new full face mask than I did in a year with the other mask.

Anyway, what type of masks and CPAP experiences have other Apneatics have.
How many different masks have you tried? What is your sleep number - to borrow a mattress marketing phrase. Mine is 13. With this new mask I don't even have to ramp up.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear ashling!

I am so glad to hear that you are getting a lot more really good sleep!

I've never had to use such a device; I guess I'm lucky...

I hope that you'll have many good years with this...

:hug:

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

2. Whoa!

Is that for real? I'm an 8 I think. My mask just covers my nose.......

[ashling]

5. My old one did, but it kept leaking

around the eyes... and having air blowing into your eye at #13 will wake you up good

[abq e streeter]

3. looks similar to mine

# is ten...and I seem to be one of the few people using CPAP that has noticed absolutely no improvement in how I feel the next day or the amount of energy I have. Theoretically, I guess it's doing some good, because it's forcing the air in, but I feel just as crappy in the morning as before I started; maybe even worse.... And my machine and its settings have been thoroughly checked out and are allegedly in perfect working condition and at the correct setting.

[Common Sense Party]

4. I'm much the same way. I do sleep more, I'm sure, than if I didn't have

the mask, but I still feel tired and run down. Much of that has to do with lack of exercise.

What is your number from? I never received a number.

[ashling]

6. That is the pressure

Calculated by the amount of air necessary to raise a column of water 1 inch (I may not have that exactly right) Your doctor sets the number from the data from the sleep study...the CPAP machine was set at that.

[Kali]

32. have you had your thyroid levels checked?

husband was getting in really bad shape - finally dragged his ass in to the doc - got a whole packet of orders for all kinds of tests we can't afford but had a general blood work up and they called the next day and said lets get him on some thyroid meds now. 10 days into it and he is so improved it is shocking.

I know I'm just saying this because it is close to home and recent, but the change was profound.

He is supposed to have a sleep study too but I bet he isn't as bad as it was looking for so long.

[abq e streeter]

35. I actually asked the nurse practitioner about this a couple of weeks ago

I do semi-regular bloodwork ( every 3 to 6 months) for other issues and the next one will include thyroid levels. However, the last one that included thyroid levels , last fall, was, according to her, "perfect" and she said she'd be very surprised if it had gone downhill that quickly, but it'll be checked again anyway in June. Thanks for your suggestion though; your concern is very much appreciated ( I realize people often say "thanks for your concern" on DU in a sarcastic manner, but I mean it very sincerely).

[Richard Steele]

7. I hope that thing does you some good! My Ex-sweetie suffered from apnea her whole life....

And it was (probably still is) one hell of an ordeal.

She's been through Doctors, therapists, and years
of very expensive drugs with some fucked-up side effects....

But all she ever really needed was a good 8 hours of sleep.

I was with her for 9 years: if she slept soundly for one night,
she would be "not crazy" for at least a week.

She caught some sort of viral infention back when she was young
some rare strain of "MonoNucleosis" that targets the brainstem....
so she's just as SMART bas she ever was, but she's SLEEPY all the time...

[lazarus]

8. I'm a 12, iirc

I wear a mask that just covers my nose. It took a while to adjust it right, but no leakage.

I had surgery a few months ago that raised my sleeping O2 sat from 63% to 88%, so I don't wear the CPAP all the time. I'll take a night off occasionally now that I know I won't die or anything. Eventually I'll go back in for another study to see if I even need the thing anymore, but I'm waiting to lose another 50 pounds first.

[MiddleFingerMom]

9. From a purely professional viewpoint...

.
... that would make a HELLA hookah mask.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Ground Control to Major Tom...
.

[HillWilliam]

15. (evil snicker)

the thought had pitter-pattered across my mind but it snuck off into a dark corner :rofl: :evilgrin:

Uh, what were we talking about: :smoke:

[MrMickeysMom]

10. Some tips from the other side...

That is, from someone who used to fit patients and follow up with them.

Fit, Seal, Comfort

You may mean 13 centimeters of water pressure (usually when pressures exceed 12, you tend to not do well on nasal masks, certainly pillow around the nose are difficult to sustain this pressure through the night. You probably don't want to ramp with a full face mask.

Everyone needs to be fitted, and it looks like it fits well, judging from where the bottom is under the lip and how stable it looks across the forehead.

A little bit of adjustment when tightening it (first from one side of the mask and them the other) goes a long way for seal. Too many people get "too tight".

When mask seals are not cleaned daily, or when users wear face creams, that's when they tend to leak.

Humidity settings (back at the machine, clean and often changed water, heat settings, based on how cold your room is) will often keep you from opening your mouth on a nasal mask, thus eliminating the need for a full face mask such as is displayed here.

Glad you're happy with it.

[elana i am]

11. my number is 16

but the mask that covers just the nose and mouth work ok for me and i wear the petite size. on occasion it will leak into my eyes when i turn over on my face, but it's usually problem free. my only problem is sleeping on my face. and i don't mean laying on my stomach with my head turned to the side, i mean literally mashing my face in the pillow. now that i have a constant stream of air i have a tendency to do that, whereas before i couldn't have.

[ashling]

12. My deal about the eyes is partly

because I have had 7 or more (I lose count) eye surgeries in the last couple of years and I am real sensitive about anything that feels in the least like I have gotten a retinal tear or something.

With this mask I can sleep with the side of my head on the pillow.

Unfortunately the CPAP doesn't help with my neck, back, or hip issues.

[Roon]

13. WOW! That's a hardcore mask!

I have sleep apnea and my mask only fit over my nose.That was 17 years ago. When I did my sleep study they tried a mask that fit over my mouth and nose.Worked pretty good. I get my new CPAP at the end of may.

[HillWilliam]

14. I love my CPAP machine

I have fought apnea all my life. If there's a form of it, I've got it. My doctor didn't wait 24 hours before putting me one one.

I have the type of mask that fits just over the nose. I tried the full face but couldn't get a good fit because I have a beard. Use whichever feels right. You're going to sleep much better regardless. As time goes on, you'll sleep even better as you learn how to sleep. Yes, if you've fought sleep deprivation all your life, you'll need to learn how to sleep.

Keep at it. You'll be spoiled to getting real rest in no time. I refuse to sleep without it any more.

[ashling]

16. I have had it for years,

first diagnosed some 9 years ago, but never got the machine. There were times that I would get so sleepy that it was painful to try to stay awake at work.

I still don't wear it all the time. I wake up a lot at night for other reasons and sometimes I don't put it back on when I come back ... also, having ADD, sometimes I am just to fidgety to have it on for long.

[Brickbat]

17. I'm a 7, and mine just goes over my nose. I have a love-hate relationship with it. I hate wearing

it, but I love the sleep I get from it. It changed my life.

[hobbit709]

18. My BIPAP settings are 25/21 and I use a nasal mask.

Been working fine for 5 years now.

[hedgehog]

19. My sleep number is 11 and the first mask was too big,

the second too small and the third just right!
:fistbump:

I could have had the right mask in the first place if the respitory therapist had used this expensive tool:



I have the humidity turned up to the max. I had no idea I had apnea, and neither did my husband! I took the sleep test fully expecting that some other problem would be found. I haven't felt this awake in years. Since I have suffered for years from dry air in the winter, I love being able to sleep in my own private sauna!

[ashling]

20. I turn the humidity/heat up in the winter

But I don't need it at all in the summer.

[lazarus]

21. I have to keep the humidity fairly low

or I get condensation in the mask, which drives me bonkers.

[Love Bug]

25. Oh, god, me too

I can't have the humidity past 1 or water builds up in my mask and starts to make loud, sucking sounds. Then if I pull the mask off with the machine still running, water shoots out of the mask and gets the bed wet. x(

I use the mask with the nose cushions. My machine is set at 11.

[ashling]

26. If I have mine too high it starts spitting at me

nt

[davsand]

22. I know I probably need one but I just can't bring myself to follow it up.

My husband tells me that I stop breathing, my mom tells me the same thing (she lived with my father for over 55 years, and he was the KING of sleep apnea and snoring), and I wake myself up sometimes gasping--but I still have never followed it up with my doc because those masks look so awful and they sound like they are a PITA to take care of.

How do you all DEAL with taking that mess apart and cleaning it every day? How do you DEAL with taking it off and putting it back on every time you get up to go to the bathroom? Do your partners object to seeping next to (Or worse yet waking UP to) somebody that looks like a scuba diver?

I hear the CPAPs can help with hypertension--have any of you experienced that?




Laura

[lazarus]

23. actually

I found that, once I started wearing the mask, I no longer had to get up multiple times to go the bathroom.

I just clean mine on the weekends, when I change the filters. I do change out the water every day, but that only takes a few seconds.

It looks awful, but it was such a nice change to be able to get a good night's sleep for a change that I never had much of an adjustment period. Took a couple of nights to get the fit right, but it's not that bad (I wear one just over the nose).

Haele prefers the mask to all the snoring and gasping and constantly getting up that I had before the mask. She can sleep now, too.

[Kali]

30. yep

I don't even use the humidifier any more.
Even if somebody felt compelled to wash their mask every day it's just a quick wash in the shower when you wash yourself. No need to dismantle and take a long time.

Save your life - and if you are sleeping with somebody the gentle woosh is way better than the gagging, choking, snoring you are probably doing now.

No it isn't romantic. Its for sleeping and saving your life. Sex can happen anywhere, any time - sleep needs to happen to live.

[hedgehog]

24. Get a well fitted mask and you'll never go back.

If you need more convincing, get a copy of ''Restless Nights: Understanding Snoring and sleep apnea" by Peretz Lavie

I think he did a lot of the original research, and he really gets into the nuts and bolts of what's going on.


Once you get a decent night's sleep , washing the unit isn't the insurmountable task it seems to be when you're permanently groggy!

[elana i am]

27. you only need to change the water in the humidifier daily

and a thorough cleaning once a week is all it needs. i like to wipe the inside edges of my mask out with an alcohol wipe daily to keep the seal clean (because i have very oily skin) but that's all i have to do.

you will sleep much better which means you will feel much better, which makes any upkeep worth it!

[PADemD]

28. A CPAP will keep you from dying in your sleep or having an auto accident.

Don't put off getting the test. You may think that you don't stop breathing very often; but if you wake up gasping for air, you need to get tested as soon as possible.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100408075217.htm

[Kali]

33. oh man

in addition to what else was said, the bathroom trips go WAY down, but if the cat or something wakes me up and I need to get up, I just turn off the machine and pull the hose off my mask. I hardly ever clean my mask - I wipe it and my face off with a handi-wipe before I put it on.

Apnea affects your entire body - heart, teeth, kidneys, liver, all of your metabolism. Everytime you have a breathing stop-start episode (100's of times a night) you get a rush of adrenaline and your body goes into wake mode - all activating every function - that is one reason you have to pee so much at night. I was amazed at the change the VERY FIRST night. I used to be up at least 5 or 6 times a night. Now MAYBE once, but more often just first thing in the morning.

Yes it affects blood pressure and is damaging your heart. Don't be afraid of sleeping with a mask and hose, be afraid of dying prematurely.

[REP]

29. Profile Lite (petite) pressure 20 no ramp

[Kali]

31. I have a two year old respironics comfort select nose only

kind of held together with duct tape and baling wire (actually electric tape and twist ties) - no ins and a cheap mentality. I do need to get a new one and probably a new hose as well.

I thought for sure I would need a full face as I was such a mouth breather but it has been another one of those fascinating things that once I could breath through my nose properly my mouth just stays shut.

I would love to try some other masks but this works and I can't afford to just experiment so...

My pressure is also 13.

[J-Lo Biafra]

34. I have one, and I love it.

After years of apnea and the resulting snoring, anxiety and lack of energy during the day, I started getting the best sleep I've had in years. I'm now able to sleep on my back as well, which is something I wasn't able to do before.