Sleep apnea and c-pap machines--experiences?

[pique]

So a few months ago I complained to my doctor about chronic exhaustion, brain fog, inability to focus, and my Garmin watch never being happy about my sleep quality.

She ordered a lot of tests, then decided, almost as an afterthought, to send me to the hospital for a sleep study. Turns out I have sleep apnea (I have since learned how dangerous this is), and now I am in my first few days of trying out a c-pap machine at home.

So far, I find it interferes with my sleep, though it is giving me increasingly better and better sleep scores. But sometimes I feel like it is suffocating me, and every night I discover I have pulled it off and thrown it aside.

Every single time I have mentioned getting a c-pap machine to someone, it turns out that they or their partner also use one! Who knew this was so common?

So anyone else here using a c-pap? Care to share your experience?

I am seriously banking on this being life changing for me. Was it for you?

[Steve Miller]

I have one. It seemed OK at first but the longer I have it the more it annoys me.

It also breaks a lot. They bring me a loner right away and fix the old one but every few months it has to go back out for repair. One it goes out of warranty I’m not sure I’ll keep it.

Is my sleep any better? I really can’t say. The charts say It is.

[pique]

Thanks, Steve. (Sleep score 92 this morning! Up from 50. Woohoo! Except I can't say I feel more rested. Is this some kind of gimmick?)

What brand machine do you have?

This thing is kind of amazing. It turns itself on and off automatically, and it uses cell service to send all my sleep statistics to the hospital. It pre-heats the hose, and also automatically monitors and adjusts humidity.

Yeah when they told me the warranty is up in two years, it gave me pause. Medicare is paying for the whole thing, but after the warranty is up repairs will be on me.

[Big_Al]

I have been using a CPAP machine for quite a few years now with good success. I use the nasal pillows because I have a full beard that would interfere with sealing a full mask.

I was suffering from increased daytime drowsiness that was interfering with work and making me fearful of falling asleep at the wheel when driving home from work. My wife said that I sometimes stopped breathing entirely for short times at night, a fact that was probably apparent to her by interruptions in my snoring. I had discussed this with my PCP, who had been reluctant to do anything, but when my wife called him and told him that something had to be done because I could lose my job for sleeping at my desk, he finally ordered a sleep study and confirmed that I had sleep apnea. I was prescribed a CPAP machine and have been using it ever since.

It made an immediate difference in my daytime alertness and general feeling of well-being. If you continue to have difficulties adapting to using it, please discuss this with your prescriber. A change in hardware, pressure setting, or some other parameter might help. If your situation is anything like mine was, it's important to try to make it work.

Big Al

[CHAS]

My late friend Don used one for a while. I took it off in the night many times. He hated it.
I see numerous ads selling things that let people sleep well without the machines, but know nothing about them.

[jon-nyc]

Many people swear by them.

I tried one when I was listed for transplant. I didn’t really need it for sleep apnea, honestly they gave it to me mostly to increase my lung allocation score (you get points for mechanically assisted breathing) to get me transplanted quicker. The ostensible reason was to lower my blood CO2.

I couldn’t use it overnight because my mouth dried out too much, even with the humidifier set up. I ended up using it a few hours a day while awake.

[Steve Miller]

@pique

Mine is made by ResMed.

The biggest problem I have is with mask fit. My face is between sizes or something. Tried several styles and none of them will stay sealed. Maybe I should try again