Sleep apnea and c-pap machines--experiences?
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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
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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
@Steve-Miller said in Sleep apnea and c-pap machines--experiences?:
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
I don't have a mask. It's just nasal pillows that fit against my nose. The seal is pretty easy to accomplish, though it took me a few nights to get the hang of it.
Can you go back to the medical supply company and ask to try a different setup--i.e. no mask?
One issue with forgoing the mask is that you have to keep your mouth closed, because there is no seal around it. I'm finding that is hard for me (especially since I had a hard blow to my nose on Friday with lots of bleeding, so a bit stuffed up), so I am going to use tape to close my mouth. Nothing fancy or expensive, just hypoallergenic medical tape. You apply it vertically in the middle of your lips so that you can still breathe through your mouth if you have to, or take a sip of water.
Woohoo! My sleep score this morning was 100!
My brain was so clear. I sat down to write at 6:30 am and got an idea for a new book. And I got my words back (Mr Pique has been saying for a while that my nouns are missing.) My inability to focus has been plaguing me for a very long time now, so fingers crossed this is going to be my ticket out of brain fog hell. I think it also helped that I got in a long, hard hike yesterday.My model is by React Health. It seems to be pretty state-of-the-art.
Wondering if Medicare considers these machines to have a limited life span and if they will replace the machine at that point?
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@Steve-Miller said in Sleep apnea and c-pap machines--experiences?:
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
I don't have a mask. It's just nasal pillows that fit against my nose. The seal is pretty easy to accomplish, though it took me a few nights to get the hang of it.
Can you go back to the medical supply company and ask to try a different setup--i.e. no mask?
One issue with forgoing the mask is that you have to keep your mouth closed, because there is no seal around it. I'm finding that is hard for me (especially since I had a hard blow to my nose on Friday with lots of bleeding, so a bit stuffed up), so I am going to use tape to close my mouth. Nothing fancy or expensive, just hypoallergenic medical tape. You apply it vertically in the middle of your lips so that you can still breathe through your mouth if you have to, or take a sip of water.
Woohoo! My sleep score this morning was 100!
My brain was so clear. I sat down to write at 6:30 am and got an idea for a new book. And I got my words back (Mr Pique has been saying for a while that my nouns are missing.) My inability to focus has been plaguing me for a very long time now, so fingers crossed this is going to be my ticket out of brain fog hell. I think it also helped that I got in a long, hard hike yesterday.My model is by React Health. It seems to be pretty state-of-the-art.
Wondering if Medicare considers these machines to have a limited life span and if they will replace the machine at that point?
@pique said in Sleep apnea and c-pap machines--experiences?:
Wondering if Medicare considers these machines to have a limited life span and if they will replace the machine at that point?
They do at some point. I'm on my third machine right now. I got my first one through my health insurance while I was still working. It was a Phillips Respironic that was subject of a recall. By that time I was on Medicare and had to get a new sleep study before I could get a replacement, which was a ResMed. The humidifier on that one failed a few months ago out of warranty and I got a replacement ResMed but had to pay the usual Medicare medical equipment copay. I was cautioned that if it had been much longer (10 years?) that I might have had to get yet another sleep study.
I'm glad to hear you're now having some success.
Big Al
