Cpap

Mick Doobie

Resist We Much
Yep, I picked one up today.....CPAP, continuous positive air pressure, I reckon it stands for...for good sleepies.

Anyone else here have any experience with this contraption they'd care to share?

I'm hoping it is worth all the hype. I may use this space to keep somewhat of a diary to document my experience, for myself, and for others who are contemplating or going through the process to get one. Heck, why not, nobody much else is using this space.

sweet dreams, off for a nap....
 
I don't use one, but many of my patients do. It helps them breathe appropriately during sleep, and there's usually some adjustments that need to be made by our respiratory team. I find that many of the patients prefer to bring their own devices into the hospitals, as opposed to using the huge/fancy ones we carry. In fact, one lady yesterday refused to wear ours and used only her O2 at 4L while sleeping. But, go with whatever your phys told you to do. Hopefully you'll get some good sleep with it.

Which model?
 
lol

No, any experience would be applicable and useful. Like, say, if your boyfriend (not that there's anything wrong with that) uses one, did it help him sleep, does he still keep you awake with his snoring? Does he no longer stop breathing during sleep?

Model is ResSense AirSense 10 Auto. Gave it a test run for a few hours. It will definitely take some getting used to. I have the apparatus that fits only over the nose. I thought I would try that one first. I have facial hair, so I am not sure the one over that fits over the mouth and nose would seal properly. It is currently set to automatically adjust positive air pressure. My insurance gave the run around about having the sleep study performed at a sleep facility, which would have allowed for a sleep specialist to adjust the air pressure to a constant flow suited specifically for me. The constant (automatic) adjusting seems to take my breath away, for lack of a better term, and inhibit a complete exhale. I typically sleep on my side. I tried sleeping on my back, but as I said, exhaling seemed odd. I turned on my side, but if the "mask" touched my pillow there was some leakage of air around the mask.

Did I sleep? Well, yes. The wife said I did not snore. Dunno. I'll keep using it.
 
EZwilly said:
Sure. I had a fat friend that was a heavy smoker that used one before he died. Not sure if it worked or not but he did die in his sleep, so take that for what it's worth. I'd ask him if he weren't so dead.

That'd be kind of tough, wouldn't it. However, there is no harm in asking, yeah? What are friends for?

He died while wearing the CPAP thing? :eek: sheesh

I think even thin people can snore and experience sleep apnea, My weight fluctuates, always has. I am 6' tall, and currently weigh around 210-212lbs. That is approaching my top weight. I should weigh around 190, maybe even 185....180? So yeah, losing weight would be helpful. A year ago I weighed about 192lbs. And yes, I smoke heavily at times. For the most part I am a pack a day smoker. I should stop. I drink beer, not everyday, but heavily at times....approx 24-36 beers a week, mostly on weekends. I rarely drink liquor, perhaps a shot now and then. It has been a near constant habit/lifestyle since late teens, and will likely contribute to my death. I eat when I am hungry, what I want when I want. Meat, I prefer meat. I am also nuts about nuts. Nuts coincidentally go great with beer, so yeah. I enjoy cooking. So, I will often cook for folks on weekends. I drink beer while I cook. By the time I am ready to serve, I am often perfectly content opting for more beer and nuts rather than what I have cooked.

I snore like a motherfucker. A true champion.

I was recently diagnosed as having a Bifascicular Block, which in layman's terms basically means, of the three areas of the heart that receive an electrical impulse to operate properly, 2 of mine are blocked. It will likely result in early, sudden death. According to one study I read, I will more likely than not be dead within 10 years. I am currently 54. Rather asleep, awake, i'll never see it coming or know what hit me. I'm okay with that, I gotta be. Everybody gotta die of something at some time, I reckon. It does however cause me some concern for my wife. If I am being completely honest, and I am, I can't say I haven't had thoughts that she would be better off in the long run if I set her free to be with someone with whom she can grow old, while she is still young. But she loves me very much, she would not be easily convinced. After over 30 yrs by my side, I truly and thoroughly realize how blessed I am that she got to meet me. Har-har.

Sleep Apnea can have a negative impact on the heart, they say. So, who knows.

Maybe being completely honest and writing some of this shit down, and possibly taking the piss over it, it might influence me to make other positive changes in my life. I don't want to die, "young", but we were born and destined to it. Life is for living, but i'm not going to lie to myself that I have been completely respectful of the life and body I have been granted. I probably have near as many longtime close friends who are dead than living, the closest among them gone, which can cause one to at times question. Why, why them and not me? But, i'm still here.

I'm going to continue with the CPAP machine and report back.

Mods, I realize this isn't the place for a personal blog, so if you feel it is at any time inappropriate, i'll knock it off.

cheers, fellas
 
Mods, I realize this isn't the place for a personal blog, so if you feel it is at any time inappropriate, i'll knock it off.

No worries, it's fine here.

Next week I go in for surgery on my nose. Turns out i have the trifecta of nasal problems; deviated septum, enlarged turbanites and collapsed nasal valves. The insurance company will let them fix two of the three. I'm hoping it will improve my sleep.
 
Man, that sounds rough, Chili. Best of luck to you, brother. Hopefully it'll help. Breathing, it's kind of important, especially when one is trying to get a restful night's sleep. It sounds like you may possibly be in line for a CPAP sometime in the future. I personally am not thrilled with the prospect of wearing the damn thing for the remainder of my days, but if that's what it takes to approach a normal sleep, which has a major impact on quality of life during waking hours.....you know?

Insurance companies and hoops. I'm guessing they said they'll approve 2 of the 3, and if that doesn't do the job they'll approve you going back under again for a second surgery to get the third done? Seems in the long run it would save money having everything done in one surgery rather than multiple. That is unless the patient decides for whatever reason to not pursue further surgery and treatment in favor of leaving well enough alone. I don't want to go through surgery all over again. I guess it's better than it was, i'll just live with it. :rolleyes:

My insurance would not approve an in-house monitoring at a sleep study facility, I was approved for a home study. If that wasn't sufficient they would approve the in-house, presumably. The day before i was scheduled to pickup the monitor machine for the home study my wife called the insurance company to question the decision, the denial. They claimed no such denial, they were merely waiting on my doctor for further communication and paperwork. My wife called the doctor to inform them. When my doctor contacted the insurance company, that same day.....whoops, time had lapsed to dispute a denial. wtf? If there was no denial how could have time lapsed to dispute a denial? This all occurred within roughly a 2 week span from the time of my doctor seeking approval for the sleep study facility to the lapse in time allowed to dispute a denial. Ridiculous.

Anyway, good luck.
 
man, that sucked. no sleep. :facepalm:

Damn thing set on automatic adjustment of airflow.....at times it just blows like a hurricane. Air filling my nasal, then mouth, whole face. I have to open my mouth to let the air out. When I finally just pulled the mask off, it's blowing like crazy. It can't be correcting anything, i'm wide awake at the time.

Either it is malfunctioning, or, I don't know. If the insurance company would have approved the in-house sleep study facility, from what I understand they would have tested the correct amount of air to set on the machine specifically for my needs. After I finally took off the mask and would try to sleep the wife said I was not breathing.

i'm not giving up. I'll download the app this evening to see what the monitoring function indicates, if anything.
 
man, that sucked. no sleep. :facepalm:
.

One of my real good friends has one but I don't think he uses it that much and he snores A LOT! He's not real fat either and in not that bad of shape.

But if you're too fat, ya gotta fix that first. I know you said your weight fluctuates. Does your snoring coincide with weight gain or are there other factors? Are there times when you don't snore or when you get an exception night of quality sleep? You kind of need to work on the problem and use the machine at last resort I think. Not sure. Not sleeping well fucking sucks, though. I hope you find relief.
 
You got this on a prescription? Your physician should be able to write new settings for you, and the co. might be able to come out and reset it for you...
 
Just caught this. The science is in on those things. Your body will continue to revolt until you quit. You should.

+1,000.

I didn't want to mention this, because I can foresee the turmoil that might be looming, but I quit 5 years ago with an ecig after 15 years of nearly pack-a-day smoking. From 15-30 I smoked all the time. Now, my asthma is improved, I can smell and taste things again, and I'm not couching or having to catch my breath. It took me a couple years to fine tune my ecig preferences, but I'm very locked in to the groove now. Couldn't imagine taking a hit of those nasty things anymore. Stopping smoking also stopped my weekend drinking habits. Now, I barely have a drink a year.
 
If having facial hair is preventing a good seal... shave? Guess it depends on how important it is to you. But one of the friends I can think of who had a cpap had a beard and made it work for him, so it's not a requirement or anything.
 
RE: marriage. Love isn't something that can be turned on/off. Be grateful you found it, and receive it. It's inspiration to live to your fullest each day.
 
a bi pap machine may have been a better choice..when you try to inhale it blows at you high setting and then reverts back to the low setting as you exhale and until you inhale again..i think mine is set at 22/12..mine made a world of difference..i was falling asleep everywhere (driving included) before..been almost 5 years..
 
One of my real good friends has one but I don't think he uses it that much and he snores A LOT! He's not real fat either and in not that bad of shape.

But if you're too fat, ya gotta fix that first. I know you said your weight fluctuates. Does your snoring coincide with weight gain or are there other factors? Are there times when you don't snore or when you get an exception night of quality sleep? You kind of need to work on the problem and use the machine at last resort I think. Not sure. Not sleeping well fucking sucks, though. I hope you find relief.

Those things have modems in them now. Big bro is watching. You don't wear it often enough, the insurance company will take it and refuse further coverage.

My wife disagrees when I say it, but yeah, i'm fat. I'm not real fat, but should drop some weight. I snore no matter my weight. From what I understand, excess weight can contribute to snoring, but for others it can be anatomy. For me, that wiggly thing hanging in the back of my mouth, whatever it's called, it is on the large side, and my soft palate is on the large side & relaxes when I sleep. I'm not sure there is an exercise that would help strengthen things. There is a mouthpiece that is supposed to help with snoring, holds your mouth in a sort of an overbite position. Tried it, didn't work.

No matter what I have to use the machine, or lose my investment. I'm not even sure the cost yet. $400 the remainder of my deductible right off the top, and 20% of the "rental" payment for 12 months until it is paid for? By then i'll be back into a new year of full deductible. I have no idea, they'll bill me. There are also parts(filter, mouth/nosepiece, etc) that should be replaced periodically.
 
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