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Sleep apnea / cpap?
- Post starter barefoot
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Diamond Member
:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:!!! Sorry, barefoot. You made me burst out in loud laughter! That only happens when I am playing with the puppy. Oh! My! I totally relate to your frustration. I can just hear your choice words breaking into the darkness of night only to air-gurgle over the stream of forced air!! Ha! Ha! Isn't that the strangest experience ever!!??:woot::wideeyed: I really am sorry that you have to go through the stage of frustration with the mask. If the full mask does not work for you are you able to try the nose buds? If it is a concern that your mouth will open during the night, there is a light chin strap than can be worn to keep the lips from parting. I know you didn't mean to, but thanks for the laugh! I think I can tackle the shampooing of the bedroom rug now. :joyful:
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barefoot
Diamond Member
Glad to be of service! :happy:
The sleep clinic only do full face masks, so I didn’t have an option of nose buds through them. I could always buy one but think I will keep trying this one for a little while longer before I give up on it. They are calling me at the end of the week to check in, so I’ll see if they have any advice for me then.
Happy shampooing! :)
The sleep clinic only do full face masks, so I didn’t have an option of nose buds through them. I could always buy one but think I will keep trying this one for a little while longer before I give up on it. They are calling me at the end of the week to check in, so I’ll see if they have any advice for me then.
Happy shampooing! :)
I'm a side and stomach sleeper, so the hard plastic dig into my skin and I wake up looking like I had been in a cat fight as I'd litterally have bloody scratches on my face.
I ended up with a cloth mask by sleep weaver. I took to it like a duck to water.
The odd part was that it didn't nothing for my sleep quality. I definitely had apnea and the people around me started to sleep much better, but it was like sleep without sleeping. 5 years later, through trial and error, I stumbled on a anti-seizure med that allows me nourishing sleep. I kind of regret not being more persistent, but then many of the doctors I went to did more harm than good.
I also recommend getting a UPS. I use a 12V Lithium Ion battery that is perfect for travel, etc., but it will ride you through power outages and such. You'll wake up and pull of the mask in a power failure, but this way you don't need to worry.
I ended up with a cloth mask by sleep weaver. I took to it like a duck to water.
The odd part was that it didn't nothing for my sleep quality. I definitely had apnea and the people around me started to sleep much better, but it was like sleep without sleeping. 5 years later, through trial and error, I stumbled on a anti-seizure med that allows me nourishing sleep. I kind of regret not being more persistent, but then many of the doctors I went to did more harm than good.
I also recommend getting a UPS. I use a 12V Lithium Ion battery that is perfect for travel, etc., but it will ride you through power outages and such. You'll wake up and pull of the mask in a power failure, but this way you don't need to worry.
whiteraven
Diamond Member
What is a UPS?
@barefoot wondering how you are doing? I just noticed this thread, so I wanted to add some thoughts. I have severe sleep apnea and have had a CPAP for several years. They started me out with the full face mask, but I absolutely could not wear it. I tried out a few different kinds, and finally settled on nasal pillows. They are very soft and fit gently into your nose. I get good suction, so I don't lose air and they are completely unobtrusive so I can lay in just about any position comfortably. As a side note, they also don't freak my cats out like the full face mask did. LOL
whiteraven
Diamond Member
Ah...ok. Thanks!
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- #20
barefoot
Diamond Member
Thanks for your posts @PiggyBack and @whiteraven
I'm almost two months in and I still hate it and still feel that I am having more disruptive sleep using the CPAP than I was before. I'm not stopping breathing or snoring when I'm using the CPAP (so these are good things). I also haven't had a night terror since using it and have had about three hallucinations in the whole time - I would often have two or three hallucinations a week. I have mixed feelings about that aspects of things but that's probably something for another thread!
Aside from the main bonus of not snoring when I use it, I just feel so fed up with it and that things are worse than before. I'm waking up so much in the night then have to mess around with the machine each time because then the pressure is too high for me to comfortably get back to sleep again and air is then whooshing so noisily etc. So I feel way more conscious about waking in the night and then having to make an effort to get back to sleep again than I was before.
I haven't yet managed to keep it on for the whole night. I'm probably averaging about 4.5 hours a night - a few times it's been as little as 1.5 hours and I think my record has been 6 hours. Sometimes I turn it off or take the mask off in the night without realising I've done it. Other times I just get so furious with it because I'm awake again and it's hindering me getting back to sleep, so I take it off and then can get comfortable and fall asleep again without it.
I'm still really struggling with not being able to get comfortable laying on my side. So, perhaps another sort of mask is worth a try. I can't get any other sort of mask from the sleep clinic (NHS) so would have to buy one.
@whiteraven I like the sound of the nasal pillows as think they sound way less intrusive. Wondering though what happens if you breathe though your mouth? Aside from not being able to find a comfortable side sleeping position, my other biggest challenge with this bloody thing at the moment is that my nose is getting so blocked so I then have to resort to mouth breathing but then my throat gets really sore and dry and then I wake up choking! I'm using a nasal spray before I go to bed at night to try to keep my nose clear - and I even recently got a stronger one from my GP. And I have the CPAP humidifier on. But I keep coming up against this problem. When my nose is completely blocked, I have no choice but to breathe through my nose...but then that causes other problems with my throat. I'm thinking that nasal pillows may not work as the air going up my nose would cause loads of congestion but if I then open my mouth, the mask wouldn't work properly as air would leak? I've heard of people using nasal mask and then taping their mouth shut or buying a chin strap to keep their mouth closed but they're not options for me - firstly, because it doesn't solve the problem of me being too blocked up to breathe and secondly because even the mere thought of having my mouth forcibly closed is very anxiety-making for me.
Bah! Sorry...long old moan here. I'm just so fed up and wish I'd never gone to the sleep clinic in the first place!
I'm almost two months in and I still hate it and still feel that I am having more disruptive sleep using the CPAP than I was before. I'm not stopping breathing or snoring when I'm using the CPAP (so these are good things). I also haven't had a night terror since using it and have had about three hallucinations in the whole time - I would often have two or three hallucinations a week. I have mixed feelings about that aspects of things but that's probably something for another thread!
Aside from the main bonus of not snoring when I use it, I just feel so fed up with it and that things are worse than before. I'm waking up so much in the night then have to mess around with the machine each time because then the pressure is too high for me to comfortably get back to sleep again and air is then whooshing so noisily etc. So I feel way more conscious about waking in the night and then having to make an effort to get back to sleep again than I was before.
I haven't yet managed to keep it on for the whole night. I'm probably averaging about 4.5 hours a night - a few times it's been as little as 1.5 hours and I think my record has been 6 hours. Sometimes I turn it off or take the mask off in the night without realising I've done it. Other times I just get so furious with it because I'm awake again and it's hindering me getting back to sleep, so I take it off and then can get comfortable and fall asleep again without it.
I'm still really struggling with not being able to get comfortable laying on my side. So, perhaps another sort of mask is worth a try. I can't get any other sort of mask from the sleep clinic (NHS) so would have to buy one.
@whiteraven I like the sound of the nasal pillows as think they sound way less intrusive. Wondering though what happens if you breathe though your mouth? Aside from not being able to find a comfortable side sleeping position, my other biggest challenge with this bloody thing at the moment is that my nose is getting so blocked so I then have to resort to mouth breathing but then my throat gets really sore and dry and then I wake up choking! I'm using a nasal spray before I go to bed at night to try to keep my nose clear - and I even recently got a stronger one from my GP. And I have the CPAP humidifier on. But I keep coming up against this problem. When my nose is completely blocked, I have no choice but to breathe through my nose...but then that causes other problems with my throat. I'm thinking that nasal pillows may not work as the air going up my nose would cause loads of congestion but if I then open my mouth, the mask wouldn't work properly as air would leak? I've heard of people using nasal mask and then taping their mouth shut or buying a chin strap to keep their mouth closed but they're not options for me - firstly, because it doesn't solve the problem of me being too blocked up to breathe and secondly because even the mere thought of having my mouth forcibly closed is very anxiety-making for me.
Bah! Sorry...long old moan here. I'm just so fed up and wish I'd never gone to the sleep clinic in the first place!
littleoc
VIP Member
Two months of adjusting! Hm... I want you to get good sleep, but does anyone know if the chances of getting used to a CPAP can happen after this amount of time?
Still wishing you luck in figuring this all out!
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- #22
whiteraven
Diamond Member
I suspect if it's taking that long with serious issues then another visit to the sleep doctor is warranted. There are so many options that discussion with the doc and experimentation should eventually reveal *something* that works.
Whinge away.... It's good to vent and I can always skim a post.
It really sounds like your mask isn't working for you. I'd hunt around. I had similar difficulties when I first got my machine, but I hacked the machine (google for it) and started to adjust the pressures and such until I was comfortable.
I remember the hissing noise that the mask made. It really bothered me as well. Take a look at: "Sleep Weaver Nasal Mask". $50 US. I have a backup, but I'm still on my first mask after... 4 years, maybe. I just keep gluing it back together.
btw, different masks will need different pressures. I needed to bump up a notch for the sleep weaver.
My machine is auto, so it will increase the pressure if I'm not breathing well. It bothers me when I wake up, but I just turn the machine off and on to get back to the original pressure.
The masks cost a small fortune, but you can find a ton of stuff on craigslist, so you can try a number of them on the cheap. (wash with a mild chlorine solution). I had a small and growing collection going until I found the sleep weaver.
Good luck.
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