CPAP users check in

[LynneSin]

I just got mine yesterday and boy is that thing bizarro to use. But I will admit that this morning when I woke up I didn't have the usually morning 'headache' that have on usual mornings (The "I didn't get enough sleep and there are fricking cobwebs in my brain" headache)

Anyone else use them - any thoughts on them?

[REP]

1. REMStar Set at 20 with Profile Lite Mask ("Petite")

But remember - women, especially young women - don't get sleep apnea :mad:

They can have mine when they pry it off my cold dead nose!

I also have a Fischer-Paykel heated humidifer; I aso have a passover humidifer (no, not kosher - the air just "passes over" the water) and either makes the whole experience easier to deal with, or at least for me, but I have a concha bullosa (one reason I need a CPAP!) and that way I don't get nosebleeds.

[LynneSin]

3. Fischer-Paykel is the unit that I have

It's actually the CPAP machine with humidfier all built in together. It's actually a brand new model because my respitory therapist kept apologizing for not being as knowledgeable but the unit was brand new. I had to go with the full face mask and you need a humidifier with it or else your mouth will be totally dried out. I pay rental on it for 6-9 months and if I'm still using it my insurance company will buy it outright.

I just have to get use to the sleeping - any suggestions for pillows that'll make it easier?

http://www.fphcare.com/osa/cpapi.asp - mine is the 233 model. Titration and humidifier!

[REP]

4. I Sleep On Three Down Pillows

I also have mild pulmonary edema (kidney failure) so I sleep on three pillows. I don't like the full-face masks, but I have a small nose so they never fit right. I'm a side sleeper, so I just drape my hose over the side and sleep. I adjusted immediately, but I has an 02 sat of 60% at dx (that is very, very bad) and I never got past Phase 1 sleep until I became a hosehead 7 years ago.

[HamstersFromHell]

10. REMStar Pro 2 C-Flex with heater/humidifier set at 16

does wonders for me, but even after 2 years I still haven't adjusted to where I can deal with it regularly. Even with full heat and humidity, it still dries my nose out so badly that I can only use it every other night or less often.

I also had an o2 of 60%...my sleep study only went about 90 minutes minus a CPAP. They saw the problem immediately and wanted to see how well they could treat it on the hose. According to them, worked great (slept very well the rest of the night of the study), just still can't get adapted. :(

Mine is evidently from having wisdom teeth removed (added to 50lbs. overweight). As I fall asleep, my jaw relaxes and slides back, obstructing my windpipe.

[REP]

12. You Have To Get On Your Respiratory Therapist's Ass

There's no reason to be uncomfortable with a CPAP. For anyone who doesn't know what a concha bullosa is, it's an enlargement of the middle (and in my case, lower and superior) turbinates in the nose, which means I have a hard time breathing through my nose anytime! (I also have very small airways and some other anatomic weirdness.) I was in the RT's office every day until she just gave a bonus pack of masks and for me, the Profile works. You really got to keep on them to get something that works for you, since using the CPAP every single night is SO important.

Check out cpapman.com. You don't have to buy from him (though his prices are great) but he has pictures and descriptions of everything, and he's always glad to answer questions.

In addition to ther full-face masks that I hate, the nose masks I love, there's a new sort of ADAMs circuit (nasal pillows) that my Mom *loves* (she has more usual apnea).

[HamstersFromHell]

14. Mine's just a humidity thing, I suspect.

I had a nurse friend give me a steroid nasal spray sample and it helped a bit, but didn't eliminate it completely.

I have Lynne's problem, so they've pretty much "calibrated" it to supply more air than I can leak when I start mouth breathing. The REMStar adjusts to that wonderfully. During the study, they only had a non-ramping CPAP, and it did take me a long while to finally get to sleep with the constant pressure...very uncomfortable. No such problem with the REMStar, I fall right out and sleep very well. I just awake with my nose totally clogged, which often doesn't clear up for a day or two.

My nurse friend suggested trying a saline nasal spray before bed, but I haven't gotten around to doing that. At the moment, going back to the RT is out of the question, thanks for Chimpy's "jobless recovery", I'm just now going back to work after 9 months w/o a job (or insurance).

I can't remember the mask I'm using, but it is nose only, and quite comfortable. If I can stop the nose clogging, I'd be set.

[REP]

17. When You Get Your DME Coverage Back, Ask About a BiPap

BiPAPs decrease pressure for exhalation, which may ease the problem. If it's not the mask, it's the machine. I'm very lucky in a way that my apnea was so bad (black outs, hallucinations) because I had 0 adjustment to the pressure. I just needed a mask that wouldn't cause blisters on my face (ouch!).

I'm so used to mine that I can hold a conversation with mine on, which freaked out the RT when I was in the hospital being pumped full of morphine. I have my ramp set to 20 just in case I ever push it by mistake!

[HamstersFromHell]

20. The REMStar I have does that

It's set for somewhere around 4-6 when I'm nose breathing. As their own info describes it, it adjusts for each breath you take, and how you breathe. Almost not there at all when I'm breathing normally, but if I open my mouth, it ramps right up to compensate. Exhaling either through my nose or mouth is very easy, no fighting the pressure on anything, as it senses and adjusts accordingly.

I'd love to continue this convo, but now i've gotta jump to get ready to leave for work. Shoot me an PM if you like, so the conversation don't get buried with the thread. :)

:toast:

[Joe_VB]

2. I got mine 6 months ago........It's changed my life.

[REP]

5. Hard To Believe, Isn't It?

They sure ain't sexy, but I literally cannot sleep without one. Good thing I have two!

[LynneSin]

6. I have no intentions of travelling with mine

My apnea is only mild (like 25 episodes per hour) and my titration is at 5. The fact that I don't have the cobwebs in the head feeling this morning is great, but I still didn't sleep well last night because damnit, it's so fricking uncomfortable. When I woke up in the morning I had already ripped off the mask

[REP]

7. Get Another Mask, Then, Woman!

Those full-face masks SUCK. Get a Profile Lite. Have them size your nose. They're a LOT easier to use. I don't even notice mine.

Oh, and not using your CPAP, even with a low pressure (which only indicates the pressure needed to keeo your airway open, not severity of apnea) can cause stroke, heart attack and/or death. Just tellin' ya.

[LynneSin]

8. They tried all the nose stuff but the problem is um, well...

...I tend to breath through my mouth alot at nights. I would literally make a snoring noise because the air was being pushed through my nose and out my mouth

:eyes:

I don't travel that often and I've made it almost 40 years without a CPAP. ALthough I plan on using it every single night I think I will survive a few nights a year without. It was mild apnea that I have plus with the weight I'm losing, it should help out tremendously

[REP]

9. Your Choice

I, too, was a mouthbreather. Concha bullosa. Big one.

I was also told I was "too young, too thin and too female" to have sleep apnea (I was 33 by the time I finally found a competent doctor and was blacking out randomly - including behind the wheel).

Hope it works out for you. :hi:

[LynneSin]

11. I hope so too

I had no energy during the day which would make me even more inactive at nights which added weight which affected my sleeping more with apnea. You see the vicious cycle I got myself into.

I would suspect that I'll be traveling about 2 weeks over the period of a year. I'll probably take it with me when I go to my parents house but only because I think they both could use a CPAP - they're both horrible snorers!! But like when we go to DC for the protest, I have enough stuff to pack without lugging that thing along.

[REP]

13. My Old One Weighs About 16 Pounds

And it's LOUD! and BIG! I love my REMStar because it's so tiny and quiet and only weighs about 7 pounds - fits in an overnight bag nicely. My old one stays at the Loved One's place. It's loud, but it's not as loud as my snoring.

After I was finally dx'd, I made my Mom get tested, and sure enough, she has it too. We all have strangely configured airways ... weird, since we're all quite good singers! She also has an O2 concentrator, but she has a pulmonary fibroma from mold exposure. I always refer to it as her "lung fungus."

[LynneSin]

15. Mine is a tiny little unit and it'a an all-in-one CPAP/Humidifer

I just have to get use to this thing. It's one thing if I travel to my parents house, but I when I vacation I barely have enough room in my suitcase, plus I'm planning some camping trip so I definately can't take it along

[REP]

19. The New Ones Are So Cute!

And yes, you can camp with one. If interested, see cpapman.com for accessories for camping. (My idea of camping is somewhere without room service, so I've never actually needed any of them!)

[LynneSin]

21. THe secret of camping is to keep the backpack light enough for treks

It's not going. This is good enough for what I have, but 7lbs on a camping trip (which we would be backpacking for about 25 miles), the last thing you want is an extra 7lbs

[REP]

22. All I Know Is The Site With The Goods

If I ever lose my mind and hike and camp, though, I'll keep it in mind ... though I live in bear territory, so even then, I'd better bring mine! Until then, I'll be "camping" somewhere with AC and plumbing!

[HamstersFromHell]

16. That was my problem...

No energy, and I could fall asleep literally anywhere. Did it at a client's office one time waiting for software to install (and yes, he called the boss to bitch), and that, along with a past g/f telling me I scared the hell out of her when I quit breathing at night over and over, got me off my duff and into the pulmonologist's office.

[REP]

18. Blacking Out On The Highway Was a Clue

Actually, I knew I had it; I never slept for more than 20 minutes; I had hypnopompic hallucinations (which are just freaking weird) and I would black out bam! with no warning frequently, often in midsentence. Plus the neighbors across the street were complaining about my snoring, and my Loved One was torn between fearing for my life and wanting to take my life (snoring, again). Took a while - and a cross country move - to find a doctor who was willing to believe that a young woman could have sleep apnea (and it is turned out, the worst they had seen at that hospital - go figger).