IF it works, it’s awesome. My husband, despite several months over several years of real effort, has not been able to adjust to his CPAP, so he doesn’t wear it. My father hasn’t been able to adjust to his, so he drinks enough booze every night to knock himself out so he can tolerate it. Neither of these approaches are recommended, but they’re the kind of thing that happens a lot when none of the mask designs work for a person. Both of them are more bothered by the cumbersome masks (yes, even the nose pillows) and tubing than they are by the air blowing up their noses. So something like this might very well work.
My biggest question with this new device is hydration. CPAPs have water reservoirs so the air is humidified. Blowing dry air at high pressure is a recipe for nosebleeds. I don’t see how this is going to humidify the air.
nate is right that SOME sleep study centers are scam central. So are some wheelchair places, and many motorized scooter places and quite a few wheelchair lift places. Fraudulent services and billing in durable medical goods is a very real problem. But that doesn’t mean all sleep studies are bogus, or that a great many people don’t really truly need a CPAP.
Edit: Also, camping. Oh, wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to camp in a tent again, away from an electrical outlet! I know there are a few battery operated CPAPs, but they’re really expensive and not covered by insurance.
I’m waiting for my PCP and Medicare to figure how to get a CPAP to me.
I strongly suspect that this device will either end up with straps or be unable to generate adequate pressure. I ain’t gonna glue one on. See Lancia’s post above. Just how wiil it be able to adjust to different nostril sizes and shapes without being too uncomfortable for sleep?
If a a pack of 5 were the $50, I’d toss it in the shopping cart just out of curiosity.
But yeah, as the funding shows there are a bunch of geezers (and a few younger folks) who have a need but don’t like CPAP
I had a home sleep study first, then they ordered a clinic study. Apparently I was stopping breathing nine times an hour. From what I understand, this is very mild.
My sleep study was also unpleasant. I was so worried I could not get to sleep, that I kept myself up for over an hour. Then I was awoken at 5.
The study did determine I had sleep apnea. This was no surprise as my parents both have it. I snore. I was waking up with headaches. I had gone from sleeping like a corpse to waking up 4 or 5 times a night for no apparent reason.
My second study (to determine what pressure I needed etc) went better.
It’s now been about 2 months since I’ve been using my BiPap. I have a full nose and mouth mask. I sleep much better and wake up refreshed. I haven’t had a problem with the hose getting tangled. The only problem I’ve experienced when sleeping with my girlfriend is when I forget how much the mask protrudes and bop her with it while snuggling.
I would not use the new device because it has no hydration mechanism, and I sometime breathe through my mouth when sleeping.
Has anyone ever gone for a sleep study and found out they did NOT have apnea? I’m not being cynical (or not JUST cynical); I’m just curious. Because I have never heard anyone say they did this.
Good question. I never saw a sleep study MD, just techs and nurses, so I really never got an “official” diagnosis. That’s something I will follow up on.
I use a nasal pillow too and I’d wear this if it were available. However, I’m not going to hold my breath.
My concerns would be: lack of a humidifier, cost and tracking the effectiveness of the device. My unit (like most) has an SD card which I can read with my SleepyHead software and I can see my apneas, leaks etc. I’m not sure how this would work with a small disposable unit.
I’m certainly not overly trusting of the medical community, but because a sleep study can cost from hundreds to several thousand dollars, takes a couple of days of the patient’s time (at least for me - I had to take off work following each test), and CPAP as a treatment has a high non-compliance rate, I doubt doctors order the test unless there’s reasonable evidence of a sleep disorder. It’s not like it’s a 50/50 chance when you go in.
I have friends that use a deep marine battery (or something like that) when they are camping away from electrictiy. I am sure you could google it and find out how to do this.
I think most of the CPAP machines (at least ResMeds) are already 12 volt. The “brick” between the wall socket and the machine is a transformer. They work quite well on a 12V (car) battery; Only the water-tank heater needs house current. I bought the adapter (really just bypasses the brick) cheaply on cpap.com and it works great.
I use mine when spending the night on my boat. So far I’ve been able to start the engine in the mornings even after running the CPAP all night. (I have no generator so it’s only batteries while anchored)
Answering one of the questions above: I asked the folks at my sleep study what percentage of patients were found to have apnea. They said it was roughly 85%.
To the OP: Good luck. It took me a long time to accept the need for the machine. It really is worth it once you get used to it. My wife had no problem with my new cyborg headgear, but my dog freaked the hell out when I sat up wearing it.
It happened to me. I went for a sleep study in the middle of my final year of pharmacy school because of complaints of constant daytime sleepiness, and difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, after 3-4 different sedative hypnotics were tried and stopped working after only a short period of time of use. They didn’t find anything, including apnea.
The problem went away a few months later at any rate…when I got my license in the mail for the Board of Pharmacy. Despite swearing up and down that I wasn’t stressed about passing my boards prior to that point, the fact that my issues cleared up once that stressor was gone pretty much told me what my problem had been.
If a person finds that their mouth falls open when sleeping with a CPAP, first we suggest they try sleeping on their side, and if that doesn’t work, we recommend a chin strap that cradles the chin and secures with velcro to keep the mouth closed.
No, oxygen is not a better solution. Oxygen is used when the air’s oxygen getting into your lungs isn’t crossing the alvelolar membrane and getting into the blood enough, usually because of damaged alveloli or excess mucus deep deep in the lungs. Oxygen in that case increases the percent of oxygen in the air you’re breathing, giving your body more opportunities to take in oxygen molecules with each breath.
With obstructive sleep apnea, oxygen isn’t the problem - getting the air into the lungs is the problem. Obstructive sleep apnea means that a bit of tissue, usually at the back of the throat, is falling and obstructing the airway. Put them on oxygen, and it still can’t get past the obstruction. A CPAP blows, with pressure, adjusted to the level of pressure that person needs to literally blow the airway open and move that obstruction out of the way.
Get a balloon. Lightly hold the neck with your fingers gently touching through the layers. Blow in gently. Doesn’t inflate, does it? That’s obstructive sleep apnea with oxygen therapy. Blow harder, feel the balloon neck open up against the pressure, and the air will go in the balloon. That’s a CPAP.
I don’t know what a “nasal coagulant” is (I mean, I do, but I don’t think you’re suggesting we put QuikClot up your nose.) Did your autocorrect miscorrect “cannula”? The answer there is the same - you can’t put the same level of pressure through a nasal cannula. The air just hits the obstruction, reverses direction and blows out the openings of the nostrils, instead of going down the throat and opening the airway. The CPAP mask or nasal pillows seal off the device and uses higher pressure, so the air has nowhere to go but into your lungs.
