My wife was concerned she’d be kept awake by the noise from the machine, but she got used to it pretty quick. And it’s a lot less loud than my snoring without the machine.
My boyfriend has been using the same machine since spring of 2010 and it has never once come even close to interrupting my sleep. It’s so quiet that occasionally I have to check to make sure he’s actually wearing it (I can’t see it without my glasses so I feel his head for the strap).
Mine was so silent that your had to feel for the air flow to ensure it was on.
SWMBO and I both love my CPAP machine. Although she says it’s kinda like sleeping with Darth Vader, it’s a damn sight better than sleeping with someone who snores like a warthog in heat. We are both sleeping better.
Funny, I allways thought Mrs Vorlon sounded like the Concorde at V1…
[pulls yoke back, “Rotate!”]
I can’t sleep without my Dream Engine.
I run at high pressure, typically around 17 cm of water (they had to set the maximum limit higher on mine). I need the full face mask, with the straps pretty tight so it doesn’t lift off my face from the pressure. My index was 74 events per hour before I got it. The difference is huge.
My favorite tip: keep wide masking tape on your bedside table and de-lint your face before putting the mask on to get rid of cat hair and other ticklers.
Mrs. Napier calls me Darth Vader. I definitely think I look more like the end stage John Wayne than a fighter pilot.
I hope I am not blogging here. But this story just goes on (and on and on).
I called my friend in the US. I asked her is she had a way to ship a CPAP to me outside of the normal FedEx route (putting it on our company’s dime). She did, and she already has. She has sent me her near-new machine that her husband never used.
I swear people will just give you these things if you ask.
Oh, the Rx came in today. I am a “16.”
Okay, we won’t call it a portable iron lung.
After the first night my wife had her CPAP at home, a nurse called to see how it went and I said she seemed to sleep fine, and the nurse said “heck with that, how did YOU sleep?” Previously, my wife had been snoring loudly enough to give me a headache, let alone keep me awake all night…
Good for you.
Wow, I’m a 5, I must be a wimp.
What number are you folks comparing? Sleep index? With or without the machine? Pressure? Something else?
Pressure.
Pressure, in cm of water.
Most CPAP machines can put out from 4 to 25 cm H2O. BiPAPs can go a bit higher, but I know our sleep lab will usually switch to BiPAP ar 20cm for patient comfort.
They could duct-tape a leaf-blower to the face.
I need one, did the test, 60+ events per hour.
BUT … I could not get used to it, my problem was the slightly warm moist air it generated, I have always had a problem with warm air blowing into my face 
and after a while I just had to rip it off and breath cold air. 
Of course without the moisture I end up with a dry, sore, mouth and throat.
Any Advice?
One option is passover humidification, where the pressurized air will be passed over the humidifier reservoir, but no heat will be added. It won’t get as much moisture into the air as the heated settings, but it will be more than if you don’t use a humidifier at all.
As far as I (and my sleep tech wife) know, they don’t make any chillers for PAP…not the least reason being that cooling the air would probably cause the water to condense in the tubing on its way to you.
Another option, if the problem is air blowing on your face, may be to try nasal pillows (if you haven’t already). Rather than a mask around your nose (or nose and mouth), the nasal pillows press up against your nostrils, kinda like an overgrown oxygen cannula.
I’ve heard they’ll pay for a replacement machine every 5 years or so but obviously that varies by policy. You might be able to get them to at least make the purchase in-network (so you get the in-network price from the DME provider), even if they won’t actually cover it.
And yeah: quiet-wise, the newer ones are a complete non-issue. I can barely hear Typo Knig’s machine (and he can barely hear mine), it’s honestly less noisy than the household background noise.
:::snerk::: I made** Typo Knig** get a sleep study because his snoring was getting so bad.
He doesn’t think the CPAP makes a difference in how he feels, but I sure sleep better :D.
This is the nasal pillow both my husband and I use. It’s easy to clean, doesn’t blow in your face and doesn’t leak as long as you use the right size pillow. It comes with 3 sizes.
BTW, for anyone who doesn’t know, C-PAP stands for Continuous positive airway pressure.
As for reliability, I’ve had mine for 3 years with nary a problem. My husband has had the same model for 3.5 years and has had to have it replaced 4 times. He has a different model now. I think the problem with his is, he sleeps at the fire station 9 days a month, so, it had to travel often. Mine never leaves the night stand.
You and I have the same mask. Only thing I don’t love about it is that because the headgear is so minimal, the weight of he hose can pull it out of alignment. A quick semi-conscious jiggle and all is well.
I’ve got a REMStar System One (Phillips Respironics) machine. Only “problem” I’ve had is that it doesn’t write to the card properly - I have to remove / re-insert the card to get it to write. Then it doesn’t write anything additional until I remove / re-insert. My model is 2 years old, and there’s a newer one out there (which posed some annoyance when I had to switch DME providers: they sent me the wrong replacement reservoir at first).
That is the mask I use, plus a strap to make sure my mouth doesn’t open while sleeping.