Forgot to mention:
A hose cosy is a MUST. My wife made one for me. It’s made of this black fuzzy stuff that makes the hose look like I’ve got a feather boa in my face. The thick, fuzzy damps the sound of the air rushing through the hose. It also gets rid of the noise caused by dragging the ridged hose over the head of the bed.
Same here - without a humidifier the dried boogers are bloody because my nose gets so dried out. I use the humidifier every night. I also need to moisturize the inside of my nose. I do this by rubbing Vaseline with a Q-Tip up in there every night and morning. Helps a lot. Sounds like high maintenance, but the CPAP is worth it. I travel fairly often for work and bring the CPAP with me.
Once you get used to the CPAP and its routine (and it does take time to get the routine down), it is definitely worth using it.
I have 4 brothers and we all sleep around 4-5 hrs nightly and functional during the day! I am the only one that was diagnosed with extreme sleep apnea. During a 6 hour test I stopped breathing a total of an hour! But, the doctor couldnt explain why I dont take naps during the day nor do I feel tired at work. I tried the CPAP machine for 3 months. I found that my sleep was not as deep and I was constantly dozing off during the day. My blood pressure is better than normal and so is my blood pressure. The only reason why I got tested because I was dating a nurse who actually stayed awake and watched me sleep and told me to get checked for sleep apmea! Now a doctor is trying to pull my commercial drivers license because I woudlnt use the CPAP! I thinks this is a cash grab!:o …oh one of my brothers who lives in AZ is an Ironman and he sleeps less than me!
I Have sleep apnea. I’ve been wearing a full face mask for years now, and I’m still not completely comfortable with it. I have a bipap machine, and my pressure is 20/12. I have other sleep problems, and spend most of my day tired as hell. Everyone told me that once I got on the mask it would be like night and day, I would sleep that much better. I have yet to experience this.
I had written earlier that I use Vaseline to moisturize the inside of my nose, but my doctor says it’s not recommended because Vaseline irritates mucous membranes and promotes their bleeding.
I tried the saline solution they make for CPAP users but I didn’t like it. My doc said to try KY Jelly, it’s safe for the nose (and for other uses). They make it in gel form and also in the more liquid form, and I much prefer the gel form, so I recommend that if your nose gets dry.
All I can say is keep trying. It took me several months to get used to it before I finally used it every night. Now I always use it, and I also bring mine when I travel. I sleep much better with it. The difference is very noticeable, and before being disgnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea I thought I slept fine and didn’t require naps during the day. Now I know better and I sleep much better. Many hotels don’t have plug outlets in convenient locations so I also bring a long extension cord. I just took a cruise and there are even fewer outlets on cruise ships.
Good luck to you, hotflungwok and Sleepless in Tdot and others. If you’ve been diagnosed and prescribed a CPAP from an overnight sleep study then you likely need it, and once you get used to it and find the right mask then you’ll sleep much better.
This. Well, the parts I excerpted to quote. We have had many identical experiences and lessons from this treatment.
To the OP, I offer encouragement to keep trying, as it made a huge difference to me. I was waking 74 times per hour and not dreaming, and in about 10 days of use things totally turned around for me.
I also wish I could design the right full face mask. The hose should depart from the top of my head, on the long axis of my body, and should not be able to pivot from side to side on my face. For some reason masks are usually designed as if we’re fighter pilots, as if we sleep upright. I also dislike the seemingly permanent depressions molded into my forehead from the pads there, as I do need the straps pretty tight for the farting and eye blowing issues. Perhaps if I did another round of mask hunting…
As a fellow CPAP user, I cannot stress enough how important it is that you find a mask that’s perfect for you. It makes all the difference in the world. Water should not be pooling up in your hose regardless of the ambient temperature. You should talk to your DME company about the choices of machines and masks offered. If they’re any good, they’ll let you keep trying masks until you find the right one.
I’ve gotten to the point that I find it uncomfortable to sleep without my mask.
Agreed, and seconded.
Bit of a zombie thread I guess and don’t know how the original OP is doing but I’ll add my two cents anyway…
I’ve been compliant with treatment via CPAP now for over 2 years and it changed my life. I was originally diagnosed in 2005 with severe OSA. To say I had a negative attitude about it was an understatement. I hated that I had it, I hated even the idea of having to wear a damn mask and being hooked up to a machine at night for the rest of my life. I mean c’mon! I was a good looking dude, in my mid-30’s. Fuck this shit, right? I tried to look into any possible alternative to CPAP, even went to an ENT for surgical options. I was willing to go through maxillomandibular advancement surgery over wearing a damn mask. Unfortunately, for the severity of my apnea oral appliances were not an option and I was not a candidate for surgical treatments (UPPP) and my HMO had protocols and you couldn’t just go get massive facial reconstructive surgery (maxillomandibular advancement). For me, looking for alternatives was really about denial of my problem and grasping for anything at all that was not wearing a damn mask. So relucatantly I visited the DME and took the CPAP they gave me. I could not adjust to the CPAP and the mask (full-face) but then again I honestly cannot say I gave it a real effort either. Like I said, mentally I was not accepting the situation and committing to treatment. It was total bullshit and I was pissed about it, right? Eventually I stopped using it all together and eventually turned the CPAP back in to the DME with a hearty “fuck it” to severe OSA.
Flash forward to 2010 and I’m miserable every day. I’m not sleeping well at all. I cannot get through a day without falling asleep. I don’t mean I was a little tired and would go take a cat-nap for 15 minutes. I mean I would fall asleep on and off throughout the day. At work in my office, I’d suddenly startle awake (not breathing when asleep!) not having realized I just crashed out… again! I even fell asleep in my car sitting at stop lights a few times when driving home from work. At night when I did sleep, I was constantly waking up to pee many times a night. Sleep in between those times was brutal. Many times OSA suffers don’t even know they’re not breathing, etc. I was waking up GASPING for air, over and over all night and I knew it. So did my girlfriend (now wife) and she had enough of it and became very insistent that if we were going to be together I had to do something. She wasn’t sleeping at all due to me constantly stopping breathing and then gasping awake. She was also terrified one morning she’d wake up and find me dead. I was scaring the shit out of her every night and believe me - when you have a tall, gorgeous blonde in your bed fellas, you really don’t want to have the lasting feeling she has being one of fear for your life. 
I agreed to do something about it.
I went back to a new sleep doctor. This time though, I was committed to making this work. When the first sleep doctor I made an appointment with left me feeling like a number and that he wasn’t really listening to me, I walked out of his office and found a different doctor. I did sleep studies again (originally done in 2005) and the new studies confirmed the previous diagnosis and even identified a small amount of central sleep apnea (oh no!). Naturally the new doctor prescribed CPAP for treatment but this time I did research and I took proactive control of my diagnosis, my treatment plan, and my compliance. I identified what some of my biggest problems were before - a full face mask was uncomfortable and I constantly had blow-outs, I had wash-out in my hose, my CPAP machine was noisy, etc. I researched options in the market for machines and masks (there really are hundreds of options) and I put a flag in the ground and told my doctor EXACTLY what I wanted and I would not compromise on the make/model of CPAP, the options (i.e. ClimateLine tubing, quietest motor in the market, specific mask, etc.). To my surprise, I had zero issues with my insurance nor with the DME on asking for specific models of machine and masks instead of just taking the “standard issue” equipment they gave everyone. I sometimes wonder how many people actually just take what they’re given and do not push back via their doctor or DME. I know the first time I got CPAP in 2005 I just took what they gave me. Anyway…
Once I had my equipment it was obviously now up to me to make it work. Having the right CPAP and mask helps but I think for me the biggest factor in my success was my attitude had changed 180-degrees. I was dying every night. I was making life miserable for myself and my girlfriend. If I didn’t make this work, I would probably have a stroke very early in life. Mentally I accepted I had severe OSA and needed CPAP. It took me a surprisingly short amount of time to get used to it this time, I slept like a baby right away but did have challenges with hose management, getting the straps adjusted right (you really don’t want to crank them down as tight as possible. That is not a proper fit for your mask!), etc., for the first few weeks but they were minor inconveniences not giant frustrations. An early poster mentioned routing the hose over your headboard. It took me a month or so to discover this trick. I didn’t even realize my mask had an optional clip that could be used with the head strap to hold the hose above my head for just this type of thing. That definitely made a huge difference as now the hose was always out of my way when sleeping.
Anyway, long story not so short I now cannot sleep without my CPAP and I don’t even want to try. I travel for business a lot and take it with me on business trips. If I plan to spend the night at a family member or friends, the CPAP goes with me. We even hosted an “urban camping” party at my home last year where 20ish friends came and camped out in the back yard - I ran an extension cord to my tent for my CPAP. I think I’m now conditioned that when that mask goes on, I go out like someone flipped a light switch. Do I always sleep 8 hours without waking up? No, of course not. Do I sometimes have to adjust my mask in the middle of the night because I’m a very active sleeper? Sure I do. But I’m routinely 95+% compliance with treatment and almost never feel tired, sluggish, mentally “foggy”, nor fall asleep during the daytime anymore. I love waking up in the morning and feeling RESTED, that I got a great night’s sleep! Jesus, I had no idea this was how the majority of the population slept!
That’s probably more than two cents. If you got questions, I’m happy to share my experience and anything I’ve learned along the way. If you’re struggling with CPAP, keep at it! Research your options. Push back on your doctor and DME for the equipment you need! Get your attitude right - “Suck it up buttercup!” as a dear friend would say.
Good luck!
MeanJoe
Ooops, I see I already posted in #14
My cat hates the fact that when I wear my CPAP mask, she can’t suffocate me by sleeping on my face. It took me a while to get used to the stuff. Now I put it on if I’m just taking a nap.
If you stop breathing during the night you can die. It’s no joke. It’s not just a cash grab.
Amen, MeanJoe, thanks for sharing your more than two cents.
Now about pictures of that beautiful blonde bombshell you sleep with…
(sorry, buddy, couldn’t resist!)
Not just that, but people with uncontrolled OSA are at much greater risk of traffic accidents. Sleepless in TDot may find that he (?) feels much worse WITH the machine, but with such severe apnea that’s fairly unusual.
The doctor is doing the responsible thing by reporting what appears to be a hazard involved with someone who drives for a living. Same as if someone had any other health issue that impaired driving but wasn’t controlled.
I’ve heard (maybe here on the board) of people who drive for a living, “fit the type” of being at risk for OSA (maybe it was someone with a thicker neck than average?), were ordered to do a sleep study, and found they had OSA. They had to comply, or lose their commercial licenses.
Sleepless in TDot, if you’re feeling that much worse on the machine, you need to discuss with the doctor, maybe do a repeat sleep study. First off, as others have noted, the mask type matters, a lot. Secondly, your pressures may be wrong. Thirdly, you may need something like BiPAP instead of straight CPAP.
It’s certainly possible you truly need no more than 5ish hours of sleep a night. But if it’s bad quality, then you’re still at risk.
MeanJoe: wowsers, thanks for posting your success story. My frustration with CPAP (and with treatment for Restless Legs Syndrome) is that in neither case did I feel any better. With the RLS meds, the main difference is that it’s a lot easier to FALL asleep. And probably I sleep more deeply with the meds (fewer night-time wakeups anyway). Similarly with the CPAP, though that doesn’t make it easier to fall asleep. I stick with that because I know it’s the right thing to do.
Oooh, forgot one thing for Sleepless in TDot: Maybe ask about a daytime study. That can help document how sleepy you are during the day. Get a normal (for you) night’s sleep, then you get all wired up and they give you 3 to 5 opportunities to relax in a darkened room for 20 minutes. I had to do that after CPAP failed to make me feel any better during the day. In my case they had me come the night before, which let them verify that my CPAP settings were “working” (as in, keeping the apnea adequately controlled). So I was there for most of 24 hours.
In your case, if you do such a study without using CPAP the night before, it might document that you’re OK during the day. Or it might point out some sleepiness you weren’t aware of - interestingly, clinical definition of sleep includes a fair bit of the time where we think we’re awake (we’re just not as alert as we think we are).
After a night study I was diagnosed with fairly severe apnea, and I ended up getting a CPAP machine. It took me about two months to really get used to it, but I was generally getting much better sleep. I’ve never had the issues with water from the humidifier, but the hose I use is wired to keep it at a certain temperature. There’s still some nights when it bugs me, but it’s pretty rare. I wake up a lot during the night, but I usually just go right back to sleep.
One thing that I noticed when I started using the machine is that I tend to roll over a lot less, because I’m often sleeping much deeper. Since I lay on my side with my arm bent and hand under my head, I can get really sore from not repositioning the arm. It’s not a big deal though. One of the things that my doc told me was to check back regularly, as the advances to the equipment and masks moves forward fast, so the comfort and usability is constantly improving.