My snoring/gasping at night is reportedly getting out of hand and I’m now scheduled to do the sleep study thang and afterwards meet with the doc to discuss the results. I fully expect they are going to recommend I sleep with a CPAP machine. I just looked at a picture of the straps, hose, and mask and have concluded there’s no freakin’ way I could ever sleep with one of those harnessed to my face. I’d feel like I was in the ICU and the only thing missing is those machines that go ‘ping’.
On the other hand, there’s some other people who are currently losing sleep because I don’t wear a CPAP machine. What a dilemma.
Anyone here ever use one of those things? How on earth did you ever get used to it (or did you even)? Don’t you wake up every time you roll over?
It took me a couple of nights to find a good initial sleep position, after that I haven’t had any difficulties. The headgear itself isn’t uncomfortable — in fact, having it too tight actually creates problems — and I use a nose cushion which molds nicely to my face. The hose attaches via a swivel, which gives a great deal of flexibility.
When you do your study, see if it’s possible to try two or three setups so you can compare. And if you’re prescribed a CPAP, it’s important to work with your provider to find a combination that suits you. If they’re not willing to work with you, tell your doctor and get another one.
How old are you, are you married, and for how long?
One doctor told me that it is much easier if the patient is past the stage of “romantic sleeping”
When I tried CPAP, the mask itself wasn’t a problem…you get used to it pretty easily.
Yeah, at first, it looks like an emergency suit for wearing in a nuclear reactor after a meltdown or something— but it really is pretty comfortable, and nothing to be afraid of.
But what drove me nuts was the air flow (which is, of course, the only reason you need to use a CPAP)
I woke up often during the night, with an unpleasant feeling of choking --almost strangling. It was due to the new and unusual flow of air where I wasn’t used to it.
Fortunately,I didn’t have a serious enough problem to really need it, so I gave up after only a week or two.
Been married for almost 25 years so I’m not worried about looking silly/unsexy. It just seems like all that facemask hardware would get in the way and wake me up every time I roll over (and I tend to move a fair amount in my sleep).
I’m a 54 year old man. I have been using a machine for 13 years.
It has completely changed my life. There was a very short period of adjustment- perhaps a week or so- after I started using it.
Since that time I have been 100% compliant. There have only been two nights when I was not able to use my machine and that was because there was a power outage. The outflow of the air is annoying to my wife, but we simply arrange ourselves and I arranged the hose so that the airflow does not hit her.
The biggest downside is that when I travel it is a pain and takes up room and I must hand carry on to the airplane. I am able to afford one of the new mini devices and I am actively searching for one and I will get a prescription so that I can carry something much much smaller that has the same efficacy.
My husband uses one. He got it because I said he needed it - he snored - well that was what he heard me say, but the reality was that when he didn’t snore, I was bolt upright in bed because he’d stopped breathing. So to fix MY sleep, he had a sleep study done and got a CPAP.
The first week or two was difficult - he would do the CPAP every other night - getting better sleep without it than with it. Eventually, he started getting better sleep with it than without it - and now he travels with it - the CPAP has been all over the world on business trips - so it obviously isn’t about me any longer. He’s better rested, move active, lost weight.
I suspect the moving during sleep is because you aren’t sleeping deeply enough to not move - when the CPAP fixes your sleep, you won’t move as much.
I’m required to use a CPAP because I drive truck. It doesn’t do a thing for me, because I am literally at the very bottom of the scale. A couple less low oxygen level readings and I wouldn’t need to use it. And I don’t sleep better, because I have a couple of physical issues that wake me up every couple of hours.
I use nostril cushions, which don’t cover the mouth. The mask is smaller and easier to transport. You quickly learn to breath through your nose while sleeping, because if you don’t, a stream of air just runs in your nose, through your sinuses, and out your mouth.
I quickly got used to the air flow and sleeping with the mask. And having roomed with a couple people who had sleep apnea, getting awakened by someone who stops breathing halfway through a snore is a terrifying experience.
My husband is in his late 30s, and has snored like crazy and stopped breathing (which wakes me up) for his whole life. He finally was on insurance long enough to get a study done, and he’s had a CPAP for about 6 months. He recently had a few nights where he was a bit tipsy and forgot to wear it - he looked like the walking dead all the next day both times, had to take naps to get through to the evening, and he’s bound and determined he won’t skip it again.
It took maybe - a week? Two weeks tops? to adjust to it, and he fiddled with the nosepiece and the cushions and the straps for a while til he got them all where he likes them. He’s got a nose-only cushion with a three-part head-strap, has very short hair, and mostly sleeps on his back and side. He generally sets it up as he gets ready for bed, lies down for about 15-30 minutes getting settled down, and when he’s nice and relaxed and sleepy, just slips the mask over his head right before falling asleep.
Downsides:
If he doesn’t clean it regularly, he gets breakouts on the outside corners of his nose.
The cats occasionally decide the hose is a snake and attack it.
The outflow of air feels quite peculiar and artificial and I don’t like it blowing on me, so we have to be inventive when we sleep close together.
Depending on the airflow, the noise of the machine can be quite loud - we nicknamed his Lord Vader because when he first started, it was almost as loud as his snoring.
It can also cause gastrointestinal distress (burping and gas) because it forces air into the body. (that was fixed for us by lowering the air speed by a huge amount)
Basically, don’t knock it til you’ve tried it. You can get used to an awful lot of things, and they’ve got lots of types and configurations to try and work with as many people as possible.
I’ve been using one since 2000. Like Cartooniverse, I’m 100% compliant. In fact, I’m 100% dependent upon it – I cannot sleep without it. There was a short adjustment period initially, maybe three or four days, but it wasn’t a big deal. I chuckle to myself when I see someone in the morning with an indentation of the strap across their upper cheek area – a sign of it being too tight.
Not only has the CPAP alleviated my wife’s anxiety when I would stop breathing (it was bad – up to 90 seconds) and allowed her to sleep without my snoring, I believe that it’s added years to my life.
Only about 18 months for me but it has made a big difference.
I did have to work to get the setup just right so adjustment took a couple weeks. I first tried the full face thing but I kept knocking it loose when I rolled over and then the whoosh of leaking air would wake me up. And the full mask was rubbing a spot raw next to my nose so it became painful.
But a switch to a nasal pillows mask fixed most of the problems. And an adjustment to the pressure made it more comfortable while I was falling asleep.
Using a CPAP is so normal for me that if I take a nap on the couch without the CPAP it doesn’t feel nearly as refreshing as it should.
With regards to moving around, most people seem to experience a lot less when using a CPAP.
I used to be a terribly restless sleeper (to the point where I got tired of remaking the bed from scratch every morning and started using an unfolded sleeping bag in place of a top sheet and blanket). Now, if I go to sleep on my left side I wake up in the same position; if I go to sleep on my right side I generally wake up on my back, and that’s about it. I don’t have anyone to confirm whether or not I move around otherwise, but my impression is that I don’t. YMM, of course, V.
Every night since I’ve started using it, I’ve woken up feeling as if I haven’t moved a single muscle all night long. It’s very different from sleeping without it. It was a zero adjustment period for me.
I use a full face (mouth and nose) mask. The machine part has a ramp function. My prescription was for 10 psi. The ramp starts it up at 4 psi. By the time it gets to 10 psi, I’m asleep and don’t notice exhaling against that pressure. Again, you’ll get used to it.
The great thing about it is even if the cat sleeps on my face, she can’t smother me to death while I’m asleep. Or worse.
I also have two problems, sleep apnea and a septum so deviated my nose doctor asked me if my nose had ever been broken (it hasn’t). I use a full face mask because I tend to be a mouth breather. I found it easy to get used to, and the hose is long enough that I’ve yet to get myself tangled up in it. The cats dislike the outflow, though, so I don’t get much in the way of cuddles when I’m wearing it.
I used the ramp at first, but I’ve gotten so used to it that I don’t need it anymore (my PSI is 13).
Not really. When they fit you, it’ll seem impossible – like the thing is blowing all the air back down your throat when you breathe out. That lasts for a couple minutes before you realize you’ve automatically compensated for it.
Even better, most of the modern machines recognize the pressure change when you breathe out and lower the incoming pressure a little bit, specifically to make this easier for new users.
I was never able to manage the nose-only one (especially when I had any congestion), but the full-face was trivial to get used to. And my blood pressure dropped by about 30 over 15 points in less than a week and has stayed there in the years since; I don’t think I’ve ever had a treatment so immediately effective.
