<p>I have been diagnosed with “serious obstructive sleep apnea” after a fun 24 hours of having most of my body covered with leads and wires, being told to sleep or to try not to sleep. (I’m still finding glue in my hair.)</p>
<p>I have another night at the clinic being fitted with a CPAP and seeing if I can adjust to sleeping with it. During the short test they ran earlier I found it difficult to exhale and actually felt a little light-headed.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any experience sleeping with a CPAP? What about surgery instead? Would love to know how others have dealt with this. I am looking forward to not being exhausted!</p>
<p>My brother has sleep apnea. He tried the machine and said at first it really bothered him and cast it off but later decided to try again. Now he will not sleep a night without it. He came to spend just one night at my house and brought it with him. He says he sleeps so much better with the CPAP. His wife is happy too because it has curbed the snoring.</p>
<p>My DH went through the process… there are probably some people who are really helped, but the process seems to lend itself to insurance manipulation. Here’s our experience: Dr refers patient to sleep clinic. Special sleep clinic diagnoses disorder. Clinic rents CPAP machine to patient. Insurance pays for initial 6month rental. Patient decides machine isn’t helping, and the maintaince and uncomfortable mask are worse than snoring. Contacts sleep clinic to inquire about returning unit. Told not to bother. Machine is still sitting on shelf in bedroom 2 years later. Never got a bill from anyone. Clinic billed insurance directly.</p>
<p>That said, my sister is using a different, more comfortable mask (I haven’t seen it) and sleeping happily. She doesn’t fit the norm for sleep apnea - thin and very active physically…
BIL says the good news is that he no longer fears a prostate problem - since his wife is sleeping quietly he sleeps through the night with no bathroom visits…</p>
<p>I would also STRONGLY recommend getting the most comfortable mask you can. A friend who is a respiratory therapist recently was diagnosed with sleep apnea herself. She got a Phillips Respironics mask that is their most comfortable and has adjusted very well to it and is greatly helped now that she sleeps more soundly. The right mask, properly fitted makes ALL the difference. Don’t just settle, ask about the different options and masks available and persist until you find one that fits, even if it costs you a bit more out of pocket. Your sleep and health depend upon it!</p>
<p>Hubby has sleep apnea and has been using the mask for quite some time. The 1st night after using the mask, he realized he hadn’t really been sleeping through the night. Tests had him waking up more than 100 times during a night because he stopped breathing.</p>
<p>He’s gone through several masks, and the nose plug thing. The mask was much more comfortable to him. Make sure the mask has some cushioning. Guy I work with also has it and his mask cut into his face, right between the eyes. Took 3 weeks for the scar to ease up.</p>
<p>I had to get used to the noise of the CPC, but it was much more preferable than listening to the snores, snorts and gasps. Hubby is also quite diligent in keeping the machine clean.</p>
<p>And yes, insurance is has been covering this from day one.</p>
<p>Husband has bad sleep apnea and he did have surgery initially early on when it seemed like bad snoring. The surgery helped for about a year and then it came back worse than ever – and it was fairly significant surgery. I’ve heard the same thing from other people. Anyhow, he then did the sleep clinic thing and got his CPAP and has been using it for years now. It’s the reason we can still sleep in the same room. The mask is important. I think it’s a bit like first getting glasses. At first it feels weird, etc. but then when you realize you can see better you don’t want to be without them – same thing with the CPAP. When you find you feel so much better during the day, you don’t want to be without it.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the information. HImom, my doctor warned me that it may take a lot of trial and error to get a proper fit, so I think he’s willing to work with me. He also said women and people who aren’t overweight sometimes have more difficulty getting a mask to fit properly, and I am in both categories, so I’ll have to be patient. </p>
<p>This is much more than snoring and, according to my doctors, has probably caused 2 other health issues that should clear up when I’m finally sleeping properly. My husband said he had gotten used to the snoring over the years, but the gasping for breath is just too much.</p>
<p>my husband has sleep apnea…and severe snoring. He has a heart condition and it is very dangerous not to have this taken care of. He swore he’d never be able to sleep with something on his face, etc…but we made a deal…he’d try the mask for 2 weeks before deciding to ditch it. After day 3, he felt like a new man!! He brings it with him when we travel…its been an amazing thing in his life and mine!! He doesn’t snore like a train anymore…so I can sleep now too, lol. It really has made a huge difference in his quality of life. The adjusment was very quick for him. The benefit of actually having a full nights sleep, vs. the minor discomfort of the mask was teeny. He wasn’t a candidate for the surgery so we don’t know what that is like. His best friend did have the surgery, and it didn’t help at all. He is so resistant to the mask…sadly for him, he now has to sleep in a different room then his wife because the snoring/apnea is awful. It is sooooo scary to lay beside someone who has apnea. I couldn’t sleep because he’d be in an apnea phase where he wouldn’t breathe for what seemed like forever…I’d hit him to make him breathe…not a great way to live! I’ve been able to sleep thru the night, ever since he began using the mask:) Try it!! It might change ur quality of life…and that of those around u, lol</p>
<p>Yes, persist until you get the proper fit. Give any mask offered a decent trial and then let the doc/tech know if you need to try a new one but DON’T give up! Everyone I know who has persisted is SO glad they did and are now sleeping better and improved their health tremendously!</p>
<p>Some people use CPAPs and some use BIPAPs. The masks or oxygen cannulas take getting used to, but people who use them consistently do report significant improvement in sleep, energy, thinking, etc.</p>
<p>After my sleep study (snoring was BAD), I was diagnosed as having mild sleep apnea. However, of bigger concern was the lack of oxygen my brain was getting through the night. I use the nose-plug type mask, and although it took awhile, got it to fit great. I must admit that I do go through a week or so at a time when I take a “break” from it, but I’m more rested (and don’t wake up with headaches) when I use it. Besides, I need all the boosts I can to my brain. Middle age has definitely set in, and I need any help I can get!<br>
Good luck!!!</p>
<p>My husband was “cold” in his office for years…his body temp dropping in prep for sleep at work due to no restorative sleep…kept turning up the thermostat…fading totally in midafternoon…getting up at night suddenly when unable to breathe, and finally getting “lost” in our BR and area at night because he was so impaired from apnea. When I called home one night after he had gone to bed and had a conversation with him and the next day he called to chide me for never “checking in by phone” when I was on a trip, he got the works in a work up…heart checked, complete physical, and sleep studies.<br>
He has been on the machine for three years, and I no longer have to wonder if he is lost and sleep walking in a state of oxygen deprivation at night. He is very AOK with his mask…since he feels completely so much better. He requires a drug called Provigil to function well, and when that is out of his system, he retires with mask to bed. He needs 6-7 hours with that mask to function well at work. He has taken it to Europe and takes a power cord at campouts in tents. I realize now that he cannot be up for more than 15 hours a day ever…so no Red Eye flights…we make accomodations. No driving either without being in his most alert zone. His apnea appears to have neurological components…not just blocked airways.<br>
I hope that you can experiment with masks until you find something that makes you get good REM sleep, restorative sleep again! we found that the referral agencies did not offer choices in machines…and that you have to speak up with preferences and needs for trade outs. There are plenty of blogs on apnea machines. May they keep making advances for this serious problem so people can be safer and stay alert for long days.</p>
<p>hang in there…you can feel much much better.</p>
<p>Physician/CPAP user here. Worthwhile. I originally went with an over the nose mask as I thought the in the nose mask wouldn’t work as well- never got it to fit correctly and switched to the in the nose (just at the nostrils- using my nonmedical jargon) one. At the end of last year I got my third version, each year they have come up with a better version. The same machine works for years- I like the ResMed with humidifier machine insurance covered (except deductible) and the latest Swift II mask. I also had 2 sleep studies, didn’t get the insurance co required frequency of apneas until later in my sleep.</p>
<p>Some suggestions-
Ask what works best to get the gel out of your hair, some brand of hair conditioner was recommended to me.
Try different masks on awake and also while sleeping- there’s a difference.
Take notes when you get your gear, you won’t remember all of the little things.
PM me after the study for more hints on practical tips.
The Res Med machine wasn’t the one used during my study but I highly recommend it for its features and quietness.</p>
<p>There is an adjusment period, don’t give up. Accept it as a fact of life, like wearing glasses. You are allowed to take the machine on airplanes as carry on luggage- in addition to other allowed. I have other travel tips.</p>
<p>Gallon jugs of distilled water for the humidifier are cheap at WalMart. So is vinegar for the weekly (or less often) cleaning, and Ivory dish detergent was recommended and mild on the plastic stuff for daily cleaning.</p>
<p>Going from not waking up refreshed after 10 hours of “sleep” to usually 7 1/2 feeling great makes the small hassles worth it. Plus the longterm heart benefits.</p>
<p>I am so surprised at the number of people on CC with experience regarding obstructive sleep apnea. I, of course, picked a specialist I trusted and read up on the subject in the medical texts/literature and feel very confident in current medical management of it.</p>
<p>I’ll try to post- server problems wouldn’t let me go advanced.</p>
<p>I am forwarding your post with specific mask preferences to my husband…he sometimes has issues finding distilled H2O on short notice on business trips but still managed to go to Berlin OK. I discovered I had to work his travel differently. He must break up a trip and do an overnight in airport hotel when other people might just stay up 20 hours when crossing time zones…for his own safety…he can’t be sitting up in an airport chair overnight on snowstorm nights…like other people.
I also don’t expect him to discuss the problems of the day with me at 11pm anymore and have adjusted my expectations to be much more realistic about his sleep needs.</p>
<p>How do you get to try different masks without purchasing them? When my H was diagnosed, they gave him a prescription and we called a local medical supply place that specialized in CPAP machines. They sent a guy to our house and he recommended a particular machine and a particular mask. He wouldn’t let him try on any others unless he wanted to buy. </p>
<p>We were told that he could get a new one every 6 months or so covered by insurance. We researched a little and decided to try the nose pillows so he ordered that one but it wasn’t right for him, either. He eventually stopped using the machine because the mask bothers him. I know he needs to try again but he’s hesitant to order a mask that he may have trouble adjusting to and not being able to try a different style for 6 more months.</p>
<p>I would talk with the doctor who prescribed the sleep study about which masks his/her patients find most comfortable. I’d then talk with the CPAP supply company about the same issue and ask them how they are able to help patients get the most comfortable, best fitting mask. Surely, this issue comes up frequently and is KEY to patient compliance. The sleep study performed at the sleep center requires that the patient be offered the CPAP to see whether it improves their sleep as part of the test. Based on how the patient fits that mask, they can have some info about fitting a more durable mask.
My understanding is that “gel” masks are more comfortable than others, but it really is something that requires discussion. I have no personal experience with CPAPs but have spoken & corresponded with some folks who do.</p>
<p>Losing 20lbs solved H’s sleep apnea problem. My bro. uses a machine. He is moderately overweight–I wish he would try diet and exercise because he didn’t have the problem when he was slimmer. Don’t know if this applies to anyone else.</p>
<p>Weight loss can help some, but there are even young, skinny people out there who need CPAP. There are many factors in being overweight, many reasons people don’t lose it. In our area the sleep study place had masks to try and so did the clinic. The home health place had options also. The nasal mask probably works best for me because the over the nose ones could never fit my long face shape. Unfortunately trial and error is sometimes needed- one size doesn’t fit all, even one shape with S-M-L inserts.</p>
<p>I can stay up a long time, but my H noticed the loud snoring when I decided to just fall asleep in the recliner instead of bothering to go upstairs recently. Darn, every so often I do that and then use the CPAP as I notice the results. Another problem with the machine- when I first started and checked the screen of the on/near the floor machine to test for mask fit (excellent ) I would have to put on my glasses- I even put the alarm clock in my face to read the numbers- and that doesn’t work well with straps and mask, easier with the nasal piece. I need quiet to sleep, took a while to adjust to the white noise of the machine, and turbulent flow when I snugged the blanket up to my face- I adjust covers for that irritant. Then I turn over… I also pad my cheek strap parts with some folded fleece- RT suggested makeup pads, but this is washable, not disposable- I get lines on my face otherwise (at least my skin is delicate, not much else about me is).</p>
<p>It is still worthwhile. Everyone- try again, keep using it- the studies have shown it helps with heart problems down the line- the lack of oxygen affects the heart with the apnea. Not just the REM sleep deprivation.</p>
<p>I use the distilled water with the easy flip top lid at home but buy the screw cap lid for car travel, unless it is just the weekend when a thermos works. I take an extension cord for those hotel rooms without good outlets, and a bit of the dish detergent in a small container for cleaning. As much trouble as contact lenses used to be.</p>
<p>A lot of good advice coming from people. Just another thing to adjust to- what happened to those carefree college days?</p>