Calling out the CPAP people

ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
OK, as you may remember it has been a bad year surgery wise, and now I have a diagnosis of apnea (well, I think upper airway resistance syndrome...I "wake" sometimes 200-300 times a night. this makes me just a wee bit tired.
SOooo, now have a CPAP, and I hate it. Pressure is super high (17) and I have yet to feel any better. I think I sleep worse.
I am binding my head up to keep my mouth opening and, yes, am starting to tape my mouth shut. It is bad enough (good enough) for my husband that due to vocal cord issues I can't yell...but now to tape my mouth shut, ugh.
So who else is a "hosehead" here?
 
t316

t316

Active Member
A fellow scoutmaster that I go camping with a lot finally got one about a year ago. His snoring was beyond believable, and it eliminated it immediately. I remember him saying that it was awkward and uncomfortable at first, but he said he quickly got used to it and his body started feeling much better due to the peaceful sleep he was now getting.
Had I of known that the thing would work so well on his snoring, I would have bought him the thing myself years ago...
 
reefraff

reefraff

Active Member
When I was in the hospital after a car wreck some quack waste of human tissue somehow got assigned to check up on me. He said I fell asleep at the wheel correct. WTH? No, I didn't fall asleep at the wheel, some dumbblank hit me head on.
The guy decided he needs to do a sleep study on me anyway. Lo and behold he finds a slight episode of apnea and prescribes a machine. That lasted about 15 minutes before I explained what they could do with the thing. I would relax and start to doze off and the air would force out of my lips making a motorboat sound. I feel for you.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Yes, that is exactly why I have to now start taping my lips shut. If I get a full face mask,, my mouth blows open rather like standing in front of an industrial fan.
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
There are ones that stick in your nose instead of a face mask. Reminds me of "Dune". A friend went on it recently and she LOVES it. My brother had the old fashioned one and he said he got use to it in time.
 
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dragonzim

Active Member
My father used one for years for really bad apnea. He had the mask that straps over your nose and as far as I know, your mouth is supposed to stay open because otherwise he would not have been able to breath out. Stopped his snoring the first night and fixed his apnea so he was finally able to get a full nights sleep. He was very overweight, which was the cause of the apnea. He lost about 200 lbs after having a gastric bypass surgery and the apnea went away. That was about 10 years ago and he hasnt needed the machine since.
 
lovethesea

lovethesea

Active Member
my friend has one and loves it. Her goes over her nose as the other posters stated. She feels a lot better. She doesn't go anywhere without it.
I hope you find something that works for you.....nothing worse than not getting a decent nights sleep.
 
jennythebugg

jennythebugg

Active Member
my mother just got one - she hates it too and is sleeping worse than before because of the uncomfortableness of having something strapped to her head at night..
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Originally Posted by DragonZim
http:///forum/post/3198445
My father used one for years for really bad apnea. He had the mask that straps over your nose and as far as I know, your mouth is supposed to stay open because otherwise he would not have been able to breath out. Stopped his snoring the first night and fixed his apnea so he was finally able to get a full nights sleep. He was very overweight, which was the cause of the apnea. He lost about 200 lbs after having a gastric bypass surgery and the apnea went away. That was about 10 years ago and he hasnt needed the machine since.
Unfortunately, the mouth is supposed to stay shut, because otherwise all the pressurized air just rushes out the mouth (which is the path of least resistance). You have to exhale against the force of the pressure coming in, though some machines have a sort of pressure relief that knocks the incoming pressure down a few notches as you exhale.
Regardless, it is a pain in the rear for me. Weight loss is a big factor but not in my case, so no option there
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
I am probably going to request that soon. Often though insurance won't cover. And they cost $1500 or so. But I will try something cheap to see if I can sleep with it in my mouth
 
browniebuck

browniebuck

Active Member
My wife has one and she loves hers. I have what she has diagnosed as severe apnea...and I refuse to go for a sleep study because I don't want one of those freaking machines. I sleep on my stomach and sides (all based on what is comfortable each night). I am afraid of tying myself up while sleeping. Now that you mention that you have to sleep with your mouth closed...that would NEVER work for me! I feel for you!!!
 
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dragonzim

Active Member
Originally Posted by browniebuck
http:///forum/post/3199170
My wife has one and she loves hers. I have what she has diagnosed as severe apnea...and I refuse to go for a sleep study because I don't want one of those freaking machines. I sleep on my stomach and sides (all based on what is comfortable each night). I am afraid of tying myself up while sleeping. Now that you mention that you have to sleep with your mouth closed...that would NEVER work for me! I feel for you!!!
Doesn't your snoring keep your wife up? If you actually do have severe apnea you would be snoring loud enough to rattle the windows.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
There are a lot of types of masks.
Really, consider that apnea means you STOP BREATHING...sometimes for the better part of a minute, sometimes HUNDREDS of times a night.
So it causes a lot of other health issues with heart, stroke, depression, anxiety, etc. So, as someone described it to me, consider this. Would you want your neighbor to come in and strangle you for 10 or more seconds, several times an hour, each night, every night? Probably would cause some problems.
At the very least, learn what you are up against if anything.
Knowing this, I now realize that several decades of health problems may well be explained by this issue. There are other treatment options - CPAP, mouth brace things, lifestyle modifications (eg weight loss if necessary) or surgery. But at least learn what the situation is.
My father, who has had severe apnea all his life (we could tell) finally had a sleep study at the age of 83, and has a machine now. He has had a heart attack, stroke, vascular disease, depression, sleep issues that impacted his work...all of these are likely tied to apnea. Many people love it the very first time they try it. But just google CPAP masks to see just how many options there are. Some are full face - you can open your mouth.
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
All our patients have a really hard time adjusting to it... they get use to it in time.
My brother had one. OMG his snoring was scary. We would stand there wondering if we should wake him up because he didn't seem like he would take the next breath. Then he started falling asleep mid-sentence during the day and had blue ears in the morning. When he got use to it, he was afraid he would never get use to sleeping without the noise. He lost a lot of weight and has never needed it again.
 
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