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Sleep Apnoea and CPAP

Sleephead

New member and my first post.

I've been suffering from tiredness for a year or 2 and always put it down to being busy at work, carrying a bit of weight and a bad diet. It all came to a head when i started nodding off at my desk in work in the afternoon. A loud snore would wake me and alert my colleagues which was so embarising.

It took me down a road with my GP and various tests and low and behold I have fairly severe sleep apnea.

I was prescribed with CPAP therapy and I have to say I've never looked back. I'm full of energy again and can actually complete a days work and can even manage a night out or a short walk in the evening without fear or trepidation. Basically I'm not like a 90 year old anymore.

Snoring was the tell tale sign. Combined with tiredness. I'd urge anyone with similar issues to get tested it has changed my life.

A boring first post but maybe it might help someone!

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3DataModem

110 per month for the machine I got today, covered by DPS if I spend any more.

Pretty fancy.... all automatic, built in sim to transmit data to hospital daily, heated hose to stop condensation, dynamic ramp, blah.

Didn't have to pay for mask or hose extra, will have to pay in a year to replace about 300, but one per year is OK under DPS.

Wish me luck.

Squall Leonhart

3DataModem wrote:

110 per month for the machine I got today, covered by DPS if I spend any more.

I was spending 102eur a month on mine, for 14 months or so. I contacted the supplier enquiring about buying outright. Bought the machine for 750eur. Actually, bought a new machine fresh out of the box from them, and ensured I got a new Pilairo Nasal Pillow.

Boulevardier

I have recently become very irritated by dry lips. This has started to happen in the last few weeks and when it does, I usually end up removing the mask after futile attempts to moisten my lips. It really is very irritating and I cannot sleep with it.

Any suggestions welcome.

Masala

Boulevardier wrote: »

I have recently become very irritated by dry lips. This has started to happen in the last few weeks and when it does, I usually end up removing the mask after futile attempts to moisten my lips. It really is very irritating and I cannot sleep with it.

Any suggestions welcome.

Have u a full face mask???

Boulevardier

Yes, it is a full face mask. The doc thinks I need that.

Masala

Are you using the Water attachment......at least moisture will be added to the air intake

Boulevardier

Yes, I use the water every time.

The last 2 nights were not as bad, so perhaps it was a temporary problem. I will see.

Leslie91

Boulevardier wrote: »

Yes, I use the water every time.

The last 2 nights were not as bad, so perhaps it was a temporary problem. I will see.

My 'moisture' level operates on a scale of 1 to 10.. I had been using 3 up to about 2 weeks ago and found to be a bit dryer in morning so I moved it to 5 and things are better now. Can you adjust moisture level on your machine?

Boulevardier

I have not been shown an adjustable moisture meter, but I will look and see if it is possible. The air strength is controlled entirely by the clinic.

Squall Leonhart

CPAP and APAP machines are designed to give the user a proper healthy sleep. I understand that much. I was told by the nurse who set me up that once I have 4 hours of sleep a night with the machine on, I'm golden.

From experience, I'd have to say she's right, if I manage a four hour sleep before waking to flip the mask off, I'm generally in good shape the next day.

I understand that this is because of the way sleep goes in waves, and that the deepest part of the sleep is at the starting of the sleep cycle. So if you've a solid block of deep sleep, all is good.

My question... these machines are also supposed to go a long way towards reducing heart attack and stroke risks in users. Is this still the case if you only wear it for the first half of the night? As the sleep is less deep, are you under less pressure breathing in the second half of the night?

Leslie91

Boulevardier wrote: »

I have not been shown an adjustable moisture meter, but I will look and see if it is possible. The air strength is controlled entirely by the clinic.

Same for me ref air strength.. it was set to auto adjust up to a max of 20 (something).. not sure if that is psi or what. Either way the machine intelligently increases the pressure thru the night as required.

But I can adjust 'moisture level' easily enough on the machine itself. The only pain is I have to fill reservoir every night now as 5 goes thru quite a bit of water compared to 3, used get 2 nights out of 1 fill when it was set to 3.

trashcan

drake70 wrote: »

My comment on that thread:

At first I found it awkward, as most do. It's just second nature now and the mask doesn't cause an inconvenience no matter how much I move.

Glad to hear that. Had my first night with the machine last night and it wasn't pleasant. Got about 2/3 hours sleep I reckon. Feeling quite down about it to be honest, but my tests have shown that my case is severe, so it doesn't look like I have an option. What do people mean by a nasal pillow ? Does that basically mean a nasal mask ? That's what I've been given. I have a bit of sinus trouble so at one stage during the night I had to take the mask off as I couldn't breathe. Would a full face mask be easier. ?

Leslie91

trashcan wrote: »

Glad to hear that. Had my first night with the machine last night and it wasn't pleasant. Got about 2/3 hours sleep I reckon. Feeling quite down about it to be honest, but my tests have shown that my case is severe, so it doesn't look like I have an option. What do people mean by a nasal pillow ? Does that basically mean a nasal mask ? That's what I've been given. I have a bit of sinus trouble so at one stage during the night I had to take the mask off as I couldn't breathe. Would a full face mask be easier. ?

If you have sinus/nose breathing issues defo go for full mask. I have those issues too and went full mask and have never looked back. By full mask I mean it covers mouth and nose.

Squall Leonhart

Leslie91 wrote: »

If you have sinus/nose breathing issues defo go for full mask. I have those issues too and went full mask and have never looked back. By full mask I mean it covers mouth and nose.

I've nose breathing issues. In day to day living I'm a 'mouth breather', cannot get enough air in through my nostrils. However, when the Pilairo pillow nose-only mask is applied, with the pressure I can breathe adequately through nose. Then the habit of a lifetime becomes a problem, I need to breathe through the mouth when asleep also, so I use a chin strap. Not the sexiest apparel in the world is it.. but it does the job!

trashcan

I've had it for almost a week now, and it's been bloody awful. I've hardly slept at all and am at my wits end. Last two nights I've given up and thrown the mask aside at about 5am and then finally nodded off. Then I'm up for work at 7 30. I can't keep this up. Feel like Darth Vader in the mask, and I just can't get to sleep. Am seeing about a full face mask on Friday, but whether that will make a difference I don't know. Has anyone tried any alternative treatments ? I was reading about mouth and throat exercises on line, but it was on a website that's selling a manual, so I'm naturally sceptical. I'm almost desperate enough to try it though. The thought of a future on this machine is just driving me to distraction.

FaganJr

trashcan wrote:

I've had it for almost a week now, and it's been bloody awful. I've hardly slept at all and am at my wits end. Last two nights I've given up and thrown the mask aside at about 5am and then finally nodded off. Then I'm up for work at 7 30. I can't keep this up. Feel like Darth Vader in the mask, and I just can't get to sleep. Am seeing about a full face mask on Friday, but whether that will make a difference I don't know. Has anyone tried any alternative treatments ? I was reading about mouth and throat exercises on line, but it was on a website that's selling a manual, so I'm naturally sceptical. I'm almost desperate enough to try it though. The thought of a future on this machine is just driving me to distraction.

I was like you 12 months ago. At my wit's end. Had to bare through it. Now I can't sleep properly without it.
I know that sounds like a distant goal but don't give up, it's worth it!!

Reputable Rog

trashcan wrote: »

I've had it for almost a week now, and it's been bloody awful. I've hardly slept at all and am at my wits end. Last two nights I've given up and thrown the mask aside at about 5am and then finally nodded off. Then I'm up for work at 7 30. I can't keep this up. Feel like Darth Vader in the mask, and I just can't get to sleep. Am seeing about a full face mask on Friday, but whether that will make a difference I don't know. Has anyone tried any alternative treatments ? I was reading about mouth and throat exercises on line, but it was on a website that's selling a manual, so I'm naturally sceptical. I'm almost desperate enough to try it though. The thought of a future on this machine is just driving me to distraction.

Stick with it and stick with the nasal pillow, persistence pays off.

Squall Leonhart

trashcan wrote:

I've had it for almost a week now, and it's been bloody awful. I've hardly slept at all and am at my wits end. Last two nights I've given up and thrown the mask aside at about 5am and then finally nodded off. Then I'm up for work at 7 30. I can't keep this up. Feel like Darth Vader in the mask, and I just can't get to sleep. Am seeing about a full face mask on Friday, but whether that will make a difference I don't know. Has anyone tried any alternative treatments ? I was reading about mouth and throat exercises on line, but it was on a website that's selling a manual, so I'm naturally sceptical. I'm almost desperate enough to try it though. The thought of a future on this machine is just driving me to distraction.

Hi Trashcan.

I'll just share my experience. I've had a CPAP machine for about 18 months (well, actually it's an APAP I think, but a moot point!).

When I first got it - before trying it - I was delighted. Finally! A peaceful restful nights sleep awaits! That illusion was shattered very quickly.

Night one I discovered that while machine was on my mouth would hang open as I'm a mouth breather, and I sounded like a balloon deflating as the air was fed in through my nose and rush straight back out my mouth.

Off I went and got a chin strap. Great. Not only did I feel like a fighter pilot or Darth Vader but I have a fecking strap around my head holding my mouth shut. I felt ridiculous. And embarrassed. Angry actually. And stressed. Not a good humour to go to bed in. What was worse was when I first started wearing it, I felt I was suffocating. The mask gave me serious anxiety while lying in bed and I felt I just couldn't breathe. I occasionally pulled off the mask to get a gulp of fresh air. It was like emerging from under water, the relief of it.

I went to bed earlier than my other half because it only added to the stress when she was beside me and I was trying to relax into it. Night time was anything but relaxing. I was agitated, wondering if maybe some sort of nasal surgery was a possibility.

I persisted in going through the motions of trying to wear the damn thing every night. It slowly became easier. Eventually after weeks I actually fell asleep with it on, where before I lay almost hyperventilating for an hour trying to focus on breathing with my mouth closed.

Now I still don't love it, but the panic is gone, the stress and anxiety is gone and I sleep with it most nights, anything from 2-5 hours sleep with it. Only maybe 5 times have I slept til morning with it on, and the odd night (getting rarer), I can't relax with it on and throw it off before I sleep.

My sleep quality is better, I do feel more alert and less wrecked all the time. Importantly from a relationship perspective the snoring is largely not an issue. There are nights the mask slips off and I snore like a bear while air is hissing into her ear, and that's a problem, but it's not that often compared to the nightly issues I had.

My sleeping problem was depressing me previously. I wasn't sleeping, just being unconscious, and she wasn't sleeping, routinely moved room during the night. Next day we'd both be wrecked. I used to try stay up later than her so she'd go to bed and fall asleep and my snoring would be less of an issue, or go to bed and pretend to fall asleep while listening to her breathing until I think she was asleep so I could succumb. Often I failed and snorted loudly as I was trying to snap myself out of falling asleep.

Now I sleep. She sleeps. Mostly sleep isn't a real problem, could always be better but nothing to before. I still feel embarrassment to look like Darth Vader and prefer to put mask on in the dark, and occasionally don't wear it because I just want to be able to go to bed like a normal person, but stick with it. It's worth it. I wear the nasal pillow, not full face.

Good luck with it!

tnegun

What machine have you got? I was given an old school CPAP that just ramped to my pressure and sat there absolutly awful and I nearly gave up because of it.

trashcan

tnegun wrote: »

What machine have you got? I was given an old school CPAP that just ramped to my pressure and sat there absolutly awful and I nearly gave up because of it.

Not sure what type exactly, though the girl who set me up said that the pressure adjusts to what's required. Last couple of nights it's ended up whee I had to open my mouth to release air, and a gasp of air came out.At that point I gave up and took it off. I have a nasal mask, not the pillows. I'm not sure if they would be any better. I'm going to see about a full mask, I think it might feel easier if I can open my mouth. I'm just so conscious of every breath at the moment, and as I said it sounds like Darth Vader breathing ! Going to bed shortly and I'm dreading it.

Anyway, thanks for all the replies. I'll try and stick with it. If I don't get to sleep in an hour or two tonight though it's coming off.

Glebee

trashcan wrote: »

Not sure what type exactly, though the girl who set me up said that the pressure adjusts to what's required. Last couple of nights it's ended up whee I had to open my mouth to release air, and a gasp of air came out.At that point I gave up and took it off. I have a nasal mask, not the pillows. I'm not sure if they would be any better. I'm going to see about a full mask, I think it might feel easier if I can open my mouth. I'm just so conscious of every breath at the moment, and as I said it sounds like Darth Vader breathing ! Going to bed shortly and I'm dreading it.

Anyway, thanks for all the replies. I'll try and stick with it. If I don't get to sleep in an hour or two tonight though it's coming off.

Stick with it, I was in the same boat as yourself. I tried it before, hated the sight of it, could not get to sleep at night and sent it back saying im not using that machine again.
What made me go back to it was when I used to feel so tire4d in the mornings after a nights sleep that I felt like pulling the car in and having a kip while on the way into the office. I have done a lot of driving in the past and never minded it but it suddenly became an ordeal as it was only a matter of time before I fell asleep behind the wheel.
Gave the machine another try as I had to do something and this time it clicked. Im using it a year now and the tiredness levels are completely gone. can fall asleep within minutes of putting the mask on and the no snoring is a major plus for my wife. The odd night that I would not wear it I would lift the roof with snoring.
Keep using it, I was a major sceptic about it at the start but it has without doubt been a hugh benifit to me both from a decent sleep point of view and im sure other underlining health benifits.

Leslie91

trashcan wrote: »

Not sure what type exactly, though the girl who set me up said that the pressure adjusts to what's required. Last couple of nights it's ended up whee I had to open my mouth to release air, and a gasp of air came out.At that point I gave up and took it off. I have a nasal mask, not the pillows. I'm not sure if they would be any better. I'm going to see about a full mask, I think it might feel easier if I can open my mouth. I'm just so conscious of every breath at the moment, and as I said it sounds like Darth Vader breathing ! Going to bed shortly and I'm dreading it.

Anyway, thanks for all the replies. I'll try and stick with it. If I don't get to sleep in an hour or two tonight though it's coming off.

FWIW I trialled both nose only and then full face mask on separate nights. I wasn't comfortable with nose only. After about 3 days on full face mask with a machine that auto adjusts the pressure required I had no issues whatsoever. I am on it about 6 mths now and last Saturday (was away) was the first night without it, I'd left the head gear at home, DOH. No comparison I was wrecked all day Sunday.

Imho go full face mask and stick with it... you should not regret it if you have a machine comparable to mine. My AHI score was 67 so it has really changed my life.

Masala

Glebee wrote: »

Stick with it, I was in the same boat as yourself. I tried it before, hated the sight of it, could not get to sleep at night and sent it back saying im not using that machine again.
What made me go back to it was when I used to feel so tire4d in the mornings after a nights sleep that I felt like pulling the car in and having a kip while on the way into the office. I have done a lot of driving in the past and never minded it but it suddenly became an ordeal as it was only a matter of time before I fell asleep behind the wheel.
Gave the machine another try as I had to do something and this time it clicked. Im using it a year now and the tiredness levels are completely gone. can fall asleep within minutes of putting the mask on and the no snoring is a major plus for my wife. The odd night that I would not wear it I would lift the roof with snoring.
Keep using it, I was a major sceptic about it at the start but it has without doubt been a hugh benifit to me both from a decent sleep point of view and im sure other underlining health benifits.

Agree with the above.....after a year of use I 'nearly' look forward to putting it on at night!! Some nights it feels like lying on beach and a soft summer breeze is flowing over my face....aaahhhh!

At this stage it is now second nature to me going to bed!

trashcan

Leslie91 wrote: »

FWIW I trialled both nose only and then full face mask on separate nights. I wasn't comfortable with nose only. After about 3 days on full face mask with a machine that auto adjusts the pressure required I had no issues whatsoever. I am on it about 6 mths now and last Saturday (was away) was the first night without it, I'd left the head gear at home, DOH. No comparison I was wrecked all day Sunday.

Imho go full face mask and stick with it... you should not regret it if you have a machine comparable to mine. My AHI score was 67 so it has really changed my life.

I'm due to get the full face mask on Friday, so I'll give that a go. Put the mask on last night but took it off at about 2am. I was having problems with my sinus at night even before I got the machine. So I'm hoping it's just that. Funny thing is I didn't feel that bad, it was just a chance remark to my doctor about feeling a bit tired generally that led to me being referred. My score (I assume it's the AHI score) was 41, which I'm told is severe.

tnegun

Second the full mask I had just the nasel for a few weeks and it took a lot of getting used to switched to the full face and haven't looked back.

Where does everyone get their supplies? I've gotten stuff from the UK and USA far cheaper than anything than can be got locally but was wondering what you guys do?

Fathom

Do you dream while masked?

drake70

Fathom wrote: »

Do you dream while masked?

only of electric sheep

, just kidding

Yes, I dream.

Glebee

Fathom wrote: »

Do you dream while masked?

Yes, normal dreaming. I do find though if I do wake early I cant go back to sleep with the mask on. I either take it off or just get up.

Leslie91

Fathom wrote: »

Do you dream while masked?

I had not dreamt in yrs... then I got my CPAP, first night I dreamt, it was mad... Apparently one only dreams in deep sleep and most with apnoea stop breathing when transitioning to deep sleep and wake up before reaching deep sleep. Dreaming like a divil ever since, it's great.

Leslie91

tnegun wrote: »

Second the full mask I had just the nasel for a few weeks and it took a lot of getting used to switched to the full face and haven't looked back.

Where does everyone get their supplies? I've gotten stuff from the UK and USA far cheaper than anything than can be got locally but was wondering what you guys do?

I rent mine from Home Health Care and then try and claim back a % as I spend the max on the DPS per mth.