Sleep Apnoea and CPAP

Leslie91 wrote:

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.

You dream in REM sleep I believe, the lightest sleep state.

FaganJr wrote: »

You dream in REM sleep I believe, the lightest sleep state.

I was told that you need to reach deep sleep to dream... but open to correction. Certainly I was not conscious of being able to remember having dreamt until getting on the CPAP.

FaganJr wrote: »

Yes you have to reach deep sleep in the first stage after falling asleep, but then you enter REM sleep and that's where dreams occur. You alternate then between the 3 sleep states, deep, light & REM. REM is usually the last sleep state before naturally waking. And sometimes you remember parts of these dreams.

Ah that explains it, I was never reaching deep sleep and so not making it to REM.

Anyone travel recently with Ryanair and carry on the CPAP machine.

I traveled last year with it and brought it onboard no problems, I wonder has this changed.

Masala wrote: »

No change as far as i can see. BUT - you must contact them to send you authorisation to carry it as extra hand luggage. I did get stopped once boarding the plane and only that I had the covering letter - I would had had to put one of my bags into the hold.

To be honest - the authorisation side of things is quite easy and works well...so credit where credit is due!

Did not have any letter when I carried on last year. Is it just counted as carry on??

I flew flybe not so long ago and CPAP no issue at all... not even asked what it was. I'd expect the same from all airlines to be honest but if you have/can get your hands on a letter then no harm to be sure to be sure.

I am using a ResMed Airsense unit with a mirage FX nasal mask. On Saturday night the circular holder that connects the mask to the air hose almost completely came away and now there is a very poor seal with lots of air leakage. I cannot afford a new mask at the moment so I’m thinking of trying to repair the mask using glue – I believe the mask is made of silicon (for the soft cushion parts) and nylon for the harder parts. It is the harder (nylon) part I will be trying to glue. Anyone tried this before and if so what would they recommend for a suitable glue?

Glebee wrote:

Ive used superglue in the past to stick the rubber cushion to the mask where its come loose. Worked perfect.

Jaysus, wouldn't fancy that, fumes etc??

dogmatix wrote:

Otherwise I’m going to have to try loads of gaffer tape.

Are you renting machine?? If so will they not give you a replacement?? How old is it??

Aye - i'm renting it - had it exactly one year. I was annoyed when it happened on Saturday night as it was almost exactly one year since I had started using the machine. I was convinced the blasted thing was programmed to fail on exactly day 365. I'll give them a ring today about a replacement. I tried superglue last night and it worked well on the circular holder. But I had forgotten about the tiny vents/valves which had popped out. I'll superglue them tonight (I was too tired to try delicate work like that at the time).

Some info that may be of interest on the Airmini.

I have been renting an AirSense 10 since January, with not much trouble other than some leakage when I turn onto my side (full face mask) but the treatment is working so I'm not bothered.

I decided to get a AirMini a couple of weeks ago as I travel a lot with work... my experience so far is super positive.

Size
It packs up pretty small; I actually pack the unit and charger in the box the unit came in as it's got a pretty secure shell, and pack the hose and mask in a small soft toilet bag. Boxed up it takes up about 1/3 space at about 1/4 the weight of the AirSense which for my 2-3 day trips is the difference between a single bag or two bags on a flight. I have not got the official soft case yet because that seems to be quite big and padded, and less flexible for packing. I'll probably get the hard shell case at some point.

Noise
It's louder than the AirSense. If your partner complains about the noise now, the AirMini will be louder. But not as much as some have reported.

Lack of Humidifier
I was pretty worried about this... I love the humidifier on the 10 but the Airmini doesn't work with one for full face masks. However, I've had no problems so far not having one for a night or two. I believe they are working on a humidifier solution for the face masks, so fingers crossed.

Using It
One button, literally. You need to install the app initially, but that's it....one night I just lay down, strapped in, and hit the button, and it ramped up perfectly.

One downside is that the data is not merged between the two devices, so if you like tracking you'll have to use the app (for the mini) and the website (for the airsense), but TBH I don't track it too regularly anymore unless I'm not getting sleep.. The other downside is that it's bloody expensive. 1500 lids; I did consider importing for 800-900 USD, but figured import duty, warranty, power supply, and uploading of data would end up making this more trouble than the few hundred saving. One other thing I would love is the ability to run it off an external battery... currently it's the included charger (nice long cable) only. Also: don't get a second mask... just travel with your daily mask. It means you don't have two to clean and maintain at the same time, just one.

I hope this is of some use to you guys.

Hi everyone, diagnosed with severe sleep apnea last December, over 31 apneas/hypopneas an hour, oxygen levels dropping to 81%. Sleeping constantly and taking ages to wake. Had second sleep study in March, I dont have Narcolepsy but have restless legs which wake me and prevent me going to deep sleep. To cut a long story short, started on APAP machine in December. I noticed an immediate improvement, then plateaued out which was very dissappointing. Still exhausted but perservered and after adjustments to the APAP machine doing so much better now. My air is set automatically from 4 to 16 and I am at 16 quite a lot of nights.

Anybody else's machine set on this high level???

Seagull01 wrote: »

Hi everyone, diagnosed with severe sleep apnea last December, over 31 apneas/hypopneas an hour, oxygen levels dropping to 81%. Sleeping constantly and taking ages to wake. Had second sleep study in March, I dont have Narcolepsy but have restless legs which wake me and prevent me going to deep sleep. To cut a long story short, started on APAP machine in December. I noticed an immediate improvement, then plateaued out which was very dissappointing. Still exhausted but perservered and after adjustments to the APAP machine doing so much better now. My air is set automatically from 4 to 16 and I am at 16 quite a lot of nights.

Anybody else's machine set on this high level???

Mine was set 4-20 but I don't think I've ever gone to 20, seems avg is 10.

LittleGarry wrote: »

I had been renting an Airsense 10 since February. I was very happy with the machine which had literally overhauled my life. I was not happy paying €110 per month to rent it though. I done quite a lot of research online and ended up buying one from this company:

https://www.cpapstore.eu/store/cpap-bipap-machines/auto-cpap-machines/airsense-10-autoset-auto-cpap-with-humidair/

I found them to be excellent to deal with - the MD even rang me at 7.30 one evening to discuss queries I had about the myAir online monitoring and if it would function here (which it does 100%) along with a few other minor queries. The machine arrived within 48 hrs of placing the order and was identical in every way to the rented machine that I had.

The price of purchasing the machine from the distributor here is nothing short of insulting in my opinion.

Where did those lads ship it to you from? Price here in Ireland is bananas.