CPAP

[not2old]

It only took one experience of being woken up by a horn blaring and finding I was three feet over the white line while on the highway to make me pay more attention to how tired I am while driving. Since that happened, I will open a window to get blasted with cold air or pull over for a short nap before continuing.

 

[etpm]

It is neither foolish or stubborn if you cannot mentally handle the idea of the thing on your face, in my case it set off my claustrophobia BIG TIME and could not get it off fast enough. If you are not claustrophobic you DON'T know what it is like. This is a PERSONAL decision of what you can or cannot live with, not one that you have to agree or disagree with, ESPECIALLY if you do not know all the background.

I know all about claustrophobia. Over the last year I had it really bad, worse than usual. I had to start sleeping outside it got so bad. I could not use my CPAP because of the claustrophobia. But I need it to sleep. I finally went to see my doc and she prescribed buspiron. This remarkable medication relieved most of my anxiety about being inside and allowed me to use my CPAP again. Taking the stuff broke the cycle I was going through. I only took the buspiron for about a month. I am now much less claustrophobic.
Eric

 

[pmsmechanic]

Up here the CPAP technicians seem to think that the ordinary person doesn't know anything. When I mentioned that I thought my pressure was too high they wouldn't reduce it because a DR. had prescribed it. I finally got upset and looked up on the internet how to change the pressure. The history was amazing. Before lowering the pressure the mask was leaking regularly. After it basically stayed at the same pressure all night with no mask leakage.

What would happen is the mask would leak a little and the CPAP would increase the pressure to compensate. Then the mask would leak more. Very irritating. I went from having a dried out mouth just about every night to only about slightly dried once a week or so.

My take on it is so what if I do have short moments of apnea once in a while. I shift around enough in my sleep and it's all good again vs waking up with a dried out mouth and being thoroughly ticked off at the CPAP.

I sleep a lot better since I took over the settings on my machine.

 

[Redbug]

New CPAP user here...about 5 months. I used to snore a lot and would wake myself up at times. I would be groggy in the morning, too.

I talked to the doctor about it and took the home sleep study...with the app on my cell phone to send the data to the doctor. The doctor recommended getting a CPAP machine.

With the CPAP I sleep well at night...but usually wake up around 3am to pee. I look at the app on my phone every morning to see the night's results. I average maybe 1 or 2 events an hour. I sleep a lot on my sides and sometimes on my stomach.

Before I got the CPAP I investigated the headgear and chose what I wanted. I am using a Resmed Airsense11 and AirFitP30i with the nasal pillows. I like putting it on because my breathing puts me to sleep.

I dream like crazy now...and never did much before.

Getting old sucks but you have to adjust to it.

 

[John0829]

Without a doubt claustrophobia hits each person differently. I consider myself pretty claustrophobic. I have to take something to do an MRI otherwise you won't get me in the tube. BTDT! Yet I could squeeze under a machine without issue usually unless it was enclosed. Crawl space under a house.....NO THANK YOU! A face mask doesn't bother me though. Wearing a mask was part of my job and had to be fit test yearly. Silica dust is not something you want to breathe in as are several other types of dust.

They do offer nose plugs for those that can't do a mask so maybe that would be an option for you. A friend of the wife's had a surgical procedure done with some sort of "device" added that now she doesn't have to use a CPap because of it. So there is that as well.

Boy have you hit the nail on the head, same here I cannot and will not go into an MRI machine, it MUST be an open machine or it ain't happening. Like you squeezing under a car or machine no biggie, crawl space like you, it ain't happening. Wearing a paint mask or dust filter no problem and I can climb ladders, walk steel beams no problem yet when SWMBO and I were on the coast and she wanted to go up a light house, nope, nada happening after a dozen steps my head got to spinning so much I was not sure I could make it back down. Hard to tell what will or will not have an affect you.

I tried a full mask, partial mask and the nose plugs could not take any of them. I really think it was the air pressure that was causing my reaction.

 

[ponytug]

Boy have you hit the nail on the head, same here I cannot and will not go into an MRI machine, it MUST be an open machine or it ain't happening. Like you squeezing under a car or machine no biggie, crawl space like you, it ain't happening. Wearing a paint mask or dust filter no problem and I can climb ladders, walk steel beams no problem yet when SWMBO and I were on the coast and she wanted to go up a light house, nope, nada happening after a dozen steps my head got to spinning so much I was not sure I could make it back down. Hard to tell what will or will not have an affect you.

I tried a full mask, partial mask and the nose plugs could not take any of them. I really think it was the air pressure that was causing my reaction.

That sounds tough. Can you swim, snorkel, or dive?

All the best, Peter

 

[Alan W.]

My BiPap machine has an auto setting that detects how Im breathing and adjust both pressure levels as needed.
When I was first prescribed it the pressures were set by the Neurologist and it constantly pushed air into my stomach which came out the other end in the morning. Im sure I hold a couple of world records.

 

[GrandpaSmurf825]

Boy have you hit the nail on the head, same here I cannot and will not go into an MRI machine, it MUST be an open machine or it ain't happening. Like you squeezing under a car or machine no biggie, crawl space like you, it ain't happening. Wearing a paint mask or dust filter no problem and I can climb ladders, walk steel beams no problem yet when SWMBO and I were on the coast and she wanted to go up a light house, nope, nada happening after a dozen steps my head got to spinning so much I was not sure I could make it back down. Hard to tell what will or will not have an affect you.

I tried a full mask, partial mask and the nose plugs could not take any of them. I really think it was the air pressure that was causing my reaction.

Isn't our mind a strange thing. I can climb some things as well just fine and then you get me trying to walk a log across a creek....Nope. I still remember a crawler loader I was working on. Dropped the belly pan to get at a hydraulic leak. Cloudy gray day and it was just tight enough that I couldn't turn over without crawling back out. I suddenly hit my limit, picked up tools and said see you Monday. Went back, sun was shining and I finished without a problem.

When one of several new pipelines went through and I was working near by I visited with some of the crews at different times. Being close to the Mississippi river the crew that specialized in the horizontal boring was there doing their thing. I'm not talking about a Vermeer or Ditchwitch either. I'm not even positive what drives this system. The pipe was either 36 or 42 inches in diameter. As they go under the river they keep adding sections of pipe on. There was an inspector that went inside the pipe every couple sections and inspected the welds. He was on his back on a sort of modified skate board with a rope tied on it. When he was ready he would let them know and they would pull him back out with the rope. I don't know how far he went into the pipe. It's approaching 20 years now. However the bore went about a mile or a little over and was about 30 feet below the bottom of the river. I believe the companies name was Michelman's and they were out of the Milwaukee Wisconsin area. You wouldn't get me in that tube either.

 

[Redbug]

Isn't our mind a strange thing. I can climb some things as well just fine and then you get me trying to walk a log across a creek....Nope. I still remember a crawler loader I was working on. Dropped the belly pan to get at a hydraulic leak. Cloudy gray day and it was just tight enough that I couldn't turn over without crawling back out. I suddenly hit my limit, picked up tools and said see you Monday. Went back, sun was shining and I finished without a problem.

When one of several new pipelines went through and I was working near by I visited with some of the crews at different times. Being close to the Mississippi river the crew that specialized in the horizontal boring was there doing their thing. I'm not talking about a Vermeer or Ditchwitch either. I'm not even positive what drives this system. The pipe was either 36 or 42 inches in diameter. As they go under the river they keep adding sections of pipe on. There was an inspector that went inside the pipe every couple sections and inspected the welds. He was on his back on a sort of modified skate board with a rope tied on it. When he was ready he would let them know and they would pull him back out with the rope. I don't know how far he went into the pipe. It's approaching 20 years now. However the bore went about a mile or a little over and was about 30 feet below the bottom of the river. I believe the companies name was Michelman's and they were out of the Milwaukee Wisconsin area. You wouldn't get me in that tube either.

To me that's worse than mining.

 

[John0829]

That sounds tough. Can you swim, snorkel, or dive?

All the best, Peter

Yep can swim and snorkel just fine, never been any place I could try diving and at this age doubt I ever will. Like was said the mind is a strange thing and mine is stranger than most