Wearing a sleep apnea mask?

[jinman]

So Bird, are you sleeping with a mask on your face these days? How did your tests turn out? Is sleep apnea an issue? For your sake, I hope not. I hate sleeping with an oxygen tube under my nose. I can't imagine that biggrer mask.

 

[buickanddeere]

It's air not oxygen.
Breathing positive pressure air is better than snoring and suffering sleep apnea. The stress on the heart, raised blood pressure, destabilized blood sugar control, raised blood cholesterol and chemical changes to the brain are all serious health issues.

 

[murphy1244]

It's air not oxygen.
Breathing positive pressure air is better than snoring and suffering sleep apnea. The stress on the heart, raised blood pressure, destabilized blood sugar control, raised blood cholesterol and chemical changes to the brain are all serious health issues.

True, had a friend die from not using his mask.

 

[doxford jim]

What Buickanddeere said !

I have been on a CPAP machine for about five years now and can say it makes a huge difference. Not cheap - they are around $2,000 a unit but well worth the money. You have to undergo a sleep test and then the results are sent to your doctor. After a consultation (gotta get their money) a prescription will be given for the equipment (at least here in Canada). A bit of a nuisance being hooked up to an air pump for the night, but the sleep quality is excellent - at least in my case. Surprisingly, the face mask is not a problem - even I was surprised.

 

[Bird]

Yep, Jim, I've been wearing the CPAP mask every night now for the past 8 days.

I spent the night at the Sleep Institute on March 26, hooked up to a bunch of wires and monitored by an infrared camera while I slept (or tried to). So, yep, diagnosed with sleep apnea "in the moderate to severe range". So it was back for another night on April 2, hooked up to all those wires again, plus a nasal mask. I didn't do too well with keeping that mask in place, so the technician came in and tried a full face mask very, very briefly, before going back to the nasal mask. In the morning, the technician said, "You tossed and turned all night." Well, no kidding, Dick Tracy, it didn't take all those wires and camera for me to know that. So the technician sent me home with both of the masks.

On April 21, I went to the Rhema Medical Supply house in Denton and picked up a CPAP machine with heated humidifier, lots of instructions and reading material, and yet another type of nasal mask. This machine has a tiny modem attached that's sending info back to the lady at Rhema. It also has an SD card that's recording some kind of data. She said the doctor will request information from that card and they'll call me and I can take just the card to them, or I can take the machine in and they'll take the card out. And they'll want the modem back in 30 days.

They say I must use the CPAP machine an average of at least 4 hours a night for 21 of the first 30 days, then I have to see the doctor between the 31st and 91st day for an evaluation. Those are requirements for Medicare to pay.

The air pressure is set to 11 of a possible 20, as prescribed by my doctor, she said. But there's a button I can press to immediately drop it to 4 and then it'll gradually come back up to 11 in 20 minutes. That's so, if the pressure is annoying, I can drop it to 4 and then hopefully go to sleep before it gets back up to 11.

So, it's a nuisance; that's the bad news. The good news is that there are many, many different masks and the Philips Respironics TrueBlue nasal mask I got from Rhema is much better than either of the masks I got from the Sleep Institute.

And the best news is that I actually am sleeping much better 7 to 8 hours a night without waking up every few minutes, as I used to do.

 

[Deere Dude]

I have been with a CPAP with the nose pillows for about 1-1/2 years. And the wife moved back in because i didn't snore anymore.:thumbsup::thumbsup: It took about a year to get used to sleeping all night with it because I sleep in my stomach and I would still only get about 4-5 hours sleep a night and fling the mask off in my sleep. Finally I tried OTC sleeping pills from Walmart with the sleep machine. The time slowly climbed to 7-8 hours a night over a 4 month period. Now I am trying to wean myself off the sleeping pills. But am used to the machine. I can breath in nice fresh cool air even if my head is under the covers and I rip a few.:ashamed:

 

[tow653]

My wife is a registered sleep tech,and the health complications from sleep apnea are very serious. Glad to say I don't have it,but if you do please get tested,it will save your life!

 

[dslanec]

I have been using a cpap machine for over 5 years now. Full face mask. It has changed my life for the better more than I ever could of thought! My pressure is 13 and the wife is MUCH happier now.

Sent from my iPhone using TractorByNet

 

[BobRip]

I switched from a sleep apnea machine to a mouth piece which pushes my jaw forward. It is not perfect but it helps. I don't wake up exhausted and injuries heal quicker. When muscles don't get enough oxygen they can take forever to heal. I still wake up 4 or 5 times a night, but this is still better. It's another thing to try. My dentist made the device.

 

[RichZ]

I've been using a C-pap machine for about 15 years. When I first got it,the mask was the only option, but there are lots of different options now. The nose pillows work best for me. I had a real hard time getting used to it for the first few months, but after that it was fine, and the nose pillows really make it easier to deal with. As was said earlier, sleep apnea can kill you, so you have to use the C-pap if you're diagnosed with it.