Saw "Stupid Machine" (CPAP) mentioned

[Phillip Sisk]

I've had mine for about 7 or 8 years. Had nasal and throat surgery , and it helped for about 2 years. Was told later that it was a temporary fix. I can't sleep without mine now. Mine is the nose type, as the nasal pillows did not work. My neighbor hated his cpap and would not use it. He died in his sleep from it according to the doctors. He was 63 years young. Im afraid not to use mine now. I'm thinking about the mouthpiece and trying it. Good luck all and sleep tight.

[Drreb]

Don't understand that approach myself. I would look into more blood tests to see if you have any vitamin deficiency etc. Freebird and Condor are just two members who have recently discovered this problem. It will certainly drain you, and leave you tired. Good luck

Aussie Annie,

I do have the sleep apnea also that was the reason for the CPAP. But because they are unconnected controlling the sleep apnea want help the RLS. So you want know that the sleep apnea is under control because of the RLS, so no relief will be felt. I have done and been through every test there is, also taken evey kind of med. there is with no relief. I'm just doomed with no restful sleep. Oh well life goes on.

[Rocket]

Have had the machine for several years now. Wish I had got it earlier. They did a sleep apnea test on me and I stopped breathing over 400 times a night, almost half of them for two minutes or more. When I was working I would go in and down two extra large coffees with four shots of espresso and two hot chocolates. When I got into the third coffee/espresso it was relatively safe to approach. The first week I used the machine I had vivid technicolor dreams all night long. I could never remember dreaming before. Had to take it in and get the pressure/moisture adjusted a couple of times. I would not be without it now, they tell me I am almost normal now.

 

They don't know you very well..... They must have meant, that your sleep is much better now. Yup, that must be it........

[saddlebum]

My son uses one and claims he is sleeping much better.. . . However my daughter in law now feels like she is sleeping next to DARTH VADER

[pakidaho]

It is amazing how many folks suffer with sleep issues...wow! Teri has used ear plugs for several years but something must have changed over the past month and she has been trying to tolerate the rumbling bed but after trying to wake me up and getting cussed she decided the couch was better suited.

I purchased an oral device (mouth guard) sort of thing and last night was my first trial.... It was rough but I stayed determined recognizing it will take time to adjust and kept it in all night. I can not say I got much sleep but I know my wife did and she was still in the bed this morning...guess that is a good sign....that the device is working..lol As little sleep as I got I do notice the absence of a very dry mouth and I do feel a bit better energy this morning, which is surprising.

[Brake Pad]

I sleep Sooo much better.....Now that I've moved to the front bedroom:rotf:

[Yammer Dan]

The Warden is staying the night more often. Used to wake up and have to go hunt her.

[Sailor]

The main cause of apnea is not in the nasal passages but in the throat. At night the throat muscles relax and block off the air. Of course nothing is for sure, I am sure there are some people whose problems are nasal and I think surgery is probably the answer for them.

Hey Rocket.....this is almost normal...you didn't know me before. I have realy slowed down, thank goodness.

Edited January 25, 2012 by Sailor

[Danimal]

I've been on my cpap for 7 weeks now. First 5 sucked, now it feels strange without it. I used to toss and turn all night. Thought it was an uncomfortable bed. Now I wake up 4 or 5 hours later in same position. As for feeling better it's been a slow process. I'm more alert and don't feel that "brain fog" anymore. Memory is much improved. Depression symptoms are getting better. The key is a comfortable mask i believe. If you're still tired in 6 weeks or feel you wake up to much the problem may be to low of pressure. You would still be waking up to breath because machine isn't doing the job. Contact your pulmonologist in that case. Stick with it, it'll get better as your exhausted body gets some much needed rest! Besides it may save your life.

[Yammer Dan]

Mine woke me up about 4 times between 1 AM and 3;30 Am so here I am again. Probally end up back in bed without it and sleep til 8 or 9. If I had to get up to go to work it would be rough.

[Yammer Dan]

I think I've figured it out. They gave me the 2nd Gen model....

 

 

Makes a lot of noise and don't do much!!

Edited January 29, 2012 by Yammer Dan

[KeithR]

I've just been reading through this post checking things out. I too have just been told I have sleep apnea...stopped breathing 25.4 times per hr and as long as 54 sec's. I really wasn't having any tired issues but was from time to time waking up with what I thought was panic attacks. I guess I was panicing.....couldn't breath.

 

I have had the CPAP machine for about 3 weeks and having a rough time getting use to it. That darn mask(full) makes my nose itch something fierce. I've been use to itching - battled with psoriasis for 40 years - finally got rid of that - gotta love Humira!

 

So I guess what I'm wondering....anybody experiance the darn itch thing and what did they did to solve it. I have been using Aloe Vera on my face but don't help.

 

Anyone have the pillow with the cut outs for the mask for side sleeping ?

 

Thanks

 

Keith

[hubbsfd]

I don't have any itching in the nose. I have a model with a water tank (use distilled water) and I'm able to up the moisture as needed as humidity changes in the house during seasons. I use nasal pillows vs. a mask. My hose runs up between my eyes and over my head so I can turn side to side freely. I can tell you sometimes I have congestion so I have to lay on my back with my head tilted slightly back on my pillow until my head opens up. Once it opens the moist forced air keeps me open so I can turn on my side. I love being able to breath with my mouth closed. I had apnea bad enough that my oxygen level would drop dramatically when I slept which is dangerous. Of course no more snoring. I hope you get used to it because it does improve your life's longevity.

[venture83_98]

I have had mine since I was about 28. I am 46 now. My original sleep study showed that I stopped breathing about 85 times an hour. I could sleep for 12 hours and was never rested. I woke up with massive throbbing headaches, couldnt remember getting ready for work, or the drive there or home. I would fall asleep at my workstation, and catch myself as I was falling. I am still at about 50 times an hour when i did a new study last year.

 

I am on my 5th different machine in those years. The newest one has a humidifer I can adjust, the hose is heated for cold weather, and the pressure adjusts itself if needed.

I use a mask that just covers my nose, but I keep a full face mask for when I am sick and cant breathe through my nose.

 

It took awhile to get used to, but it is worth it. Especially in the last 2 or 3 years with my congestive heart failure, heart disease, A-fib, and diabates. I wish I didnt need it, but It is much better than waking up dead one morning.

 

Oh, and my shoulder hurts less also.......I'm not getting punched anymore, getting told to stop snoring.......:rotf:

[etcswjoe]

Ask your doc if a nasal pillow type mask may work better for you. I had the nasal mask and it kept rubbing the top of my nose. Took me about two weeks to get use to the machine I tried one of those cut out pillows and wound up tossing it.

[dacheedah]

I couldn't handle the one that stuck in my nose, I am much more comfortable with a larger, less attractive mask.

[Cheesehead in flatland]

CPAP never did me any good, and I kept pulling it off. I tried every mask option with no luck.

 

I finally bought a mouthpiece that moves my lower jaw forward and that keeps the airway open. I don't claim any miraculous results, but I do sleep better and I don't snore.

 

I used a cpap for years and while it took some time to get accustomed to it, it did wonders for my sleep.

 

I also went from a cpap to a mouth piece. I'm told I still snore but not nearly like I did before. The mouth piece is so much better when traveling!

[BigLenny]

I too have a CPAP. I used it religiously for 7-8 years. I used to snore like a freight train, and my wife constantly prodded me to get something done about it because she said I was stopping breathing a lot, and she was worried I was gonna croak in my sleep, what little of it I was actually getting.

 

Right off the bat, the machine creating a suction of sorts that kept my mouth shut was weird to me because I hadn't been able to sleep with my mouth shut for years. I never really had a hard time adjusting. The machine worked wonders for me for many years.

 

Over time, I came to the realization that before I got the CPAP, the snoring was not only caused by my throat relaxing while I slept, but it was exacerbated by my mouth being open and the air that I was breathing in through my mouth was severely dryiing out my relaxed throat and causing the flapping (snoring) sound. On more than one occasion my throat actually dried up and stuck together closed resulting in me violently waking up in a panic struggling for air because I couldn't breath. The CPAP trained me to sleep with my mouth shut.

 

A couple years ago I went on a business trip and forgot my CPAP. A traveling coworker suggested that I go to the store and get some BreathRight Extra strips and wear them on my nose and sleep on my side instead of my back, because sleeping on your back automatically makes your mouth pop open. Well.....IT WORKED! I slept that way for 5 nights on that trip and slept like a baby. After I got home, I continued to put a BreathRight strip on my nose, and slept on my side, and my wife said I was as quiet as a mouse. I've done that for a couple years now with good results. I still have the CPAP in the chest beside my bed just for a security blanket I guess, but I don't use it.

 

The trick to the whole snoring thing is learning to sleep with your mouth shut. I know how hard that is because you feel like you don't get enough air through your nose alone, so you open your mouth. Thats when your mouth dries out your throat and all the ugliness starts. Sleeping on your back pops your mouth open. Try to sleep on your side, and use a BreathRight Extra strip and maybe that will work. It did for me.

[StarFan]

Man,,,I gotta remember to put my glasses on when reading the threads.

 

Did not have my glasses on and started reading this thread.

A CRAP Machine ??

What in the world is that I thought - and it makes one sleep better ??? Seems like a lot of the members have one and are speaking so freely about it ??

 

Decided to go to google.com -> pictures and search for a crap machine to try to figure out what this was all about. And this is what I found:

 

Cloaca No. 5 is very similar to Chanel No. 5, the perfume. One smells like crap, the other is a machine that actually dumps on command. It’s a “mechanized sculpture” that reproduces the human digestive system in every detail. The end result is just like you and me, the machine produces feces, only when it pinches a loaf it comes out vacuum-packed.

Yeah, a machine that poos. There’s another thing a robot does better then humans. It’s part of an exhibition that’s open until valentine’s day in the universite du quebec’s art, Montreal. Cloaca is made of steel, rubber and glass .

 

Man I was in complete shock ! That is one monstreus thing and they keep it in their bedrooms Was wondering if Big Tom has one since I know he has a machine that makes him sleep better. Started getting very nervous since I am visiting Tom the coming August and was wondering if he would put me in the room with that monster of a machine and order me to use it freely to make sure I would get a good nights sleep Had serious trauma when I started wondering how this machine works :shock3: and how you hook it up

 

Decided to read on and finally my glasses came through and the sun rose again:

CPAP Machine,,,Phewww,,,What a relief (so to speak),,,,,,,,

Am gonna swallow the six pack I have in the fridge and try to get my hands to stop shaking !!

 

Sleep tight !

[Trader]

I have one available. Original cost was $1700 or close to that.

 

I was never used....until I tried to give it to a close friend and he tried it for 2 weeks...but couldn't get used to it.

 

$200 takes it (plus shipping)

 

PM me if interested

[Yammer Dan]

Gave up on mine in Aug.

[bongobobny]

As I mentioned in my previous response, it took me a good year before I finally got used to it! Most often I would wake up to find the mask and hose flung on the floor beside the bed. Yes it can make your nose tickle but eventually you get used to that as well. It takes a while to find the right mask. I tried nasal cannulas but after a few days of using them they would irritate the inside of my nose no matter how carefully I cleaned them every day. I've finally come across a mask that I prefer and am overall comfortable with.

 

I use humidity and it does make a difference in the winter. In the summer I'm better off without it. I'm about to try using a chin strap as many nights my throat gets very dry. I'm a side sleeper. I have a swivel on my hose to mask connection and use an extra long hose and hook it under the pillow and out the top...

 

Jonas, thet CRAP machine looks frightening!! You stick that pointy part where???

[Dale124]

Well, yet another story on a busy thread. I have had mine cpap machine for about a year and a half. I am a light sleeper to start with, so i still wake up several times a night, but at least my wife is getting a good sleep now that my snoring has stopped. It does indeed take some time to get used to, but once you are accustom to wearing it, it is a comfort. I consider my relationship with my cpap machine to be a "love/hate" one. I hate putting it on each night, as I think it looks ridiculous, and it sometimes makes noise that I can't ignore. (after seeing the newest Batman movie, i thought it would be cool if my cpap mask looked like Bane's mask, but sadly, it doesnt). I love it when I get a good night sleep, and don't wake up gasping. I have a holiday trailer on an acreage, and when I go there, I don't have my machine, so sleeping there is TERRIBLE! It does indeed make a difference. I do not want to pack this machine up to travel with, especially when on the bike, so I purchased a mouth piece as mentioned earlier in this thread from "pure sleep" (I saw their commercial on tv). That thing is not easy to get used to either, but it worked for me too. I tried using it for 4 nights in a row, to see if I could reliably take it on a trip and still get some sleep, and as I got used to it, I liked it more and more. The down side is that it takes a while for my teeth to line up properly the next morning. I thought that I couldn't eat until they aligned, but learned that when I chewed, it sped up the alignment process.

[StarFan]

 

Jonas, thet CRAP machine looks frightening!! You stick that pointy part where???

 

Well Bobby my friend !

I read a little about it and fortunately it is fed by a cafeteria waste to make things happen. But you can imagine how shaky I got when I was trying to figure out how this thing would hook up

Just finished half of the six pack and am now able to hold the glass with two hands without spilling. Threw the straw away just now.

 

Look forward to see you in August at Toms rally

Give Becky a big Icelandic hug from me and rest assure that I will bring some Black Death for you and the guys

You wont need any crap machine after swallowing a couple of shots of that famous grease cleaner while chewing on the rotten shark I am gonna bring It is actually delicious - ask BIG TOM - HE LOVED THE SHARK AND JUST COULD NOT GET ENOUGH OF IT !!!!!!!

Just don´t bet on Becky wanting to kiss you for a week afterwards

[kantornado]

I have had mine for about 3 weeks now and can tell you I HATE IT. "BUT" and its a big one. The dark circles around my eyes are going away, I am not constantly getting up to PEEE. I am finely getting a good nights sleep. So no matter what, the CPAP is part of my life now. Just to not constantly get up to PEEE is a great feeling. You guys that quit using yours I don't understand it, but its your life and you can make it as short as you want. My Doc said it would be unlikely if I would see my grand kids graduate from high school. Probably wont anyway but at least I have a shot now...Ron