Dying in my sleep???

[RDawson]

The school marm has been after me for a while to go get a sleep study, she claims I snore loudly but I don't believe her. I think she even sunk low enough to get my crew at the firehouse in on it because they claim the same thing. Doc called me today to let me know I don't have "sleep apnea"- I have "severe sleep apnea" , the kind you can wake up dead from. :shock3: I haven't felt good in quite a long time, always exhausted and not sleeping well so this is probably a big part of it. The 6 months off work last year for a couple surgeries didn't help since not working my normal physical jobs caused my other issues to worsen, the furniture disease sorta kicked in. The one where your chest drops to you drawers. I don't consider myself way overweight at 6'-2" 220 but I'm definitely not in the shape I was in a few years ago which I'm sure is making the apnea worse. I'm hoping it'll help if I drop the extra 20-25 lbs I've somehow managed to add on and rearrange a few more back where they came from. I'm gonna get back in the gym a little more to work on that. In the meantime I go back in soon to get my CPAP or BIPAP machine ( not sure which) which brings me to the point of the whole post. Anyone here have experience with certain brands they recommend or ones to stay away from?

 

Wow, I went back to proof read this before posting and realized I wrote an essay to ask one question. Now I'm worried a little of Cowpuc is rubbing off on me. :bowdown:

[BlueSky]

I betcha if you do lose the weight you plan to and get on an exercise program, you will feel 100% better! I can't answer your question. I snore too and have found that if I sleep on my side, I don't snore.

[RDawson]

I betcha if you do lose the weight you plan to and get on an exercise program, you will feel 100% better! I can't answer your question. I snore too and have found that if I sleep on my side, I don't snore.

Thanks Sky, unfortunately the snoring is just a symptom. The real problem is I stop breathing and my oxygen levels drop dangerously low and periodically stay there for over 2hours at a time. On average I stop breathing almost once per minute while asleep.

[BlueSky]

Losing weight and exercising can accomplish amazing things. When my 3 1/2 yr job in FL ended with 14 months of 6 12s towards the end I had an irregular pulse and weighed 260. When I got home I lost 30 lbs and got back on my exercise program and my pulse went back to normal. I was 69 yrs old when that job ended in 2013. My heartbeat is still normal although I have 3 stents as of last November 1. The cardiologist told me my heart is strong and the valves work well but the arteries that feed the heart were 60 to 80% plugged. I’m still exercising more than before and I’m losing more weight now plus I started taking a statin and another drug that reduces cholesterol absorption by the small intestines. Ya gotta be tough to handle getting old!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RDawson]

Yep, getting old ain't fer wimps.

[Atlanta Bill]

If you have severe sleep apnea (I've had it since the early 1990's..I would stop breathing 70-80 times an hour without the cpap) losing weight will help, but you will still need the cpap.

Any current brand of cpap machine will work well. Do NOT buy a used one or buy used supplies ever. If you have health insurance they will cover a new one. Get one of the ozone automatic cleaners for it as well.

 

It takes a week or so to get accustomed to the mask because at first it is a bit weird/intrusive...but you will. After acclimating to it, it will make your life WAY better. You will feel much more rested. (So will your better half)! And your chances of a heart attack or stroke will go WAY down.

 

Per the "dying in my sleep" aspect, highly unlikely it would go quite that easy.

A more realistic scenario would be waking up in total terror gasping for air (common with apnea...this part of it has happened to me dozens of times), but being unable to breath in, and eventually blacking out, then dying. Not a pretty way to exit.

The cpap will fully eliminate this possibility.

 

Sleep well.

Edited January 15, 2020 by Atlanta Bill

[BratmanXj]

I snore too and have found that if I sleep on my side, I don't snore.

 

Years ago when my father had to go on a CPAP machine for his snoring they said to stop sleeping on your back. My mom stitched up a t-shirt with pockets on the back to put racket balls so my dad couldn't sleep on his back.

[saddlebum]

I used to go on ice fishing trips with a few buddies. One of them snored so bad that you could even here him through the concrete block wall of adjoining cabins. Worst yet his breathing would stop entirely and he would make a gagging sound like someone stuffed a tennis ball down his throat. I started wondering if this was life threatening in the sense that something in his throat or maybe his tongue was moving in such a manor as to block off his air way. Out of curiosity I did some research and discovered that this was in fact a serious issue and that the risk of not waking up in the morning was far more common than you would imagine. Not trying to scare you here but if its as bad as all that then I would not take it lightly and do what you have to, to improve your situation.

[NSA Joe]

Make sure it has a water tank for moisture it really seems to help. Another thing i learned is there are lots of mask choosing one is hard. I really liked the nose cushion design seemed easier to sleep in. Where ever you get it try it on standing and laying down it makes a difference how it feels. Just throwing my 2 cents in good luck. Be patient getting used to it it takes some time.

[RDawson]

If you have severe sleep apnea (I've had it since the early 1990's..I would stop breathing 70-80 times an hour without the cpap) losing weight will help, but you will still need the cpap.

Any current brand of cpap machine will work well. Do NOT buy a used one or buy used supplies ever. If you have health insurance they will cover a new one. Get one of the ozone automatic cleaners for it as well.

 

It takes a week or so to get accustomed to the mask because at first it is a bit weird/intrusive...but you will. After acclimating to it, it will make your life WAY better. You will feel much more rested. (So will your better half)! And your chances of a heart attack or stroke will go WAY down.

 

Per the "dying in my sleep" aspect, highly unlikely it would go quite that easy.

A more realistic scenario would be waking up in total terror gasping for air (common with apnea...this part of it has happened to me dozens of times), but being unable to breath in, and eventually blacking out, then dying. Not a pretty way to exit.

The cpap will fully eliminate this possibility.

 

Sleep well.

 

Wow I think I like the dying in my sleep better than that reality check of what can happen. My soon to be Dr daughter has been on me and putting a bug in her momma's ear about my health and work load. She's convinced I'm gonna have a heart attack young. My eating habits aren't great but I have slowed my fab business down to a more manageable rate as bad as I hate to turn business away to reduce the load and stress. 2 more years running into burning buildings and I'll have my time in there and get rid of that stress load too. Daughter takes her boards and starts hospital rotations in 2 months so I'm sure I'll hear more about me then.

[BIG TOM]

I have been wearing a FULL mask for 15 or more years. I've had my nose broken 6 times and can't breath thru it even after reconstructive surgery . I also would stop breathing 60 to 70 times an hour. My heart would actually stop beating several time during that hour.....!!! My poor taters didn't get a good night sleep in years because she would have to keep shaking me so I would start breathing again. Do yourself and the boss a favor and get the machine...SOME people have to adjust to sleeping with it. I never had that problem. Took to it the first night..It's a life saver. It took Taters a while to get used to me sleeping as she would keep waking me up to see if I was still alive because I was sleeping so soundly... Again , don't fight it , JUST DO IT FOR YOUR LOVED ONES !! p.s. Wen't camping once with my grandson and forgot my machine...had to leave @ 3am ...I CANNOT SLEEP WITHOUT IT.

[Marcarl]

My wife, Marca, uses a Phillips machine, but she has had it about 6 years already so the model has been outdated long ago. She is happy with it and it works just fine for her. Guess it's up to you to research and pick.

Some of the things she finds important.

Cleanability, pressure adjustment, filling water reservoir, heated tube to mouth piece,(keep moisture from collecting in tube, in any climate), transport ease, noise.

She wears hers nightly, although on occasion she might do without, but her diagnosis wasn't as bad as yours.

Interesting thing was that when she got tested they said she stopped breathing 39 time per hour,, so that would work out to once every 2 minutes or so. I wake up regularly during the night and every time I will check if she is still breathing,, have done this for 49 years, but I could never notice her stopping breathing, even if I stayed awake for 10 minutes or so,,,???? go figure,,,, but she feels better, so, so be it.

I might suggest to look online for a used machine, they are not that hard to clean and sanitize, but I would go new on the hose and face mask for sure.

Face masks are a personal preference, you need to try one on before purchase. It will depend on how you breath as well. Marca is a mouth breather so needs a mask that covers her nose as well as her mouth, other people only need to cover their nose, so everybody is different. Marca also has gone to using a blinder on her eyes to keep any air leakage from drying out her eyes overnight, seemed to be a problem for her,,, added benefit is she doesn't have to look at me for the period of time,,,, BONUS!!!

She uses a Phillips ResMed IP21.

[Atlanta Bill]

RD,

 

A daughter soon to be a doctor? That is impressive and I know you must be very proud of her.

Nothing like a built in doctor in the family! Sounds like she was raised right.

: )

 

Bill

[bpate4home]

The school marm has been after me for a while to go get a sleep study, she claims I snore loudly but I don't believe her. I think she even sunk low enough to get my crew at the firehouse in on it because they claim the same thing. Doc called me today to let me know I don't have "sleep apnea"- I have "severe sleep apnea" , the kind you can wake up dead from. :shock3: I haven't felt good in quite a long time, always exhausted and not sleeping well so this is probably a big part of . . .

 

My Wife and kids complained for years. I was even on a different floor of the house than the kids and they would come to wake / shut me up. I would normally get about 3 hours of sleep a night. The sleep study in of itself is ridiculous. How can anyone sleep at all with a couple hundred wires connected to you. Anyway, I did stop breathing with a lot of regularity. It was either a CPAP or facial reconstruction to correct the problem. I travel a lot and went with the ResMed AirSense 10. It has a humidifier tank and is small enough overall for easy travel. In the bag its about 13"x13"x4". It has worked well for me. Masks can vary from just nasal to full face. I have a beard and the small full faced mask is what I have used for the last 2 years. It comes under my lower lip and up over my nose. I just started trying a hybrid mask that covers my mouth and uses nasal cushions. We will see on this. None of these are comfortable in my opinion but I now get 5 - 6 hours of solid sleep a night and I do feel better. I've also put on too much weight over the last 5 years. Too much food and not enough moving around and I feel it. The problem I have here is pushing the plate away when at restaurants (traveling). It's a thing I have about wasting food.

[RDawson]

RD,

 

A daughter soon to be a doctor? That is impressive and I know you must be very proud of her.

Nothing like a built in doctor in the family! Sounds like she was raised right.

: )

 

Bill

Thanks Bill, we are very proud of both of our daughters. The oldest is the dr to be and the youngest starts this fall in Huntsville to be an aerospace engineer. I tell everybody that with a dr and a rocket scientist we should at least have a nice nursing home in our future. They're both hard headed enough to go get what they want so they should be fine in the future.

[videoarizona]

I'm very pleased with my Resmed S9. It's an autoset unit, adjusts pressurr automatically as I change positions. Had it for 6 years now. No issues at all.

 

The new version is this..

 

https://www.resmed.com/us/en/consumer/products/devices/airsense-10-autoset.html

 

I have the humidifier as well which is great for those dry, cold days. Keeps my sinuses moist.

 

I use a full face mask. It was hard to get used to, took about a week. But it forced me to learn to breathe through my nose, which help eliminate my snoring.

 

After ear surgery last Fall...I went 3 months without being able to use CPAP... And I didn't snore at all!

 

Whatever unit you choose, make sure when you go to pick up unit they give you what you asked for. I made sure my Primary Doc wrote a script for the unit. Otherwise, the CPAP distributer was going to give me one that the sleep doc wanted me to have. He gets a kickback for each unit he recommends. It wasn't as portable as what I wanted and didn't have humidifier and heated hose!! Medicare did cover the Resmed S9... And it's small enough to take on airplanes. Regarding really portable, ...Medicare doesn't cover tiny portable type cpaps

So I bought my own.

The Resmed Air Mini. Tiny thing that I take with me on bike rides!

Bottom line, they work very well, are well built, easy to clean and maintain.

[bpate4home]

I'm very pleased with my Resmed S9. It's an autoset unit, adjusts pressurr automatically as I change positions. Had it for 6 years now. No issues at all. ..........

 

So I bought my own.

The Resmed Air Mini. Tiny thing that I take with me on bike rides!

Bottom line, they work very well, are well built, easy to clean and maintain.

 

Morning Sir,

 

I've been on and off again thinking about the mini for a while. How is the noise level of the machine? Specs indicate it's quite a bit louder than the Airsense 10 I have. The noise of my current one occasionally bothers my wife.

 

As I said earlier in the thread I've been trying one of the new hybrid masks and last night I finally got the tension of the straps set pretty well. So far I like it more than a regular full face.

[videoarizona]

Morning Sir,

 

I've been on and off again thinking about the mini for a while. How is the noise level of the machine? Specs indicate it's quite a bit louder than the Airsense 10 I have. The noise of my current one occasionally bothers my wife.

 

As I said earlier in the thread I've been trying one of the new hybrid masks and last night I finally got the tension of the straps set pretty well. So far I like it more than a regular full face.

 

 

The Mini is louder. Both in motor/vibration noise as well as the air/breathing with the little mask.

I put the Mini on a pad and that reduces the vibration type noise... But nothing will help with the mask... Which is dedicated.

I bought the mini for use on motorcycle trips, sailing weekends, etc.. So it's in use when I'm alone... And the noise doesn't bother me at all.

 

But yes... It will bother your wife as it does mine. But, I tell my better half it's better than my snoring!!

[videoarizona]

 

As I said earlier in the thread I've been trying one of the new hybrid masks and last night I finally got the tension of the straps set pretty well. So far I like it more than a regular full face.

 

Please tell me more about your hybrid mask. I'm currently using the Quattro. It works well and has proven to be durable and eat to clean. But it is large....

[bpate4home]

Please tell me more about your hybrid mask. I'm currently using the Quattro. It works well and has proven to be durable and eat to clean. But it is large....

 

It's called the Airfit 30 (https://www.resmed.com/us/en/consumer/products/masks/airfit-f30.html). I just started using it Tuesday of this week. I've spent the last couple of nights tweaking the fit. Last night was pretty good. It fits under the nose and around the mouth. When it is fitted correctly it presses to the bottom of the nose where it has openings for the nasal passages and then comes around the mouth under the lower lip. Much smaller and seems more comfortable. I've had it a little tighter than I wanted the first couple of nights so last night was the first with less tension on the straps. That being said though I just came back from a 10 day business trip where I was putting in 14+ hour days the first 8 days so I was pretty tired the last couple of nights. I can give more feedback after a little more use. BTW I just read its compatible with the mini.

[RandyR]

I've had spells of breathing problems at night, although maybe not as severe as you describe. I've found that taking an antihistamine just before bedtime helps and I sleep much better and don't wake myself up snoring.

 

I'll take a 24 hour antihistamine and 1 benadryl, walmart generics. Its worked for me.

[KeithR]

Welcome to the CPAP club ! Its been 7 years for me but should have had it many more years ago. I was a very loud, I'm told in the snoring dept. I was having horrific nightmares which always resulted in me in a situation where I was losing my breath....buried in snow etc.....was not nice and then it would turn into a panic attack. Thank goodness that's behind me. I've had maybe 2 occurrences in the last 7 years since using my CPAP.

 

I used the Resmed S9 for the first 6 years - not a bad machine. I recently got the Airsense 10 and really like it. It has automatic start/stop when you put the mask on or off...no fooling with the switch. The water container is a little easier to fill as well.

 

Good luck.....they should let you try several masks till you get one that you feel most comfortable with.

 

( I travel with 5 riding buddies and 4 of us use CPAP's )

 

Keith

[leo3wheel]

Appreciate your concerns, been there. Been using PAP machines for almost a year, started with CPAP and then BIPAP. BIPAP

is more natural, high pressure inhale and lower exhale. Have taken machines on cruises to Greece, NE/Canada and Caribbean.

Cruise lines provide distilled water. Took machine to motorcycle rally in Alabama and was surprised to find out how many

others use them. Used different masks and sizes before I found the right combination. Full face mask with memory

foam cushion works best for me. My events per hour are in the lower single digits. Find breathing gets easier with time.

Try to sleep at least 7 hours per night and make only one or two bathroom trips per night. This gives me ResMed scores

of 100 or 99 on the ResMed Web site.

 

ResMed AirCurve 10 VAUTO (BIPAP)

ResMed AirTouch F20 Full Face Mask

 

These strap covers reduce strap marks on your cheeks.

 

https://www.amazon.com/CPAP-Strap-Covers-Irritation-Breathable/dp/B07TGFNV94/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

Good luck!

Edited January 23, 2020 by leo3wheel

[bpate4home]

Please tell me more about your hybrid mask. I'm currently using the Quattro. It works well and has proven to be durable and eat to clean. But it is large....

 

As an update to the Hybrid mask I mentioned earlier. I've been using it for about a week now and like it more than a standard size that I ordered another yesterday. The full mask gives me a rash on the cheek where it comes up to the nose. That is now going away. I have difficulty breathing through my nose alone for several reasons, like others above it's been broken and probably more than once. It's a little difficult to get the strap tension set right but unlike the full face mask I had I find that a more loose tension actually created a better seal on my face. I toss and turn a lot and this mask seems to make me feel more comfortable. I was off Monday for MLK Day and Sunday night I slept ~8 hours. I can't tell you the last time that happened if ever. I've also gotten a solid 6 hours each night since the switch.

 

For me it works. I bought it from CPAP.com in a kit for ~$135. It comes with the strap, holder and 3 masks. I'm giving this site a plug because the price was near the lowest cost and the mask kit came with a 'Return Insurance'. Basically if I didn't like it I could return it at no cost. Some of their masks you have to buy the return insurance separate.

[RDawson]

Well for as "worried" as they seemed about my breathing it must not be too critical. It only took 6 weeks to get me fitted with a machine. Got the ResMed. We'll see how it goes.