December Semi-Daily: CPAP

[resonant]

runpunkrun, I'd be interested to hear about your experience with the CPAP machine.

I've only had it for a couple of weeks, but I'm definitely a fan. I haven't taken a nap since the day I brought it home.

I hear a lot of stories about people having difficulty getting used to it, people being issued one and then never using it, etc., but I have had zero problems. It may be because I had spent a year using a dental appliance (a mouthpiece that pulled my lower jaw forward, which was better than nothing but not this good) -- so I had already gone through the process of "there's a thing on my face, and when I change positions I have to rearrange the thing."

It's quiet. It's highly automated. It has a humidifier so the air isn't dry. You'd think it would be really noticeable and distracting to be hooked up to a hose, but I don't notice the hose. (The spouse keeps his house very cold, so when I sleep there, I pull the hose under the covers with me so the air will be a bit warmer when it reaches my face.)



I have a full-face mask, which covers both nose and mouth. I don't get a claustrophobic feeling about it, but sometimes, depending on how I tighten the straps, I feel it pressing on either side of my nose and I start to feel like my nose is stopped up. (I have allergies. My nose is pretty much always stopped up.)

It really doesn't feel like a thing blowing air up my nostrils -- it just feels like there's plenty of air when I need it. Apparently it's programmed to be able to tell when I go to sleep (creepy) and increase the air pressure then. I can't really tell except that sometimes if I wake up to turn over, it's a little noisier than I remember it being.

Problems I've had so far:

- I sleep on my side, and the pillow moves the mask, and sometimes this makes it leak air. I'm not sure if air leakage is a problem as far as the function of the machine, but it's noisy, and sometimes it blows in my eye.

- The mask is kind of rough on the skin. The first two nights, it actually made a blister on my cheek, which I'm now putting a bandaid on before I go to bed, and it leaves me feeling kind of chapped for about an inch out from either side of my nose. Straight-up Vaseline works OK for this, but Neutrogena Hand Cream works better and isn't so greasy.

- It reports statistics back to my doctor, which is a little creepy, but the insurance won't pay for it if it's not being used, which is fair. I have an app so I can see the stats too, and see how much and how well I sleep.

- Speaking of insurance, the sleep doctor's office checked it out thoroughly, but there are so many disclaimers that I'm still not fully confident about how much insurance will pay; the bills haven't started coming in yet. American healthcare sucks, news at 11.

- The mask shifts position when I turn over. Sometimes this wakes me up.

- Turns out that if you spend all night actually lying in bed, rather than waking up every couple of hours and having to get up to pee, you wake up super-stiff in the morning.

My sleep was very, very bad, much worse than I had been aware, and I was losing hours of each day in falling asleep. I had nodded off at my desk at work more than once. I had elaborate multi-step methods to stop me from falling asleep while driving. So it's great to be alert and to get some of my time back.

I'm told that sometimes people's high blood pressure goes down or their memory improves or many other benefits, but it's too soon to tell.

There's a very useful message board at CPAPTalk, but I'm happy to answer questions, too.





27 --destina, "how has your relationship to fandom changed over the years? By which I mean not just participation in it, but your level of tolerance/interest for the cyclical things about it, the way old arguments never really stop or die, etc, but also the ways fandom changes and new ways of doing fandom evolve. (And old ways evolve out, and terms evolve, etc.)"
28 -- kass, "What do you like best about where you live?"
29 -- mecurtin, What is the most beautiful sight you see outside on a regular basis? Can be a building, landscape, plant, animal, artwork, people playing, whatever.
30 -- china_shop, "Your favourite book you read this year."
31 -- wolfshark, "what is your favorite story to reread of your own stuff? what was your favorite story to write?"

Comments

[runpunkrun]

Thanks for sharing, Res! I'm so glad the CPAP is working for you.

[resonant]

This is what I've come to. Betaing smut and comparing notes on sleep apnea treatments.

[jesse_the_k]

Sounds like it could be life-changing!

(I use a buckwheat hull pillow, because once I've punched it into shape it *stays* that way. I'm also a side sleeper, and the perfect pillow format makes my wonky neck happy. I'm mentioning all this because you might be able to make a shape that supports your head without putting pressure on the side of the mask, re: your point number 1.)

[resonant]

My mom suggested the same thing. I should check it out.

I did notice that they had special CPAP pillows on Amazon, but of course they're like $60 and there's no guarantee they'd even work.

(If you want to know what are the common problems with a thing, go and do a search on Amazon and one on Etsy. From doing this, I've learned that CPAP problems are: pillow interaction, chapped skin, cold hoses, and people feeling tangled up in the hoses.)

[azurelunatic]

They make hose cozies, too! I am in the process of encouraging Belovedest to get one, because their cat likes the texture of the hose to chew on.

[resonant]

I saw those on Etsy. For temperature purposes, though, wouldn't the air have to be warm in the first place for a cozy to keep it warm?

[azurelunatic]

The humidifier is heat-driven, at least in the model I have. So while it may not be warm-warm, the cozy helps it resist cooling.

[arduinna]

ahahaha, yes, a mouthy cat is what made me cave to the hose cozy years ago. Nothing like seeing all those little vampire-fang marks all over the hose and realizing that's why you're so exhausted again...

[monanotlisa]

Hey, this is super-interesting. I think my father was talking about having to get one (instead of just quitting smoking, but, sigh, at seventy-one I don't expect he ever will). So, thanks.

[resonant]

If I were 71, I'm not sure I'd quit smoking. All my aunts and uncles used to say if they made it to 80 they were going to start again.

I definitely recommend the CPAP, though.

[snippy]

Hi, I've been using a CPAP for 6 years. Like you, I adjusted almost immediately, and I experienced a rapid improvement in energy. But none of the other potential advantages--BP, weight, all stayed the same. It's possible a different mask would fit you better/irritate your skin less.

I also have allergies (and asthma) and my doctor prescribes cromolyn sodium (liquid) to put in the CPAP reservoir to help with that.

[resonant]

I was hoping for some sort of magic restoration of my ability to remember the word I'm trying to think of, but so far no dice.

I used to use Nasalcrom many years ago, which I think was a related medication. I'll have to ask my doctor about that.

[snippy]

I checked with my allergy doc and the solution in the Nasalcrom bottle is mostly the same thing.

[quinfirefrorefiddle]

My husband loves his dearly. He is a whole new person now that he's sleeping properly. The only issue I have is that he uses the full face mask, which leaves lines on his face in the morning or whenever he has napped (he does still nap on days off) which impacts how adorable he is. But he's still pretty cute so I deal. 😇

[resonant]

Yeah, I have marks on my face in the morning. I'm pretty red-faced naturally, and I can't tell whether the mask is making me more so or whether my face just feels red.

[pauraque]

My wife just got a CPAP as well so I was looking forward to your answer to this one! I'm glad it's working out well for you.

[resonant]

Good luck to her!

[reginagiraffe]

My CPAP hose has a warming function, to warm the air; you should check to make sure yours doesn't. (I don't actually use it, I like the cooler air.)

[resonant]

That will be my incentive to read the surprisingly large owner's manual instead of just the Getting Started brochure.

[arduinna]

Seconding everyone else; many of the humidifiers have warming functions, which is lovely. Winter is so much better with slightly warm, damp air going in your nose all night!

CPAPs are the best invention ever, seriously. I use the full mask, too, and anyone who sees me in it for the first time just loses it laughing, but I don't care. Sleeeeeeeeeeeeep is so awesome.

[grammarwoman]

CPAPs are awesome, when the masks fit and you can use them regularly. The best improvement with mine was building my own hose stand, but you can purchase them as well - no more tangling myself up in the hose or getting snake impressions in random places on my body!