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I use a CPAP every night. One of the best things I've ever done for myself!
Same, it quite literally changed my life. I went from sleeping 12h in a row, still waking up groggy and generally being a walking zombie, to being functional after 7h of sleep. Young children still make it hard to get those 7h of consecutive sleep, but this gets better with time.
Hell yeah I had a really poor memory and was always exhausted. I had to nap every day. Now with the CPAP I get 8 hours of sleep and I can remember things that happened weeks ago
Do you remember what your AHI (Apnea-Hypopnea Index, number of "events" oper hour) was? Normal is 5 or less, severe sleep apnea is 30 or more - I was at 69 events an hour. Considering an event is either 10 seconds or more without breathing (or a more or less equivalent drop in blood oxygenation due to partial respiratory tract blockage), it means I wasn't breathing for at least an hour and half every night 😂
I was 27. With the CPAP I'm down to less than one. It's amazing
Same. My AHI was 59. And during my sleep study there was on event where I didn't breathe for more than a minute. My oxygen saturation got down to 81, that's pretty scary. And that was likely happening to me every night for the last 15 years or more.
Since starting on my CPAP two months ago, my life has massively improved. I wake up feeling great most mornings. I still sometimes feel tired in the afternoons, but not on the level as before.
sleeping 12h in a row
Ya this will make anyone groggy. There’s your problem.
The point was that I woke up groggy and tired regardless of how much I slept. That was a symptom, not my problem.
The CPAP was great, but my previous terrible sleeping habits masked a few other issues, it was a series of things to resolve. (Sleep got better, but I stopped tossing and turning, making back issues worse, so I needed to stop sleeping how I was, etc.)
similarly: I bought anti-snore bite guard to help with sleep apnea.
Feeling actually refreshed after waking up feels unreal
Yup! CPAP. Fix your sleep and you'll feel awake during the day.
I don't feel sleepy in the afternoon anymore. I sleep and night and stay awake during the day.
How did you get used to the mask?
Three things:
- Don't stop until you find the right mask. There are a lot of options.
- Change is always awkward at first. It will take time to get used to.
- Adjust your attitude. Most people are already convinced that they're not going to like a CPAP and are angry they have to wear one. Make the effort to be healthy. Eating healthy and getting exercise aren't fun for most people either. Getting quality sleep is just as important.
He's been really determined to make it work - even takes it on vacation. He gets decent rest until he wakes up and takes it off, usually around 3 or 4. He has the triangle-shaped mask with the face steps. I didn't realize there were different types. I just ordered him the n30 under-nose one and the p10 nasal pillows with a soft strap. Thanks for the advice!
The Philips Respironics nasal pillow works fantastic for me! Everyone is a little different though.
Three weeks of agony. Totally worth it. I have a deviated septum so I can't do a nose pillow, but there's really low impact options if you're able.
My husband has had his since September. He usually makes it until 3 or 4am and then takes it off.
He should put it back on. He keeps taking it off so he never gets used to it. Like I said. Three weeks of hell. Keep that sucker on.
So sorry to hear this - do those couple of hours with the machine help him a little at least? Did he try different masks, by any chance? I had a nasal mask initially, and eventually switched to nasal pillows before I started actually enjoying mine. Everyone's anatomy and way of sleeping are different, so there's often some trial and error necessary.
For example, a lot of people dislike nasal pillows cause they're much easier to rip out or have a leak for some. A lot of people seem to like nasal masks, while I hated mine with a passion, as even with the XL size, my (large) nose's bridge was rubbing against it and hurt quite a bit. Some people also seem to love their full-face masks - they tend to work better for mouth breathers and those sleeping on their backs.
He's been really determined to make it work - even takes it on vacation. He gets decent rest until he wakes up and takes it off, usually around 3 or 4. He has the triangle-shaped mask with the face steps. I didn't realize there were different types. I just ordered him the n30 under-nose one and the p10 nasal pillows with a soft strap. Thanks for the advice!
I just checked mine and the P10 is what I use :) Hopefully he likes one of them.
Thanks
I would put it on when I was reading in bed before I go to sleep and that seemed to help. It still took about 6 months to get use to it. Often times for the first 6 months I just wore it as much as I could and tried not to stress if I needed to take it off to sleep.
Exact same story here. I had lost evenings before I got mine, now I can enjoy a couple hours to myself after the kids are down.