CPAPs for sleep apnea

Post Reply New Topic

About 11 years ago I tried CPAP therapy for my sleep apnea, but the mask wouldn't maintain a seal for more than 3 or 4 hours at a time. It was a mask for mouth breathers, and at the time they had only the one basic style of mask for mouth breathers. I actually got less sleep using the system than without it, as I would start to smother when the seal would break, and then would be too awake to fall back to sleep, so I stopped using the system after a short time. Last summer I had another sleep study done, and my sleep apnea had gotten a lot worse, so I was prescribed to use CPAP therapy again. Because of the time that had passed I qualified for a new CPAP set up. The new machine is better than the old one was, but more importantl, there are now a few more styles of mask available for mouth breathers. The med supply store has people who are trained techs who help people with their medical equipment. The one who helped me with my new set up spent an hour with me, asking me questions about my sleep habits, and about the problems I had with the previous system. She showed me how to operate the new machine, and found a new style of mouth breather mask for me that actually works well. Thanks to the new mask being a good style for my needs I have been able to keep using the new system. Unfortunately, I still wake up feeling tired. The machine shows that I am still having issues, so they added an oxygen concentrator machine to my system, and raised the machine pressure setting from 6 to 8. Unfortunately, the higher setting caused me to swallow a lot of air, which led to a lot of intestinal distress and diarrhea. I have always suffered from IBS, so I really didn't need this new problem. I went online to look for help, and found a number of reports that said that both fresh and dried parsley are good for treating intestinal distress. I happened to have a lot of dried parsley on hand, so I started adding a lot to every meal, and it actually helped a lot. I still have too much gas, but the pain and diarrhea are mostly gone, so now it's mostly bearable. The next time I go on a grocery run I will also buy something like Gas-X to reduce the gas problem even more, but I will also stock up on more dried parsley.

I wish I felt better rested after using the CPAP machine. Maybe I just need to use it for a longer time, or perhaps at a higher pressure. I hope they don't raise the pressure though, as that will likely increase my intestinal distress and diarrhea again, in excess of what the parsley can handle.

I have always had Executive Function Disorder. Being so tired all the time makes that worse, because I don't have the energy to do any chores, so things get even more messy and chaotic.

There is another problem with my sleep apnea. It got bad enough for my doc to inform the motor vehicle dept., so I am temporarily suspended from driving, till my condition improves. My car is in need of repairs I can't afford to make now anyway, so it is on holiday at the home of nearby relatives, who will gradually make repairs, as I get the money to fix it.

Sleep apnea is no laughing matter. I am glad I am getting treatment for it, but wish the treatment were more effective, and with less side effects.

I have sleep apnea too. I use a Bi-pap machine that has one setting for inhalation and a different pressure for exhalation. Maybe that would help you - less struggle to exhale might keep you from swallowing air. There are some very helpful sleep apnea forums too where you might find help.

How one can know if he is having sleep apnea? I suspect I may have it because I wake up at night for no reason several times during the night.

Snoring is one major sign/symptom; lots can snore some without sleep apnea but a majority of people with sleep apnea snore. I may have it myself cuz I'm tired a lot & don't really feel rested when I wake up. I also snore thou it used to be alittle worse before I got surgery on my nose cuz the inside was crooked. I should probably consider a sleep study.

CPAP has been very helpful to me; it's dropped my AHI from >40 to ~5, significantly reducing my subjective feelings of fatigue and brain fog.

I was just diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea a couple days ago, though I've yet been able to get a CPAP mask. Once my insurance (Medicare, which I'm on due to being on SSDI) comes back, I can make an appointment to get my mask.

It was about time, too. I had been having excessive daytime fatigue for years, which has made it really difficult to stretch out and do stuff and accomplish my goals. I think this is a big reason why I started becoming really depressed a few years ago (and obstructive sleep apnea is a common cause of depression).

I have some obstructive sleep apnea + central sleep apnea. I've also tried (and failed) with CPAP. I end up just not sleeping when I use the machine, which just wrecks me.

I'm using a mandibular advancement splint right now, but it doesn't provide as much relief as I'd like. I'm still pretty fatigued during the day.
Though I went off of it for a month since the doctor had me experiment with seeing if it was helping at all...that month was pretty rough.

So it helps... just not enough.


Though I also take adderall, which seems to manage the excessive daytime sleepiness. I'm still fatigued, though, and need to spend a lot longer than I'd like lying down (on Wednesday, I spent all of 40 minutes outside of bed, excluding the time I had to be up for work). I spend just as much time lying down if I take it or not... I just don't actually fall asleep during the day when I don't take it, so I skip it on non-work days.

I use a CPAP in my polysomnography I stopped breathing 50 times per hour there was a time when I was in the psychiatric hospital and they wouldn’t allow my CPAP and there were 4 code blues on me

I have a B-PAP for mixed sleep apnea. Works great, but I did have to modify the mask somewhat for it to work well. I had to pad the straps and use a cloth liner for the mask itself, made of a t-shirt material. You can buy them on Amazon. Also, the straps tend to come loose, so I made restraining loops from small scrunchies. I use curly large scrunchies to pad the hose from banging on the wall. Also hung the hose from the wall with a strap. The water attracted ants, so I put the whole base unit in a t-shirt. The straps have to be pretty tight, it takes time to get used to this. Sometimes it causes a bruise, and I use band-aids on my nose at night until it heals. The silicone can cause a rash, which is also why I use the liners. You can buy a couple of these and wash them as needed.

Go to a Respirologist for a formal sleep lab study. I have apnea too (Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome), but after months of trying various CPAP machines I was advised to give up. I couldn't tolerate them for sensory reasons. I'm a very fussy sleeper with extreme sensitivities. CPAP caused me panic attacks (witnessed in lab follow up), so the doctors concluded it wasn't worth it on a risk / benefit analysis. I wear it sometimes in the day when I watch telly, just for good oxygen.