Ever take a night off?

Snoozin' Bluezzz · Post by **Snoozin' Bluezzz** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 10:54 am

I have been hosed up EVERY - SINGLE - NIGHT for the last 14 months with two exceptions due to travel and a missing part. Those two nights were enough to tell me that taking a night off was not a good thing. Instant headache, instant parchment mouth, constant brain fog and crushing end of day fatigue told me that OSA therapy is a stern task master and one that should be heeded. I did not sleep well at all those two nights - tossing, turning, multiple bio-trips and what sleep there was was very shallow.

I've been lucky since I finally found an interface that works well for me and enables me to do it. Of course during those 14 months there have been better nights and worse nights but only those two without being hosed up.

I would suggest not taking nights off.

Hang in there.

David

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Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 11:38 am

If you want to get a REAL appreciation for this therapy.....take a week or two off.

About two weeks after I started on therapy in May of '05, I came down with a cold (or something) and a cough from Hell. I couldn't keep from coughing at night or during the days. So, I decided to go without the machine till things settled down a bit......about 10 days, as it turned out. Fortunately, I was new enough to the therapy that I could revert back to sleeping without it.......but lemme tell ya.....at the end of that period, I was bound and determined not to go without it again.

Hang in there. Hose up every night.

Den

roster · Post by **roster** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 11:42 am

A fear haunts me that something will go wrong and I will have to spend a miserable night without cpap.

Thunder and ice storms scare me (danger of power outage); traveling and leaving my equipment in the trunk of the car scares me (a friend had his machine stolen from the trunk of a rental car); putting my machine in the overhead bin of an airliner scares me (danger that some idiot will throw a heavy bag on it); moving the machine around the house scares me (danger that this idiot will drop the machine); etc.

xface · Post by **xface** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 11:59 am

Other than during a vacation last year, I always start out with the hose on. 3 Days into a 3 week vacation, my APAP broke and I couldn't use it. Yep, I had some headaches, but they were not as bad as some of the sinus problems I've had with it. So now, I always start with it, but occasionally will take it off at night when my sinus start to hurt.

rotoplooker · Post by **rotoplooker** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:05 pm

I take mine off after a couple of hours after 18 months, I try every night but I have no say about keeping it on, its a weird auto-response

I have never had a day off though, my small amount of usage takes the edge off feeling really awful

I'm a freak I guess

JeffH · Post by **JeffH** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 1:09 pm

A week off during my nasal surgery recovery was MORE than enough for me. By the time the week was up I was getting scary crazy!!!!

SleepGuy · Post by **SleepGuy** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 1:42 pm

Wholly apart from my subjective impression of how I feel on any given day, the thing that really scares me is what oxygen deprivation is doing to me all night. I know for a fact that my apneas start from the moment I fall asleep. It scares me to fall asleep without my mask anymore--just as I'm losing consciousness I can feel myself start moaning.

That said, I do seem to sleep ok on my side with a body pillow. At least my wife reports that I don't snore and seem to breathe normally that way. Haven't proven it with any certainty but it's also a very uncomfortable position for me. My arms and legs go to sleep and compared to sleeping with my cpap, on my back, I don't feel very rested when I sleep that way.

Good Luck Erin! I see treatment as being a life-saving measure and worth every effort to find the right solution. Keep at it.

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Sleepy-eyes · Post by **Sleepy-eyes** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 1:47 pm

Erin,

Don't worry. That's not at all unusual at first. Some might not admit it. I started out only being able to tolerate 2 or 3 hours a night..............I didn't even "comply" at first. Then even after I was complying every night, I couldn't go more than about 7 or 8 nights in a row. I just wanted the peaceful sleep that no interference brought. I've been at it since September of last year. I'm just now getting to the point I actually look forward to my time with my "buddy".............and no, I don't mean my girlfriend! Just hang in there. It'll come in due time. You'll make it.

snoozeandlose · Post by **snoozeandlose** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:57 pm

I battled it for a long time, but at some point must have come to terms with it subconsciously because I realized that I was just doing it. However, I then found this forum and discovered I was mouthing breathing and fixing that has taken about two years, four masks, tape and another sleep study to remedy. Some nights I am soooo tired I do just want to snuggle down into my soft pillow, but get headaches in the am when I don't suit up. I have started using poligrip strips and have a couple of the best night's sleep since starting this years ago. Diabetics don't like to take insulin or give up the sugar, but look at what happens when they aren't compliant--amputations or on kidney dialysis. It's just a slower death for them. On that note have a great weekend.

RAINSUX · Post by **RAINSUX** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 7:08 pm

Erin, I also use the Swift. I started treatment in December and this is the only mask I have used. I struggled at first and usually removed the mask and turned the machine off after four hours or so. The funny thing was that when I removed it I always thought it was almost time for the alarm to go off. This proved that night after night the sleep I got with CPAP was better than I was used to getting. Somebody here suggested using Ayr Gel. I went almost immediately to wearing it all night. It keeps it from sticking and/or moving around and leaking when you roll over. I've also found that it is a good idea to loosen the straps every few days and "start over" with a new fit. It's easy to get them too tight.

Hang in there!

Sam

Moogy · Post by **Moogy** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 7:14 pm

We have storm-related power outages out here in the wild west. So far, I don't have a backup battery. Last night, we had a real killer of a storm--large hail stones that did substantial damage to the house and tore up our roses, which were starting to bud. The lawn looked like someone dumped a gigantic freezer full of ice cubes all over it. The power was out several hours.

When I go without my bipap, I wake often (every 45-90 minutes) to use the potty, so I the quality of my sleep is very poor. Also, I sometimes wake up with my heart racing--probably a result of an apnea.

So I rarely go without my machine, and if I accidently fall asleep without it, I wake up again pretty soon, so the bipap doesn't stay off long--unless we are without power.

Moogy

Wistful · Post by **Wistful** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:15 pm

Well,
I am about to start the process of getting geared up for the night - mask seal, polygrip strips and all. I greatly appreciate all that you have written. It is encouraging to hear what a difference cpap therapy has been for all of you and that I am not alone in getting frustrated. I shall continue to come back to this thread whenever I need a reminder.
Good night to us all!
Erin

djdixie · Post by **djdixie** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:27 pm

Guess I'm the odd man out here, but, YES, I do take a night off occasionally. I originally went to see my doc because of snoring and found out I needed CPAP. I was absolutely stunned. I'm wasn't sleepy during the day, my husband had never heard me gasp for breathe (and he's a light sleeper), I'm 5'5" and weight 120 so not overweight. If it weren't for the sleep study, I'd still not believe it. So basically, after 4 months on CPAP, I'm still having trouble adjusting and fondly remember sleeping all night unencumbered. There are nights, just as you said, that I'm just too tired for the CPAP battle. So I give myself permission to take a night off and, at least so far, have always gone right back to CPAP the next night. Mentally, I need to know that I control that machine/mask and part of that control is having the option (and ocassionally exercising it) of saying, "Not tonight."

Wistful · Post by **Wistful** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:52 am

That's exactly how I feel!
I need to know that the choice is mine, for if I feel I have to, it overwhelmes me. Knowing I can take the night off makes it easier for me to go back to it the next night. Kind of like knowing that you can have a treat on Saturday night gives you the strength to be good the rest of the week.

I made it until 2 am last night - a record, yay!

Erin

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:02 am

Every time I see these kinds of discussions, I always wonder what the "hoseheads" would say to their children if THEY had a life-threatening condition and told their parents "Gee, I don't feel like doing this tonight, Mommy."

If you think for one second that any of the rest of us would't like to go to sleep "unencumbered"......you've got another think coming.....

Doing damage to your body is having a "TREAT"??????
(Yes, I know.....many kinds of "treats" can damage your body.)

< shakes head then smacks forehead >

Den

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