For Veteran Papers - what happens if you take a night off?

odawa · Post by **odawa** » Thu May 10, 2007 2:02 pm

I nap with mine, I didnt once and woke up so tired and miserable. I'll never nap without it again. I've been taking regular naps since I got OSA. I'm hoping to evidently stop taking naps, but I feel so good now with the CPAP. It's been one week and one day for me. I'm still adjusting thats for sure!!!! I really hope the need to take naps will go away.
My daughter hasnt seen me w/ the mask yet. Guess I'm still a bit embarrassed. Lucky me, I'm single and guess I'm bound to stay that way.
I will not sleep without it though. I have OSA and it needs treatment.

krousseau · Post by **krousseau** » Thu May 10, 2007 2:07 pm

Babette-you are starting to sound like someone who might just enjoy the game of Russian Roulette. Just don't use the muzzle loader-no game there!

tangents · Post by **tangents** » Thu May 10, 2007 2:10 pm

Odawa,

My kids are 16 and 13 - the prime age for parental friction, and they have been so supportive of my CPAP. I'm sure they thought "Whoa!!" when they first saw me, but they held it in. I hope you get comfortable enough to show your daughter soon. She'll get used to it quickly, I'm sure. Like the Borg mantra, "Resistance is futile!"

Sorry to hijack your thread, Babette.

odawa · Post by **odawa** » Thu May 10, 2007 2:13 pm

Thank you for the support Tangeants. My daughter is 22 yrs. and she has been supportive of me in the past. I think its my hurdle. It works but I feel silly in the mask. It's only been 1 week. I'll get there. hopefully.

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Thu May 10, 2007 2:14 pm

No problem!

BTW, for you shy ladies out there... I have an ex-boyfriend on CPAP. I knew about it before we slept together. Both of us had also told one another that we prefer SLEEPING alone; i.e., not sharing the bed all night. Worked out fine for us. As we got more comfortable together, we could even share a bed no problem, AND with him wearing a mask.

You're willing to get naked with this person. Why aren't you willing to wear your CPAP? That's a very good question you should ask yourself before you get intimate with anyone.

Personally, I don't see the embarrassment in it. I can't imagine not wanting my family to see me in the mask. It's just a medical device, not unlike the canes, wheelchairs, hearing aids, etc. that I see my loved ones in every day.

Cheers,
B.

roster · Post by **roster** » Thu May 10, 2007 2:25 pm

Babette wrote: ..................(I'm a historical reenactor, as well)............
But, as I reassure my coworkers regularly, it takes me 15 minutes to reload the muzzeloader, so you can easily wrestle me to the ground before I get the second shot off.........
LOL,
B.

What the heck are you reenacting in Washington state? Did youse guys ever have any wars out there?

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Thu May 10, 2007 2:37 pm

Hudon's Bay Company. Ya' know? Mountain Men, Liver Eatin' Johnson, etc. etc.? "Of course, Robert Redford is some pansy who eats with a fork..." I didn't say that. Someone else did. I got it off a calendar entitled "So you want to be a mountain man?"

My main base of operations:
http://www.fortnisqually.org

I also occasionally visit Fort Steilacoom, a contemporary (1850's) American military post:

http://www.fortsteilacoom.com/

However, I portray a Fort Nisqually woman when I am there.

I am not a "military reenactor" per se. I portray real people at real sites, all over the US and Canada. Sometimes I portray a female relation of a military man, but mostly I do civilian portrayals.

My Website:
http://www.geocities.com/babettelinks

I shoot for fun. My father and uncle collect blackpowder guns, so we like to go target shooting. I don't hunt. Yet.

Cheers,
B.

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Thu May 10, 2007 2:39 pm

Babette,

I recently lost a lot of weight. Did it prior to my last sleep study (feb) & was wondering if the weight loss would effectively reduce or eliminate the OSA.

Go down to 1bout 187 lbs, lowest I have been for years.

Just prior to the feb sleep study I decided twice to sleep without the machine. Both times I felt pretty awful the next day.

Sleep study only reconfirmed that I stick with the setup I had - andI do

DSM

jskinner · Post by **jskinner** » Thu May 10, 2007 3:00 pm

Babette wrote:Okay, I don't fully get why taking a night off from CPAP would be so terrible.

I guess that really depends on the severity of your sleep apnea. For me if I sleep without the CPAP I have about a 90% chance that I will wake up with a splitting headache and brain mush that prevents me from doing much of anything. Clearly thats not happening to you or you probably wouldn't be asking the question

Right now I am sleeping without CPAP due to nasal issues and its hell. The only thing that helps a bit is elevation of the upper body.

In the end I think its different for each person. It all depends on the amount of oxygen deprivation you are having each time you sleep. This also varies a bit from night to night of course too.

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Thu May 10, 2007 3:07 pm

Thanks Jskinner, that's kind of what I was looking for. You don't use it, you feel lousy and have headaches.

Right now, I feel better without it. I have headaches WITH it.

However, I'm not QUITTING. I'm just gathering food for thought. I have to make this work with my life and my weird schedule of activities. While being "motel militia" is just fine for the reenacting side of my life, there will be emergencies I get called on that won't accommodate me dragging the machine along.

Which is no doubt why the military boots out cpap users. They told me when I investigated the military way back when that they wouldn't take me because I have excema and I might go crazy if I couldn't get my rash cream in a war situation.

Many thanks!
Barbara

blarg · Post by **blarg** » Thu May 10, 2007 3:50 pm

Babette wrote:Right now, I feel better without it. I have headaches WITH it.

That happened to me at first too. Now I can't even really fall asleep without it. My body just refuses to relax.

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Thu May 10, 2007 3:53 pm

You will all really enjoy this then - last night it took awhile for me to fall asleep. I was completely exhausted. Simply could not unpack the machine, set it all up, and put it on.

But I didn't drop right off to sleep, either.

See, I'm learning. I'm not real bright. Takes me awhile.
B.

blarg · Post by **blarg** » Thu May 10, 2007 3:55 pm

See, personally, I think before you start feeling better with it you'll need to use it religiously. And I think one of the reasons you're asking this question is because you're not over the hump yet. Give it some time, and FORCE yourself to use it all the time, and then I don't think you'll be that concerned.

That's just my humble opinion though.

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Thu May 10, 2007 4:00 pm

Yeah yeah, you, my doctor, and 1.5 million readers of this board....

Hey, I said I'd get back on that horsey tonight, and I will.

Sheesh, am I gonna have to get a sponsor who calls me every night to check for compliance? If so, can I pick a male baritone from Ireland? Can't help it, got a weak spot for Irish accents..... Dang I miss working for Intel some days!

LOL,
B.

blarg · Post by **blarg** » Thu May 10, 2007 4:54 pm

I'll do it in Spanish if you give me your phone number.

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