CPAP continues to be challenging for many of us

The header is not meant to be interpreted as saying it is not worth while or is ineffective.

But that said not all sleep is blissful or can CPAP be expected to solve all health issues . It is designed to help the one issue of sleep apnea but even to do that remains challenging.

One of the biggest of these challenges I find is mask fit . The mask straps appear to need continual adjustment and I've just done that for the nth time after seeing last night there were apparently bad leaks - registered by an unhappy face this morning.

The other major challenge is to get the pressure right . The hospital nurse commented, after the sleep study time time ago, that she would have liked to set the pressure to 14. With this in mind I did experiment with setting that but found it generated more mask leaking problems and even blew off the hose altogether so I've now cut it back to 12.

Continually puzzling is that an AHI reading even as low as 0.1 and a smiley mask fit reading does not seem to guarantee one is bouncing with energy that day . Obviously there are many factors at play to determine one's health and sleep apnea is only one of those. Diet (very good in my case), activity and exercise (not as good as it should be) etc etc all play their part so determining the "magic bullet" to cure a foggy head is a difficult task for any doctor to discover.

So fellow sleep apnea victims, we soldier on, looking like Darth Vader as we sleep, blowing air everywhere and living in the hope that at least we are solving sleep apnea problems!!

And a HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all

John

I hear you. It's been very hard for me too. I have not slept for more than 4 hours on a Cpap. I've tried 4 different masks. But I think that there could be other things going on for many of us. For me, I have a doctor appointment. My issues goes beyond what this forum can do for me.

Enchanter wrote:I hear you. It's been very hard for me too. I have not slept for more than 4 hours on a Cpap. I've tried 4 different masks. But I think that there could be other things going on for many of us. For me, I have a doctor appointment. My issues goes beyond what this forum can do for me.

THEN LEAVE.....PLEASE

The bad part is many times the challanges are caused by our ability to accept change and facts. Can't is correct, it's self fulfilling. Jim

The presence of other contributors can make using cpap even more challenging. I am sympathetic to that. The search for mask nirvana can be frustrating enough on its own. I also had limb movements and augmentation on a dopamine agonist to deal with. When my RLS and PLMD had me in a state of agitation, any mere touch could send me into a maddened frenzy. I've thrown the mask against the wall in a fit of tears in the middle of the night. I've stayed up for 2-3 days at times, too miserable to sleep with the equipment yet too scared to sleep without it. It's a hard place to be. Admittedly it was fear that forced me to persevere. My health was failing, and I was waking up with some scary episodes of being unable to breathe and my heart racing. I knew that I had to somehow compartmentalize my OSA treatment from the other things. My goal was to use this treatment I knew I needed then figure out as I went along how to manage the other things.

My experience has given me a little taste of what this struggle can be like for those dealing with other issues. Thinking of a few things... side effects of a necessary med, hyperthyroid, anxiety, claustrophobia, the manic phase of bipolar, and heightened sensitivity to stimuli, just to name the ones that come quickly to mind. I hope each person who truly needs the treatment can find their way through their own personal maze and realize some success.

Just doesn't seem worth it. A lot of work for very little pay off.

Goofproof wrote:The bad part is many times the challanges are caused by our ability to accept change and facts. Can't is correct, it's self fulfilling. Jim

Jim,

Should an alcoholic drive even though he/she thinks that they can?

49er

Goofproof wrote:The bad part is many times the challanges are caused by our ability to accept change and facts. Can't is correct, it's self fulfilling. Jim

And sometimes things simply don't work, or work well.