How many hours should CPAP be worn per night?

WOWSERS, Thanks for all the input!

You all have resoundingly convinced me that the sleep doctor is right.. and I will have to find a way to wear the mask longer each night. The stuffy nose/deviated septum issue is one I may have to deal with soon- even with use of my heated humidifier, I get frequent nosebleeds (some heavy and very scary) in the wintertime and the ENT doctor said that surgery to correct my deviated septum would likely make these stop. My sleep doctor has prescribed me a full face mask to try out for this reason, so I could breathe through my mouth and avoid the deviated septum surgery for now. Anybody have experience with these- are there some that are as comfy as just the nose mask (I use a Vista Mirage, deep cushion)? I am imagining they take even more getting used to, since they cover more of your face. My machine has a ramp feature I use when getting to sleep, and the final setting is 10 but I am not able to adjust it myself.

I live in a fairly small town but close to DC and Baltimore and may check out the sleep centers closer in or associated with the major hospitals, to get more information and potentially see or try out different masks and equipment. The local sleep center I use is small and understaffed and they got angry one time when I tried out a different mask and then didn't buy it. If anyone has heard anything about any good ones in this area please let me know.

ALSo...I have taken my machine (which is 'normal' size) on trips with me when staying in motels (including a recent 2 week trip to China where I had a tough time finding the right electric adapters) but when I go tent camping in the summertime I have gone without it for up to a whole week...not felt any real ill effects I could identify, but I'm sure it was risky. With what you all are saying it sounds like I should go out and get a battery operated backup model to take camping- any recommendations?

Thanks again for all your resounding help and its great to know there is a community out there I can get these kind of answers from.

I'm glad we convinced you.
Here's how to go about it?
The deal with yourself is simple to make:
Time in bed (trying or planning to sleep) equals = mask on.

If you can't fall asleep again with the mask on and you're still fighting it after 20 minutes? You get up, do something relaxing, and when you feel sleepy, you go back to bed, put your mask on, and try to fall asleep. Can't fall asleep after 20 minutes? Get up, do something relaxing, and when you feel sleepy you go back to bed, put your mask on, and try to fall asleep. Repeat as many times as necessary.

The deal is easy to make - sticking to it is not. But it has to be done, because you must break the habit of falling asleep without the mask.
Once your unconscious realizes you are absolutely serious about not sleeping without the mask, it will let you fall asleep with the mask on in the early morning too.
O.

Hey guys! Just finished reading a white paper on sleep apnea/obstructed airway events and wish to add two things to my earlier post that I just learned (so much to know that the Respirologists simply don't have time to explain):

1. My spare machine is coming down into the family room to sit on the end table without the humidifier and stuff so it is nice and neat and unobtrusive. If I watch the ball game or golf... on it goes in case I fall asleep.

2. Another possible effect of sleep apnea, et. al., is apparently congestive heart failure. Go figure.

I'm fairly new to this (only a few months), but I think mask comfort is individual. that being said, there are probably full face masks that are more popular and may have a greater likelyhood of being comfortable. The Mirage Quattro is comfortable for me. In fact I have been trying to use the EasyLife Nasal mask as an alternative and am having a hard time sticking to it. I went back to my FFM last night.

Re sleep clinics, I use a sleep center in Towson, Md. amd a DME near the BWI airport. if you are interested in the information, send me a PM.

Interesting article on this topic:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1978355/

For both my Father and myself it needs to be used for at least 4 hours a night in order for insurance to cover it.

However, I would not sleep without the mask, personally, because I am too worried about the health complications if I don't. If i wake up for any reason, I always put the mask back on.

Being in the Baltimore/DC area, I doubt you'll be going anywhere for a while. If you are hibernating during this weather, it might force you to get used to longer hours. Stay warm and stay safe.

He is wrong. Every apnea episode kills brain cells, causes heart stress, etc.

DaveMunson wrote:... He is wrong. Every apnea episode kills brain cells, causes heart stress, etc. ...

That's also a bit extreme. If that were the case, every time kids held their breath they would keel over. This is not the same as taking a chemo therapy that definitely kills cells. Rather the problem is that PROLONGED untreated apnea drops the O2 saturation long enough and frequently enough to cause brain cells (and other organ cells) to "suffocate". An O2 desaturation once is not a problem. An O2 desaturation one hundred times might be weaken some cells. An O2 desaturation over and over and over, night after night, year after year does HORRIBLE things to our bodies. It's death by a thousand cuts. The single cut won't kill you. But a thousand just might.

So, every apnea episode will not necessarily kill brian cells. But thousands of apnea episodes will.

He is wrong. Every apnea episode kills brain cells, causes heart stress, etc.

That is more than a bit dramatic. I think all of us have had ill effects in terms of cognition, and somatic effects on the entire body. However, to say one episode of apnea kills brain cells, etc, is not scientifically supported. I'd say that "chronic untreated apnea has long term consequences that we all know," but one episode? Also, how much restorative power does long term xpap therapy have? These are subjective judgements medically. The best we can say is that xpap is a lifesaver, prevents long term health issues, and has a wide impact on the mind and body. Beyond that is unnecessary scare tactics and speculation, without any science behind it.

I feel that having the right pieces of equipment have a lot to do with how compliant one is with their treatment and and the easier it is to get a good night sleep. There is always so much emphasis p-t on the right mask but I think more emphasis should be put on the right cpap unit. They all work a little differently and just like a mask we should be able to try out different machines to see which one gives us better treatment.

The first night in the sleep study I quit breathing 1018 times in 6hr43min. The second night with the CPAP. I slept at the sleep center like a baby. This was in June 1999. I have become totally addicted to it... on my 4th machine now, and using the Swift II (lady friend's recommendation) Best mask I've ever had. I would use your machine EVERY night and IF you sleep in a chair watching TV, get another machine and USE IT.
My humble opinion.

people dont get it . you need this machine every time you sleep ,weather it is a small nap or a large sleep session . you need to have a crutch to help you sleep

Hank wrote:The first night in the sleep study I quit breathing 1018 times in 6hr43min. The second night with the CPAP. I slept at the sleep center like a baby. This was in June 1999. I have become totally addicted to it... on my 4th machine now, and using the Swift II (lady friend's recommendation) Best mask I've ever had. I would use your machine EVERY night and IF you sleep in a chair watching TV, get another machine and USE IT.
My humble opinion.

Man I thought my AHI was high during my sleep study last November...but my 126 an hour is much lower than yours was.

The CPAP should be worn for every sleeping minute, as all posters said.

I use a full face mask because I'm a mouth breather and recently found out I have a deviated septum. I use the Fisher and Paykel (sp?) 431.

Change your ramp setting weekly. If you start at a 4, raise it one cm per week. So tonight change it to start at 5. Soon you will not need ramp, and the full pressure will not bother you when you wake up.

Do you have any kind of exahlation relief on your machine? If so, start lowering that weekly as well.

Do you put your mask on in bed, or somewhere else and then hook the hose? If not in bed, start doing that.

Do you have a really comfy pillow that allows for easy CPAP sleeping? If not, start searching. I have a memory foam pillow with the neck support bulge (can't think of another word for it! LOL).

Eventually your mask will be like your pillow and it will feel really good to sleep with it.

Do you know why you're waking? If you're mouth breathing and losing the air pressure, a FF should help with that.

I wouldn't go crazy trying to fix everything in one night, but make little changes every week and you'll soon be sleeping all night with it.