Life of a CPAP machine

[ChicagoGranny]

I happen to (personally) know of an individual who was a CPAP user. Got called out during the night for a problem at work. Came home and opted not to use his machine when he went to bed.......he didn't wake up.......died of a heart attack in his sleep (September 2007).

Now you are making sense. I know two who died from skipping one night. One failed to pack it for his flight. Died the next morning in his hotel room. The other had planned to drive home, got delayed and spent the night with a friend who found him dead in the bed the next morning.

If I personally know two, how many are there out there? Gramps' doc has told him to never even skip it during a nap - too great of a danger for stroke according to his doc.

Most of us have had OSA for years

You are missing something. Before we were treated with CPAP, our bodies had time to adjust to the trauma inflicted upon them by apnea. If we have been successfully treated for sometime, those adjustments are gone and the body will not adjust when we skip one night.

One example of this is hematocrit levels. If you are untreated, your body has a high hematocrit level to try to deal with the oxygen deficit. Once you are treated with CPAP, hematocrit levels return to normal.

[palerider]

But, like I've said before, for me it was primarily a financial/cost thing (and the fact that I really, really liked those machines).

well, my friend, I certainly can't fault your logic....

really liking them and finding them really cheap and picking up spares, that's an easy win!

[cflame1]

yeah... finding them cheap... I just checked my local craigslist tonight, don't know if it's a mistake but there's 3 auto bipap (PR 760's) for $1/each.

if they're still there this weekend I may go shopping

[palerider]

yeah... finding them cheap... I just checked my local craigslist tonight, don't know if it's a mistake but there's 3 auto bipap (PR 760's) for $1/each.

if they're still there this weekend I may go shopping

I've seen a lot of times on CL where they put 1$ when there are multiple prices listed in the listing text.

[cflame1]

Palerider... there are 3 ad's with only 1 machine per ad

[palerider]

Palerider... there are 3 ad's with only 1 machine per ad

well, in that case, I'd bet that it's either some kind of scam, or they're confused about how to properly post

[teachcsg]

"Life of a CPAP' too funny! LOL!

For the question regarding the cpap failing catastrophically...my experience has been about the same as the other RT. Most will simply stop working or start beeping at you or turn on and then turn off (all for no apparent reason-they worked perfectly fine the night before).
I have seen some lose pressure over time but its more common to see them just 'poop-out' and just stop working.
Regarding the pressure-make sure the filters are clean or there is not more than 1 fine (white) filter in the back. I have seen both of these situations cause the cpap to put out lower than prescribed pressure.