Compliance no Prob - Can't sleep without xPAP

rhowald · Post by **rhowald** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 10:08 pm

Hey all,

I just wanted to get your stories (tried searching, but still have trouble searching these forums - always get 200+ page returns)...

Anyhow, I tried to take a nap the other day (got woken up early and was a little tired). I noticed that when I lay down I felt short of breath and quickly found myself reaching for my mask and turning the machine on.

I did an experiment that night and tried to get to sleep without the machine. After tossing and turning for 45 minutes or so, put the mask on, fired up the machine and drifted off to peaceful sleep.

I am thinking this is psychological cause my sleep doc says that my OSA is so severe I can die from it... But I still find it weird.

Do any of you have this... obsession with your machine? Almost like it is your lifeline? I wanna get a little cart for mine and bring it with me everywhere, of course then I would need a cool mask like in my avatar. I could be like Darth Vader in meetings, noone would cross me!!! Muwahahaahahaa!!!!!!!

RH

P.S. I feel a little like Homer... "Whats lucky got on". "Thats a respirator Mr. Simpson". "And here I am using my own lungs like a sucker". hehehehe

NomoreCrashcart · Post by **NomoreCrashcart** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 11:20 pm

Being diagnosed with OSA and getting it treated w/ CPAP was the best thing that ever happened to me. I was experiencing frightening episodes of muscle paralysis each night as I tried to get to sleep. During the day I was exhausted at work. My boss was convinced I was either doing drugs, or disinterested in the job, or insubordinate, or out all night drinking, or just didn't want to be there, or a combination of these and other reasons he regularly conjured to explain my ‘attitude’... so I was in danger of losing my job. Because of my lack of sleep for 20 years, I had neither the ability to stay on task, concentrate, or focus on anything for more than a few moments. I became convinced I was mentally ill and started having suicidal thoughts.

My GP recommended a sleep study when I told him about struggling to move while still conscious when trying to go to sleep. The sleep lab tech put a mask on me the first night. Two hours later the sun was up and I felt better than I could remember. The change was instantaneous, miraculous and profound. It took weeks to recover from the extended sleep deprivation, and sometimes I wonder whether I still experience residual effects from the years of exhaustion. These thoughts are fleeting, thankfully, because I was blessed to find relief in the form of Continuous Positive Air Pressure. My focus is vastly improved (but not perfect--whose is??!), and I don't fall asleep at traffic lights anymore.

I have three CPAP machines (one a self-contained battery travel unit that I dislike but remains charged), two deep-cycle marine battery back-up systems and an automatic charging unit, and two power inverters and vehicle power converters so I can travel anywhere with my CPAP without losing any sleep. This level of preparedness allowed me to stop thinking about being without CPAP and just know that I'll get to sleep wherever I am, whether the power is out or not, and even camping. Sounds obsessive to read all that, but now that I have these things I never worry. Being unprepared for power outages and machine failure are not options for me, simply because I can neither nap nor sleep without CPAP. After several days without power several summers ago (experienced during that particularly bad hurricane season in FL) I felt even worse than before I had my sleep study. After that ordeal, the decision to spend a few hundred dollars to avoid the same pickle was an easy one.

God bless you and help you find what works for you!

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP, Power, Travel

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP, Power, Travel

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP, Power, Travel

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 5:42 am

Before cpap we didn't know any better - we craved rest and sleep, did our best with what we could.

After getting used to cpap our brain and mind know there is a better alternative than that old familiar fight for oxygen - so why should it let us fall asleep without cpap?

My machine and mask are a concrete assurance of better sleep - they are a comforting, relaxing thing - I can't fall asleep without them.

O.

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP

tuna · Post by **tuna** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 6:30 am

Have to sleep with it or I feel like @#$% when I get up.. Just wish I would have listened when I was first warned that I might have OSA..

rhowald · Post by **rhowald** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 7:45 am

Yeah but Tuna CAN you fall asleep without the machine?

JimW · Post by **JimW** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 9:47 am

I can fall asleep without my machine, especially Sunday mornings while sitting up. (Sorry, pastor. At least these 'naps' are much shorter than they used to be.) I do find that, on average, I'm getting to sleep far faster with APAP than I used to before. I have not intentionally slept without my machine since its arrival.

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 10:56 am

When my machine broke - and I had to spend a night without it, could I eventually fall asleep? Yes, I could. It took a long time, and I was pretty miserable, waking up from the sound of my own snoring (and the breathing interuptions) more than once.

I wouldn't really try to fall asleep intentionally without it.
Its a tricky situation anyway - because the "testing if I can fall asleep" mode is not a "here I go to sleep mode" - so are you're setting yourself up to be wakeful anyway, and getting at least 2 effects at once.

Many of us will tell you that we had trouble falling asleep before cpap - jolting awake with anxiety just as we were about to drift off, or just not being able to settle down enough. And for many of us, these problems have disappeared since cpap therapy started.

O.

tuna · Post by **tuna** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 11:19 am

rhowald wrote:Yeah but Tuna CAN you fall asleep without the machine?

I can fall sleep without it.

rhowald · Post by **rhowald** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 11:56 am

Good clarification Tuna..

BTW, your avatar always reminds me of LOLcatz. Funny little site with pics of cats with funny captions.

http://lolcatz.wordpress.com/

RH

tuna · Post by **tuna** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 12:03 pm

rhowald wrote:Good clarification Tuna..

BTW, your avatar always reminds me of LOLcatz. Funny little site with pics of cats with funny captions.

http://lolcatz.wordpress.com/

RH

Cute site, will have to bookmark it!

aquamarine · Post by **aquamarine** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 3:00 pm

It has been wonderful reading the comments about symptoms of sleep apnea. I can relate to them all it makes me feel better to know that I am not and was not imagining all these symptoms. I wont even think of going to sleep without my machine on. I only get about four hours continous sleep but it is a lot more than I has before

Compliance no Prob - Can't sleep without xPAP

Can you sleep without your xPAP

Compliance no Prob - Can't sleep without xPAP

cpap talk

Humidifier

Additional Comments: Satisfied CPAP customer since 04/2000