Repost from 2007

[MeToo]

with an update...

Post by MeToo on Wed Mar 14, 2007 8:18 pm
Sleep Secrets of Superheroes...
You probably thought we super-heroes didn't suffer apnea too...well we do. Here is how we cope. Since you are not a super-hero, these may or may not work for you...

First, Super heroes are too busy to clean their mask straps of the oil that accumulates in them. We wear bandannas under our mask and just throw the bandanna in the wash. This has the added benefit of keeping your head warm in the winter. Being a big fellow, I bought some over-sized bandannas on the web and they work better than the smaller ones. There is enough room left over that I can tie my Activa hose above my head and keep it out of the way and from exhausting on Wonderwoman.

This super hero recently bought a large drink at a Cirque du Soleil show that he attended with family. I used it as my bedside water glass until one night, tired from trudging to the bathroom, and out of water, I decided to sneak a wee in the Cirque cup. Eureka! No more getting up in the middle of the night, unhooking from my cpap, going to the loo, returning, re-hooking up, at which point I was wide awake. Now, I ever-so-quietly get the empty Cirque cup from the bedside table and discreetly use it. I am back asleep within seconds and Wonderwoman is none the wiser as of this writing.

I use a buckwheat hull pillow and recommend them. They provide good support and don't allow my face to sink down enough that the pillow rubs against the mask and breaks the seal. I recently purchased a buckwheat body pillow which I lean against when I'm not spooning with Superwoman. This keeps me off of my back where I tend to swallow more air. I can fly on my own, I don't need extra propulsion.

I was fortunate enough to sleep on a Tempurpedic bed last summer while away from home for a few days. I slept so well, I pulled the sheets off to see what type of mattress I was sleeping on. Upon returning home , I forked over the cash for a Tempurpedic and have slept much better ever since. Wonderwoman even raves about it and the super-brats always want to sleep on it too (this is maybe not such a good thing).

Hope these tips help, my mortal friends. Now I must leave...Up, Up and to bed!

Three updates since 2007:
1) Wonderwoman discovered my secret, which turned out to be a good thing. She understood and I now use an empty Gatorade or such bottle for my chamber-pot. This larger size allows me drink more water before bed and I can also screw the top down to prevent spills.
2) I now use half buckwheat, half millet shell pillow. Millet is quieter and the smaller shells are more comfortable against my head. It has to be a pillow designed for the two different shells, mixing them together will not work.
3) The tempurpedic is still working great -- it seems to more evenly distribute the pressure allowing me to stay in one position longer. I bet any high-quality memory foam would work.

[Goofproof]

You better use the software to monitor your XPAP treatment. having to go in the middle of the night is a major sign your treatment isn't correct. Jim

I'm all for recycling, but I'll just keep the fresh ice water by my bed, thank you!

[LSAT]

You better use the software to monitor your XPAP treatment. having to go in the middle of the night is a major sign your treatment isn't correct. Jim

I'm all for recycling, but I'll just keep the fresh ice water by my bed, thank you!

OR...a prostate problem

[Okie bipap]

You better use the software to monitor your XPAP treatment. having to go in the middle of the night is a major sign your treatment isn't correct. Jim

I'm all for recycling, but I'll just keep the fresh ice water by my bed, thank you!

OR...a prostate problem

Or possibly caused by medication. My high blood medicine has a diuretic in it. I very seldom sleep through the night with a bathroom break. With the diuretic in my medicine, I get very thirsty in the late afternoon and early evening. Consequently, I end up getting up during the night. The only way I have been able to sleep through the night is to put up with the extreme thirst during the afternoon and evening. Other than getting up once or twoce a night, I am sleeping well with an AHI of less than 2, and quite often less than 1.

[Goofproof]

You better use the software to monitor your XPAP treatment. having to go in the middle of the night is a major sign your treatment isn't correct. Jim

I'm all for recycling, but I'll just keep the fresh ice water by my bed, thank you!

OR...a prostate problem

Or possibly caused by medication. My high blood medicine has a diuretic in it. I very seldom sleep through the night with a bathroom break. With the diuretic in my medicine, I get very thirsty in the late afternoon and early evening. Consequently, I end up getting up during the night. The only way I have been able to sleep through the night is to put up with the extreme thirst during the afternoon and evening. Other than getting up once or twoce a night, I am sleeping well with an AHI of less than 2, and quite often less than 1.

That's why you take that kind of medicine in the A.M., so it will drop out of your system before bed. If I have to go somewhere I leave it off until I get home. Planning is everything. Jim

Seldom had a job working days, spent most of my time working 3rd.

[MeToo]

Thanks for the thoughts guys. I'm around 1 - 1.5 AHI on most nights, so hopefully my therapy is okay. Because I tend to drink a lot of water -- including a glass right before bed -- I tend to pee a lot. But I feel better in the morning not being so dehydrated.
Thanks again. I always value everyone's feedback.

[bwexler]

You must be a very lucky guy.
Wonder Woman and Super Woman haven't noticed each other for ten years. When they do you may be in the middle of clash of the Titans.

[zoocrewphoto]

You better use the software to monitor your XPAP treatment. having to go in the middle of the night is a major sign your treatment isn't correct. Jim

I'm all for recycling, but I'll just keep the fresh ice water by my bed, thank you!

OR...a prostate problem

Or possibly caused by medication. My high blood medicine has a diuretic in it. I very seldom sleep through the night with a bathroom break. With the diuretic in my medicine, I get very thirsty in the late afternoon and early evening. Consequently, I end up getting up during the night. The only way I have been able to sleep through the night is to put up with the extreme thirst during the afternoon and evening. Other than getting up once or twoce a night, I am sleeping well with an AHI of less than 2, and quite often less than 1.

That's why you take that kind of medicine in the A.M., so it will drop out of your system before bed. If I have to go somewhere I leave it off until I get home. Planning is everything. Jim

So you would rather run to the bathroom every 30-45 minutes while at work? I learned to take my mine during my last break at work. That would postpone the bathroom breaks until I got home and get most of them done before bed. I can't imagine having to take it before work every day. I did that once, and I was very embarrassed. I didn't want my co-workers thinking I was trying to get out of work. I finally got my doctor to switch meds, as I also go out of town a couple times a month, and I was either stopping every 30-45 minutes to use the bathroom, or awake all night running to the bathroom. My travel sleep schedule is different from my daily sleep schedule. It tends to throw things off.

[Goofproof]

You better use the software to monitor your XPAP treatment. having to go in the middle of the night is a major sign your treatment isn't correct. Jim

I'm all for recycling, but I'll just keep the fresh ice water by my bed, thank you!

OR...a prostate problem

Or possibly caused by medication. My high blood medicine has a diuretic in it. I very seldom sleep through the night with a bathroom break. With the diuretic in my medicine, I get very thirsty in the late afternoon and early evening. Consequently, I end up getting up during the night. The only way I have been able to sleep through the night is to put up with the extreme thirst during the afternoon and evening. Other than getting up once or twoce a night, I am sleeping well with an AHI of less than 2, and quite often less than 1.

That's why you take that kind of medicine in the A.M., so it will drop out of your system before bed. If I have to go somewhere I leave it off until I get home. Planning is everything. Jim

So you would rather run to the bathroom every 30-45 minutes while at work? I learned to take my mine during my last break at work. That would postpone the bathroom breaks until I got home and get most of them done before bed. I can't imagine having to take it before work every day. I did that once, and I was very embarrassed. I didn't want my co-workers thinking I was trying to get out of work. I finally got my doctor to switch meds, as I also go out of town a couple times a month, and I was either stopping every 30-45 minutes to use the bathroom, or awake all night running to the bathroom. My travel sleep schedule is different from my daily sleep schedule. It tends to throw things off.

I solved the work problem, I quit working, retired at 57, no longer was work safe due to health. Jim 3 years the coal mine folded, guess they couldn't do it with out me. Jim