mummmz wrote:Post by Omne on Fri Jul 08, 2016 6:56 pm
dorlow wrote:
problem I have still is all of this clinical stuff in the bedroom really doesn't make a bedroom too romantic.
So pick up a CPAP nightstand, nothing shows at all unless you're using it. I find it very convenient.
WHAT??? I thought I was going to invent one and mass market it. Darn!
Invent a more feminine one?
Dorlow, you know what is hotter than snorting and choking sounds all night, and the anxiety filled counting of seconds between a partner's breath to next breath? Wondering if they are going to take that next breath?
A partner not running scared and getting the machine and
taking charge of their care. Seriously. And there are so so so many mask and setting options nowadays...and if you run a fan like a summer fan...that is louder than the cpap/apap for the s9 series. (cant speak to other modern machines...but the websites say they are quieter yet with each generation!)
S9 is something like 25dB. A whisper in a library is 40dB if I am remembering correctly. In any case, significantly quieter. My parents don't even realize I am using it until they look at me.
And once you get your mask setup and cpap setup how you like it, take advantage of the quick release straps if your mask has them. And make it part of your getting home routine to set the sucker up so you can be ready for couple time later, then as soon as it is done it is slap on the mask and you can fall right to sleep. Without giving your wife the fear of you stroking out in the middle of the night.
And there is more than one couple on the site here where both are hoseheads. and they make it work with dueling machines :p
So, I have anxiety and sleep issues besides the apnea (which ones are still tbd but I have a new study in 10 days) and something that really helped me is something I learned from the CBT from the anxiety. Because my god, a Thing attached to my FACE where my BREATHING happens had me freaked out at first. Generalized anxiety disorder totally turns all sorts of things into freakouts though. So part of the process of dealing with it is much like how in Harry Potter you deal with the Boggarts. Turn something you fear into something you can laugh at. Put Snape in Granny's outfit. Or figure out your calm happy place, and figure out how to get your sleep zone as much as you can to line up with it. This is something I could do. My happy place is the beach. Sleeping Bear Dunes up north, to be real specific. So...you know what these masks make me think of? Snorkel/Scuba masks! So I put beach sounds on my phone to fall asleep to, and focus on the waves crashing to help be a timing for my breathing. Close my eyes and think of the beach. Way better than space elephants, right? though if space elephants are your happy place, you do you.
Also just try wearing it while you are awake and watching Netflix or whatever your tv shows of choice are to try to build positive, or at least neutral associations with it. I did that a lot at first until my therapist and I figured out the visualization that worked for me. Eventually fell asleep with the tv on...but with my mask on too. Finding the mask that was right for my face helped a ton too. So much.
The nice thing about CPAP therapy is that if it gets super overwhelming you can take a break and try again in a few when your body is calmed back down. Surgery...once it is done you can't undo it.
I hope these thoughts help you. I want to see you succeed.
