FIRST NIGHT SLEEPLESS IN VA

[Gumpy1286]

Well I am here as a husband of a new CPAP wife. I will tell her about this forum and hopefully get her interested. Last night was our first night. It wasn't good. She has a humidifying machine with a mouth mask that has nasal ports. NOT A FULL FACE. Let you know the brand later. She is using CPAP due to a sleep study she was required to have prior to Gastric Banding surgery March/April time frame for surgery. She is required by the surgeon to use CPAP for approx. 5 weeks prior to surgery. By the reports of her sleep study she has a very mild case of sleep apnea. Anyway WHY I AM HERE??? Long sleepless night. She cried untill she finally fell asleep. It didn't stay on her all night long needless to say. I tried everything to help her out as much as I could. My question is how long will it take her to get used to it? Is there something she or I can do to help her relax? Sleeping pills mild, sedative?? Open to answers. I hope this gets better before it gets worse. She was miserable last night. Any help would be appreciated. How do I post the type of machine and mask she has like I see some of yo have?
Husband trying to Help

[yardbird]

The fact that you're here speaks volumes. Good for you! HAving the support and caring of your partner is a huge help.

This is a very odd thing to do when you think about it. You go to sleep with a squid on your face. The headgear is foreign. You have something covering your mouth and nose! (or just your nose). Good golly, how will you EVER get to sleep with all this junk on?

And vanity also comes in... "How must I look to my bed partner? I must look like some awful space alien."

It can all be a bit much to absorb all at once.

We've probably all been there. By all means, if she can stop in here and see what we all do, she is very welcome. We've all needed help with some aspect of this and a good number of us get the greatest amount of help right here.

If she's going in for the gastric band then I am assuming there is a weight issue involved. It's POSSIBLE that her "mild case of apnea" is a result of excess weight. Not meaning to get her hopes up or anything, as apnea should be treated if it exists, but I have a friend who went through this (he's already lost over 100 pounds) and the loss of weight seems to have taken care of the apnea he had (also a VERY mild case of apnea). Now again, everyone is different and I don't want to put forth any unwarranted ideas as we certainly don't know all the details.

Continue to be supportive.
What exactly about this made her so upset as to make her cry?

She is welcome here and will have LOTS of people chiming in to help her get started. And to welcome her to the Loyal Order of the Hose Heads.

[ozij]

Hi Grumpy,
Welcome aboard - and I do hope you wife will join too.
You can post the equipment by choosing it on your profile screen and you can add a comment with the pressure.

Tell your wife that many of us had a hard time at the beginning - and most of us love sharing the tips that helped us through.

O.

[deerslayer]

hey grumpy, welcome . i am a newbie also. if it wasn't for my better half i would never have had the sleep study to begin with, much less find out i had osd. with some patience, clicking the yellow light bulb at the forum top & reading/asking ?'s from all these folks that are going through the same deal-she can do this & feel better .... y'all are not alone cuz !

[bdp522]

Your wife can also pop into the chat room. There are usually a few people in there in the evening. She need not post, or participate in the beginning. Of course the more she does participate, the more help we can be. If she reads some of the posts, but still isn't sure about posting herself...she can try PMing one of us to help get her started.
She should also click on the yellow light bulb at the top of the page for 'Our Collective Wisdom' and read as much as she can.

Brenda

[CalicoskiesNC]

It took me about 3wks to acclimate to the therapy. In that time, I became used to the mask (I wear a nasal pillow system) used to the air pressure going in and I adjusted how I position myself in bed a little differently. In the beginning I needed the ramp feature on my CPAP. I no longer use that. The ramp feature if she has it will help her in the beginning.

She has to be consistent about wearing the mask and using CPAP or she will not adjust to it easily. Tell her to breathe normally, not to breathe faster or deeper, just to try and breathe normally. Ayr gel will help her nostrils if they need moisturizing. Saline nasal spray will keep her nasal passages from getting too dry. I use the Pursleep scents near my machine and it made a big difference, I enjoy them very much.

If she continues to have such difficulty, she should speak to her dr. The therapy is important, so I hope she finds ways to adapt to it.

[WearyOne]

Gumpy1286, I remember crying, too---and throwing masks across the room!

It took me at least a month before things started settling down, maybe even a little longer. (I've been on cpap for 11 months now.) Went through pressure changes, mask changes, "altering" masks, getting a heated hose, deciding not to use the ramp. And I'm not sure I would have made it if not for the great people here. But through it all, I never went a full night without it. Did go partial nights at times, when, after hours of trying to stop the leaks I'd just give up. I also used Ativan for a few weeks to help calm me down at night.

Patience, perseverance, and education I believe are key. And it sounds like she has a wonderful, supportive husband to help her, and that is great!

Oh, looks like you're in Virginia (Sleepless in VA). Me, too!

Pam

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

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