This may not be so bad after all..CPAP that is

[Cloud 9]

The sleep center wanted me to begin therapy right away before my titration so I could get used to the machine. They said I had 102 events per hour with O2 desaturation as low as 80%. They set the machine at 10. It is a Resmed S8 Compact with 3i Humidifier. I had wanted a data capable machine so I could get data but got resistance from every angle. I finally gave in, so I could get the treatment started. Anyway....

The first night I used it for 4 Hrs. before I took it off and finished my sleep. The air was too warm and felt a little heavy.

The next night I lowered the humidifier to 3, and slept 5 Hrs with the mask before I took it off in the wee hours of the morning. Mainly because my back was getting sore and I needed a little relief on my stomach. No amount of shifting would accomodate the mask without terrible leaks while in a prone position.

Last night I slept 8 hours on the machine before I woke up. I took it off and slept an hour or so on my stomach before I got out of bed.

The upside is that I fall asleep within 30 to 40 minutes of putting on the mask. Much better than I anticipated. The pressure actually seems welcomed, and after a few nights I have learned to maximize the comfort of the mask. I am hoping that the pressure I'm using does not prove too inadequate because it is a comfortable setting.

The down side is that I'm flying blind right now without any feedback from the machine. I do not know If I'm opening my mouth at night, or if my apnea and snoring has completly abated. I guess I'll find out when I go in for my titration in the following week.

Again I'm very relieved because the treatment is not as intrusive as I imagined. I have not noticed whether it has made a difference in the way I feel yet, but at least I have a little piece of mind that I will likely wake up each morning.

[crossfit]

I am having a similar experience. Very few troubles. I have had it a month now and go to sleep pretty easily with the mask on. I even panic if I don't have it on for some reason and start to fall asleep.

See if you can get a data capable machine. It makes a world of difference. I couldn't tell what was a leak and what wasn't at first. Soon I began to figure it out by checking my data each morning. My hubby too is learning. Sometimes I make a lot of sound from the mask but it isn't a leak, at least not one large enough to register as a large leak. So he is starting to learn which sounds are leaks he needs to wake me to fix and which are ones that the machine will compensate for. All this because I have the data to confirm/disconfirm our experiences.

Keep going. I am having noticeable changes regularly, though not as dramatic as my first week with real sleep. But it sure beats the alternative (early death from heart attack or stroke or diabetes, etc).

[desikitteh]

cpap is deceptively scary looking. although once you get past that it's much easier to use.

[flocogref]

Hello. And Bye.

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Hello and Bye.

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Hello and Bye.

[roster]

This may not be so bad after all..CPAP that is

It's all about the alternatives.

[gasparama]

I've been CPAPPING for about 2 1/2 years and have had few problems. I was on the machine for about a month before the sleep study. I've often wondered if that made it more tolerable for me. My own mask was used. Granted, it seemed as though I didn't get enough sleep that night, but the tech got sufficient info so that a second night was not needed.

It took all of 2 nights for me to start feeling better. If I had continued with the 70% nightly oxygen sat., I'm not so sure I would have recovered from the damage.

I'm glad that you're finding the therapy to be tolerable.

[AAAABBCCCAZZ]

Good site.