10 days in a few questions and my observation

[cpapguru38]

Observations:

1. There really is something to this cpap therapy. It works and I feel better then I have in years, BUT, I still can't help think that it could be better.

2. I found out my wife had fantasies about Darth Vador. Yes, we did the wild thing and my mask was on the whole time. After we were done, she told me "I have always had fantasies about Darth Vador."

Questions:

1. Do you ever fully get used to the mask? I am able to sleep with, about 4-5 hours per night, which I know is not enough, BUT, I still feel MUCH better even at that. But I still "know" that mask is on my face. I am aware constantly I have a foreign object smeared on my face. Did you ever get fully used to this aspect?

2. Will the hours I am able to sleep with the mask increase? I have it on my face for 7-7.5 hours per night, but right now I actually sleep about 5 hours, with 3-4 hours straight. then off an on for another hour or two. Even at this, I feel 100% better. I still feel like I could use an hour more, but honestly, with the headaches, foggy feeling, sore throat, shakiness and so on gone, I feel great. Can I expect the hours I am able to sleep to increase as time goes by?

[jnk]

Observations:

1. There really is something to this cpap therapy. It works and I feel better then I have in years, BUT, I still can't help think that it could be better.

2. I found out my wife had fantasies about Darth Vador. Yes, we did the wild thing and my mask was on the whole time. After we were done, she told me "I have always had fantasies about Darth Vador."

Questions:

1. Do you ever fully get used to the mask? I am able to sleep with, about 4-5 hours per night, which I know is not enough, BUT, I still feel MUCH better even at that. But I still "know" that mask is on my face. I am aware constantly I have a foreign object smeared on my face. Did you ever get fully used to this aspect?

2. Will the hours I am able to sleep with the mask increase? I have it on my face for 7-7.5 hours per night, but right now I actually sleep about 5 hours, with 3-4 hours straight. then off an on for another hour or two. Even at this, I feel 100% better. I still feel like I could use an hour more, but honestly, with the headaches, foggy feeling, sore throat, shakiness and so on gone, I feel great. Can I expect the hours I am able to sleep to increase as time goes by?

When I first started, I only got a few hours of sleep before my eyes popped open. I think maybe that once the brain figures out you are getting effective sleep, it gets all happy with itself for a while, and you have to train it to get 8 hours. That's my theory, anyway.

I got used to wearing the mask after a while. Some seem to get used to it quicker than others.

But I would not expect to start getting more sleep automatically. Now is the time to pay particular attention to what they call "sleep hygeine" in order to retrain yourself to have good sleep habits and sleep for enough time, even if you feel so much better after only a few hours.

I have been on the hose for about 10 months and I am now up to about 7.5 hours a night. I am still shooting for that 8 hour mark. My goal is to see if I can arrange my life so that I can get 8.5 hours a night for a month or two before I attempt to ascertain how much sleep I actually need. After years of bad sleep, I feel like a baby learning to crawl with this whole sleep thing.

Those are my thoughts and my game plan, anyway.

jeff

[mdbarthe]

I've been on the therapy for over two years now. It took me a good six months to "get used to" the mask, but I still haven't reached the point where I feel like it is part of my face. I still know I have a mask on, I'm just confortable with it.

As for the length of time I sleep; that has shortened over the past two years. Because I was getting really lousy rest pre-therapy, I was exhausted even with 8 or more hours of "sleep". Once I began the therapy, I have found that if I only sleep 5 or 6 hours a night, I still feel good and rested in the morning. The theory, I guess, is that I'm getting a better quality of sleep even though I spend less time in bed.

I know the folks who are well-informed in the science will cringe at what I just wrote because most sources say you need between 7 and 8 hours of sleep per session to replenish your cells and properly rest your body, but this is just "how I roll."

[jnk]

I've been on the therapy for over two years now. It took me a good six months to "get used to" the mask, but I still haven't reached the point where I feel like it is part of my face. I still know I have a mask on, I'm just confortable with it.

As for the length of time I sleep; that has shortened over the past two years. Because I was getting really lousy rest pre-therapy, I was exhausted even with 8 or more hours of "sleep". Once I began the therapy, I have found that if I only sleep 5 or 6 hours a night, I still feel good and rested in the morning. The theory, I guess, is that I'm getting a better quality of sleep even though I spend less time in bed.

I know the folks who are well-informed in the science will cringe at what I just wrote because most sources say you need between 7 and 8 hours of sleep per session to replenish your cells and properly rest your body, but this is just "how I roll."

I have no problem with that approach. In fact, if I tried sleeping longer than 6 hours and consistently found that I felt worse for doing it, I would listen to my body and stop with 6. But I would try longer before I decided. That's all.