OT: Oldest CPAP user here

[Okie bipap]

I will be 74 next month and have been on BIPAP for one year. They could not find an optimum pressure when I had my sleep studies, so I started IPAP of 29 - 25 with 5 PS. About three months ago, I noticed my pressure seldom went above 20, so I changed my IPAP to 18 - 25. My pressure pretty well strait lines at 18 most nights. I will try lowering it a little more next month after having my annual visit to the sleep doctor as required by Medicare.

[jnk...]

I think it was pretty clear . . .

I think ambiguity can be very.

[LSAT]

I think it was pretty clear: the subject did not imply a single question, the body clearly listed the two questions I had; I did not want to make it a poll since some users here seem to be allergic to those. I simply wanted to get an idea of 1) how age and 2) prolonged use impact CPAP patients. Obviously, this is not an epidemiological study, but still, it gives us some idea; and - hope, as evidenced by several appreciative posts.

Thank you to those who answered my questions, and may you have many more years of happy CPAP-supported lives!

McSleepy

What did you learn?

[McSleepy]

What did you learn?

That, based on a good sample of CPAP users, you can very happily keep using it a) for decades, and b) into your 80s and 90s. I had been genuinely concerned that using CPAP would become harder and harder as one ages, and that it would cause some issues with prolonged use. I'm nowhere near that age and I'm already seeing some alarming signs. I have been on CPAP for 13 years now and while some definite changes are not very concerning (e.g., my nostrils have been stretched from the pillows), others, albeit subtle, are worrying me. For example, I can't seem to be able to breathe on my own anymore when asleep and I've had to raise my pressure steadily over the years (at 21 cm IPAP now), and not because of high AHI but because of inability to comfortably fill my lungs (I should mention that I sleep on my stomach). So, thoughts of muscles weakening and motor control mechanisms getting washed out with age, are hard to chase. There are some other concerns, like factors associated with aging affecting the ability to use CPAP, and I'm not talking about obvious ones, like dementia and severe arthritis, but more on the line of the general loss of sensitivity; now if I can't breathe, I wake up and address the issue (which is why I never had low blood oxygen saturation), but how will it be with older age?
In the end, not just I but many others here have already stated how reassuring it was to hear so many people being successful in their CPAP use after so many years, and into such ripe-old age. It sure does make me feel better, even though it is a small sample and there are so many other factors involved. But, anyway - thank you to those who took this seriously and responded!
McSleepy

[palerider]

What did you learn?

That, based on a good sample of CPAP users, you can very happily keep using it a) for decades, and b) into your 80s and 90s. I had been genuinely concerned that using CPAP would become harder and harder as one ages, and that it would cause some issues with prolonged use. I'm nowhere near that age and I'm already seeing some alarming signs. I have been on CPAP for 13 years now and while some definite changes are not very concerning (e.g., my nostrils have been stretched from the pillows), others, albeit subtle, are worrying me. For example, I can't seem to be able to breathe on my own anymore when asleep and I've had to raise my pressure steadily over the years (at 21 cm IPAP now), and not because of high AHI but because of inability to comfortably fill my lungs (I should mention that I sleep on my stomach). So, thoughts of muscles weakening and motor control mechanisms getting washed out with age, are hard to chase.

it's always amusing to me when people blame their problems on cpap, and not on simply getting older... ever notice that peoples noses keep getting bigger as they age? (nostrils) and that you couldn't breath in your sleep in the first place (which is why you're on cpap).

[chunkyfrog]

Is that why old men have hysterically furry ears?

[palerider]

Is that why old men have hysterically furry ears?

that's terribly rude, furry ears are a cpap side effect, and you shouldn't make fun of people that are suffering from CPAPHearea syndrome...

tsk.

[Wulfman...]

Is that why old men have hysterically furry ears?

HEY!!! At some point in time, many of us (men) welcome hair growth WHEREVER it will grow........

Let's not get started on the genders growing hair in various (or unwanted) places. That could get U G L Y.


Den

.

[ChicagoGranny]

ever notice that peoples noses keep getting bigger as they age?

It's an optical illusion. Noses stay the same size. Everything else shrinks or droops.