What lessons have your learned about CPAP?

[Tassie Devil]

FWIW here is my list:

1. (Top of the list for sure) The value of interchange of information on this board.

2. Getting accustomed to using CPAP is a battle, one I gave up at first attempt.

3. CPAP might not revolutionise your life and make you bright and clear headed - it did not do this for me. The reasons for brain fog or lethargicness might be caused by other medical factors, often near impossible to track down. Homo Sapiens is a very complex animal with a lot left to understand.

4. Fitting a mask so it is comfortable, yet does not leak, is an ongoing challenge. After lots of minute adjustments I finally had mine OK but then lost all strap settings when it was washed. I should have marked the strap positions before undoing it from the mask. If the mask is too tight it can mark the face or if too loose it "farts" and wakes one up.

5. Allied to 4 above is that the mask should be periodically boiled (something recently learned here) to soften it up again so it more readily seals.

6. Straps to stop the mouth opening if using a nasal mask are unnecessary and grotesquely cumbersome. If breathing through the mouth is a problem the only alternative might be a full face mask but I remain uncertain about this topic. Maybe if breathing through the mouth is frequent one would start snoring again and my partner would comment ot maybe mouth breathing would wake me up???

7. My wife prefers the odd air noise from CPAP to my earlier snoring. The hospital tests (I've had two) were definite CPAP was needed so, finally convinced, I did persevere and accept that it is now a necessary part of more healthy living. But, as commented above, it did not make a new man out of me, but then that would be unrealistic at aged 81 anyway!

8. I did change from the much maligned RedMed Escape to an Autoset but am unsure if the CPAP treatment is really any better. But I purchased that used Autoset at a good price.

9. Care must be exercised with water in the humidifier as overfilling it can cause water to enter the mask and play havok with the plastic air valve.

10. I had trouble with the hose blowing off the mask. For awhile, putting tape on the nozzle worked. Velcro was tried but ruined the air seal but did have the advantage it left behind a sticky goo on the nozzle which did secure the hose. I no longer regularly detach the hose from the mask but hang the hose out to dry, with mask still attached, on a bracket screwed on a cupboard for that purpose. I gave up searching for any alternative "cure" and was advised to buy another hose, something I have managed to avoid.

11. Our touring/travel days are over so I'm not faced with the hassle of carting a CPAP package around with me and do not bother with CPAP for the odd few nights spent away from home. Using CPAP can be a hassle but it has become a normal habit to put it on each night.

12. If I happen to wake up early for toiletry or other reasons, I abandon CPAP and might catch up with more sleep in another room without it. Lately this is not a regular occurrence.

Bottom line with all this I have had to face up to the fact I suffer a disability - ineffective sleep. Not sure CPAP is the perfect answer but I guess I must believe the medical profession in its claims it is necessary and is a factor in prolonging life and better health. And yes, I have outlived most of my classmates and my father passed away at 52 with a heart attack. But then my mother lived to 93 so I suspect genetics is at least as important as lifesyle. However I'm getting off topic so time to stop!

[Sir NoddinOff]

It's been said many times in the past but I'll say it again: Read the stickies (aka announcements) at the top of the main page. Lot's of collective knowledge up there. Some of the comments are a bit old but there's lots of gold nuggets to find within.... especially Pugsy's and Jule's contributions. The second thing is to use the search engine directly under the CPAPtalk logo. Just keep it simple and try to let the cogent nouns and verbs define your search.

[Goofproof]

Maintain your sense of humor. life could be a lot worse. Jim

[palerider]

the trick to 10) is to put the tape, ziptie, velcro, etc *OUTSIDE* the hose, not between the hose and the mask.

you want to clean both the inside of the hose connector, and the plastic mask connector, then stick them together, if there's not enough grip in the hose, then wrap something around the outside to squeeze it a little.

I used to make fishing rods with my grandfather, and we'd use a neat trick when putting on the guide rings, explained here: http://www.guidesnblanks.com/page/how_t ... rod_guides (image k), I used the same trick and wrapped some line around the end of my old hose when it started slipping off... it didn't come off again, held on tight till I got a longer hose.

[zonker]

what lessons have i learned? well, some time ago, someone posted either here or the other cpap forum something along the lines of "this isn't one and done.". i wish i'd had the presence of mind to capture that, because the poster explained it better than i will. but what i took from it was, you don't just hook up the machine and attach the mask and lay down and PRESTO! everything is a-okay and you are instantly cured. (in fact, you're never "cured", only treated.) no it takes more than that. in fact it can take almost everything you listed in your post.

the second lesson learned is that, many times. it's not just sleep apnea. for me, this went with the "one and done" statement. i have learned that my diet can hinder my sleep. and i found out that both ibuprofen and plain old aspirin can make for some lousy sleep, too! (hello, tylenol.) i've not made the full effort to change my diet, but what i've done has helped.

we are all special snow flakes. we have different needs and have different approaches.

but if we stick with it, we can get there in the end.

[chunkyfrog]

This cute little gadget, with the cute little mask and hose, are keeping me from becoming a grumpy old zombie.

[apneaman]

Try looping the hose over the pillow to take the hose weight off the mask.

[palerider]

here's a .... not so much a lesson learned, but a handy tip. a nasal pillow mask makes a great accessory when doing close work with volatile solvents.

get a long hose, put the machine at a distance, and go ahead and work on what you need to, without inhaling fumes.

I've got some plastic welding liquid, that is *great* for fixing some types of cracked/broken plastic, but it's not good to breath it, and even in a 'well ventilated area' when working with small parts, held close enough to see them, you get some of it up your nose... wearing mask, nothing but fresh air

(stuff's called "Plas-T-Pair, plastic repair kit" if anybody was wondering.)