Subconciously addicted to my CPAP machine

[Dog Slobber]

Eddie,
I am in the same boat! I used the C-PAP machine everyday for one year. With the forced air it made it very easy to breath, I did not even have to breath, it was forced. I went on an overnight vacation with the wife for us to have some alone time. I forgot the C-PAP machine for the first time I was on my own. I could not sleep at all, I paced the floor all night and begged for sun light to finally arrive. This scared me so I decided to get off the system. It took over a month to retrain my body to survive without the machine. I forgot how to breath, no not related to Apnea, just the body forgot how. I work up every 20 minutes for a month, I just was not breathing deep enough to pull oxygen. Slowly, very Slowly I adapted and the breathing went back to normal. I am off the machine, I snore and I wake up about 4 times a night, but I woke up 4 times a night even on the C-PAP machine. The machine scares me, it seems if I am on the machine long enough the human body may not be able to survive if removed.

In other news, I'm subconsciously addicted to my reading glasses.

So badly, I find that when I take them off I have trouble reading. Fortunately, when I do wear them, I can read dates.

[Pugsy]

Zombie thread alert folks. Check your post dates if you are replying to someone.

Resurrected by someone who doesn't understand how cpap works and it isn't a ventilator and most likely looking for any excuse to ditch the machine.

[palerider]

Eddie,
I am in the same boat! I used the C-PAP machine everyday for one year. With the forced air it made it very easy to breath, I did not even have to breath, it was forced. I went on an overnight vacation with the wife for us to have some alone time. I forgot the C-PAP machine for the first time I was on my own. I could not sleep at all, I paced the floor all night and begged for sun light to finally arrive. This scared me so I decided to get off the system. It took over a month to retrain my body to survive without the machine. I forgot how to breath, no not related to Apnea, just the body forgot how. I work up every 20 minutes for a month, I just was not breathing deep enough to pull oxygen. Slowly, very Slowly I adapted and the breathing went back to normal. I am off the machine, I snore and I wake up about 4 times a night, but I woke up 4 times a night even on the C-PAP machine. The machine scares me, it seems if I am on the machine long enough the human body may not be able to survive if removed.

Alert people, this post is from a colossal dumb ass, and shouldn't have passed moderation, unfortunately, even stupid, bad posts are allowed by Johnny.

Of COURSE it's terribly hard to sleep without the CPAP, not being able to breathe is very bad for your body, it's no wonder this idiot can't sleep without it. It's like trying to see without your glasses.

Idiotic post.

[D.H.]

They all have a lower limit and if you have zero AHI at - say - 4 then you still don't know what would happen at zero.

You can narrow it down - kinda - but I'd only trust a real sleep lab test before stopping using a CPAP.

If he lowered his effective pressure by one cm each night and checked the results in the morning, I have an expectation that he would start seeing apneas before he ever got to four cm. Despite claims to the contrary, not very many people cure sleep apnea by losing weight.

Yes, I like that idea. If you start having episodes at 6, then go back to 7 or 8. If you don't have episodes at 4, you can deal with that later.

[chunkyfrog]

Given the unhealthy habit of sleeping without his cpap, it pains me to observe that
it is unlikely that ericdryden will live long enough to be a bad example.
I hope he has made arrangements for his "final expenses".

[ericdryden]

Wow there are some mean people on this site. I originally went to the doctor with Tinnitus, so I am sure I had more tracking done on me that any one on this site. For about three months I had to keep a record of everything I ate and drank. I had to track not only how many times I woke up during the night but also the time, This was difficult because I had to look at the clock and remember each time. They though maybe a solution was Apnea, I was tested and only had it when I sleep on my back and I never sleep on my back but I was given the equipment and instructed to use. I did hoping my Tinnitus would improve. It did not. I still had to track every thing I ate and drank and time I would wake up. Nothing changed from before I had the machine and after. The only thing that changed was my body adjusted to very shallow breathing to limit the air flow in and out. This meant being without the machine my body would not pull enough air. I think these machines are dangerous if used long enough. I think my setting is 4 which was the lowest, but maybe a 1 or a setting that gives very little help. Not sure why this makes some of you so angry, if you can use this and sleep through the night without waking, I applaud you and wish it was me.

[palerider]

Wow there are some mean people on this site. I originally went to the doctor with Tinnitus, so I am sure I had more tracking done on me that any one on this site.

You'd lose that bet.

For about three months I had to keep a record of everything I ate and drank.

whoopie?

I was tested and only had it when I sleep on my back and I never sleep on my back

Have you recorded yourself on video? you have no way of knowing what you're doing while asleep.

Nothing changed from before I had the machine and after.

Well, that's obviously false, otherwise you'd have had *zero* problems sleeping without it.

The only thing that changed was my body adjusted to very shallow breathing to limit the air flow in and out.

That is *completely false*. You're still breathing *JUST THE SAME* with the cpap as without it, all the CPAP does is hold your airway open.

This meant being without the machine my body would not pull enough air.

WRONG. completely false.

I think these machines are dangerous if used long enough.

People who've been on them for decades would tell you that you're completely full of crap. ignorant crap too.

I think my setting is 4 which was the lowest, but maybe a 1 or a setting that gives very little help. Not sure why this makes some of you so angry, if you can use this and sleep through the night without waking, I applaud you and wish it was me.

Because you're spreading dangerous, ignorant bullshit.

[cyberdreamer]

Wow there are some mean people on this site. I originally went to the doctor with Tinnitus, so I am sure I had more tracking done on me that any one on this site. For about three months I had to keep a record of everything I ate and drank. I had to track not only how many times I woke up during the night but also the time, This was difficult because I had to look at the clock and remember each time. They though maybe a solution was Apnea, I was tested and only had it when I sleep on my back and I never sleep on my back but I was given the equipment and instructed to use. I did hoping my Tinnitus would improve. It did not. I still had to track every thing I ate and drank and time I would wake up. Nothing changed from before I had the machine and after. The only thing that changed was my body adjusted to very shallow breathing to limit the air flow in and out. This meant being without the machine my body would not pull enough air. I think these machines are dangerous if used long enough. I think my setting is 4 which was the lowest, but maybe a 1 or a setting that gives very little help. Not sure why this makes some of you so angry, if you can use this and sleep through the night without waking, I applaud you and wish it was me.

I believe some people reacted poorly to your post because they found your argument that CPAP is addictive to be absurd. As far as I know, after all these years since CPAP was invented, there is no evidence that it is addictive or that it can potentially cause irreversible and/or serious damage to someone.

I didn't fully understand what your health problems are. Did you have a sleep study done that indicated you have obstructive sleep apnea? Given the serious risks of untreated apnea, I advise you not to stop using the machine without contacting your doctor.

You also seem very anxious about the treatment. I kindly advise you to seek a psychiatrist as dealing with sleep apnea can be nerve-racking and some of the health issues you report might be psychological.

[palerider]

Wow there are some mean people on this site. I originally went to the doctor with Tinnitus, so I am sure I had more tracking done on me that any one on this site. For about three months I had to keep a record of everything I ate and drank. I had to track not only how many times I woke up during the night but also the time, This was difficult because I had to look at the clock and remember each time. They though maybe a solution was Apnea, I was tested and only had it when I sleep on my back and I never sleep on my back but I was given the equipment and instructed to use. I did hoping my Tinnitus would improve. It did not. I still had to track every thing I ate and drank and time I would wake up. Nothing changed from before I had the machine and after. The only thing that changed was my body adjusted to very shallow breathing to limit the air flow in and out. This meant being without the machine my body would not pull enough air. I think these machines are dangerous if used long enough. I think my setting is 4 which was the lowest, but maybe a 1 or a setting that gives very little help. Not sure why this makes some of you so angry, if you can use this and sleep through the night without waking, I applaud you and wish it was me.

I believe some people reacted poorly to your post because they found your argument that CPAP is addictive to be absurd. As far as I know, after all these years since CPAP was invented, there is no evidence that it is addictive or that it can potentially cause irreversible and/or serious damage to someone.

Being "addicted" to CPAP is as completely absurd as being "addicted" to eyeglasses.... they both perform in the same way, they enable the person to see/breathe *when they are in use*.

If someone became "addicted" to CPAP, it would affect their waking hours too! You'd have to wear the machine all day long too!

Totally absurd.

[TropicalDiver]

. The only thing that changed was my body adjusted to very shallow breathing to limit the air flow in and out. This meant being without the machine my body would not pull enough air. I think these machines are dangerous if used long enough. I think my setting is 4 which was the lowest, but maybe a 1 or a setting that gives very little help. Not sure why this makes some of you so angry, if you can use this and sleep through the night without waking, I applaud you and wish it was me.

I assume you have some verification that your tidal volume was x prior to initiating any therapy, that remained at x during therapy, and that it was significantly lower when you discontinued therapy? Any data should be for similar sleep stages, position, medication.

I also assume that with the continual monitoring that you had, your overnight sats are worse post treatment than pre treatment?

Or perhaps any peer reviewed journal articles?

Here is the source of the anger: "I think these machines are dangerous if used long enough." That is your claim. There is zero evidence to support your claim. Moreover, if you are having untreated apnea, that in itself can alter your breathing pattern.

Myths in medicine can and do dissuade people from seeking appropriate treatment. If cancer is exposed to air, it grows out of control. If you start using oxygen, you become addicted to it. Your brain forgets how to breath when on CPAP. You become addicted to it insulin. All udder rubbish -- but all things that have caused people to delay treatment that avoids bad outcomes (in terms of morbidity and mortality).

[ericdryden]

Funny guys, you keep wanting to compare CPAP to eyeglasses. CPAP which is the process to forced air which is used in the continuation of life support system in hospitals. CPAP, Ventilators and Respirator's are all in the same class as continuous positive pressure. These devices in hospitals environments can save lives and once used they spend several days to ween a person off the device. It is a absurd and a lack of understanding to relate eyeglasses. Have you ever seen a hospital TV show where when rushed to OR you here the doctor ask to be sure and check the eyeglasses. NO hospital will remove the Ventilator from a patient except in increasing duration until they are comfortable the patient can breath on their own.

[TropicalDiver]

Except there are many important differences between a vent and a CPAP. Care to list them?

I never talked about glasses -- care to share the data I requested rather than non sequiturs?

[Pugsy]

CPAP, Ventilators and Respirator's are all in the same class as continuous positive pressure.

No...they aren't all the same and they don't all function the same either.
If they were the same we wouldn't have the different billing codes. There is a big difference between an invasive ventilator and a non invasive ventilator and a cpap/apap machine.
CPAP/APAP and most bilevel machines aren't ventilators...they don't force a person to do anything. They aren't classified as such either.
Now there are some bilevel machines that can force a breath but cpap/apap and regular bilevel can't do it.

I have a family friend who has been on cpap since 1985...and he happens to be a doctor....and he breathes just fine during the day without the need for anything special. An extremely active and healthy 88 year old man with zero lung problems at all.

You are spreading garbage and it will be challenged because it is garbage.

[chunkyfrog]

We are not being mean--just honest.
Tough love--we actually care about your ungrateful, foolish self,
and want you to succeed with therapy for the disorder we all share.

[palerider]

Funny guys, you keep wanting to compare CPAP to eyeglasses. CPAP which is the process to forced air which is used in the continuation of life support system in hospitals.

Once again, you are *wrong*.
CPAP is NOT the same as ventilators used in the hospital.

Stop spewing your ignorance.

NO hospital will remove the Ventilator from a patient except in increasing duration until they are comfortable the patient can breath on their own.

You level of ignorance is astounding.