Impossible to get used to

[Janknitz]

It's been my observation that people with mild sleep apnea often have the hardest time adjusting to CPAP, because it doesn't improve their sleep to such a profound degree that they feel like it's worth the effort.

There are other options for mild sleep apnea like oral appliances, so you can talk to your doctor or dentist about whether that option will work for you. You MIGHT be helped by weight loss--some people are. Or a change in sleeping position.

But I hope you won't write off CPAP as "too hard" or "Impossible" because you just happen to be fortunate that at this stage of your life, CPAP is harder than whatever brought you to be tested for sleep apnea in the first place. Later in life you may not be so lucky. As we age, sleep apnea tends to worsen. Having moderate or severe sleep apnea is way harder than putting up with getting used to CPAP. Most of us have more severe apnea and we have to choose our hard--wearing a mask at night vs. disabling conditions caused by untreated apnea or even death. The mask doesn't seem so bad when faced with choices like that.

Lose the idea that CPAP is "impossible" to get used to (obviously NOT true or most of us wouldn't be here) because someday you may not have the choices you do now, and if you have convinced yourself CPAP is not an option, you may be in for some very hard times.

Meanwhile, if you want help, we are here for that, but if you just came to vent and will turn in your machine, I hope your luck holds out for you.

[peelunkins]

Getting used to CPAP was THE. ABSOLUTE. HARDEST. THING. I. HAVE. EVER. DONE!!!

But I did it. Took me three weeks, during which I contemplated throwing the machine out the window about 82 times. I also wanted to stomp the mask into smithereens several times a night.

I no longer can sleep in my favorite position, but I do sleep. My health is better.

How did I do it? I decided that I had to and that I wasn't giving up. The people here at CPAPTalk.com helped me, too.

Lisa

Getting used to CPAP was THE. ABSOLUTE. HARDEST. THING. I. HAVE. EVER. DONE!!!
+1
Took me 7 months and CPAP specific hypnosis

[peelunkins]

Obviously he's venting, frustrated, probably not feeling well and is severely disappointed. Some of you need to be a little kinder. It took as much or more effort for you to reply in a snotty manner than it took him to post.

As an aside, and this is the second time I've posted this in a few days. Good posts with value in them provide a benefit to other people that read them as they are scrolling through the forum looking for answers to questions they may have. It's not ALL about the OP. When gv280z posted their reply, my eyebrows went up as I've had some issues they describe and now I'm going to look into the F30 mask. I got value out of the thread.

Some of the rest of you, get off your high horse.

Well said!

[Pugsy]

Folks....especially newbies who don't understand forum personalities just yet.

We have a mixture of members with wide ranging personalities....some offer advice with kid gloves on....some offer advice while at the same time they swing a 2 X 4 to get someone's attention.

Some people need the gloves on advice....some people you have to get their attention first which is where the 2 X 4 comes in.
We never know from the first post just which way a person needs to be handled....so everyone gives a dose of their own special way of offering advice. You get member personalities in just about everything here.
Sometimes it's not so pretty but it is what it is. The 2 X 4 swingers have the same rights to speak their peace just like those members who handle newbies with kid gloves.

So this new person....if he ever comes back and wants help....has been offered both the kid gloves treatment and the 2 X 4 treatment.
He gets to choose which suits his personality and ignore the other.
That's if he ever comes back. We do get people from time to time who just like to stir up the pot so to speak. Get everyone all riled up and fighting within ourselves.....like what I see starting to go down here. Don't give them that satisfaction please.

Wait and see if this person even comes back here....so far he hasn't been back since first and only post. He could just be a pot stirrer.

[zonker]

Obviously he's venting, frustrated, probably not feeling well and is severely disappointed. Some of you need to be a little kinder. It took as much or more effort for you to reply in a snotty manner than it took him to post.

As an aside, and this is the second time I've posted this in a few days. Good posts with value in them provide a benefit to other people that read them as they are scrolling through the forum looking for answers to questions they may have. It's not ALL about the OP. When gv280z posted their reply, my eyebrows went up as I've had some issues they describe and now I'm going to look into the F30 mask. I got value out of the thread.

Some of the rest of you, get off your high horse.

where was your ire when erictheread was greeted? you were in that thread, yet said nothing about that.

[EricTheRead]

Hi:

I thought I'd check the facts:

BrianC created an account this morning at 01:52AM. He posted his comment about his machine. He was last active twelve minutes later.

Cut and pasted from his profile:
Joined:12 Nov 2019 01:52
Last active:12 Nov 2019 02:04

One can picture him waking up the first night (perhaps) of use with a CPAP machine, frustrated at trying to exhale against 16cm of air pressure and the panic that ensues, and thinking, this sucks, I'm not doing this. I think that is easy to imagine, if one speculates. Perhaps he got an APAP and as a belly sleeper, couldn't get used to that thing on his face whilst he tried to get comfortable. Who knows. We can't help everyone. They have to come back and actively join in the conversation and look past those who get pleasure from taunting and belittling for their personal ego trip. There is great benefit from this forum once you overlook the very, very few who are here for personal ego-massage purposes.

Hey BrianC - please log in, we'd love to help you if you'd accept our help. We've all been there. I hope you do come back. Seriously.

Well, if he doesn't come back, for those of you that are wound up about his post, here is my message to you and I want you to think long and hard about this:
A horse walks into a bar and the bartender asks - why the long face? Okay, let's move on.

[zonker]

Well, if he doesn't come back, for those of you that are wound up about his post, here is my message to you and I want you to think long and hard about this:
A horse walks into a bar and the bartender asks - why the long face? Okay, let's move on.

how long and hard do i have to think about it before i get it?

[Bertha deBlues]

I want you to think long and hard about this:
A horse walks into a bar and the bartender asks - why the long face? Okay, let's move on.

[Arlene1963]

A horse walks into a bar and the bartender asks - why the long face?

Hi Bertha, I too used to visit here very often when I started, now only occasionally. I just saw that in your signature and stole it to use in mine.
This is a great forum.
Without the help and encouragement here I would not persisted with CPAP, which I found "impossible" at first as well! I think this is not an uncommon story.

[Bertha deBlues]

A horse walks into a bar and the bartender asks - why the long face?

Hi Bertha, I too used to visit here almost daily when I started, now only occasionally. I just saw that in your signature and stole it to use in mine.
This is a great forum.
Without the help and encouragement here I would not persisted with CPAP, which I found "impossible" at first as well! I think this is not an uncommon story.

Hi Arlene, I like what you did with the signature. Agreed, the advice has been very helpful. A friend was just diagnosed and given a CPAP machine and FFM. She told me it was awkward, uncomfortable, etc. I said, yes it is - at first. You have to stick with it.

[Arlene1963]

What happened to me is that a member here sent me a PM a few months after I'd posted that I was not going to continue CPAP on my own as I had planned.
He very kindly asked how things were going. I had been reading this forum during those months and the message sank in "I can do this"

But back to the OP, I hope he understands that how he feels is not that unusual.

A lot of us feel completely overwhelmed at first.
And yet look at us now, here we are years later, using our machines every night. No big deal.