Well, it's official. I now own a Remstar heated humidifier, a hose, an Ultra Mirage and a ResMed Swift, but no actual CPAP machine.
Which means I am now officially no longer a hosehead. I wish I knew what I was gonna do next, but I'm stumped. I'm back to getting about 60% of the rest I need, instead of almost 0% of it with the machine on...
I suppose I should just resolve myself to exhaustion and an early death.
Liam, discouraged.
Returned my CPAP today...
Returned my CPAP today...
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sleepy gal
- Posts: 108
- Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2005 1:59 pm
- Location: upstate New York
Liam, I am relatively new here, but hate to see you give up. Have you considered a dental device? I have both a c-flex with a ultramirage ff mask and am trying a fP flexifit ff mask also (on loan from DME). BUT, I also have a "silencer" a dental device that brings your jaw forward a little to keep the airways open.
I was also feeling like giving up, but found a wonderful sleep doc who has encouraged me.
I flip from one mask to another and from the machine to the silencer during the night....I am not going to say I am 100%, but somewhat better.
Don't give up.....you will find something that works for you. You need a good sleep doc in your corner.
Best regards and positive thoughts,
I was also feeling like giving up, but found a wonderful sleep doc who has encouraged me.
I flip from one mask to another and from the machine to the silencer during the night....I am not going to say I am 100%, but somewhat better.
Don't give up.....you will find something that works for you. You need a good sleep doc in your corner.
Best regards and positive thoughts,
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wading thru the muck!
- Posts: 2799
- Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 11:42 am
Liam,
You will always be at least an honorary "hosehead." It's very frustrating for me to see you not have success. This is one shortcomming of a forum. We are all so far from each other that direct contact to help resolve your difficulties is not possible. I can't help but think that even with the mask on an the machine blowing that one good wack on the head would not insure a good nights sleep.
Are going to consider surgery? I can tell you that you should consider the impact it will have on you voice if you pursue that route.
Good luck, hope you find a solution that works for you.
You will always be at least an honorary "hosehead." It's very frustrating for me to see you not have success. This is one shortcomming of a forum. We are all so far from each other that direct contact to help resolve your difficulties is not possible. I can't help but think that even with the mask on an the machine blowing that one good wack on the head would not insure a good nights sleep.
Are going to consider surgery? I can tell you that you should consider the impact it will have on you voice if you pursue that route.
Good luck, hope you find a solution that works for you.
Sincerely,
wading thru the muck of the sleep study/DME/Insurance money pit!
wading thru the muck of the sleep study/DME/Insurance money pit!
Liam,
Wading's right - you'll always be an honorany hosehead. Even if you don't use the machine now, please don't leave the forum. We like you. We like your humor. And besides - things change. Maybe a few months down the road they'll have invented the perfect devise or procedure for you. In the meantime, you've still got the mask. Put it on occassionally, and maybe eventually you'll get used to it enough to sleep in it.
Debbie
Wading's right - you'll always be an honorany hosehead. Even if you don't use the machine now, please don't leave the forum. We like you. We like your humor. And besides - things change. Maybe a few months down the road they'll have invented the perfect devise or procedure for you. In the meantime, you've still got the mask. Put it on occassionally, and maybe eventually you'll get used to it enough to sleep in it.
Debbie
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Guest
I hear ya Liam. I'm going on my third attempt at CPAP starting this weekend. Tried it once, got no sleep, exhausted, and then got the flu. Gave it up until I recovered. Second time, tried it, got no sleep, got a defective mask, ordered a new mask, got exhausted, got sick as a dog. I am now recovered from getting sick again. Two months since I got my machine, and all I do is feel like crap and then get hit with some version of the ebola virus.
I'm two months, three masks, and two major colds into this. I need this to work. The third attempt will either be a charm or a strike out......and here we go.......
I'm two months, three masks, and two major colds into this. I need this to work. The third attempt will either be a charm or a strike out......and here we go.......
Well, no prescription works for 100% of the targeted population. Different people react differently to any given stressor(s) and/or stimuli set. Liam, you sure gave it a heroic try.
If I were in your shoes, Liam, I'd very seriously consider coupling the reversible pillar implants with the reversible TAP 2 dental appliance. Vist the dental sleep medicine forum on TAS to see how those folks are doing. I also suspect that any of those patients who achieve marginal results with those two devices might also add supplemental oxygen (much more comfortable than CPAP) to achieve acceptable results. If those procedures don't work out, patients are not stuck with irreversible side effects, as in the case of traditional surgeries.
If I were in your shoes, Liam, I'd very seriously consider coupling the reversible pillar implants with the reversible TAP 2 dental appliance. Vist the dental sleep medicine forum on TAS to see how those folks are doing. I also suspect that any of those patients who achieve marginal results with those two devices might also add supplemental oxygen (much more comfortable than CPAP) to achieve acceptable results. If those procedures don't work out, patients are not stuck with irreversible side effects, as in the case of traditional surgeries.
Last edited by -SWS on Fri Mar 25, 2005 2:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Liam, I wish you well!! I just wish we were able to stop you before you decided to quit! But, please don't give up on us...we do still all care about you! Don't leave the forum! Please!
Good luck and let us know how you do on the "outside"!!
Good luck and let us know how you do on the "outside"!!
Laughter never killed anyone..... Go ahead, laugh! It's good for you!! 
I'm not going anywhere. I'm gonna keep lurking, because I know the day I quit will be the day that someone announces some breakthrough in mask technology that perhaps I'd be able to live with.
I am very leery of the surgical route, because I'm quite proud of my singing voice, and don't want to do anything which might damage it.
I'll read up on the two proceedures SWS suggested and see if maybe they'd help me.
It's so easy to get discouraged, though. My hat is off to those who make it through similar trials and tribulations and manage to make it go.
Liam, who'd better put his hat back on, before he sunburns his scalp.
I am very leery of the surgical route, because I'm quite proud of my singing voice, and don't want to do anything which might damage it.
I'll read up on the two proceedures SWS suggested and see if maybe they'd help me.
It's so easy to get discouraged, though. My hat is off to those who make it through similar trials and tribulations and manage to make it go.
Liam, who'd better put his hat back on, before he sunburns his scalp.
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OK, Liam. You gave it your best try, and as SWS said, a very good one at that. I would guess that you are not alone in being unable to tolerate the CPAP monster. So what's next? You could have surgery, try implants, or one of the less invasive dental appliances, right?
I'm sorry to be so forward, but how is your weight? I don't remember if you've ever stated whether you were overweight or not. If not, that's great news. However, if you are, why not at least try what my doctor called the least invasive method of all: take off some pounds. Now, he did not guarantee that it would stop my snoring, or "cure" my apnea. However, even if it did not, he guaranteed that my overall health would be better for doing it. Plus, I "might" not have to do CPAP!
So, I promised him that I would "try". But it's tough to change habits; old dogs don't like new tricks! So, having refused to take what is possibly the easiest way out of this, I chose the CPAP machine. Good choice, right? Once I started on this thing, I hated it from the beginning. However, I told myself, that I was the one who chose it (over losing the weight, of course!) Guess what, after almost 6 months, I still hate it. But I have resigned myself to the fact that I will stay with it until I get my weight down to normal again. In 4 weeks, since joining Weight Watcher's, I have lost 16.6 pounds. And I am attacking this with full force. I still have another 40 pounds to go, but I am now accepting no less than lifetime membership.
What's my drive? TO ELIMINATE THE CPAP, of course. But what if that doesn't happen? Well, my cholesterol will be lower, my BP will be lower, I'll have more energy, it will be better for my liver (I have NASH, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis - commonly know as fatty liver disease - the very early stage of cirrhosis). I might even be able to keep the diabetes at bay, which luckily I don't have, but has ravaged my family. For every complaint that I have presented to my doctor as I close in on 50, there has been the common component that losing weight will only help the situation. If the life expectancy is up close to 80 now, I want some good years out the remaining 30. To do so, I've got to do something now!
So, as long as you've made the conscientious decision to abandon CPAP, do yourself (and your family) just one thing, if you're overweight: lose some weight while you contemplate your next move on the apnea.
If you're not overweight, I apologize for my forwardness. However, I still think the message can help some who read this forum.
Good luck, and stay in touch.
(PS to all: watch the documentary, "Super Size Me". I will open your eyes to the damage that overeating causes our culture!)
I'm sorry to be so forward, but how is your weight? I don't remember if you've ever stated whether you were overweight or not. If not, that's great news. However, if you are, why not at least try what my doctor called the least invasive method of all: take off some pounds. Now, he did not guarantee that it would stop my snoring, or "cure" my apnea. However, even if it did not, he guaranteed that my overall health would be better for doing it. Plus, I "might" not have to do CPAP!
So, I promised him that I would "try". But it's tough to change habits; old dogs don't like new tricks! So, having refused to take what is possibly the easiest way out of this, I chose the CPAP machine. Good choice, right? Once I started on this thing, I hated it from the beginning. However, I told myself, that I was the one who chose it (over losing the weight, of course!) Guess what, after almost 6 months, I still hate it. But I have resigned myself to the fact that I will stay with it until I get my weight down to normal again. In 4 weeks, since joining Weight Watcher's, I have lost 16.6 pounds. And I am attacking this with full force. I still have another 40 pounds to go, but I am now accepting no less than lifetime membership.
What's my drive? TO ELIMINATE THE CPAP, of course. But what if that doesn't happen? Well, my cholesterol will be lower, my BP will be lower, I'll have more energy, it will be better for my liver (I have NASH, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis - commonly know as fatty liver disease - the very early stage of cirrhosis). I might even be able to keep the diabetes at bay, which luckily I don't have, but has ravaged my family. For every complaint that I have presented to my doctor as I close in on 50, there has been the common component that losing weight will only help the situation. If the life expectancy is up close to 80 now, I want some good years out the remaining 30. To do so, I've got to do something now!
So, as long as you've made the conscientious decision to abandon CPAP, do yourself (and your family) just one thing, if you're overweight: lose some weight while you contemplate your next move on the apnea.
If you're not overweight, I apologize for my forwardness. However, I still think the message can help some who read this forum.
Good luck, and stay in touch.
(PS to all: watch the documentary, "Super Size Me". I will open your eyes to the damage that overeating causes our culture!)
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NeurosurgeryNP
- Posts: 304
- Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2005 6:58 pm
- Location: Long Island, NY
- Contact:
As far as my weight is concerned... I'm about 250, ideal weight is probably about 200. So yeah, I'm a bit overweight. However, I was about 230 when I was diagnosed (still up, but not hugely).
The problem with dieting is that my depression interferes. When I get depressed, I don't have the energy to maintain the self-restraint necessary not to eat when I feel hungry.
It's really a vicious circle, because I can't find the energy to exercise when I haven't been sleeping, but the less I exercise the worse I sleep...
And as to the Aura, that's great, I'd try one, except that I have nothing to hook it up to, except my old canister vacuum cleaner, and I don't think that has CFLEX.
I'm still keeping an eye out for a reasonably priced Remstar Auto with CFLEX on the auction sites, if I can find one for under $250 it's probably worth it to me to buy it, just to see, at which point I can try things like the Aura again.
(Although aren't there a lot of people on here talking about how the Aura isn't working for them?)
Liam, who wonders what a Kyrillian (sp?) photo of someone wearing the Aura would look like.
The problem with dieting is that my depression interferes. When I get depressed, I don't have the energy to maintain the self-restraint necessary not to eat when I feel hungry.
It's really a vicious circle, because I can't find the energy to exercise when I haven't been sleeping, but the less I exercise the worse I sleep...
And as to the Aura, that's great, I'd try one, except that I have nothing to hook it up to, except my old canister vacuum cleaner, and I don't think that has CFLEX.
I'm still keeping an eye out for a reasonably priced Remstar Auto with CFLEX on the auction sites, if I can find one for under $250 it's probably worth it to me to buy it, just to see, at which point I can try things like the Aura again.
(Although aren't there a lot of people on here talking about how the Aura isn't working for them?)
Liam, who wonders what a Kyrillian (sp?) photo of someone wearing the Aura would look like.
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Hi Liam,
Sorry it's not working for you. Was really tough for me early on as major congestion prevented proper breathing and didn't sleep at all well. Taking Flonase now and APAP is working like a charm.
You may have already considered this - what about taking medication to get over the initial hump of compliance. For example, some kind of sleeping pill that would force you to sleep while your body adjusts and accepts xPAP. Wean off the medication over whatever period of time leaving you a happy sleeping hosehead.
I am still very new to all this but there must be some way to help first time users who have usage issues. Hope I didn't beat a dead horse here if the prescription route has been addressed.
Wishing you well.
Bob F
unclebob, who is at daughter's home.
Bob, who knows you can lead a hosehead to bed but you can't force him to have rainout. Pretty lame huh Liam? Maybe you better stick around!
Sorry it's not working for you. Was really tough for me early on as major congestion prevented proper breathing and didn't sleep at all well. Taking Flonase now and APAP is working like a charm.
You may have already considered this - what about taking medication to get over the initial hump of compliance. For example, some kind of sleeping pill that would force you to sleep while your body adjusts and accepts xPAP. Wean off the medication over whatever period of time leaving you a happy sleeping hosehead.
I am still very new to all this but there must be some way to help first time users who have usage issues. Hope I didn't beat a dead horse here if the prescription route has been addressed.
Wishing you well.
Bob F
unclebob, who is at daughter's home.
Bob, who knows you can lead a hosehead to bed but you can't force him to have rainout. Pretty lame huh Liam? Maybe you better stick around!
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littlebaddow
- Posts: 416
- Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 12:21 pm
- Location: Essex, England
I feel a bit hypocritical asking cos I can't, but is there any multi-machine owner out there who would be willing to lend Liam the remstar for a while so he can give it a tryLiam1965 wrote:I'm still keeping an eye out for a reasonably priced Remstar Auto with CFLEX on the auction sites, if I can find one for under $250 it's probably worth it to me to buy it, just to see.....
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Airsense 10 & Airfit N20
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wading thru the muck!
- Posts: 2799
- Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 11:42 am