Anyone here miss sleaping without the cpap?

[Woody]

I have been using the respridonics full face mask from the time I started
about 14 months ago. I never fought it. But I do kind of miss doseing off
without the mask. I kind or rember daydreaming when I dosed off with out
a mask and I don't do this with the mask. Anyone else notice this? Could
it be the slight bit of noise? Well being titrated at a pressure of 14 and 2L
of O2 sleeping without the mask isn't a safe option.

[Goofproof]

Most of us here know better than to sleep without XPAP, I wouldn't stop my insulin or heart med's either, maybe I'm just funny that way. Jim

[Bookbear]

I think all of us (in some part of our minds) would want to be able to just lay down and go to sleep, no muss, no fuss, no hose.

That said, I can't sleep without cpap. I'd wake in a matter of minutes, gasping and choking for air.

Do I miss sleeping w/o cpap? A very little, very rarely.

Do I like breathing while I sleep, and being alive and well? Very much!


.

[rested gal]

Back when I started and was using FF masks, I did miss it. Missed being able to lay the side of my face flat against a pillow. But sure didn't want to go without that good air.

Once I started using tape and a Breeze mask, I was able to sleep on my side much more naturally.

Then when I found the Headrest mask, I could realllly sleep in my good old comfy sleep positions. Don't miss the old way at all.

Almost everything about getting comfortable with "cpap treatment" is about the mask, imho. Finding a mask that lets you sleep as much as possible in the positions you used to, without pushing hard plastic against your face or leaking all over the place.

[birdshell]

Back in the beginning, before I had my routines established, I spent two different nights without cpap. This is because one time I went away and forgot the hose, and the next time I forgot the cord.

This was within the first few weeks of my treatment. After each instance, I found that I had to sleep a few days to approach the level of health I had achieved from a short time on CPAP.

After a year of treatment, I started to feel really awful. I didn't realize then that I should have a sleep study done every year. Well, when I finally got around to the sleep study, my pressure had to be raised 4 points.

(The explanation I was given is that the year of treatment allowed the tissues in my throat to lose their swollen level they had been in PRE-cpap. Since the swelling was gone, the floppy bits of tissue needed added pressure to keep me at an effective treatment level.)

My raised pressure has been a truly effective treatment. It is amazing just having a bit less pressure than is optimal makes SO much difference.

I, too, miss those sleepy moments of allowing the book to fall or the television to be on, while just dozing off. However, having realized the OTHER side--i.e., JUST ineffective treatment PLUS a couple of nights in the beginning without treatment.... Well, just allow me to say that I hope I never have to feel that way again.

So, the few times that it just seemed TOO much effort to mask up and turn on the flow generator, I couldn't sleep. I would dimly be running through the ramifications of NOT using my machine. So, I then MADE the effort.

Let us see...weigh the difference...sleep more than half of my life away AND feel crappy OR use CPAP....

For me, there is no option EXCEPT to "use" my equipment. Or, as one sleep tech told me... "I tell anyone who is concerned about a family member using their CPAP to buy LOTS and LOTS of life insurance." That sums it up for me.

If driving tired equates to driving drunk, can a friend really allow another friend to drive sleepy? How about allowing passengers, such as children, to be transported by a sleepy driver?



Sincerely,

Karen,

Who definitely does NOT sell insurance.

[alnhwrd]

Well...........,

I kind of see what you are getting at. I used to love sitting in my recliner under a warm blanket on the weekends, usually with the tv in the background, dozing in and out for an hour of so. Of course, the reason I loved it so much is because I wasn't getting any rest to speak of when sleeping at night all week long. Now I have almost the same feeling when I go to bed every night, knowing that I will likely have a good night's sleep. And at the end, I was dozing and getting that day dreamy feeling while driving, so I do not miss THAT at all!

[MrRandom]

Yeah I do. The masks have been nothing but problems for me. I'm used to burying my face into the pillow. Can't do that with any mask that I've used.

[Country4ever]

Yes, I miss it. Especially those summer nights when I want to hear the frogs and katydids at night. Even though I wasn't getting good sleep, I used to love laying there during the night, feeling comfy. Its okay to miss those things.

[gasparama]

Yes, I miss it. Especially those summer nights when I want to hear the frogs and katydids at night. Even though I wasn't getting good sleep, I used to love laying there during the night, feeling comfy. Its okay to miss those things.

Country, you are so wise to say that's it's okay. I do so agree. My CPAP treatment has helped me so much that I've not dared to allow myself the luxury of missing "free sleep". But the truth is that I would like to sleep without all the extra routine and all the extra noise.

That being said, I can think of nothing that I would trade for the security that I get from sleeping with CPAP.

[gasparama]

Yes, I miss it. Especially those summer nights when I want to hear the frogs and katydids at night. Even though I wasn't getting good sleep, I used to love laying there during the night, feeling comfy. Its okay to miss those things.

Country, you are so wise to say that's it's okay. I do so agree. My CPAP treatment has helped me so much that I've not dared to allow myself the luxury of missing "free sleep". But the truth is that I would like to sleep without all the extra routine and all the extra noise.

That being said, I can think of nothing that I would trade for the security that I get from sleeping with CPAP.

[gasparama]

Apologies for double post. It's always so aggravating when someone else does that.

[rested gal]

Apologies for double post. It's always so aggravating when someone else does that.

LOL, no apology necessary. It was worth seeing twice.

The masks have been nothing but problems for me. I'm used to burying my face into the pillow. Can't do that with any mask that I've used.

I understand what you're saying. I see from your equipment listing that you use a FF mask. What you're describing "not" being able to do is exactly the way I felt when I was using FF masks.

If you absolutely can't breathe through your nose and absolutely HAVE TO breathe through your mouth, you really are limited to what masks you can use.

Fortunately for me, taping my mouth let me use MUCH more comfortable masks. The Headrest mask lets me burrow the side of my face right down into the pillow. Even more fortunately, after over 3 years of taping, I can now use just a chin strap to prevent mouth air leaks.

[Needsdecaf]

I think that there are some obvious points being made here.

I don't think anyone who has gotten beneficial treatment out of their XPAP therapy would go back to the old life.

However I guarantee that if someone said "You could live like you do now without having to mask up every night" 100% of us would say "good", as Bookbear said above.

I miss it probably less than some because I am a back sleeper largely and therefore don't have as many mask problems. Also, my pre-treatment AHI was only 29, so I wasn't choking and gasping all night like some. Finally, I am not a napper / dozer so no problems with not being able to doze off.

[Woody]

Thanks for all the feedback. Rested gal, what kind of tape do you use for
this mouth taping?

[rested gal]

Woody, I used Johnson & Johnson waterproof adhesive tape -- the one inch wide. I had to use two slightly overlapping strips of it though..not just one strip... in order to cover well above and well below closed lips. I made the strips long enough to go way beyond the corners of the mouth.

In other words, a BIG patch completely covering my mouth. Here's a picture I retouched for fun... painting on the way my patch of tape and deconstructed Headrest mask look:


Sometimes I used Tegaderm tape, which held better but caused a rash if I used it more than two nights in a row.

Many people use 3M Micropore paper tape, which holds very well.

Whatever tape a person uses, you should always turn a bit of the tape at each end down to stick to itself -- so that you have a handy grabtab at each end.

Here are links to tons of info about taping, and other methods like poligrip strips or a DIY device to make the tongue maintain a seal within the mouth:

LINKS to: Mouth leaks - Air Leaks - Tape - DIY Guard
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