Just diagnosed with sleep apnea Help Please!!

c5_fox · Post by **c5_fox** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 7:43 pm

Hi... I was just diagnosed with sleep apnea and I was just wondering how in the world do you manage to sleep at night with a mask on. I am a very light sleeper, I am aware of every movement and noise in my bedroom. I had one sleep study and the Dr. has me scheduled for the second one. I called my Dr. today and asked for a referral for a nose, throat & ear specialest I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon.

Has anyone heard or have the Nasal-Aire II system? What system is the best? How loud are the machines?

biggziff · Post by **biggziff** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 7:48 pm

Just a thought. You may be sleeping very lightly due to the apnea. You may find that once you're sleeping normally, you aren't a light sleeper after all.

B-Boop · Post by **B-Boop** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 7:53 pm

I really don't know if I can sleep with anything on my face, how noisy are the machines?

Jere · Post by **Jere** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 7:53 pm

Welcome!

I am still pretty new at this (maybe some of the veterans have more to say), but it really is no big deal if YOU don't make it a big deal. I have always been a terrible sleeper and insisted on total darkness and total silence.

When I got my diagnosis, I decided that making the therapy work was top priority. I just kept working on it night after night trying to get used to it. Now I am so used to wearing the mask that I am not sure how I would sleep without it.

The machines are pretty quiet - white noise. As to the best machine, I'll leave that to others (but I am getting quite fond of mine).

B-Boop · Post by **B-Boop** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 8:03 pm

Thanks Jere.

My family member has the Nasal-Aire II system and she said it is a lot more comfortable than the mask or the nasal style.

My brother-in-law said he had sleep apnea, when he went to the Dr. they removed the thing that hangs down in your throat (I don't know what it's called) with a laser. He said it took a short time and they did it in the Doctor's office... he said he does not have it anymore. He is sleeping really good. Has anyone else been told about this?

biggziff · Post by **biggziff** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 8:07 pm

Surgery is considered to be a last resort for most people mainly due to it's poor success rate.

http://my.webmd.com/hw/sleep_disorders/hw49413.asp

The machines are very quiet and if you can keep your attitude right, you'll most probably do quite well.

B-Boop · Post by **B-Boop** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 8:12 pm

Sorry about the name switch... when I posted my message it said B-Boop was not available so I changed it, and now I don't know how to change my profile. Guess I will leave it as B-Boop.

You may be right biggziff. It's been so long since I have had a full night's sleep. All I know is I really feel bad when I am talking with my husband and all of a sudden I hear him say... "Did you just fall asleep?" I fell asleep for just a few seconds and woke up. I am really afraid to drive.

B-Boop · Post by **B-Boop** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 8:17 pm

Are the different mask compatable with the machine? How long did it take you to get used to the head gear?

Barb (Seattle) · Post by **Barb (Seattle)** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 9:43 pm

when I first started with CPAP, I thought a 747 was in the bedroom with me Now, I barely hear it...you get very used to the sound. I'm even on a pretty high pressure, and it isn't loud.

I also had the UP3 (uvula removed) and my numbers went from 70/hr untreated to 64/hour, not a very good improvement for all that pain I experienced. Wishing I wouldn't have done it...what a waste of time it was for me...

You'll do fine with the noise, I'm sure...

jdschooler · Post by **jdschooler** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 9:47 pm

It will take a little time to get used to the CPAP...I recomend APAP...it auto adjusts to what you need...As for the masks I gradually built up the time I wore them over a week or two...Now I fall asleep within minutes of the mask and wake in the same position I fell asleep in..not even sure if I still have the mask on but I do. The machines now days are very quiet and some soft classical music in the backround relaxes me even more....The surgeries all seem to have minimal success. No one will kid you....It does take some getting used to but it is worth all of your effort. Now I feel more comfortable going to sleep the the mask on...I've only been APAPing for 10 months.

don't judge the success by your sleep study experiences with the machine.

biggziff · Post by **biggziff** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 7:48 am

B-Boop wrote:Are the different mask compatable with the machine? How long did it take you to get used to the head gear?

Yes, the masks are independant of the machines. I have a friend that has had to go through 15 masks to find one he really likes. I'm using the HC407 and it seems good right out of the box.

The noise on my RemStar Pro II is vrtually non existant. I went right to sleep last night and got 7.7 hours of rest. Best nights sleep I've had in a very long time.

sleepy gal · Post by **sleepy gal** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 8:53 am

Hi and welcome.

If you ordinarily breathe through your nose then you will most likely be able to use nasal pillows of some type which really is not having a mask on your face at all.

If you are a mouth breather at night, then a full face mask is needed. Every body is different and responds differently to different masks. HOpefully your medical supply folks or your doc or your sleep lab can let you try several different ones to see which is the most comfortable for you.

Then you just need to convince yourself to use it. If you are afraid to drive (I can relate to that) then that is a very, very good reason and high motivation to really try it.

I don't find that the machines make much noise at all. The ony tine it was a problem is when I had the alarm function set to "on" and apparently had a major leak, which set it off. I didn't even hear it, but my husband thought that there was something horribly wrong!

Good luck.

WAFlowers · Post by **WAFlowers** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 9:00 am

My machine (GoodKnight 420e) is quieter than the ceiling fan over our bed. And the ceiling fan is very quiet!

I use a nasal pillow system (Swift) to have very little on my face, although after 4 decades of snorkelling and scuba I can tolerate anything on my face.

Oh 2 breathe · Post by **Oh 2 breathe** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 11:20 am

I find the Remstar Auto CPAP to be very quiet. I also use the Comfort Curve mask which has a very open feeling and relatively small "footprint" on my face. I also use make-up wedges to increase the comfort and fit of this mask on my small face. I used to be a very light sleeper and sensitive to noise, which as pointed out above may have been related to the apnea symptoms. I found it did not take very long to get used to the slight sounds and I sleep very soundly now. One thing I would add is I did not do well with plain cold air and a heated humidifier was essential to my comfort.

~ OTB

padathir · Post by **padathir** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 6:11 pm

I also have a Remstar Pro II -- the DME provider warned me about keeping it too close due to noise but I can't imagine what he was talking about, it's really quiet.

I was really afraid of wearing a mask, and sure enough the first time I used one I had some problems, I felt afraid and wanted to hold my breath, had to yank it off several times in panic. I found that forcing myself to breathe deeply at first helped to convince me that, yes, you really can breathe with this thing on. After the first few days it wasn't a problem at all.

I really recommend anyone just starting make sure they give it a full chance, you might find like I did that it's easy once you get used to it.

Mask