Survey On How folks adapted to therapy

[Hawthorne]

I just started the first night, 8 years ago now, and slept all night every night since and still going.

Before I had a battery backup, I did miss part of a night when we lost power. Even when I have been sick, I have used the machine and mask every night. I have a full face mask for congestion situations but have never used it. Turning up the humidity a bit and using a nasal mask and a little strip of vertical medical tape has worked just fine when that happened.

It has been a very easy therapy for me. The only issues have been mask changes. My 1st mask (Simplicity - also my titration mask), worked great for a lot of years but then I noticed a dark mark on the bridge of my nose (I DID clean it every day in those early days!). Nose pillow type masks were just were just coming in at that time and I had a bit of trouble adjusting to them.

No I use both and switch out every once in a while.

[jabman]

I would of liked to anwser that it was easier then I expected and I took to it like a fish out of water.
Going into this I thought that I would have a hard time adjusting to wearing something on my face but I was very willing to give it a go. I am still weraing the mask that was given me by my DME as it works great for me, I did try the Swift lt nasel pillows for a week or two but they did not work for me. I have had no issues adjusting to sleeping with the mask. This treatment has been a God send to me.

[elena88]

Im so thrilled for the people who take to it so easily..

[ZQuest]

I have been kind of fighting two fronts at the same time,first i quit smoking after more than 25 yrs. this was my new year's resolution of 2010.I got diagnosed with SA in April i've been on the hose since March and here i am in September SMOKE FREE cold turkey i try many,many times in quiting the smoking with no success i always manage to go a month or 2 at the most but alway's went back....But NOT this time i'm a strong believer that me being on the hose has help me kick the habit now that i'm on this therapy i sleep better,wakeup feeling better (most of the time) i'm more relax,more energy and i believe all this things contributed to me quiting the smoking, I like the way i feel I think i'm taking to this therapy with great success.Thank's to the member's of this forum for their support and some really good advise for us Newb's.






Phil

[Hospiceangel]

I was one of the "lucky" ones. I knew as bad as I felt it couldn't get much worse and still survive. I was determined to do whatever it took and I know I've been blessed.
Shar:)

[TheDuke]

I have used CPAP/BiPAP for about 22 years now. Initially I had a good deal of trouble with masks, and I think that masks were not as good back in those early years. I always experienced a huge improvement in Apnea symptoms from my very first night on the machine. I have now been a BiLevel machine user for ten years with excellent comfort, and my current doctor prescribed heated humidifier four years ago. I am a total convert to humidification, and I really believe that all patients should have it. My current machine is a relatively simple BiPAP with no "Smart Card" (Respironics BiPAP Plus, though I am not especially concerned with event readouts anyway. I am comfortable with this machine, though whenever it dies (10,000 Hours now) I will lobby for a smart machine replacement.

TheDuke

[pdean44]

Kind of hard to cover every option the important thing is that our issues that we over come get discussed after polling

It is interesting to see that over all those that did well from pretty close to the onset seem to be outnumbering the negatives.

The poll is frustrating, because even though adapting to sleeping with a mask at all was easy, doing the which-mask dance took quite a while before finding the right one(s), but you've lumped the two things together in the poll.

EXACTLY my thoughts !

[pdean44]

I never tire of hearing abou the trials tribulations and successes of everyone in thris group. Thank you for all of the wonderful input.

[Geminidream]

Even though I was determined to feel normal and have my life back, it was not easy for me to get used to something attached to my face while I sleep. It's been 9 months and there are still times in the night when I want to take my mask off....and ocassionally do for an hour or so. I feel 100% better, but I guess I don't like to have to conform.

[pdean44]

The only time I struggle with the gear is when i have severe allergies and or am not feeling well. The rest of the time unless the mask is leaking it really doesnt bother me. I still feel slightly uncomfortable at times when i first turn on the machine after plugging the hose to the mask. I have the pressure set to full no ramp and still get a small feeling of not enuf area for a moment or 2. then i am good for the evening.

[Duckie]

I have been on auto pap three weeks. The first two week were fantastic. Now I am beginning to have mask problems

[steamfan]

Up until a few days ago, the improvements/changes/whatever had been gradual, and sometimes almost unnoticeable. No question I was sleeping better, nocturia went away, then ED (!!!) and my AHI started dropping. Initially I ran between 8 and 10 or so. Now with no changes at all (55 days in to this) I am running between 1.3 and 2.4. Dunno why. Don't care. I feel much, much better.

[rubymom]

I voted was easier than expected, which is NOT to say that it wasn't challenging at first. But after a few weeks of lots of education (here) and adjustments, all was well and remains so.

[Cindy Lou Who]

Went through this with my husband for 14 months before I started apap. Now we talk a lot about our experiences and that's helpful. It's been about what I expected from reading here and my husbands experiences. Guess I'm very tolerant of therapy and don't have many problems with the Swift FX other than more 'sleepers' in my eyes and sometimes a drier than normal mouth.
Cindy

[snuginarug]

i quit smoking after more than 25 yrs.

Woo hoo! Way to go! Congratulations! You must feel super, after all the abuse your body took smoking. I quit 5 years ago after smoking 15 years. OK, just had to give Phil a pat on the back.

I'm on week three. The first two weeks were pretty hellish, and that was contrary to what I had expected. I had this idea that after the sleep study my doctor would hand me a machine, I'd go home, and the biggest problem I'd have with it would be figuring out where to plug it in. The pressure itself wasn't the real problem, the mask was. I've found the right mask finally, and while I wouldn't say it's been smooth sailing, it is getting better.