How is it to be off the Machine temporarily?

[NightMonkey]

A week???? After 30 mins I feel like garbage, if you like headaches, sweats etc, go without.

mayondair,

I am with you on this one. About an hour without the machine and I awaken (hopefully) in a heart-racing, brain-throbbing muddle of confusion and bad emotions.

BTW, Is that like "May on da air"?

[avi123]

Janknitz, in my area if you got your pressures to low values and the rest of the indices to acceptable levels then a psychiatrist would take over and try to wean you from the da-mn CPAP for 6 months with some safe medications (Xanax is one).

I don't understand what you're saying here....are you saying that if someone uses a low pressure and has low AHIs then they should be weaned off of a cpap? Isn't Xanax used for anxiety? Are you making a connection between anxiety and the need for a cpap?

Just curious.....

Reply:

Please contact ADMIN: REMOVED NAME DUE TO LIABILITY at this office and ask how many times he been weaning patients from CPAPs:

ADMIN: REMOVED LINK DUE TO LIABILITY

PLEASE DO NOT TAKE MY WRITINGS AS FROM A PHYSICIAN B/C I AM NOT!

[jmelby]

Reply:

Please contact ADMIN: REMOVED NAME DUE TO LIABILITY at this office and ask how many times he been weaning patients from CPAPs:

ADMIN: REMOVED LINK DUE TO LIABILITY

Yikes... well I'd certainly stay as far away from him as possible then... why would a psychiatrist be trying to "wean" patients off cpap? If someone wants to believe they don't need cpap, all I would think they would need is some quack telling them that they don't need it... and bingo... they are "weaned" and stop using it right away.

[avi123]

Reply:

Please contact ADMIN: REMOVED NAME DUE TO LIABILITY at this office and ask how many times he been weaning patients from CPAPs:

ADMIN: REMOVED LINK DUE TO LIABILITY

Yikes... well I'd certainly stay as far away from him as possible then... why would a psychiatrist be trying to "wean" patients off cpap? If someone wants to believe they don't need cpap, all I would think they would need is some quack telling them that they don't need it... and bingo... they are "weaned" and stop using it right away.

Hi, if you stay in MInn it's far enough!

[Hawthorne]

It is a bit of a hassle to deal with a cpap machine while away but it seems to me that deciding not to take it with you is like a person with diabetes deciding not to take their insulin on a trip because it is a hassle.

[DocWeezy]

Please contact ADMIN: REMOVED NAME DUE TO LIABILITY at this office and ask how many times he been weaning patients from CPAPs:

ADMIN: REMOVED LINK DUE TO LIABILITY

PLEASE DO NOT TAKE MY WRITINGS AS FROM A PHYSICIAN B/C I AM NOT!

Hmmm....I still don't understand why someone would need to be "weaned" from a cpap--who in their right mind would use one if they didn't need to???? And nothing in this doc's bio says anything about sleep disorders.

I don't see how OSA can be a psychiatric disorder because it is a function of muscles and tissue and is diagnosed by machines while we are asleep, purely objective with no subjective elements to it. If someone no longer needs a cpap, why wouldn't they simply stop using it? It is not addictive. If someone were to be magically 100% cured of OSA, I can't imagine that they would willing continue to use a CPAP...and even if they did, why would that be a problem? but then again, who would willingly want to look that "good" at night, wearing a mask and hose, if they didn't really need to?

I'd love to stop using it, but then I have that pesky little side effect of not breathing while I'm asleep.

[avi123]

Weezy, please notice that the issue in my post was if the CPAP user used it for a certain length of time but reached a point of not needing it anymore (could be b/c of weight loss, etc). So it's sort of being ready psychologically to try without the CPAP.

I'll know more details about it in about 6 weeks and I'll report it here.


In the meantime check this:

http://www.uptodate.com/patients/conten ... 9/rmjxxY/l

[Janknitz]

Janknitz, in my area if you got your pressures to low values and the rest of the indices to acceptable levels then a psychiatrist would take over and try to wean you from the da-mn CPAP for 6 months with some safe medications (Xanax is one).

Avi, I don't think we are talking about the same thing. An AHI of 6 WITH CPAP is not so good. The user needs to get the AHI lower to get the benefit. Ideally, ALL of us on treatment should have AHI's well below 5 WHEN we are using our CPAP's.

BUT if you mean the AHI is 6 WITHOUT CPAP, then that person probably does not need CPAP (nor does that person need anxiolytics like Xanax--I have NO idea what the logic of that is) unless the CPAP is being used to treat a related condition like RERA, UARS, or RLS.

[Janknitz]

Avi, the article you quoted is not suggesting medications to treat OSA. In fact, it says:

Numerous pharmacologic agents have been investigated as potential primary therapies for patients with OSA. However, no agent has been identified that prevents or overcomes upper airway obstruction enough to justify pharmacologic therapy as a primary therapy in the routine management of patients with OSA

So, Avi, is what you're saying is that you've lost weight, been re-tested without CPAP and found that you no longer NEED CPAP, but now you're too scared to try going without? If so, first CONGRATULATIONS, and second, why not buy a pulse oximeter to give yourself some peace of mind?

Just don't make the assumption that since you lost weight you DON'T need CPAP, unless you've been through a full PSG that indicates it is so. And that's not what the original poster was asking here--his AHI is 6 WITH CPAP (I think).

[Cuda]

My insurance company took my machine but I ordered another just like it right away from cpap.com. It took a few days to make sure I was ordering the right machine for me and getting a new doctor so I had the proper prescription so I was without a machine for about two weeks (cpap.com had the new gear out in two days from ordering, the delay was more on my end).

I felt bad the NEXT day after stopping therapy. Within about 3-4 days insomnia came back, fatigue and the worst and first one to come back...sore throat.

It was not the end of the world but I plan to put up with the hassle when travelling as I do not think I would enjoy my days without the machine at night. Also, I am finding I have to get use to the machine all over again!

[newname]

I had to sleep without cpap for a week when I had a sinus lift and they added bone. I had no problem. Then again I don't get feeling any better on cpap. I've tried 3 sleep doctors and I still get no results from cpap. I asked during my sleep study if I opened my mouth and they said no, but I think they're wrong. I never get restful sleep. I talk in my sleep so I must be opening my mouth (I'm not a ventriloquist).

[avi123]

Avi, the article you quoted is not suggesting medications to treat OSA. In fact, it says:

Numerous pharmacologic agents have been investigated as potential primary therapies for patients with OSA. However, no agent has been identified that prevents or overcomes upper airway obstruction enough to justify pharmacologic therapy as a primary therapy in the routine management of patients with OSA

So, Avi, is what you're saying is that you've lost weight, been re-tested without CPAP and found that you no longer NEED CPAP, but now you're too scared to try going without? If so, first CONGRATULATIONS, and second, why not buy a pulse oximeter to give yourself some peace of mind?

Just don't make the assumption that since you lost weight you DON'T need CPAP, unless you've been through a full PSG that indicates it is so. And that's not what the original poster was asking here--his AHI is 6 WITH CPAP (I think).

Janknitz, sort off. I have started CPAPing after contracting Peripheral Neuropathy. My sleep study indicated a pressure of 5 to 7, AHI of about 40, lowest O-2 saturation was 84%, and some body position snoring.

After a few months on CPAPing my parameters improved a lot. I lost almost 15 lbs. My BMI droppd to 28, the AHI dropped to 2.4, the lowest O-2 was 89%, and my health regarding the Neuropathy has improved .

When I asked the physician (whose name was removed by an administrator) what are my chances of stopping the CPAP, he mentioned that he been treating several who been CPAPing for years, who are medically ok after being checked in another sleep study , and just needed the psychological assurance that it's ok to stop CPAPing. So they are doing it for 6 months to find out what happens.

I'll know more about it in about 6 weeks.

[ArtMovesTheSoul]

I've travelled extensively, internationally with my cpap machine for 6 years. I would not recommend doing without the machine unless you are going to be in a location without any electricity. A simple plug adapter, purchaseable at a Brookstone in any virtually any mall or ordered from amazon will enable you to use your device pretty much anywhere in the world easily. All modern cpap machines have variable power supplies, so all you have to do is plug it in. While your machine is currently indicating you are only having 6 events per hour, the important thing to remember is that that is WITH the machine. By example, at my most recent Split-night study last week, on cpap at the appropriate pressure, I had 0 events per hour. In the untreated early portion of the night without the machine I had over 80 events per hour and my sleep was, as you might imagine, terrible.

Don't put yourself through the hell of bad sleep. Nothing worse than going on a trip and not being able to enjoy the experience. You won't like it. Your travel companions won't like it. If you feel awkward about having the device, I've found a sense of humor disarms the curious. My cpap machine isn't a sign of weakness or fragility on my part. It is a tool that lets me be present to the life around me while it happens. I'm aware and engaged instead of being zoned out and dozing through the most memorable parts of my life.

If you have specific questions, I'd be happy to answer as best I can based on my experience.

Best wishes on your journey and I hope you have a wonderful time!

[billbolton]

I intend going abroad without the Machine.

(snip)

I am 76 yrs. male

Bad move. As you get older, the things that could assessed as acceptable risk in your younger days become more potentially much more risky.

In any case, if you are significantly out of your normal time zone, your body will be stressed just from that. Adding the impact of untreated OSA to the impact of jet lag is a serious escalation in risks for anyone, of any age.

Cheers,

Bill

[avi123]

I would like to hear from anyone with experience of not using his/her Machine for about a week or so,
say when having to travel abroad ; as a second opinion. I intend going abroad without the Machine.

In a daring mood, I skipped using the Machine for 14 days, to test for any signs health-wise. I did not
experience any untoward problems. I am 76 yrs. male, retired and otherwise healthy. My last apnea
count was 6 p.hr. as the Machine revealed. I have been 18 months on this.

Hi, may I ask why you want to do it?

By the way, here is study done on this subject:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16676788