Normal person breathing through CPAP

[yguion]

A friend of mine was curious that how I sleep every night with that mask and a breathing machine. He wants to try it on. Any idea on it?

I would like to know if it is harmful to a normal guy who doesn't have our problem when he breathes through the mask with pressure set from 5-15 for like 4 hours. He wants to try the pressure of fixed 15cmh20 since my machine can work as a CPAP.

[So Well]

Normal person breathing through CPAP

He ain't normal. Sounds like he already has plenty of brain damage so there will be no noticeable additional damage done using CPAP.

[Janknitz]

Except in some medical conditions like severe emphysema, the only way sleeping with a CPAP can hurt you is if it falls on your head. So your friend won't be harmed by his little experiment, and it might give him greater admiration for you and what you manage to do (sleep with it) every night.

OTOH, what are YOU going to do without your machine for the night????

[Samba]

Fixed 15 ? he's not going to last long...

[rested gal]

Sure, let him try it. Gotta admire such a Lab Rat personality!

It won't hurt you to miss a night, or half a night, or 10 minutes, while he gives it a whirl.

If he's simply curious about what 15 is like, leave it in Auto mode and set min/max on 15 just for him to hold the mask to his face. Don't bother to actually put the mask on him...just let him hold up against his face... and turn it on.

After he jerks the mask away and says, "WHOA!!!! I can't believe you sleep through that!" set the machine back to your normal 5 - 15 range and let him hold the mask up again for that. " 5 " will feel like nothing.

If he still wants to try a night of sleeping with the machine, leave it at your 5 - 15 and let him take it. Plan to spend YOUR night sleeping as upright as you can in a recliner. With a pillow stuffed under your chin to keep your head from dropping forward/down.

Let us know how the Lab Rat experiment goes...

[Bons]

I know that my doctor and my RT have both used the various machines for a night to see what they are like. RT hasn't used an ASV, though.

[Madalot]

I know that my doctor and my RT have both used the various machines for a night to see what they are like. RT hasn't used an ASV, though.

My first RT said that during her training, it was a requirement that they sleep with a machine so they knew what it was like.

As soon as I can "work my magic" I plan on setting my equipment to cpap (or maybe bipap) and strapping that puppy on my husband. He's resisting me, now, but I plan on wearing him down. I have no doubt he's got OSA and he's dug his heels in. If I can get him to give my machine a try (at lower settings -- don't want to frighten the poor man), I might be able to convince him to give this a real try.

[yguion]

Test result comes, haha! You won't believe he was in the mask for a whole night. And the first part I set the auto-adjust mode, and it just like rested gal said,"5 feels like nothing." I believe because he is normal so the 5-15 range always stayed around 5. So the latter part, set to CPAP mode at 12cmH20 actually, and right after the ON button pressed, he started to concentrate on breathing, really funny, haha! But after couple of minutes he seemed to adpat to the machine. And this morning, he said at the starting stage 15 was forced him to deep breath, and then he got used to this pressure but with really high breath rate. When this test was end, he felt chest pain for like 30 seconds and after that he is normal again.

[pap4life]

Trying it on for curiosity is one thing... Wanting to wear it for a high level for 4 hours.

I agree with "So Well"... He's already got brain damage. wont hurt a thing.

[archangle]

Maybe yguion's friend is into bondage and discipline.



Bons, maybe you can play that angle with your hubby. Either convince him CPAP is kinky or get him to let you cuff him to the bed and then hook him up.

Maybe there's a whole new cottage industry here. Those of us with CPAP could start selling CPAP bondage sessions. We could develop a line of bondage themed CPAP masks. We could definitely come up with some killer chin straps.

Chin straps? Tape? that's for wimps. Us hard core CPAPers use safety pins. (No, I'm not going to post a safety pin image...)


By the way, I suspect there may be some long term negative effects from CPAP, but not from just one night. And I believe the long term bad effects of CPAP are a lot less than the long term negative effects of apnea.

[napstress]

I suspect there may be some long term negative effects from CPAP, but not from just one night. And I believe the long term bad effects of CPAP are a lot less than the long term negative effects of apnea.

What do you suspect are some long-term negative effects, archangle?

[McSleepy]

The one long-term negative effect that I can think of is... getting addicted to it.
McSleepy

[archangle]

I suspect there may be some long term negative effects from CPAP, but not from just one night. And I believe the long term bad effects of CPAP are a lot less than the long term negative effects of apnea.

What do you suspect are some long-term negative effects, archangle?

The big one would be becoming dependent on it to some extent.

Think of two identical apnea sufferers. Put one on CPAP, leave the other treated. 10 years down the road, stop the CPAP. Is CPAP guy's apnea now worse than the guy who was never treated? Is his sleep now more miserable than the untreated patient? Did anything atrophy because of the assistance of CPAP?

Does CPAP eventually work like some drugs? You get relief for a while, but over time, you need more and more and eventually, you are the same with treatment as someone who was never treated? I don't think it will work that way, but it's something to consider.

Do you develop more central apneas because of CPAP?

I also wonder if there are any long term bad effects on the lungs, nose, ears, throat, sinuses, stomach, or intestines? We say it's important to clean the equipment properly to prevent infection, so infection is a risk the medical professionals are concerned about. Is there some organism that finds a CPAP patient a more attractive target than an untreated apneac? If there's no such organism now, will some existing organism adapt to prey on CPAPers?

Does the dry (or moist) air have any long term effects on the airway? Does the extra pressure stretching out the alveoli and lung tissue do anything long term?

Ventilator patients often suffer long term side effects. CPAP is MUCH gentler, but are there some of the same risks?

There's almost no medical treatment that doesn't have SOME long term side effects. If CPAP has some long term negative health effects, we should be aware of what to watch out for, so we can reduce them or catch them early and treat them.

We know about a number of potential side effects with CPAP. Not everyone has them. Being aware of them helps us CPAPers avoid them, treat them, or simply accept them. Maybe there are some other effects we haven't recognized yet.

Dry mouth
Stomach and intestinal gas problems
Irritation from the mask
Headaches
Cough, lung irritation
Eye irritation
Sleep disturbance
Increased central apneas
lifestyle changes from being tethered to the machine
psychological (embarrassment, shyness, claustrophobia, fear of bedtime, depression)
Difficulty of taking naps
Pain or other problems from changing your sleep position
CPAP dependence
Problems with relationships
Irritation, rage, insanity from dealing with DME's, insurance, sleep doctors, sleep labs, etc.
Shrinkage of the wallet
... add your items to the list


All in all, it's worth it to me so far. I'm really sick if I don't get my CPAP. That doesn't mean I don't have to deal with the downside of CPAP.

Now back to original subject of the thread. I wouldn't worry about a few nights CPAP use by someone who doesn't have apnea. I wouldn't recommend CPAP long term to someone who doesn't actually have apena.

[rested gal]

I've long thought the sleep apnea screening question, "Do you snore?" really ought to be, "Has anyone ever told you, 'You snore.' ?"

archangle, has anyone ever told you, "You worry too much?"

[archangle]

archangle, has anyone ever told you, "You worry too much?"

I'm worried that you would even ask that question.