New kid on the block

[brucifer]

Hi Angela. Welcome to our illustrious club.

The important thing to keep in mind is that your CPAP therapy is about you and your better health, so I hope you don't harbor any lasting resentment against your boyfriend. You maybe in the guest room for now, but you're still in the house, so he obviously still wants to be with you. He probably honestly cannot deal with your snoring and also get enough sleep. My wife was the same way with me, and I know she loves me dearly. The CPAP journey that you have begun may very well end your snoring, get you back in the same bed with your boyfriend, and improve your overall health as well. In other words, it may all turn out as a win-win-win situation once you get through the initial adjustment period.

Your claustrophobia/panic-attack issues I cannot relate to since I even have fallen asleep in a narrow MRI chamber. Those seem like your greatest hurdles to overcome. I hope you can find a way to tackle them. I use your identical nasal-pillow mask make and model myself, the OPUS 360, and I love it. Compared to the nasal and full-face (FF) masks, it has a very small footprint. So, since claustrophobia is a problem for you, I don't see how a nasal or FF mask will help you overcome that feeling any more easily. I also use the same APAP machine as you, well, almost the same. You have that cutesy pink-toned model, and I have the masculine silver-gray. Other than that though, they are pretty much identical. That being said, you have all the right equipment; you just need to somehow get your mind at ease so that the therapy can do its thing. I know, in your case, easier said than done, but we're all here to support you.

As for being sexy, you may have to trade off some of the spontaneity on account of the CPAP therapy, but you can still be very sexy. BTW, the OPUS 360 works great with the S9, but not with lingerie. Don't go there...

My wife was actually very happy that I started CPAP therapy because my loud snoring has ended. I no longer wake up in the night to give her a hug or to snuggle only to find that she has left me for the relative peace and quiet of the living-room sofa. I also no longer get her elbow in my ribs to jump-start my breathing. Similarly, getting your CPAP therapy to work will probably do more to help your love life than to hinder it. Keep at it. You can do it.

BTW #2, I didn't know what my 9-year-old son would think when I wore the OPUS 360 for the first time. His reaction was, "AWESOME! You look just like Bane!" Being a hosehead evidently does have some appealing qualities to some people.

[gertrude]

Wow ... you're a really nice looking woman and your boyfriend is an idiot for kicking you to the guest room. You can come stay with me and I'll treat ya like a princess. Same goes for you Gertrude ... I have a thing for redheaded and hose heads

Thanks DreamStalker -- But I've already got a sweetie. And you would be disappointed. And unlike Angela, only my avatar is a red head! I was looking for a female version of MaxDarkside's exotic man in a dreamlike tropical paradise. Decided to honor my redheaded grandmother with my screen name and an avatar that I think of as somewhat dreamy, even if no tropical locale. But I've got ordinary brown hair, with a few red highlights. Still haven't identified entirely with my avatar.

BTW #2, I didn't know what my 9-year-old son would think when I wore the OPUS 360 for the first time. His reaction was, "AWESOME! You look just like Bane!" Being a hosehead evidently does have some appealing qualities to some people.

As someone who is obviously oblivious to popular culture, who is Bane?

[Xney]

Being conscious, awake, feeling well, and not dying tends to be rather sexy compared to the alternative.

[AbbyNormal]

I'm just going to post to all of you since I had stepped out and there are multiple posts here. I hope that's okay. Man you guys are awesome, btw. I feel better already just knowing you guys get it. Most of it anyway.

I need to backtrack a tiny bit here. This last 6 years has been hell. My dad died suddenly at the age of 53, apnea was a big factor. A few months later I found out my husband had cheated our entire marriage and I couldn't deal with a divorce and dad's death at the same time. I stayed when I should've left. 3 kids and knowing him since I was 13 made it harder to just pack up at that time. At Christmas this last year, he and the boys moved to Wisconsin. I refused to move there and the boys hate Houston. So, I'm jobless (the ex didn't want me to work outside the home.) and homeless at the moment. The last several years of my marriage we saw other people. The only rule was the boys couldn't find anything out. That's when I met my boyfriend at a Geek Gathering. He has been so sweet and kind and is allowing me to live in his guest room even though I know he'd rather live alone. So he isn't a bad man.... Like I said, my head gets it, my heart just doesn't. I have always felt unwanted and this is just making me feel inferior all over again. It's a messy back story, but it explains why I'm grieving here vs just sucking it up and wearing the damn thing like it's no big deal. I feel like the last shred of pride I had has been ripped away. That's hard to explain, especially to a man.

Okay, on to happier topics. I don't like being a sad sack, it's totally not who I am. My machine isn't pink. Huh. Maybe I picked the wrong one. The booklet that came with the machine says it is a S9 Resmed AutoSet with a H5i heated humidifier. It's grey and black and silver. I've got a grey headgear thingie with the Opus 360 nasal pillows. It doesn't fit very well and as I said, I'm thinking of making some sort of silly headgear to at least make myself feel better. Silly is better than sad any day of the week, even if I'm the only one seeing it at this point.

I didn't even know there was such a thing as a portable battery. The lady didn't tell me about it when I bought the machine. Cool!! That makes me feel less trapped. Thank you for mentioning it!! See, I am less than clueless about all this jazz.

Whoever mentioned Mistress, you aren't far off the mark. *snickers* Again, loooong story.

Gertrude, Bane is the baddie on the new Batman movie. I haven't seen said movie yet, but I've seen the trailers. I guess being a good geeky girl, I should get on that though!

And to the boyfriend offer, that made my day! I don't have a lot of pride left, that was nice to hear.

[the_nap_ster]

Hi Angela,

I am another young female hose-head, and I wanted to welcome you to the board (and the club!).

I hear you on the vanity thing. I think many of us like to maintain the illusion that we're naturally flawless creatures who slumber delicately and then wake up with lipstick and artfully tousled hair.

For me, a man is a keeper if he can handle the fact that this creature only exists in movies. And in real life, I have to brush my teeth, use a nasal spray, wear a hose when I sleep, and other not-so-glamorous things. Your bf has put his own comfort above comforting you through a hard time in your life (a diagnosis of an illness). That is... not the most considerate thing in the world. I am not one to tell other people what to do, but I will say this: you deserve someone who will adore you, hose and all. And there are many good men who will. And you are so gorgeous! I suspect you look lovely, even with the mask.

That said, I also want to offer you much sympathy and commiseration. The beginning, for many of us, is ROUGH. You might have to mess with settings, try different masks, use chin straps, and a million other things... but you will get though it!!! And it is so worth it. Not only will you sleep better and feel more awake and full of energy, you will be SO much healthier. That's ultimately what this is about. Keeping our organs - especially our hearts and brains -- happy. This is the start of a long, wonderful life for you -- and the guy who is lucky enough to share it with you!

xo,

-- Tiffany

[brucifer]

As someone who is obviously oblivious to popular culture, who is Bane?

Gertrude, you need to get out more! The OPUS 360 mask has a hose that goes between the eyes and over the top of the head. It probably was a prototype for Bane's mask. Since I am also completely bald, my son made the connection to Bane, one of Batman's foes in the recent movie. Angela knew!

[Wonderbeastlett]

Welcome to our place to vent! I am just 1 month in but let me tell you It was a hard month. The first week was my worse! I hardly slept with my mask because of leaks. I ended bursting into tears at 1am because it just wouldn't stop leaking! I was so frustrated. I went into this therapy all chipper thinking,"yes I'm gonna feel better!" Let's just say that went away real quick after that first week. I finally bought a nasal pad and that has just about stopped all my leaks!

Although now my cpap broke and so I've been without using one for about 5 nights! For some reason that has me thinking it's gonna be hard to start again. (weird I know) This is a great place for support! I found that out through my journey thus far!

[Pugsy]

I have tried the Opus 360. The nasal pillow part of it was great but the head gear part of it was just all over the place.
Very unstable for some people. It doesn't have to be worn routed up over the forehead if you are trying that. It can be worn hanging down loose.
If it is too problematic then go back to DME and try something else. Most of the mask manufacturers allow a 30 day trial policy.
Sometimes the DMEs set up their own mask trial policy so ask yours what their policy is.

Here are some of the popular nasal pillow masks that have been tried and used by many.
My main mask is the Swift FX.. it has the traditional head gear and also allows for the Bella loops over the ears. I use it both ways...just depends on my mood.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... -cpap.html

This one comes a close second to the Swift FX with me. It is probably a little more stable than the Swift FX. Extremely comfortable.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/devilb ... -mask.html

The Swift LT was the mask I used from day one on cpap therapy until the Swift FX was released.
More "stuff" on the face and probably the most stable of the 3 masks. If you like less "stuff" on your face the others would probably suit you better.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... dgear.html

This one is the "latest and greatest" meaning it is brand new and some of us are trying it for the first time. Looks promising and initial reviews are pretty positive for the most part. Some love it and a few hate it. Not many have it yet to try it. Mine is on back order. I haven't tried it yet. There is a thread on this page with reviews though. You might watch for it...Pilairo review.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/pilair ... k-f-p.html

There are all sorts of masks out there. Each one will have its own devoted followers. No one mask works great for everybody.
The right mask is the one that works for you no matter if it works for someone else or not and it not unusual at all to go through several trials till you find the one that suits your needs the best.

Don't worry about your machine choice in your profile. The pink Autoset is the same version Autoset as the grey one. Pink for women and released around the time of special breast cancer awareness day. Only the color is different. No big deal.

[AbbyNormal]

Tiffany, Gertrude and Wonderbeatlett, Thank you so much! It's great to hear another woman's take on all of this stuff. It helps so much!! Other women know more about what I'm talking about, especially being on the dating scene. I guess I'll get used to it eventually but today ain't that day!

Pugsy, good grief... You're like the guru! I am SO glad you have found your way to answering some of my silly questions. I appreciate you tossing the drowning girl a life preserver! You rock!

I just plugged in my SD card and imported data into SleepyHead for the first time. No freaking clue what I'm looking at, but it looks neat. Yaycakes!

BTW, the best advice I've been given so far is to make this into a science experiment. I love geekery, so that has made it at least a little bit fun.

[Pugsy]

You can post an image of your SleepyHead report for us to look at if you want to...with your questions.
The glossary link in my signature will help explain a lot of what you see. The rest you just need to ask what you need made clearer.
The single night's daily graphs are more of what we need to see.
Lots of information in there but the main points are the events graph on the top, the flow graph, the pressure graph and the leak line graph. You can go to preferences/graph tab and turn off the AHI graph and mask pressure graph so that the leak line graph shows up on one image without scrolling.
With the ResMed machine your leak line boundary for large leak is 24 L/min.

Easiest way to post images of reports is with a screen shot of the report. Here's how I do it.

Open the image to full size so it is easily read.
I use Vista snipping tool to create a screen shot and crop the image at the same time.
Prt/scr key will also take a screen shot if using XP. If laptop is used sometimes the Fn key has to be pushed at the same time as the prt/scr key
I think windows 7 Home Premium has the snipping tool, Basic may not.
Once the screen shot is created save it in jpg format.

Upload the image to a host site. I use Photobucket it is free, there are others.
Once the image is uploaded then copy the ENTIRE IMG address. Be sure to include the opening and closing IMG in brackets. Paste that copied address into a post here.
If you want to use Photobucket they provide a box with the various url addresses and you just choose the last one in the box.
Copy/paste that l url address into the body of your post.
Use the preview button. If you can't see the image try again because if you can't see it we can't.

If you want to use Photobucket...they provide a box of addresses for you to use. The address shown in the last line of the box is the one to use for the forum here. It includes the IMG brackets so all you have to do is copy/paste that address into the body of your post here. You will see the address in code but if you click preview the image should show up.

[Cindy Lou Who]

Abby, Welcome to the forum. You've come to a great place with wonderfully supportive people who will listen to and support you!
As already suggested you can open up the Velcro strap the Opus 360 hose goes through and let it hang down. The hose can swivel 360 degrees when detached from the head strap. That way it won't obstruct your field of vision. That may help!
Experiment with the straps! It really sounds like they are too tight for you... Normal wear shouldn't give you a sore nose like that! Goggle 'Opus 360 fitting video' and watch it. Your equipment person may not have gotten the straps right. If they did this while you were sitting up that would make a difference.
My story: short version. Hubby got his machine first. The first night he slid on the headgear I sat on my side of the bed staring at him: feeling cut off. I mean....how do you kiss someone with that big honking thing sticking out of their nose and spewing air! I was really confused by my reaction. I was the one that 'ratted' on him to his heart Dr. who scheduled him for the sleep lab.
Same as your Dad, mine died after the third heart attack when he was 64 years old (in 1989). I grew up listening to him snoring, choking and struggling to breath while sleeping. It got worse as he got older. I knew about OSA back then, but not that it was treatable!
Guess what: I have the same narrow jaw and throat structure. Have snored all my life too.
Important point: Ask your equipment person if they gave you the 30 day exchange guarantee? If you have that you can go back quickly and exchange the Opus 360 for something different and try that. Many people have tried different masks. If you don't.... Go to the nearest craft store and buy paint on sparkles, stickers, and what ever else you fancy and have fun making your 360 a work of Art!

Experimentation is by far the way to go! Hubby cannot understand why I tweak my mask or machine. Good heavens man... I'm trying to make this thing work better for me.

I'm not saying this to discourage you Abby, but it took 3 months for me to begin to feel better. My blood oxygen was 82% : the Dr's want it at least 90 or 89. Some people notice a difference after the first night. And for some it takes longer. During the first month I had one day of wonderful mental clarity and was full of energy. That day I realized what OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) had robbed from me. The point is to hang in there. You deserve to feel good about yourself, be healthy, have energy! Like others before have said. You didn't get this way over night and it's going to take time for your body to learn new habits and to accept this. Your attitude is wonderful. It's healthy and...I love it!
Keep posting!
Cindy

[gertrude]

As someone who is obviously oblivious to popular culture, who is Bane?

Gertrude, you need to get out more! The OPUS 360 mask has a hose that goes between the eyes and over the top of the head. It probably was a prototype for Bane's mask. Since I am also completely bald, my son made the connection to Bane, one of Batman's foes in the recent movie. Angela knew!

OMG! Maybe a mask maufacuturer could market a look alike!!!

[kaiasgram]

OMG! Maybe a mask maufacuturer could market a look alike!!!

Seriously! That mask looks so industrial strength I bet you could roll over in bed any which way and sleep in any position you like, and that sucker would not even budge -- talk about leak free!

Welcome to the forum Angela and all recent newbies!

[robysue]

Camping can be whatever you define it as.
I picture the pampered Victorian 'hunter' on safari in Africa (old movie reference)
--with numerous bearers bringing along the fancy folding furniture, camp chest, fine china, and silver; and of course the French chef.
How are we any different? "Mistress, I have set out your breathing apparatus; and your favorite chocolate is next to it on the night stand."

This image really tickled my fancy! Next time hubby and I do some camping, I'll remember this for sure.

[BigTex]

Hang in there.
Try another mask.

You know me