What the Hell?

[Queen of Darkness]

I have been having sleep problems for the last ten years. Most nights, I only get a little bit of sleep. I can go to sleep just fine, but then I wake up a few hours later with a sore throat, racing heartbeat, feeling sick. My doctor sent me for a sleep study which shows I have something called "hypopneas" all night and my oxygen level drops dangerously low.

So I was given a CPAP, with careful instsructions.

I got it home and tried it on. The headgear was too tight and it hurt my
ears. They told me to try to sleep first without any sleep aids to see if the
airflow would improve my sleeping. It didn't work.

I got up and took a xanax.

It didn't work.

I got up and took some zzzzquil.

That didn't work either.

I got up and took some tylenol PM.

I began to go to sleep and immediately started to have a dream that I was in a Nazi gas
chamber. I was gasping for breathe. I woke up and realized that I could
not breath through the CPAP. So I took it off and checked it.

No air was coming through the tube. I checked to make sure it was still
hooked up. Yes. Turned on. Yes. The right settings were selected. Yes.
So why wasn't it working?

Then it began to hiss like a snake.

Ka-ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssh!
Ka-ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssh!

That scared me. I unplugged it to make it stop hissing. Then I took it
apart, and put it back in the bag.

I lay down looking at the bag. I was pretty sure the machine was possessed
by demons. I got back up and took it out to my car so I would not be cursed
by the demonic CPAP machine.

I got about three hours sleep last night.

I called the Health Equipment store, explained that the CPAP was
possessed by demons, and I wanted to return it ASAP. Also, I want a full
refund, and the pleasure of tearing up my contract.

They said NO. I am stuck with the machine for 30 days. And I can't get out of the contract.

If you have been perscribed a CPAP, think twice before signing on the line. I wish I hadn't.

[SabrinaFaire]

Yeah, I'm sure that had nothing to do with all of the medication you took.

[chunkyfrog]

More than likely, you had your mask too tight, because that's how it feels.
You also took way too many drugs. Are you serious; or just unaware that multiple drugs can KILL you?
You need to go to bed sober, so the demons will not come after you.

[LSAT]

Post is likely from Elvira.

[Wulfman...]

I have been having sleep problems for the last ten years. Most nights, I only get a little bit of sleep. I can go to sleep just fine, but then I wake up a few hours later with a sore throat, racing heartbeat, feeling sick. My doctor sent me for a sleep study which shows I have something called "hypopneas" all night and my oxygen level drops dangerously low.

So I was given a CPAP, with careful instsructions.

I got it home and tried it on. The headgear was too tight and it hurt my
ears. They told me to try to sleep first without any sleep aids to see if the
airflow would improve my sleeping. It didn't work.

I got up and took a xanax.

It didn't work.

I got up and took some zzzzquil.

That didn't work either.

I got up and took some tylenol PM.

I began to go to sleep and immediately started to have a dream that I was in a Nazi gas
chamber. I was gasping for breathe. I woke up and realized that I could
not breath through the CPAP. So I took it off and checked it.

No air was coming through the tube. I checked to make sure it was still
hooked up. Yes. Turned on. Yes. The right settings were selected. Yes.
So why wasn't it working?

Then it began to hiss like a snake.

Ka-ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssh!
Ka-ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssh!

That scared me. I unplugged it to make it stop hissing. Then I took it
apart, and put it back in the bag.

I lay down looking at the bag. I was pretty sure the machine was possessed
by demons. I got back up and took it out to my car so I would not be cursed
by the demonic CPAP machine.

I got about three hours sleep last night.

I called the Health Equipment store, explained that the CPAP was
possessed by demons, and I wanted to return it ASAP. Also, I want a full
refund, and the pleasure of tearing up my contract.

They said NO. I am stuck with the machine for 30 days. And I can't get out of the contract.

If you have been perscribed a CPAP, think twice before signing on the line. I wish I hadn't.

Obviously you're "intelligence-challenged".

But, at least you showed up here and demonstrated it rather than asking for help.

Consequently, I'm thinking of the line from the movie "Forrest Gump"..........."Stupid is as stupid does."


Den

.

[robysue]

They told me to try to sleep first without any sleep aids to see if the
airflow would improve my sleeping. It didn't work.

I got up and took a xanax.

It didn't work.

I got up and took some zzzzquil.

That didn't work either.

I got up and took some tylenol PM.

Zzzquil and Tylenol PM contain the exact same active ingredient (diphenhydramine, which is also the active ingredient in Benadryl) for the "sleep aid." It's a bad idea to take two OTC meds that contain the doses of the same drug.

Drugs.com lists xanax and diphenhydramine as having the potential for a moderately important drug interaction in patients. On the "Professionals" drug interaction web page for this pair of drugs, Drugs.com says, "During concomitant use of these drugs, patients should be monitored for potentially excessive or prolonged CNS and respiratory depression. Ambulatory patients should be counseled to avoid hazardous activities requiring mental alertness and motor coordination until they know how these agents affect them, and to notify their physician if they experience excessive or prolonged CNS effects that interfere with their normal activities. (emphasis added)" (See http://www.drugs.com/interactions-check ... essional=1)

The "double dose" of diphenhydramine on top of your usual dose of xanx may be enough to explain what happened next:

I began to go to sleep and immediately started to have a dream that I was in a Nazi gas
chamber. I was gasping for breathe. So I took it off and checked it.

No air was coming through the tube. I checked to make sure it was still
hooked up. Yes. Turned on. Yes. The right settings were selected. Yes.
So why wasn't it working?

Then it began to hiss like a snake.

Ka-ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssh!
Ka-ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssh!

That scared me. I unplugged it to make it stop hissing. Then I took it
apart, and put it back in the bag.

Sounds to me like all the drugs caused a perfectly predictable depressed respiration reaction which woke you up. As to why there seemed to be no air coming through the tube? I strongly suspect that after that last tylenol PM, you forgot to turn the machine on. OR you turned the machine OFF in your drug-induced sleepy haze before you were fully awake.

And what caused the thing to start hissing like a snake? You hit the ON button and turned the machine back ON, probably when you thought you were turning the machine OFF. All because you were NOT fully mentally alert because you'd taken too much diphenhydramine on top of the xanax to properly think straight after waking up from a nightmare.

[SleepyBobR]

Hilarious. Queen of Darkness, I suggest you read up on sleep apnea and CPAP (this site is an excellent source) and then take another whack at it without drugging yourself into a stupor. Anti-histamines and benzos are a bad mix. You could really screw yourself up with a cocktail like that. CPAP therapy will very likely fix your problems without any drugs. Give it another try.

[nanwilson]

Troll

[bryansong]

Chain yanker

[chunkyfrog]

Popcorn?

[Queen of Darkness]

No more advice necessary! I checked ebay and craig's list. People buy and sell cpaps. I can unload this thing and get most of my money back. I guess my biggest complaint is that after realizing that the machine doesn't work for me, I could not return it. My insurance had already paid out and I have to make a copayment.

I guess sleep problems come with age and there is nothing much I can do about it.

Over the past few years of having difficulty with sleeping, I have become very dependent on sleep aids. I took ambien for several years, and slept very well with it. My doctor will no longer prescribe it because the fda has cracked down on it. Actually, there have been several serious crimes committed by people under the influenceof ambien. Also, it has been used as a date rape drug. It is very, very powerful.

I am nearly immune to the otc sleep aids. I usually do take several every night, as I wake up several times every night and can't get back to sleep. And I gotta go to work in the morning.

So, no, I did not mess up or set the cpap wrong as a result of the otc meds. They hardly affect me anymore.

I begged my doctor for more ambien. Instead, he tested me for sleep apnea. Results show I got it bad.

But this cpap thing is not going to work. If anybody is interested, I got a scarcely used, demonic, snake-hissing cpap for sale. The supply store will not take it back.

[SleepyBobR]

They won't give you Ambien but Xanax is fine.
Doctors. Go figure.

Give your CPAP another try man. From what you described you need it badly.

[Sir NoddinOff]

I don't think we need to fling the troll or weirdo moniker around just yet. I think QofD is just having some bad nights and rather than just ask for help straight out, is determined to create a turmoil with the original post... a bit kooky but excusable. As for the multiple use of OTC, benzo and Zmed drugs in one night (which was rather flippantly thrown out by QofD) - that is a common mistake many people make when they don't realize what their impact might be. I have written some dumb stuff on this site and have taken a many well deserved shots, however the valued members have eventually rallied around. I suggest we all take a step back for now and let QofD process this.

[Julie]

If you really want help, register first, then go to the User Ctl Panel under the Logo on top, fill in the full name and model # of your machine (the # is underneath, but don't tip it up until emptying humidifier water if you put any in there). Then fill in the full name of your mask. Those will appear automatically when you post from now on so we all see what you use and can help! There's LOTS of help available but we need something to work with. There are many different machines and even more masks and fixes for just about any problem.

You said you get mostly hypopneas, and on your back, but I wonder if you were to sleep on your side (back is worst for provoking apneas) whether you'd have any significant problem needing a machine at all (hypopneas are incipient apneas, kind of like babies). Some people have what's called positional apnea and if they can keep themselves from back sleeping (foam wedges help there) they find they can manage. And you apparently didn't have significant apneas at all. But you can't check that out without another study where you arrange to sleep only on your side... something to look into maybe?

[chunkyfrog]

Many of us find it unthinkable to "diss" these amazing machines. Frustration and sub-par support can contribute to a bad situation.
Lack of sleep can make us very disagreeable and unreasonable. (me, too )
It often takes a while to get comfortable with this treatment--and a LOT of patience!
If you want a longer life, quality sleep, and all that cpap can do, you need to reach down inside and find that strength you need.
Or go to your faith and pray for it--whatever will do it for you.
It disturbs many of us when someone gives up; some of us have been close to it ourselves.