Training to use CPAP on my own???

Hi, my name is Mark. I am a 60 year old male, and I have had sleep apnea for many years, but have never been able to tolerate CPAP. I have tried on 4 separate occasions with three different sleep specialists, with no success. The last time was about 2 years ago. I was trying to get accustomed to taking naps with it - but my insurance refused to pay for it any longer, because I wasn't able to use it for the number of hours a day they required within the first month. I have a severe suffocation panic attack when falling asleep with it. I suddenly am unable to exhale against the pressure, and I dream I am being smothered, then awake suddenly and violently rip the damned mask off of my face while gasping for breath. I have ALWAYS had this reaction since first trying CPAP about 20 years ago, and it is always the same. The doctors finally reluctantly conclude that it is harming my sleep more than helping, and simply end my treatment.

I really want to try and train myself to tolerate the CPAP somehow, but I know it is going to be a long process. I have an old CPAP machine (with the water reservoir), not sure of the name brand or model. But I am wondering if I can set it to a lower pressure and slowly get used to napping, then sleeping with it - and GRADUALLY increase pressures to a beneficial level. Since the doctors and Blue Cross will NOT allow me the time to learn to breath with it. I am wondering if I can find someone who knows how to adjust it, and can help me figure it out. I also realize I am eventually going to have to find someplace to obtain new masks and hoses without a prescription, if I have some moderate success in this. I feel like this black market approach is the only option I have left, since the legit medical process has failed me. I am so tired of daytime fatigue! I feel like I have not had a truly restful night's sleep in 30 years.



Thank you, most sincerely.

Welcome to the fourm, Mark.
A few thoughts:
Don't confuse an Rx with insurance paymnent. You can use an Rx to buy without asking insurance to approve.
Do you have the Rx from two year ago?

You can train yourself to sleep with the machine, and but -especially give your history - there are some absolute necessities for that:
1) You have to know the exact make and model of the machine
2) It has to be a machine that tracks data and records it
3) You need software that can read the machine's data.

When your machine tracks data and the software shows you each and every breath you can start figuring out what disrupts your sleep, gives you a choking feeling, and how to fix it.

Somewhere on your machine there will be a info about its name and model. either on the machine itself, or on a label stuck to the bottom. Find it - we need to know what it is.

Software is available for many machines.

Do you know which settings the machine was on when you last tried it?

And you may want to remove your email from your original post (use the pencil=edit for that). Things on the forum can be read by anyone and any search engine - not a good idea to publish your email like that.

Thanks for the advice/info. My machine is over 20 years old, so I am not sure if any data tracking apps are available, but I will have to check.

If your machine is way old even if records data we may not be able to access it because of the kind of data storage card that was used.

Where are you located?