Hubby's "I'm stopping CPAP" Experience

For those that don't know, I convinced my husband that his snoring & snorting was most likely sleep apnea. He refused a sleep study but DID let me do an overnight pulse ox and eventually titrated him on an auto machine loaned to me by a forum member. We found a unit on Craig's List and he's been "on the hose" for a couple years now doing well.

Over the weekend, he said that the mask and hose were bothering him and he felt like he wanted to try sleeping OFF it a few nights. I just shrugged and said "Ok, but if you snore like before, I AM poking/slapping you!" --

FIRST NIGHT: Not bad at all and he said he actually felt more awake than he had been.
SECOND NIGHT: More snoring & snorting, but minor compared to his pre-CPAP nights.
THIRD NIGHT: OMG the snoring and snorting. He was restless and I lost count how many times he woke himself up snoring and choking and carrying on. I poked him a few times because he kept ME up half the night.

That morning, I calmly told him his snoring was bad. He said -- "Yeah, I know I woke myself up a lot and I am really tired today. I'm using my mask again tonight!"

My husband has a very busy and full schedule. I asked him if he was okay to get through his day and he said "Yeah, I'll be fine. But I don't want to be like this again tomorrow so I'm definitely using the machine tonight!!"

That night, he slept like a baby. Went down, went to sleep and hardly a move out of him all night long. And obviously, I slept good too.

I am so glad he is going back to it!! Good for you for being such an amazing partner to him and being a great support and doing what you had to to take care of him.

CaptainRaven40 wrote:I am so glad he is going back to it!! Good for you for being such an amazing partner to him and being a great support and doing what you had to to take care of him.

Very nice of you to say. You're new to the forum so you don't really know me, but I have a disabling neuromuscular disease and trust me, my husband takes VERY good care of me. Getting him on a machine is the least I can do to help him. He took to it like a duck to water so he's awfully amazing!!

Sometimes we all just need a good dose of reality. We tend to forget just how bad things were until we have to experience them again...either by choice or by accident.
Yeah, sometimes the mask and the machine can be annoying but the alternative is not only annoying but potentially dangerous but sometimes we just won't really believe it until we experience it.

My reality check came by accident and I only needed one night without my machine to remind me of just how bad things could be. It wasn't so much that I didn't believe it as I didn't realize just how much it helped given that I never really experienced the "miracle" that some lucky people have.

He's gone without it a night or two because of power failures (Trilogy has 6 hour battery backup so I rarely have that issue). And his first two nights weren't that bad and neither were his days. But that third night and third day -- it was enough to convince him.

But I also give him credit for NOT going into denial. He was honest and admitted it. I'm just glad it didn't take longer than 3 nights.

You know it makes me wonder just how much of a "holdover" effect we actually can have. I know that there can be some for some people. Glad it didn't take longer than 3 nights for your husband.
I didn't have any holdover effect to help me out when I had to go without for one night...either that or if there was some holdover effect going on I sure don't want to experience what it's like after 3 days. It was really ugly just after 1 night with a gazillion wake ups and needing to pee every hour and the return of the killer AM headache.

I was surprised, and a little dismayed, that first morning. He said he felt better (more rested) WITHOUT the machine. And I admit the night hadn't been that bad. But seeing it worsen slightly the second night, I figured it was only a matter of time before everything hit like it had before CPAP. Like you, I'm glad it wasn't more than 3 nights.

I HAVE gone without my machine a few nights here and there. I also have a holdover effect and a night here and there usually doesn't cause me any serious problems. But I suspect I'd be in the same boat if I went 3-5 nights. I'd be miserable. And probably very, very bitchy too.

So often these relapse stories end badly... glad to hear he's 'coming home'.

Sir NoddinOff wrote:So often these relapse stories end badly... glad to hear he's 'coming home'.

You're right. When he said he wanted to try sleeping without it, I wasn't happy (and a little scared) but I figured I had to leave it up to him. I think had I fought him on it, he might not have come back to it as fast as he did.

Hi Maddie.

Glad to hear he came to his senses in pretty short order.

Within a couple of weeks after I started therapy, I developed a horrible cough and couldn't sleep with it on for nearly 10 nights. I quickly regressed to my pre-therapy conditions (daytime sleepiness the most evident) and couldn't wait till I could tolerate keeping the mask on again during the night. I learned very quickly how effective my therapy had been and have not slept without it since then. It was pretty quickly into my therapy that I discovered that I can't sleep without it......and wonder how others can manage to do so.

Take care.

Den

.

The only pre-CPAP symptom hubby had was snoring. And I mean horrible, horrible, horrible snoring & snorting that goes with waking up.

He never experienced any daytime sleepiness (that he was aware of), but he DID say after starting that he felt more energetic.

Your husband's a lucky man! As far as the mask and hose bothering him, there are things you can try.

What kinds of masks has he tried? Masks have come a long way in the last couple of years. I've been impressed with the airfit p10 that folks here recommended. I tried it after running a survey here and seeing how popular it was: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=106883&st=0

For hose management, I've been very happy with this hanger available for $12 through amazon: http://www.amazon.com/North-American-He ... 0034CHMRU/ It keeps everything out of the way.

yaconsult wrote:Your husband's a lucky man! As far as the mask and hose bothering him, there are things you can try.

What kinds of masks has he tried? Masks have come a long way in the last couple of years. I've been impressed with the airfit p10 that folks here recommended. I tried it after running a survey here and seeing how popular it was: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=106883&st=0

For hose management, I've been very happy with this hanger available for $12 through amazon: http://www.amazon.com/North-American-He ... 0034CHMRU/ It keeps everything out of the way.

I've offered this to him numerous times, and was even offered one by a forum member, but he said no. Why? I have no clue but he has dug his heels in on this. He's using the machine every night and doing good so if he doesn't want to try a hose management system, I'm not going to force him. He *might* come around later, but until then, I'm going to leave him be.

That's understandable. I recently switched from a Breeze nasal pillow system, which has the hose exiting from the top of the head, to the airfit p10 which has the small hose dangling from the nose. With the hose hanger, I can adjust it so there is a small dip in the hose just above the pillow. This leaves enough slack that I can turn from side to side without pulling on the mask at all. It means that I don't have to think about the hose and worry about accidentally pulling on it.

So just keep it in the back of your mind should either of you have complaints about the hose getting in the way in the future. It also keeps condensation from getting to the mask although that is less of a problem as heated hoses have become more common.

I am using the AirFitN10 now and found that the weight of the hose off the side of the bed easily mover the mask and caused some leaks. I had one of these hose clips https://www.cpap.com/productpage/cpap-hose-clip.html that I slipped on the hose and clipped to the sheet on the side of the bed near my head. It effectively "shortens" the length of the hanging hose and allows the minimal mask to stay in place. Might work with your husband.