CPAPtalk.com

birdshell wrote:
Since this was all early on in my treatment, maybe it wasn't as bad for me as for someone much farther along in their usage.

This made me remember that early on in my treatment I went for a week without cpap because of a sore on the bridge of my nose from a FF mask.
I remember thinking that cpap was not worth the bother because I didn’t feel a difference.

Needless to say I have learned a lot since then!

I have missed a total of 2 nights since Feb. I thought I could go 1 night on both occasions. Was I ever WRONG!!!! I felt almost like I had the flu. I will never do that again if I can help it.

I agree with rested gal about the "gradual" aspect!
Having that well-rested feeling that cpap provides taken away from you, for even one night, is like someone pulling a rug out from underneath you!
Nothing gradual about it!

A hangover with the flu is the perfect way to describe what I feel like after a night without CPAP. It's not just the yawning - it's the aches and pains that go with it. I've got lots of masks, but I'm going to buy a second CPAP unit. Thanks for this thread.

i have taken a nap or two without cpap when i felt too tired to put up with the mask. Unlike everyone else here, I'll say it was not awful because it wasn't. I don't do it often because I know there's no possibility of really good sleep. Never gone a full nite without cpap although have had many times, more in the distant past, when i have woken up without mask, and i have no idea how long it was off. Didn't feel great, but not horrible either.

Caroline

Most of the time the mask leakage makes me take off the mask at some point during the night and not to long after I went to sleep. Isnt this like not having the machine with you at all. Last nigth I was out of town and logged like 19 minutes with the machine. It sucks and felt crappy for about 1/2 hour after getting up, but when I read this board it sounds like most of you have this problem anyways, except for those rare nights when the moon is aligned and the mask does not leak. I guess what I am trying to say is that from what I have read from most on this board is it sounds like most of us start off with it on but do not actually log 8 hours with it so everybody should be feeling horrible as if they didnt even have the thing.

confused:

actually, most of the time my mask does not leak. and most of the time the mask stays on. i can't tell how long from your post that you have been doing this, but i have been doing it for about six months, and i'm pretty religious about it because i know it would be easy for me to slip back into my old ways, which would mean death. (probably not literally in my case). for most of that six months, i was using a 5-year-old machine that gave no data, and now i have a new apap. i do think the apap grips my mask better (which sounds odd, but it feels like suction compared to the old machine) and my leaks are either none or teensy. this is so exciting to me, to have it all working better than before, when i thought it was working pretty well before. but if you're new at this, it does take getting used to. there seem to be a lot of people new to cpap here recently and i would call their stumbling pretty standard for the beginning but not standard for what cpap can do for you. keep working at it.

Caroline

confused.
I actually do get my full sleep time in! Rarely, do I sleep without my machine! (less than 5-6 times in the last two years!)
Granted, there seem to be some people that have leak/fit issues and that cause them to remove the mask sometimes, but I believe the majority of posters here are for the most part very complient!

I feel I have found a leak-free interface in a fairly short amount of time. The one time I missed was due to nose irritation within days after begining CPAP. I suspect that the severity of OSA may be a factor in how bad one feels after a night without xPAP. I know mine is considered severe and I already find myself totally unfunctional without it ... or maybe I'm just a wimp?

- roberto

No-if I'm reading in bed I put on the mask in case I fall asleep. I've had a couple short nights with a sinus infection or insomnia-but then I just get up anyway so don't really need PAP. I do experience something similar-now that I get regular sleep-a night of insomnia leaves me feeling much worse than before CPAP.