Seeking advice from single CPAP users.

I don't think it is the box that would scare anyone off. Now, the mask and headgear just might get a little too kinky for some.

But hey! If they can handle that, they can handle just about anything right?

-roberto

It's quite simple, really: a negative reaction indicates shallowness far in excess of anything you'd want to deal with any further.

Oh, it bothers you? I understand, but I know how to help. If you'll just walk over to that wooden rectangle with the knob sticking out of it about halfway up... yes, that thing, right. Pull on it. Okay, good, notice how the rectangle pivoted open? Okay, now walk through the rectangular hole it made... great! Okay, next I'm going to pivot the rectangle shut again, and then you're going to go home and never contact me again.

To quote Beavis: "Thank you, drive through!"

If you'll just walk over to that wooden rectangle with the knob sticking out of it about halfway up... yes, that thing, right. Pull on it.

That was a good one mister hose. In other words, "don't let the rectangular opening cover hit you on the way out." I'll have to remember that one.

mister_hose wrote:It's quite simple, really: a negative reaction indicates shallowness far in excess of anything you'd want to deal with any further.

Oh, it bothers you? I understand, but I know how to help. If you'll just walk over to that wooden rectangle with the knob sticking out of it about halfway up... yes, that thing, right. Pull on it. Okay, good, notice how the rectangle pivoted open? Okay, now walk through the rectangular hole it made... great! Okay, next I'm going to pivot the rectangle shut again, and then you're going to go home and never contact me again.

To quote Beavis: "Thank you, drive through!"

.....what Mister Hose said! LMAO

mister_hose wrote:To quote Beavis: "Thank you, drive through!"

Best...post....EVAR.

CollegeGirl wrote:I think it's even harder for women - no offense guys. It's just that there is absolutely nothing feminine about aCPAP. But snoring isn't feminine, either, so it's six of one, half dozen of the other.

I'm gonna have to whine and play the "sexist" card here. Nowhere else in the world, except the good ol US of A do women do more to be sexy, or buy more things, or have more plastic surgery than here in the states. We shave, have electrolosis, get breast implants, lyposuction, don't burp, or have any other bodily function in front of a man we are dating, buy Victoria Secret, use deoderant so that God Forbid we don't sweat, but yet men playing some hoop or working out in a gym sweating their brains out are a turn on to women. There are a whole bunch of "double standards" in this country when it comes to men and women.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure people of both sexes have insecurities about wearing this mask etc. But as far as the dating scene and being single, it is one more thing to try and "gussy up" and compensate for when you are a woman. Men sleep in boxers or tshirt or (less?). Women feel the need to put on a neglige or sexy nighty. They don't want the guy to see their hair in the morning or without any makeup. I just don't even think its remotely the same feeling of "unsexiness" for a man as it is for a woman.

Not to start a war of the sexes here, but how many men do you know say "Do I look fat in this?" Yes, men care how they look, some are even down right vain. But the media and culture of today presses down harder on women than men, and when a women has to don a mask that is the equivalent to looking like Darth Vader, its hard to pair that with a sexy silky red teddy and fishnet.

Suzy

And for many of us, its not the mask, the nightie or the make-up that make us feel so grateful, complete and alive because of the WONDERFUL, AMAZING and lovely women that has graced us by sleeping beside us and sharing their hearts and lives with us.

Chuck

Good Man, Chuck! good answer!

And you're right. None of it should matter. But the fact of the matter is, pick up any beauty magazine today, and women esp. teenage girls are brainwashed on what is considered beautiful in this country. I am glad when I was a teenager and very impressionable that the models didn't look anorexic then. I never obsessed about being beautiful. I still don't obsess about it, but when you are first dating, I would be lying if I said I didn't want to come across as attractive or feminine. Once you get to a more comfortable stage in the relationship, its easier to show people the "baggage".

Thats why I think this post got started in the first place. Its not that being married is a free pass from all of this. But a lot of people, (not all obviously) were married for many years before crossing this cpap bridge. They have been through a lot of things together and have shared a bedroom for many years. It is not the same type of embarrasment as it is when you are first getting to know someone.

Nice reply though, Chuck. You're a gentleman.

Suzy

I'm a single, Suz. I could care less about a mask. Don't under-estimate us.

C

Nowhere else in the world, except the good ol US of A do women do more to be sexy, or buy more things, or have more plastic surgery than here in the states. We shave, have electrolosis, get breast implants, lyposuction, don't burp, or have any other bodily function in front of a man we are dating, buy Victoria Secret, use deoderant so that God Forbid we don't sweat

Hey Suzy, I agree with everything you said except for this part (the quote above). Having traveled a little to Europe, I'd have to say that women there are pretty much in the same boat as far as having to always try to look good and especially look young. The conversations I've had with European women point to the fact that they seem to envy American women their freedom to do as they choose, be what they want, go where they want. In the patriarchal systems in Europe, it's even harder from women to achieve the things they want to do while looking good doing it. Don't even need to go into the conditions for women as you move eastward in the world. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say women in the usa have it easy. I'm constantly amazed by the women I know when it comes to how much they can keep up in the air all at the same time. My male friends claim to "help" around the house. They always use the term "help". I want to say, "you're not helping, your just doing your share and most times less than your share." Anyway just wanted to give a counterpoint. Good post on your part.

Anyway, my first night with the hybrid was less than stellar. It started out okay, but once the auto started to ramp up, leaked like a seive. Need to do some more adjusting. That will have to wait until I get back home in familiar surroundings.

Tim

GoofyUT wrote:make us feel so grateful, complete and alive because of the WONDERFUL, AMAZING and lovely women that has graced us by sleeping beside us and sharing their hearts and lives with us.

Y'know, based purely on that one sentence fragment, I'd (jokingly) bet a new-in-box REMstar Auto that you've never experienced a divorce, and I'd bet the heated humidifier that you've never even been married. The glowing, gushing "pedestal" language concerning females is usually indicative of that.

The truly wonderful, amazing, lovely women who grace us by sleeping beside us and sharing their hearts and lives with us are, I and many male friends of mine have all found, rather rare.

The same is probably true of men, though. I'm an equal opportunity pessimist. =) Or is that realist?

snoozie_suzy wrote:pick up any beauty magazine today, and women esp. teenage girls are brainwashed on what is considered beautiful in this country. I am glad when I was a teenager and very impressionable that the models didn't look anorexic then.

The entertainment media is something to be used purely for entertainment. When you're bored and don't want to read or watch the news or watch the History channel or something, then fine, watch one of the few modern movies or TV dramas that don't suck, or listen to the portion of modern music that doesn't suck. For all other purposes it should be largely ignored, and certainly shouldn't be used to form one's role models and body image reference points. The problem usually is, by the time a person is old enough to realize this, the "programming" is already burned into them from their early life. Escaping it's not too hard though... you simply begin thinking correctly and disregarding the relevant media influences, and eventually things are okay again. Unfortunately, many (most?) people are entertainment-media-centric and never make any such realization or reach any such point of "liberation". For an example of how many people are like this, look at the popularity of tabloids. Very sad. Enough said.

snoozie_suzy wrote:the same type of embarrasment as it is when you are first getting to know someone.

I just don't see this. Maybe it's that over the years I've become a very cut-the-crap sort of fellow, but if I'm dating someone and they have a negative reaction to the cpap news that is (1) more than mild, and (2) more than temporary, I have no further reason to bother dating that person. Simple as that. The problem is theirs, not mine.

I've been married for 12 years and would use the same language as Goofy did to describe my wife.

Methinks you're a bit cynical, Mr. Hose.

Hi! Everyone about a month ago on Feburary 14th until March 15th, 2011. I was off my c-pap machine because I had a cold. Later I became lite headed and around March 15th I end up at Kaiser Hospital. They checked me out everything is ok! I don't have insurance and no insurance company will touch me because of preexisting conditions. I also couldn't aford to get a new hose,mask,and filters at the time. I also would like to meet a single female too and start a family even a fellow c-pap user would be great. Please give me any kind of advice!

1) Tell her it stops you from snoring
2) Tell her it's an "inhaled substance abuse" device. You fill it with vodka or "special herbs."
3) Tell her it's an aroma therapy device.
4) If you need to wear it during sex, she's probably not the right girl for you, and you're definitely not the right guy for her.
5) Mention it in casual conversation before she gets the tour of the bedroom, so it's not a surprise. "Sorry I'm sleepy today. I accidentally unplugged my CPAP machine last night and didn't sleep well."

I'm new to my CPAP machine (been using it for about a month) and feel very embarrassed about it. I don't want my boyfriend (who lives with me) to see me in the mask. I don't want him to think of me as a sick/hospitalized person. I also ask people who know I'm on it not to mention it to others. I don't want to put that image of me into anyone's mind.

We already sleep in separate bedrooms b/c of my insomnia. (If I wake up in the middle of the night, I want to turn on the light and read. Also, by the time I can fall asleep again, it is about 4am, when he starts turning over a lot in his sleep, which wakes me up again.) So now we visit each others' beds for romance.

For our nightly cuddling, he visits my bed for the two minutes I can stay awake at around 9pm. Just before I fall asleep, he goes to his bedroom and I put on my mask. I keep the machine on the lower shelf of my nightstand, which I cover with a cool-looking scarf. The hose fits between the nightstand and my bed, the mask on top of the machine.

Before I started on the machine, I asked him how he felt about it. He was a bit squirmy at first, part of which I attribute to his aversion to conventional medicine in general. But then he said if it makes me feel better rested, he supports my using it. I pointed out that there's a good chance that I'd become less irritable and anxious too, if it ends up working.

We decided to get married after I had been using the machine for a few weeks, so I guess he's not too troubled about it. Not as much as I am, anyway.