My Story, Next Steps

CPAP My Story, Next Steps

For me it started with falling asleep at the wheel a few times. And occasionally waking up gasping for breath. Then my wife told me how extreme my snoring was. I just didn't realize that I should push my doctors on these symptoms. I went about it backwards. I started by downloading the SnoreLab app. Whoah! It was like a freight train. So then I started to suspect I had sleep apnea. I'd had one or two friends with it. I tell people now that if they're overweight and they snore there's a 50% chance they have it. But nobody took me aside and told me. So my next step was Registered Pprtable Monitoring. They shipped me a Respironics Alice NightOne, and I strapped it on for a night of "home sleep diagnostic", then sent it back to them. And sure enough, they came back with "Positive for Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea (G47.33)".

I used that as a prescription a year ago to just buy myself a used ResMed S9. Of course I would do this and all of the above differently if I knew then what I know now, but life doesn't always work that way. The S9 was lightly used but kind of obsolete way before a year ago when I bought it and probably overpaid. Still as of this writing the S10 is the current model. Anyway since then I at last went to see the sleep doctor at my medical provider, gave him the SD card, and he was able to fill in any remaining blanks in my understanding. Though I'm writing this story here in hopes some of you in this excellent forum can offer any more advice. I added the humidifier unit, but not the heated hose, to the S9. And now I bought a used S10 for $349 + shipping. Because I think my wife's got sleep apnea too. Though she's in denial. Anyway my doctor really likes the ResMed line. He feels they come out with a new model ever 5 years, that this lines up with how long the insurance covers a CPAP machine. So then we're due for an S11 any month now this spring. He said he'd write me a prescription and I could get one through by Blue Shield. Though I suspect this may not end up being free or well covered and I'm just as well off with the refurbished s10 for $349. A lot of this medical stuff is kind of a racket.

So anyway my sleep is vastly improved now! I love my ResMed. Which is good, my doctor said half his patients love him, and half hate him and the machine. Maybe that's how I got used ones cheap. He said there may be other interventions possible, but its really not worth trying them until I can stop being obese. I asked him if anyone ever got "cured" completely and he said it was single digit percent. So that's a question for the forum. On the one hand I'm happy to know what my problem was, have a working solution, and not die asleep at the wheel. On the other, I wanted to go backpacking for a week with my daughter and I'm realizing that I'm kind of crippled now and tied to the grid. Let me ask one question, occasionally I take melatonin to sleep, but I feel like anything can become a crutch that weakens your ability to walk, so I get the Trader Joe's 500 microgram (second drug I took that comes in mics...) and even then split it into like 4 - 6 doses. So along those lines should I think of limiting my CPAP pressure lest I become dependent on 12 (whatever the units are, ok: cm H20) to "keep some in reserve" so to speak? And as far as dependency goes, its a bit disturbing to me, that a couple times I took an afternoon or late morning nap without the CPAP and had nightmares that I couldn't breathe and had to force myself to breathe and woke up gasping.

I invite any comments on any of the above. I will research it but my question is, how can I ever go backpacking for a week ever again in my life. I saw some people succesfully used the "Anker Powerhouse, Compact 400Wh / 120000mAh Portable Outlet, Generator Alternative Rechargeable Power Source with Silent DC/AC Inverter, 12V Car/AC/USB Outputs for Camping, CPAP or Emergency Backup" $350 at Amazon currently. But the thing weighs 10 lbs, doubling the weight of my backpacking kit, and only covering 4 days. Maybe I gotta get a more portable unit that draws less power. I wonder if solar can recharge. And the second question is, does anyone ever get out of here alive, or will I have this for the rest of my life. Hope I can lose 50 pounds regardless.

Welcome to the forum.

Yes...a few people whose sleep apnea is solely caused by excess weight will find that they can ditch the cpap if they lose (and keep it off) the excess pounds. Problem is that sleep apnea isn't always caused by excess pounds and even if someone loses a lot of weight the sleep apnea doesn't always go away because it's caused by something else.

Even skinny people get sleep apnea and saggy/floppy airway tissues and they need cpap.

I know one forum member who did just that very thing...she lost something like 150 pounds and kept it off and was able to lose the cpap but she's a rare one. Most people have other things causing the sleep apnea besides just the extra weight.

Of course losing excess pounds is always a good thing to do anyway...and even if the people who do lose it and cpap are in the single digit percentage...there is hope and it's not totally impossible.

FWIW...I weighed a whopping 110 lbs when I got diagnosed with OSA. Losing weight would do absolutely nothing to reduce my OSA.

As far as camping or back packing and bringing along the cpap...it's a challenge especially the weight part. There are lighter weight batteries out there but they come with a heavy price tag made worse when someone wants to camp out for a week and not just a couple of nights and there's no way to recharge them and you need several.
But it can be done...I know one forum member who regularly takes 2 week long rafting trips.

I know there are solar chargers so that may be a possibility. Plus you can think of the extra 10 lbs as more exercise! It's definitely possible to get used to a measly 40lbs extra weight. When I was fire fighting we would regularly train with our 30lb air tanks plus cloths so thick they were restricting.

thx1138 wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 11, 2019 10:17 am

a used ResMed S9.

A used S9 what? there's over 13 different ones.
wiki/index.php/CPAP_models

thx1138 wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 11, 2019 10:17 am

The S9 was lightly used but kind of obsolete way before a year ago

There's nothing "obsolete" about the S9 line, I use one.

thx1138 wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 11, 2019 10:17 am

Still as of this writing the S10 is the current model.

There's no such thing as a 's10' in the cpap world... now, if you're talking about a small chevy truck, sure... but I wouldn't recommend using one while attempting to sleep.

thx1138 wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 11, 2019 10:17 am

And now I bought a used S10 for

Again, no such thing as a "s10". Resmed makes many air10 machines... again, *what*?
wiki/index.php/CPAP_models

palerider wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 11, 2019 12:25 pm

thx1138 wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 11, 2019 10:17 am

Still as of this writing the S10 is the current model.

There's no such thing as a 's10' in the cpap world... now, if you're talking about a small chevy truck, sure... but I wouldn't recommend using one while attempting to sleep.

i shudder to think where you would hook up the mask.

to the OP; sorry to disrupt the thread. i just couldn't resist.

carry on.

I haven't been able to keep up with the latest advances in marketing, but yeah I ordered a "Resmed AirSense 10 Autoset CPAP" - Refurbished. Its in my profile, though the profile options also don't keep up with the latest marketing advances of new and varied product names, nor offer the S9 I'm about to replace with a "Resmed AirSense 10 Autoset CPAP", but yes the wiki entry says its a "S9 Autoset". I think ResMed came out with the "9" series about 10 years ago and the "10" series about 5 years ago. That's why my doctor and I anticipate the "11" series this spring at the sleep doctor convention.

thx1138 wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 11, 2019 12:36 pm

I think ResMed came out with the "9" series about 10 years ago

The S9 line started rolling out in 2010, not all at once, the bilevels and ASVs and such came later.

So my question then: people here go for years with CPAP? They find a pressure setting and use it for decades? Is there any downside to this constant regimen, other than some hassles when traveling or camping?

thx1138 wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:13 pm

So my question then: people here go for years with CPAP? They find a pressure setting and use it for decades? Is there any downside to this constant regimen,

Compared to what? crippling lethargy? falling asleep and killing people while driving? having a stroke and needing to have your diaper changed for the rest of your life?

None that I can think of.

10 years on cpap this coming May.

10 years where I didn't wake up with killer headaches every day from lack of oxygen during the night.
10 years where I didn't have to wake up to pee 4 or 5 times during the night.
10 years where I felt like doing something with my day besides sleep through it.
10 years of not being a first class tired grouchy bitch....my husband really appreciates that little benefit.
And yes...my pressure has pretty much remained unchanged all these years.

Yeah...not always convenient but the pros far outweigh the little bit of cons.

The treatment does seem to result in a lively crew here on the forum.

thx1138 wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 12, 2019 11:19 pm

The treatment does seem to result in a lively crew here on the forum.

Better than a dead crew.


https://www.sleepapnea.org/carrie-fishe ... eep-apnea/

Apropos, considering your chosen username.

thx1138 wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:13 pm

So my question then: people here go for years with CPAP? They find a pressure setting and use it for decades? Is there any downside to this constant regimen, other than some hassles when traveling or camping?

Hi

A xpap machine is very much like a pair of glasses. You can wear them a life time and they will not cure your eyesight. You can use an xpap all your life and it will not cure your apnea. Now using glasses/xpap makes it much more of an enjoyable life by treating symptoms of your ailment. Over time, yes your eyes & glasses prescription might change as you age and your eyes get weaker. Guess what, your pressure needs may change as well, over time as you age and your muscles get weaker. You never know until the cards are dealt.

The benefits of both though, far outweigh the discomforts. I kinda like not bouncing my car off of random objects if I try to drive without glasses/nod off due to fatigue caused by failure to use cpap. If you could ask Justice Antonin Scalia if the chances of a myocardial infarction were increased because he failed to use his CPAP device the night he died, I'd wager he might say yes. Each and every apnea that you have is a mini fight or flight response with the attendant stress hormones being released. I'm also addicted to being able to see clearly more than 3 feet away. I also like to sleep longer than 3 minutes. With an AHI of 19, without CPAP I'd be jolted awake every 3 minutes due to choking to death (apnea).

So I guess the only downside I can think of is that it delays you meeting your maker sooner rather than later.

-Bill

So it I used crutches for years, my leg muscles would atrophy. Do my throat muscles get changed by 8 hrs of CPAP every night for years? Should I get a digereedoo?

thx1138 wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 13, 2019 12:09 am

So it I used crutches for years, my leg muscles would atrophy. Do my throat muscles get changed by 8 hrs of CPAP every night for years? Should I get a digereedoo?

If your throat muscles were working in the first place, you wouldn't be here.

It doesn't matter how strong your muscles are, when you're asleep, they're relaxed.