Day 2 of CPAP. So many emotions. Mostly just exhausted. Help.

I went and got my first CPAP yesterday. It is a ResMed machine and the mask I am using is the kind that goes over your mouth and under your nose.

Wearing the mask is not going well for me yet because it a) triggers anxiety and trauma from hospital visits where I’ve had NG tubes in for 5 days after small bowel obstructions (I’ve had 2), and b) I feel like I’m being suffocated almost? It’s just way. too. much. I just cannot imagine wearing this thing for the rest of my life. Being tethered to a tube attached to a machine. Just, no. No. Inhaling plastic smell and cannot get comfortable. Also? I wore the mask the whole damn night but I apparently still have to figure out turning it on and off because the air was not on when I woke up.

Has anyone with mild obstructive sleep apnea had success with a dental device? I do not even care about the price at this point. Just want to rip this thing off and never see it again…

kaneki83 wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 18, 2022 7:30 am

Has anyone with mild obstructive sleep apnea had success with a dental device?

You probably won't be able to draw from much of an inventory of people who have experiences enough with oral devices to give you much of an idea because this forum is a cpap use help forum. If someone was only using an oral device they probably wouldn't be hanging around here would they?

From what I have read though...oral devices probably do stand the best chance of success for those people whose severity of OSA falls in the "mild" category. Seems like the oral devices attain about a 50% reduction of apnea events in the best case scenario and that's in about 50% of the people who use the oral devices.
50% of a diagnostic AHI of 10 is still 5 AHI though. The odds aren't great IMHO. A 50 % reduction in AHI in about 50% of the people who opt for the oral device.

Though I will say that a maybe 50% reduction in anything is better than no reduction at all because someone can't/won't use cpap.

Do talk to your doctor about your difficulties and your options.

Now if you want ideas to help you get better adjusted and accepting of the cpap and mask.....people here will be glad to try to help but I don't get the sense at this time that is what you are wanting to do.

kaneki83 wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 18, 2022 7:30 am

triggers anxiety

Some have been helped by wearing it an hour or two while watching TV or listening to music. Just once. Then the brain learns to ignore it.

kaneki83 wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 18, 2022 7:30 am

trauma from hospital visits

Sorry to hear about that, but glad you mentioned it. It's an easy association to make at the very beginning, before you start to associate it with good sleep and waking up refreshed, instead.

kaneki83 wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 18, 2022 7:30 am

I feel like I’m being suffocated almost?

For some of us (I am one), the ramp feature (which can be turned off) can make us feel starved for air. I need full treatment pressure right away in order to fall asleep. I mention it to point out that it can take a few weeks to work out the kinks and find what works best for you. This forum may help you with some of that.

kaneki83 wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 18, 2022 7:30 am

It’s just way. too. much. I just cannot imagine wearing this thing for the rest of my life. Being tethered to a tube attached to a machine. Just, no.

I think we've all been where you are at. It is a kind of grief, in a way. And the idea of the treatment itself may not sound good or look good on paper. But many of us find in practice that we actually come to accept, appreciate, and even enjoy the experience of it, with time. Getting the best sleep possible can become your super-power if you put in the time and effort to make it work.

kaneki83 wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 18, 2022 7:30 am

Just want to rip this thing off and never see it again…

Anger, along with other strong emotional responses, can be part of some of the steps toward acceptance. Try to let them play out and see them for what they are, if you can. But your life and safety are more important than that in the long run. You need to do what's best for you, and if you have significant sleep-airway problems, optimized PAP during all sleep is the gold standard. Please give it the full shot if you can. Other alternatives are just that--lesser alternatives for those who can't, or won't, make the gold-standard treatment work for themselves.

I love my PAP therapy now. But there were times I have yelled, cried, panicked, despaired, and worse before I reached the point of joy and appreciation I am at with it all now. I'm glad I did it for me, but I'm also glad I did it for my wife and others around me--including fellow drivers on the road. Life is good.

Remember, it's not like you have to take a drug or do something inconvenient during the day, which is what is required for most medical issues. It only happens when you are asleep. How cool is that?!

I've done the dental device. Helped a little. Not enough. Eventually hurt my teeth and jaw. Maybe better than nothing, in some ways, I guess. But I like optimized PAP better. MUCH better.

We can't take this journey for you, but there is a forum full of people here who will gladly take it with you. We'd love you to end up where many of us are. Give us the full chance to help make it work for you, maybe, before throwing in the towel?

What a wonderful post, Lazerus. To the OP: just say the word and we'll do what we can to help you have a better experience with PAP treatment.

I tried the oral appliance. In order for it to work the top and bottom have to lock together and it will has to stay locked the entire night.

I honestly don't know how any9be says it's an effective alternative to a CPAP. In my opinion the oral appliance is even more difficult to get used to it.

Take your time with this. I had a CPAP 5 years ago and angrily gave up. I tried it again six months ago and it's the best thing I did for myself. I have severe sleep apnea so there really wasn't a good alternative for someone with my level of apnea. It literally changed everything. I am less stressed and have way more energy.

Some people figure it out the first night and never need any time adjusting and others may take 6 months to a year to figure out. Take your time....it will be worth it. I promise

Most folks have at least a little trouble adjusting to pap use. Hang in there. It will get better and easier.

There are all kinds of things to help with hose management. There are hose hangers, there are also masks where the hose comes off the top of the head instead off off the nose. I'm claustrophobic and finding the right mask made all the difference in the world for me. I also found using the cpap machine while I was awake reading/tv watching helped me to make friends with it. My anxiety was through the roof trying to use it at night when I had to get up and function the next day but using it while I was awake really helped calm me down and it wasn't so frightening. I use a nasal mask but if you don't like the headgear there is also the bleep which sticks right onto your nose and doesn't use any headgear. Good luck and stick with it. I feel so much better it gave me more energy which helped me to lose some weight and best of all I don't have to get up and pee every few hours. That alone makes it worth all the hassle of getting used to it. Now its like a favorite security blanket.

We have shared so many great tips on this forum.
I have been helped by many of the things I have learned here.
Some of us counter negative thoughts by replacing them with positive ones.
For example, some masks are enough like those worn by pilots or divers.
Use the image for a fun fantasy.
Fragrance can be a factor. Introducing a pleasant aroma can improve our reaction.
Just keep any aromatherapy materials OUT of the machine.
They need to be at a distance--and movable if needed.

Don't think about the rest of your life with this. Think about THIS night. That's all you have to get through. Tomorrow isn't your concern right now, only tonight. One night at a time. One hour, one minute if necessary.

Make your goal with CPAP to just put it on and fall asleep. It took me several months to achieve this, but once I did I really learned to love CPAP because when you wake well rested from a night of fully oxygenated sleep without bathing yourself in stress hormones from the struggle to breathe multiple times a night it is a truly wonderful sensation.

Lazarus said it beautifully. Especially the part about the fact that you will learn to sleep through this therapy, so you won't really even consciously notice it most of the time. You're not there yet, but you can get there.

Hang in there! It took me a REALLY long time to get used to my cpap. But I persevered and here I am, 13 years later and I won’t sleep without it (that is until I left it at an airport and no one turned it in; 2 crap nights of sleep before I got home to my backup machine). I believe cpap helps me live a longer life by keeping my airway open to get oxygen to my organs. Start thinking of it that way, and you’ll come to acceptance sooner. You can do it!

kaneki83 wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 18, 2022 7:30 am

I went and got my first CPAP yesterday. It is a ResMed machine and the mask I am using is the kind that goes over your mouth and under your nose.

Wearing the mask is not going well for me yet because it a) triggers anxiety and trauma from hospital visits where I’ve had NG tubes in for 5 days after small bowel obstructions (I’ve had 2), and b) I feel like I’m being suffocated almost? It’s just way. too. much. I just cannot imagine wearing this thing for the rest of my life. Being tethered to a tube attached to a machine. Just, no. No. Inhaling plastic smell and cannot get comfortable. Also? I wore the mask the whole damn night but I apparently still have to figure out turning it on and off because the air was not on when I woke up.
(spam link removed by moderator)
Has anyone with mild obstructive sleep apnea had success with a dental device? I do not even care about the price at this point. Just want to rip this thing off and never see it again…

I got this,...

Same Indian spammer as under ardy97.
Crap. Now I gotta go check for others since it looks like he might have multiple accounts.

This one won't be posting under this account either anymore.

I SEE---Post once in each thread--then revive their threads a month later, with spam links . . .
PARASITES!

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 19, 2022 9:49 am

I SEE---Post once in each thread--then revive their threads a month later, with spam links . . .
PARASITES!

Yep. Most of the time I usually spot the second post first and you guys never see (or remember) the first post or subsequent posts.

I say "most of the time" because I can't be everywhere all the time and sometimes the assholes just edit the first post to add spam and then unless someone sees it by accident and alerts me..I have no way to know about it until someone tells me.

Please, please folks....when you see the obvious spam...don't comment...just send me a PM with a link and I will take care of it. Usually unless there has been much discussion the entire thread/posts go bye bye along with the banning.