Do you ever go a night without CPAP?

I can't go a night without mine and anyone who sleeps near me will attest to that. I agree with the others who have said you lady will not appreciate your snoring. I'd explain the situation to her and let her choose, but also explain the health reasons why you sleep that way. I don't know any woman (and I'm one) who can stand sleeping next to a snorer. My husband was the first in our family to get the CPAP and although the air sounds can be annoying, they're nowhere near as loud or obnoxious as the snoring. I also would watch him stop breathing and that was scary. A good woman will understand. As I said, let her choose if she wants to try it with the snoring or just allow you to use your CPAP. She may have a snoring problem herself and be unaware that this technology exists to alleviate her symptoms as well.

First Never go without your CPAP.
Second get married.

Autopapdude wrote:

Wow "Dude"...you should actually relax and READ what I posted. Where did I say "sacrifice your health for vanity"? I never advocated not using the cpap. I was mearly trying to show the original poster some compassion by saying that his hesitence is understandable. You say that you would NEVER think twice about it, and I would like to think the same of myself, but I am openminded enough to realize that not everyone can be that sure. And I don't think it's about impressing someone. I think it's more about feeling selfconscious, and I just don't think it's so far fetched to understand how someone might feel just a little bit selfconscious wearing the mask in front of a new girlfriend for the first time. Yes, sacrificing health for vanity is ludicrous. It's just too bad that you wasted your time ranting about something I never said.

The post was directed at the originator of the thread, named bicab, NOT YOU. So, relax. Everyone here is so touchy about advice. I've been 100% compliant for 11 years on xpap. We all feel self-conscious, but most of us who use xpap do so for the benefit of health and well-being. Thought I'd give some advice to a newbie who was making a mistake on the most important aspect of Cpap therapy--consistency and compliance. Maybe my input isn't appreciated, so I will keep shut, and let newer folks make their own mistakes. MEA CULPA.

Actually, the originator of this thread is "Unclematt", and your reply included a quote from my post, so I'm pretty sure you were directing it at me. It's not about being touchy about advice, and by all means I hope you continue to give it. But since your reply was somewhat aggressive using words like "ludicrous" and "stupidity", all I did was respond to you to explain the intent of my first post, which I honestly think you misinterpreted.

I really think you and I agree on this issue in most ways. I have been 100% compliant for over 10 years...I simply can't sleep without my cpap. And I'm fairly sure everyone here agrees for the most part on two things: that the health benefits of cpap therapy far outweigh any need for vanity, and that if a person you are interested in does not accept you for who you are (especially if it involves your need for life saving therpy) then that person is not a good candidate for a meaningful relationship.

I think that "Unclematt" may just be dealing with that selfconscious feeling that most of us may have felt that very first time we wore our mask in bed with our significant other. Heck, I admit feeling somewhat selfconscious my first night on the mask, and that was with my wife of 15 years (at the time). I never questioned her feelings for me, and she was (and still is) completely supportive of my cpap use (she apparently prefers me alive), but that still didn't stop me from feeling selfconscious at the time.

All I was trying to say to "Unclematt" was that I understand his hesitence to wear his mask that very first intimate night. Nothing more, nothing less.

Then we agree completely bicab, it it was a complete misunderstanding. My bad, and I do apologize. Dealing with some family issues that have made me a bit touchy.

Autopapdude wrote:Then we agree completely bicab, it it was a complete misunderstanding. My bad, and I do apologize. Dealing with some family issues that have made me a bit touchy.

There's no need for apologies, but thanks anyway. I'm sure you know as well as I that it's all too easy to misinterpret a person's tone or intent in a written post.

I'm pretty new to cpaptalk.com, but it's very clear to me that we are all in this thing (our therapy) together, and I really hope that you continue to share your experience and knowledge with the good folks here, especially the newbies who probably need it the most.

I'm sorry to hear that you're dealing with family issues. I hope it works out.

first, Uncle Matt, way to go!

Now, would I not use my PAP in a case like this - um, NO... The snoring and/or stopping breathing for almost a minute would probably scare my partner a heck of a lot more than the mask and machine, especially since I would have told someone that I was about to be that intimate with.

I just have to throw this out there:

From one Uncle Matt to another - you do what you need to do and all will work out in the end my man.

Us Uncle Matts have to stick together!!

unclematt wrote:...CPAP...She knows I use one but she's never seen or heard the noise of one of the machines...

I've been thinking about this (in between dealing with my cold) and trying to put myself in that situation. For me a bigger issue is what I eat, which is very low carb, that's a lot more inconvenient than wearing a mask and xPAP to sleep...no pizza, no booze, no bread, no potatos, no rice, only a few berries at a time, high-protein shakes for b'fast, lots of meat-poultry-eggs-fish-cheese, low carb veggies...I'm upfront with this with other people...I'm doing this for my health. I urge others to eat as they need-choose and I can usually find something to eat at most restaurants, even fast food joints. When I go to Dragon*Con and talk to my only see them there friends, they're curious, so I offer to show them the equipment. I'm pretty much upfront about this stuff, I depend on it for my day to day survival, so it's sorta accept me, accept my equipment & I can't see myself handling it any other way with a potential partner whether short or long term. I use a ResMed CPAP and it's quiet...most think the equipment will sound like a vacuum cleaner and are shocked at just how quiet it is, hotel AC is much louder, for that matter, even a fan is louder. Trying to keep this PG but how do you guys on xPAP handle the gotta sleep NOW after the big event? Seems like that'd be an issue...can't imagine rolling over grabbing the mask, putting it on, hitting "on" and then conking out for 5-10 mins. Or is the gotta sleep NOW not as imperative as we females have been told low these many yrs?

Muse-Inc wrote:Trying to keep this PG but how do you guys on xPAP handle the gotta sleep NOW after the big event? Seems like that'd be an issue...can't imagine rolling over grabbing the mask, putting it on, hitting "on" and then conking out for 5-10 mins. Or is the gotta sleep NOW not as imperative as we females have been told low these many yrs?

You must have been hearing it from the guys with untreated OSA. I don't believe I've ever heard (or said) that.