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Removed

LOL!!!!!!!!

My thoughts exactly!

For the first few months I would disconnect my mask from my face, until I realized I could simply remove the hose from my mask and pee with the mask on....

Craig,
I've heard many "older" people on the board say the frequency of their "urges" to pee at night reduces once they've been on therapy for a while. Maybe it will help you in that way, too. I don't know - we'll have to ask an old person...

Lori???

*runs and ducks*

Swordz wasn't here, and someone had to do it!

Yep. College Girl is right. No more night trips. ( but then, I,m female....may be different for the old guys with prostate problems)

Old Gal.

Hi Craig,

I know what you mean. Been there done that.

Getting a little older is only part of the problem and if that's your only issue, well you're in good shape.

Wait till they give you the ol water pill - just a little thing but man oh man you can be dying of thirst in the desert but still piss like a racehorse.

Then your old age slows you down so you gain a little weight - this goes on year after year. Finally you end up with diabetes and the ol plumbing takes another hit.

But there is always hope. I worked hard to grow my prostate well beyond normal size which does help control the peeing to some extent. Still all manages to come out but just takes a long time, This may be something you should look into as it will give you more time to disengage the mask before all hell breaks loose.

Besides the prostate trick there are a couple of other things you should do.

First, turn the damn humidifier right off. I know it's not much but every little bit counts. A drop here, a drop there - it all adds up.

Second, and I think this is your big advantage which may even encourage your wife to loosen the chastity belt. Select one of those masks you no longer use for the xPAP and use it in a manner to help aleviate your other leaky problem. Personally I would choose the Comfort Classic - just has such a nice ring to it! Not knowing the state of your manliness and all, maybe the Comfort Full would be what you need. If your wife knows something we don't then of course use the Mirage. The other thing is the length of your hose. Just want to remind you they do come in 10 foot length and with the Mirage you just might get past that old chastity belt. If not, well you could probably use it all night and not get up till morning.

Sweet dreams!

Bob F

aka unclebob (not logged in)

Well, I'm not old yet at 51 but I am old compared to some of the younguns on this list, it has not helped me in that dept. Of the course the wine or beer I drink before bedtime does not help I admit. But I just npop it at the hose, see it's 3:00 in the morning and too early to get up and go back to my hose and go to bed.

Has anyone tried this disconnecting technique with a 420E? I've noticed the machine goes berserk and gives a leak error message whenever it runs without a mask connected. The noise of the blowing would wake the household, yet if it were turned off, it might skew session data (a session being a time from on to off). I wake up (less than I used to, though - so there's the CPAP benefit) but don't want to get up because of how the machine might react.

Get yourself some of these hose quick connector. I use them on both ends of the my hose- they make it easier to take off from humidfier too...or your machine if you don't use a HH. I broke the top of humidifier container early on trying to disconnect the rubbery end- I was trying to be so careful, but as you know- its hard to disconnect anything from a regular rubbery hose end.

On masks that have a disconnect built in, I still use the hose quick connect because I always worried about the mask disconnect wearing out or breaking. Sometimes the mask may disconnect too easily from the quick connect- I use a little piece of electical tape on the mask end to make a tighten it up.

I was told it takes about 90 minutes for liquid to pass through our system. So - theoretically - if one does not drink liquid (of any kind) for two hours before bedtime, then one should not have to urinate so frequently during the night.. theoretically speaking.

I am in my 70's and it works (somewhat) for me.

Andy

Man all these fantastic ideas. Why didn't I think of any of them before I installed the toilet next to my bed? LOL

mikemoran wrote:Man all these fantastic ideas. Why didn't I think of any of them before I installed the toilet next to my bed? LOL

Well, I've seen a lot of ideas and one that I can actually use - the hose quick connector.

I'm not sure some of the others are really workable but I did go one step further than mikemoran. I didn't have the money for a plumber or the skills to do it myself so installing a privy next to my bed wasn't an option.

I did try the runner over the carpet for a while between bed and toilet to save wear and tear, but it didn't help with the frequency of trips required.

The medical community says my prostrate is 'normal' so that isn't in the picture.

I don't drink liquids after 7:00 PM and seldom retire before 11:00 PM. The 90 minute rule doesn't seem to apply to me. My internal plumbing seemingly is much more efficient in that drink to draining is about 30-45 minutes.

I didn't tell you of my other action to alleviate my 'frequency' problem as it is rather personal and wouldn't be possible for the ladies and many men.

In my case the cost was a lot less than a plumber or parts to move the toilet.

I borrowed a large bore wood bit and drill from a neighbor and bid on an old fashion chamber pot at an estate sale.

I purchased an 30" air hose for my APAP and ran it from the chamber pot up through the hole I made in the springs and mattress. This allows about 6" of the hose to stick above the mattress. Insertion of my "drain spout", into the hose, is accomplished via a silicone step down adapter I fashioned. Thus, due to the EXCELLENT genes on the male side of my family, I am able to comfortably turn left or right without putting any strain on my 'spout'.

For those of you who may wish to try this approach I must caution you that it isn't without problems.

As indicated, length of spout must be sufficient to allow turning to either left or right side, unless of course, you want to waste funds on buying a longer hose.

Secondly, to really take advantage of this system you must have the will power to overcome the urge to awaken and trod to the toilet. In other words, you must have the strength of character to revert to intentional bed wetting.

I want to thank all who assisted me with their answers. I hope my thoughts and comments were of assistance to some.

Craig

I have seen the standard 6' hoses for CPAP, but I have also see some larger ones like the 10'. If you could find a long enough one, you could rig something up so you wouldn't need to even get out of bed. Im thinking a mask shape is pretty good for a funnel, and I cannot find anything else useful for my "comfort"gel mask than for that type of use.

Any thoughts?

Adam

I'll unhook from CPAP to get up and pee. I'll turn the machine off. I think it's far less important what it does to the recorded numbers and far MORE important that I get up and pee.

There's actually a product for pilots of small aircraft on long flights to relieve themselves. It comes in a male version and a female version. You're basically peeing into a bag that has some stuff in it that solidifies the liquid and deoderizes it and then you just seal the bag.

As long as I can still walk, however.... I'll disconnect and get up to pee. Thank you very much. We now return you to your previously scheduled program in progress.