CPAPtalk.com

artfiend wrote: But for the next month, I'll be using it off and on. Like Giantred said, it's better to use it half night than not at all.

Probably not the smartest of your choices but it is your choice.

I would opt for back pain over stressing my heart, kidneys and brain from Oxygen deprivation any day of the week.

Hi Artfiend

Maybe look at it from another angle.

If the pain is being caused by you not moving/turning over and it only happens when wearing CPAP, why is that?

Would hose management that allowed you to turn over without getting tangled in the hose help? Maybe a longer hose?

If its because you sleep on your front when you don't have CPAP, maybe try Roster's favoured Falcon position viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36738&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15.

Much better if you can work through it and keep your CPAP on all night.

My hip joints hurt badly for the first while but I was not stupid enough to wear my cpap for only half the night. My body adjusted and no longer hurts from actually sleeping for the first time in years.

Do not take your cue from gaintred who can't get his act together to actually use his cpap correctly and who is losing his income because of that. Listen to the rest of us who actually know what we are doing and why!

Like giantred had suggested if I did a half night of sleep with the mask then the other half without it I'd get a decent sleep. I think that's the way I'm going to go for now.

If you're going to take half crocked advice from someone who has NOT consistently used cpap with successful results--and in fact claims to be losing everything, over a bunch of individuals who have used cpap with good results.........no one can save you from yourself.

If you expect different results than giant red, when doing the same thing, you have truly defined insanity. You are wasting your time here I'm afraid.

Best of luck, bon voyage, pay up your life insurance if you have loved ones........

artfiend wrote:
Something I should add guys is I've finally decided to go with a Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty. The nose and throat specialist suggested it to me, claiming I was a prime candidate. My tonsils are unusually large. The surgery will help me immensly and I had reservations about surgery but not with this CPAP issue I think I want to rid myself of the machine for good.

Hey everyone, OP wants an excuse not to use the machine so he hopped on giantred's idea. He wants surgery and doesn't want to use the machine.
Wonder if he is going to have a post surgery sleep study to make sure it works. Wonder if 5 years he will be right back here like so many of the other surgical candidates have.
I wish him the best of luck, he will probably need it but I doubt anything we say will make any difference. He already has the answer that he really wanted to hear.

Right, sticking its head in the sand or rather the river of denial. We should see the OP crawling back here in a few months. He is the kind to take advice from the hospital janitor because he doesn't want to hear the truth.

artfiend wrote: Wow, you sound like a miserable lout. Just because the surgery probably didn't work for you (can't keep weight down, lack of exercise, bad diet, whatever the case) doesn't mean that not all of us are like you. If you read my post you'd see that I said that my tonsils are unusually large. Also, I work out 3-4 times a week, so weight and health are not an issue. If you also read my post you'd see that I said I'm getting 95% - 98% oxygen. The problem isn't oxygen, it's my tonsils blocking my passageway when I lie down.

Sorry if I'm taking the advice of a specialist over someone who just wants to think they're right.

If the problem is JUST your tonsils blocking your airway when you lie down, why is the surgeon suggesting a UPPP? UPPP is more extensive surgery and more painful surgery than simply removing the tonsils.

Questions to ask about UPPP before committing to having it done:
1) How does the surgeon define "successful" surgery? It is often defined as a 50% reduction in number of apnea episodes. That may or may not be enough to be considered effective treatment of OSA. All depends on the original diagnosis AND whether the surgery is successful.

2) What is the success rate of the surgery for the *particular* surgeon who is performing the surgery? How many of the successful patients have had a follow up PSG done after the healing period is over to CONFIRM the reduction in apnea episodes?

3) What are the common complications to UPPP? How often do patients of the *particular* surgeon run into problems with complications?

And finally, as a matter of a consideration: Most people who are considering elective surgery (which UPPP is) are routinely encouraged by the medical establishment to get an independent second opinion BEFORE deciding to have the surgery and BEFORE deciding on the surgeon.

If you really do decide to have UPPP, I wish you the best of luck. But please be aware that you need to know exactly what you are getting yourself into and what the chances of it being successful---in YOUR definition of "successful"---actually are.

Finally, there are MANY, MANY of us on this board who are just as fit and just as skinny and just as healthy as you are who would NEVER consent to UPPP surgery because we regard it as "too risky" for "too little benefit". I am one of those people.

Better yet is to allow yourself to change positions at night whilst sleeping as you did BEFORE CPAP. It took me quite a while on CPAP to start developing minor lower back pain. It didn't take me long after that to STOP sleeping on my back all night long! Once I started sleeping on sides AND back the back pain went away and hasn't returned.

Wearing a PAP mask encourages back sleeping. There is a conscious and then unconscious tendency to stay in one position all night long so as to not disturb the mask fit. Start out the night on OTHER than your back. If you wake, roll to one side or the other, change position, get off your back. If you get up to go to the restroom start out other than on your back when you return to bed. It doesn't take too long to break the back sleeping only habit. It doesn't take long to almost unconsciously re-set your mask, if needed, for any minor leaks resulting from a change in position. By the time you've gotten this far into therapy you've already developed some almost unconscious mask re-setting anyway.

Absolutely, it is definitely better to use the CPAP machine then not at all. If I had no neck/back pain issues, I would wear it the entire night.

And - our OP posted the foul-mouthed, beligerant reply whilst I was wasting my time replying to his original post.

Guess what? Who gives a rat's arse what someone that beligerant and foul-mouthed is stupid enough to do rather than use CPAP? Large, swollen, tonsils merit UPPP surgery????? Sheesh!

Good riddance!

Oh my, I did open a nasty can of worms didn't I??

I won't lose any sleep tonight because of what someone says. Been called worse by better. Looks like Scrapper and I are once again in the hot seat together.

I just don't see any sense in trying to change someone's mind about something when they have it set on something else.
Why waste my time.
But then I guess I am a miserable lout..

artfiend wrote: You're a fucking idiot....Fuck off wanker...all I get are a bunch of judgemental fuck-heads who spend their time playing doctor

Better than what he called me, Pugsy.........


Oh well............


The way we get into these scrapes and get out of them, it's almost as though someone was dreaming up these situations; guiding our destiny. - Robin

Come on, Robin, to the Bat Cave! There's not a moment to lose! - Batman

artfiend wrote:Hey guys, first time poster here. Hope everyone's doing ok.

I have a question for you guys about the CPAP machine. When I first got mine it was great. I had full nights of sleep, I wasn't grumpy anymore, life was good. Then, abotu three months ago, I started waking upo with these crazy back aches. Granted, they would only last an hour or so after I woke up. But they were bad enough to wake me up periodically at night. A bit of research and I found out that because of my machine I had a tendency to stay on one side for a long period of time I woke up with these pains. My question to you dear friends is how do you deal with these pains ( those of you who do have them anyways?)

Thanks!

If you can afford it, buy a Tempurpedic or Talalay latex mattress (Talalay is a brand that has had the allergens of latex removed in the manufacturing process - and I'm sensitive to chemicals and this mattress doesn't bother me brand new whereas the Tempurpedic did need some time to out gas when new) that helps alleviate pressure points and keeps the spine straight. Adjustable beds are nice to help sleep at a slight angle to help reduce apnea events.

http://www.electropedicbeds.com/Contact-Mattresses.htm

I hated the machine too. Back in 1998, I had UPPP surgery. I was not the least bit overweight. I ran 3 miles in 30 minutes 4 times per week. I was sure that UPPP was my ticket to drop the machine. It is without a doubt the worst decision I ever made. The post op pain is so intense, it is indescribable. It helped for a couple of months after a rather long recovery period. The success rate of UPPP is about 1 in 5. It has caused other irreversible problems. I don't have time right now to go into all of it. But, if there is one thing I could say to you, it is: DON'T DO IT. Eventually, my apnea went from moderate to severe. I weigh 160 lbs. It has nothing to do with weight for me. It's hereditary. I think you are making a mistake. I hope you don't. I wouldn't wish that surgery on anyone. Please do a lot more research. Once it's done, you can't undo it. I wish I could.