Re: Can't sleep without Cpap now!
Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 9:23 pm
I have used my APAP machine religiously since I got it right before I joined this forum, and it usually tops out at 10 cm for most of the night once I fall asleep. However, there have been nights where I gave in to the temptation while in a sleep-stupor a few times & I removed the mask around 5 AM because my nose or cheeks hurt. I usually get up and go to work at 6AM. In a few cases, I fell back to sleep, and I woke up feeling suffocated and unable to breathe each time about a half-hour after I removed the mask and shut the machine off. Then it took me about 20- 30 minutes to get my breathing back to normal where I was not short of breath. I don't have any respiratory isssues other than rare seasonal allergic asthma for which I have a rescue inhaler. My rescue inhaler didn't help when those suffocating instances occurred. It isn't worth it to me to sleep without my machine but sometimes when my nose or face hurts, & I am still half-asleep, my mind thinks otherwise & doesn't make good decisions. I am terrified my machine will die soon now that it is nearly 5 years old, and I will not be able to sleep without waking up suffocating. I have been searching for an inexpensive back-up for about a yr now, but couldn't ever seem to find one I could afford. I recently got word that my brother has access to an old machine that was his stepson's wife's and was used for a few years before she passed (in her 40's ) due to heart disease.The machine is a Respironics & hasn't been used in about 3 yrs, & my brother has no clue of the model, manufacture year or blower hours. He is sending it to me next month. When I receive it I will ask for help here to figure out the hours on it and exactly what model it is. I don't even know if it is an APAP or a straight CPAP, but I think I can make it do for a short-term back-up until I can get another one. I have high deductible insurance & can't afford another sleep study or purchase of a new machine at 5 yrs. It is a crying shame how many CPAPs are probably collecting dust in closets when people like me with limited financial means to purchase one are worrying about not having a back-up in the event their machine gives up the ghost. I have to try to make it with this one & the one my brother is sending me for another 2 years before I am eligible Medicare and then maybe I can afford a new sleep study & new machine if I can meet that deductible. My deductible for health insurance with my employer went sky high with Obamacare.