Dating and CPAP

daisy56 wrote:I am extremely freaked out about dating with this machine too and actually wont allow myself to think about it, or date
anytime soon because of this! I've been divorced for nearly 12 years but sons are nearly grown now so I finally have some me time and was looking forward to dating, then BAM, I get diagnosed with sleep apnea!
I still hope I can lose more weight and get off of it, but I know it may be forever, regardless how skinny I get.

My heart tells me, if they care, they wont mind, but there's that in between stage that will or can make this awkward! ugh

If that Avatar is a REAL picture of you, You have nothing to worry about! If a cpap turned them off they are not worth it anyways.

If you need to wear the CPAP during the nightly recreational activities, the relationship is probably not going to work out very well anyway.

jmcanzo, LOL...THANK YOU, soo sweet, and yes it is really me FO SHO!
But still....like archangle said, I wont need it allll night, but what if I wanted to take a nap on someones couch late at night etc.

Im serious, this is going to be strange. Thats why Im just going to have a love affair with my machine for awhile!

I truly do feel less desirable now. Ugh, depressed But, maybe this is Gods way of weeding out the bad people in my life..

It will all work out, truthfully Im loving the machine and how great Im feeling now during the day...but Im not in true acceptance that this will be a forever thing....sorry, Im just not there yet....dont hate

Also, don't forget that snoring is unsexy.

My sons and sleep clinic said I hardly snore though..more like deep breathing. Pshh, cant win now matter what I guess

daisy56 wrote: I truly do feel less desirable now. Ugh, depressed But, maybe this is Gods way of weeding out the bad people in my life..

Well Daisy, I think you look a very youthful 56, so like jmcanzo said, don't think you'll have much of a problem.
However like you said, you can think of your cpap usage as a filter to thin out the pack to only the more serious suitors when your ready.

Having a GF on CPAP must be very sexy. You're practically guarranteed a "blowjob" every night
(Only pun intended;-)

Daisy you will never have problems (Wolf Whisssssssssstle) (Your mask or mine lol)

To a more serious note, Its a cpap machine. Would you act the same if you had asthma and needed an inhaler. I think I can safely say that you peeps are worrying far too much about something that should be fun and exciting. Again I wouldnt drop it in on the first date and if its a steamy one nighter, I dont think it will even get a mention. Again like most and like myself I would find it quite intriguing and would probably want to know more but a simple explanation should put the topic to bed and let you talk about other things and as others have mentioned, if the other person is interested in you then I dont think a wee sleeping aid would put me off on a sleepover, probably will become annoying asking for another goodnight kiss which will mean mask off mask on mask off mask on........I guess a nimbles neck would have to do

My advise is dont worry if the person is right for you, it wont matter what kind of Darth Vader voice you put on he will still like you for what and who you are, after all it pumps not vibrates and you wouldnt get that out on a first date would you!

Hang around the sleep clinic or a DME or this board and look for people with a CPAP.. Then both of you would have nothing to worry about..

It's not all bad though, my girlfriend says she finds the sound of the machine soothing (Normally has a fountain going for white noise). It's more awkward for me than it is for her though, she even let me put a hook over her bed to anchor my house too! People are more accepting these days. If it makes you feel better, I'm only 26 and I doubt I'll ever be able to sleep without my machine.

The biggest disadvantage I've found thus far, is trying to sleep beside someone while managing your hose/mask. You think a leak is annoying to you, imagine being a third party receiving a cold wet blast of air down your back in the middle of the night!

Daisy perhaps another approach would be to face the problem head on, in a more direct way. This would weed out the undesirables with less than honorable intentions in a hurry.

We've all seen hunting lodges with Deer Heads hanging all over the walls. Well dress up your living room with different types of cpap Mask's mounted to the walls. Replace your drapes with Fleece style ones, and add cpap posters all around. Kind of make your living room look like a mini durable medical equipment provider. Scatter your coffee table with issue's of "Cpap times", and "I can't catch a breath" monthly. When he comes over for the first time, greet him wearing your Pulse Oximeter, if he asks, tell him it's a fancy watch. Monitor his reactions to see if any of this is bothering him. If he's still ok, then start testing him further saying things like, " I just love long walks on the beach with the ocean surf spraying everywhere, it reminds me of the Rainout I get in my Mask". Tell him the last time you had a bad case of Aerophagia (swallowing air); you thought you were going to blow the roof off the house! Finally tell him "sorry if I'm a little out of it, my unintentional leak rate was way out of control last night, causing my AHI's to skyrocket". If he hasn't bolted for the door yet, you might have yourself a keeper, good luck.

Maybe we should start forming CPAP support/dating groups in our local communities.

It's all a matter of mind over matter.
---Those who mind--don't matter.
(not an original line)

OMG, you guys are WONDERFUL!! I don't think I have laughed so hard in my life!!! I'm still giggling trying to type this out!
Thank you for your support...and for you guys..no worries with y'all. For some reason it just makes y'all appear more 'manly'
on the machine. So please don't take my whining about myself, to effect your situation. Nooo, I guess I have always had
this thought that when a man thinks of a woman in bed..that shes all cuddled up, sweet and seductive...and that's not the case anymore now for me....I feel so secretive now in my bed..like no one..except y'all will ever know this about me!

Ahh, this too shall pass..Im sure I will get over it. Omg, got to go back and Read you all AGAIN....AWESOME!!!!!


And to the 24 or was it 26 year old?... I'm proud of you. I feel like your mom. I have a 21 year old son in the army.
Im proud of you for being so brave and not letting it worry you.. that's very attractive I'm sure to your girlfriend - confidence is very powerful!!!

Daisy, once you adjust and gain confidence about yourself as a hoser, we are going to make you Miss May in our CPAP Swimsuit Calendar. What do you think of that, Miss Daisy May?!