Does this mean I had some bad apneas?

G'day again,

Oh man this first few days with the machine is hard. I had a day off from the CPAP machine last night and think perhaps it was a bad idea. Going to the supplier today with my SD chip.

I just wanted to ask people that are experienced with OSA - are finding yourself sitting up on the side of the bed after sleeping there for 2 hours sitting up, and sleeping sitting up on the toilet for an hour also are signs that you had bad apneas in bed during the night?

Matty332 wrote:I had a day off from the CPAP machine last night and think perhaps it was a bad idea.

Very bad idea.

Matty332 wrote: just wanted to ask people that are experienced with OSA - are finding yourself sitting up on the side of the bed after sleeping there for 2 hours sitting up, and sleeping sitting up on the toilet for an hour also are signs that you had bad apneas in bed during the night?

Sure points to several things
1. not using the machine at night
2. not using the machine all night
3. using the machine and not getting effective treatment for some reason or other
You need to learn to evaluate the data on that SD card and see for sure what is going.

Falling asleep on the toilet is something I never did even before starting the cpap therapy.
If all this continues once you are using the machine ALL night and EVERY night and the SD card doesn't point to anything that obviously could explain extreme sleepiness....other conditions need to be checked for and ruled out. Narcolepsy comes to my mind first on the list.

I know the machine was working when I used it because I did not find myself sitting on the toilet or the side of the bed. I just woke up with numb fingers on my right hand that took all day to come good - which scared the crap out of me but I think I might of fallen asleep on my back with my fingers under my head - and like someone pointed out with the CPAP you don't toss and turn because the machine is working, must of trapped my fingers under there for hours.

Yeah I know it was a bad idea. I just had such a bad day after the first night of the CPAP. Started getting hypochondriac about that bloody amoeba someone was talking about on the forum. I was so worried (irrationally) that I was considering just using my CPAP without the humidifier. I may just use it without the humidifier.

That is my problem, I am not like the people on this forum - I also suffer from a mental illness that makes using the CPAP machine several times as difficult. It has been a struggle.

The really scary thing is when you realized you just napped through that last light.

Are you taking any meds that might be interfering with your therapy? You probably need to discuss these problems with your Dr.

Matty332 wrote:Yeah I know it was a bad idea. I just had such a bad day after the first night of the CPAP. Started getting hypochondriac about that bloody amoeba someone was talking about on the forum. I was so worried (irrationally) that I was considering just using my CPAP without the humidifier. I may just use it without the humidifier.

That is my problem, I am not like the people on this forum - I also suffer from a mental illness that makes using the CPAP machine several times as difficult. It has been a struggle.

I remember reading what you said about your hypochondria problem. So I understand.
I also understand that while one part of you knows your fears are ungrounded there is another part of you that talks long and loud about every possible little complicating factor.
So I won't try to harp on the "risks".

Instead I will just say this...any risks from using cpap machine AND the humidifier are tiny, tiny, remote risks. The risks from not using the cpap machine are HUGE and very definite and very, very real. Untreated sleep apnea leaves you wide open to some very real and very bad health problems.

Your nasal mucosa may scream bloody murder if you don't use the humidifier and you may have some very real and very unpleasant reaction from your nasal mucosa. You might be lucky and be one of the people who can get by without added moisture and more power to you if you can. If your nose hates you for drying it out on the machine....use the humidifier. That brain eating thing came from neti pot use where people were snorting large amounts of contaminated water up their nose on a regular basis. Boil some distilled water to use in your humidifier if you want to make sure any bugs are dead but it really is not necessary.

Good luck to you. I understand that you have an unusual problem. If you have a therapist..perhaps it is time to have a frank discussion about your fears and try to put them in their proper place so that you aren't cutting your nose off to spite your face.....because that is what you are doing when you elect to not use your machine because it "might" cause some other problem. You are trading a "maybe" problem for a certain problem that untreated sleep apnea will bring on.

Hi DoriC,

I am on meds - good old prozac. Apparently it doesn't interfere with my treatment - but my mental illness does. That is why I am on this forum seeking advice from people kind enough to provide it

Pugsy,

Thankyou for that, it is helping me to rationalize this situation a little better. Maybe ameobas and bacteria can't travel up the pipe in the steam in the first place who knows! I shall use boiled distilled water from now on anyways. I have also since discovered that properly treated tap water (that has chlorine in it) shouldn't contain ameoba or bacteria anyways - the only risk is from your hot water system - but if it is hotter than a certain temp (can't recall what it is but most systems are hotter than this temp) then ameoba and bacteria can't live in it anyways. I am an electrician and installed my hotwater system myself a while ago so this afternoon I shall crank the thermostat in my hot water system to the max safe limit to be sure. Thanks again..