Will I become depedant on CPAP Mask?

chunkyfrog wrote:It's a bit like wearing shoes to protect your feet, even though going barefoot feels better (until you step on a rock).

Did you just make that up?

Yes! It will be the best addiction you will ever have!

Thanks for all the comments in these forums they are so helpful and encouraging.

I have been using my CPAP for 2 months and woohoo - I feel human again most days. I have enough energy to get out walking again too, and I have started dragging a few friends along. They have their own health problems and walking is helping us all. I no longer feel I am in a cloud, the world outside is exciting - not scary any longer, I am jazzed up about building my business and so much more able to be involved in my teenagers lives (though they don't always like that). I wish I had known to ask about a sleep study years ago. I had totalled a car 10 years ago and between that and the apnea lately I had become afraid to get behind the wheel except when I really had to. Now I don't feel that way anymore.
I am glad that I am "dependant" on my CPAP mask and that it thankfully has been an easy transition for me because it has made an enormous difference in my life.
I hope it does the same for you.

AnotherMe wrote:Hello. This is my first post in this forum.
I just started using the CPAP machine and mask this week. I am starting to get a hang of it. I do like that it helps me to breath while sleeping. On the other hand, it does take getting used to. I tend to get claustrophobic at times. I woke up this mourning and took the mast off around 4:30. I tried to sleep again. I found I was snoring and I stopped breaking again. I hate that! Am I going to be dependent on the CPAP mask? Is it something that the more you use it the more you need it?
I'm glad I found this forum.

No -- CPAP use does not cause you to need it more. You will continue to need it (to be dependent on it) because it only treats but does not cure sleep apnea. All CPAP does is hold your airway open so that you can continue to breathe normally while asleep -- you are still breathing on your own, CPAP isn't taking over the job of breathing for you, so you aren't losing muscle function, nothing is atrophying or anything like that. Is that what your question was getting at?

Folks here can be a great help with whatever challenges you're having with the mask and machine, including the claustrophobia feeling. Be sure to register your equipment so our input can be targeted to your specific machine and mask. It is a little daunting when we first get diagnosed with SA and realize that this machine will be part of our life forever, but you do eventually get to your new normal. Once you feel better you won't mind so much being dependent on CPAP. And welcome!

Undoubtedly the benefits of being "addicted" to cpap has already been well stated by the posts above. However what everyone failed to mention is the problem of simply going to sleep when the power goes out. Say a bad snow storm hit or hurricane. Power goes out and the utility company can't promise when it's going to restore service. It's an extremely horrible situation to be in. Ask me. I've been in it and I suffered terribly for 4 days. Couldn't sleep because I was already choking and gasping for air even before I completely fell asleep. So I forced myself to not sleep. And to do that for 4 days? Extremely bad nightmare.

ApneaAlex wrote:Undoubtedly the benefits of being "addicted" to cpap has already been well stated by the posts above. However what everyone failed to mention is the problem of simply going to sleep when the power goes out. Say a bad snow storm hit or hurricane. Power goes out and the utility company can't promise when it's going to restore service. It's an extremely horrible situation to be in. Ask me. I've been in it and I suffered terribly for 4 days. Couldn't sleep because I was already choking and gasping for air even before I completely fell asleep. So I forced myself to not sleep. And to do that for 4 days? Extremely bad nightmare.

That's why some people on the forum have battery backups or sleep in a chair/recliner for those "worst-case-scenarios".
Some even have generators, too.


Den

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The old "Ant and Grasshopper" scenario, prepare or wait for others to provide, in today's world, waiting for others to come to the rescue might not be the way to get the best results. Other things need to be included in plans, shelter, food, heat, security from marauding zombies. Jim

Goofproof wrote:The old "Ant and Grasshopper" scenario, prepare or wait for others to provide, in today's world, waiting for others to come to the rescue might not be the way to get the best results. Other things need to be included in plans, shelter, food, heat, security from marauding zombies. Jim

That one could be sooner than we think.......if you know what I mean.


Den

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We have a generator AND battery back up options. It is not that hard to plan ahead. We also have food supplies, matches to light the gas stove, extra water, flashlights, batteries, etc. Everybody should be prepared to handle a week without electricity or local stores. It could be a storm, hurricane, earthquake, mudslide, etc. When something big happens, there's no way everybody can be back online right away. Our last big power outage was 3 days for us, and we live in a big city. But over 3 million households/businesses were out, and a big chunk of it was due to infrastructure that took 3 days to repair. Then they worked on the smaller areas. Some places were out over a week.

zoocrewphoto wrote:We have a generator AND battery back up options. It is not that hard to plan ahead. We also have food supplies, matches to light the gas stove, extra water, flashlights, batteries, etc. Everybody should be prepared to handle a week without electricity or local stores. It could be a storm, hurricane, earthquake, mudslide, etc. When something big happens, there's no way everybody can be back online right away. Our last big power outage was 3 days for us, and we live in a big city. But over 3 million households/businesses were out, and a big chunk of it was due to infrastructure that took 3 days to repair. Then they worked on the smaller areas. Some places were out over a week.

You forgot the Zombie! Generators come with their own problems, mine is 800 watts, way to small, but as heavy as I can deal with, keeping fuel fresh and having enough to handle the time frame needed. You probably won't be able to pump or buy gas. Even if you run natural gas in it, will the supply be there without the interstructure. Propane solves th a t problem, but not in town, and the fire Hazzard of storing fuel in useful quanties, and the noise will draw Zombies. Jim

Goofproof wrote:

zoocrewphoto wrote:We have a generator AND battery back up options. It is not that hard to plan ahead. We also have food supplies, matches to light the gas stove, extra water, flashlights, batteries, etc. Everybody should be prepared to handle a week without electricity or local stores. It could be a storm, hurricane, earthquake, mudslide, etc. When something big happens, there's no way everybody can be back online right away. Our last big power outage was 3 days for us, and we live in a big city. But over 3 million households/businesses were out, and a big chunk of it was due to infrastructure that took 3 days to repair. Then they worked on the smaller areas. Some places were out over a week.

You forgot the Zombie! Generators come with their own problems, mine is 800 watts, way to small, but as heavy as I can deal with, keeping fuel fresh and having enough to handle the time frame needed. You probably won't be able to pump or buy gas. Even if you run natural gas in it, will the supply be there without the interstructure. Propane solves th a t problem, but not in town, and the fire Hazzard of storing fuel in useful quanties, and the noise will draw Zombies. Jim

I'm not sure how powerful ours is, but it can run the furnace blower (we have gas heat, but need the fans to run). And it can run a freezer, the fridge, and a few things during the day. CPAP at night. We keep it behind the house and use a really long high rated power cord. We don't keep a whole lot of gas all the time, but if need be, we could get it from the cars. When there is a storm forecasted that is likely to cause power outages, we fill all the cars and the gas cans.

During that last 3 day outage, the whole area was out, so no groceries, no gas, no cash machines, etc. The areas that still had power ran out and didn't have more coming in for awhile. I work in a grocery store, so once we had power again, we had to destroy all the perishable food that had gone without power. The dairy dept was empty for days as all we had was destroyed and demand was super high since every store either sold out, or threw it out.

People died because they tried bringing generators inside, bbq grills inside, etc. People were not prepared and did not have ways to keep warm or prepare food. We were comfortable and fine. We didn't even go out until after the power came on 3 days later. We weren't as comfortable as normal, but we had no real problems. We listened to he radio, did puzzles, and had some nice family time.

Not everyone has the means or capacity to buy generators. Even if you had one, when the time comes to use it, gas is usually in extremely short supply so that generator may be good only for the first few hours of the outage. Batteries? Forget it. None will last all night long (8-9 hours) while being able to power devices that put out the pressures needed. Sure some will claim their battery packs last them the night, but consider that they probably have low cpap pressures anyway so their machine isn't really using up that much power. Also how are you going to keep charging those packs when there's an outage? Maintaining several battery packs charged for any eventuality isn't really practical nor is it feasible. These packs loose their ability to hold their charge over time.

ApneaAlex wrote:Not everyone has the means or capacity to buy generators. Even if you had one, when the time comes to use it, gas is usually in extremely short supply so that generator may be good only for the first few hours of the outage. Batteries? Forget it. None will last all night long (8-9 hours) while being able to power devices that put out the pressures needed. Sure some will claim their battery packs last them the night, but consider that they probably have low cpap pressures anyway so their machine isn't really using up that much power. Also how are you going to keep charging those packs when there's an outage? Maintaining several battery packs charged for any eventuality isn't really practical nor is it feasible. These packs loose their ability to hold their charge over time.

There are people who go camping with their cpap machines. There are several batteries that can run a cpap without humidifier for 2-3 nights. We used a generator for 3 full days. We never ran out of gas, and we didn't even touch the gas in the cars. So, apparently, we had enough since we filled up before the big storm. It's called being PREPARED.

Yes, it is true that not everybody can afford a generator. But you know what? That doesn't mean it isn't a good idea. And somebody who is worried about going several nights without a cpap should be considering what their options are and do their best to plan for it.

If you want to count on the government for assistance in an emergency, good luck getting it within 3 days. You can sit around and complain.

ApneaAlex wrote:Undoubtedly the benefits of being "addicted" to cpap has already been well stated by the posts above. However what everyone failed to mention is the problem of simply going to sleep when the power goes out. Say a bad snow storm hit or hurricane. Power goes out and the utility company can't promise when it's going to restore service. It's an extremely horrible situation to be in. Ask me. I've been in it and I suffered terribly for 4 days. Couldn't sleep because I was already choking and gasping for air even before I completely fell asleep. So I forced myself to not sleep. And to do that for 4 days? Extremely bad nightmare.

If you are in such an area, you will need a battery back up or generator...just as has been mentioned.

ApneaAlex wrote:Not everyone has the means or capacity to buy generators. Even if you had one, when the time comes to use it, gas is usually in extremely short supply so that generator may be good only for the first few hours of the outage. Batteries? Forget it. None will last all night long (8-9 hours) while being able to power devices that put out the pressures needed. Sure some will claim their battery packs last them the night, but consider that they probably have low cpap pressures anyway so their machine isn't really using up that much power. Also how are you going to keep charging those packs when there's an outage? Maintaining several battery packs charged for any eventuality isn't really practical nor is it feasible. These packs loose their ability to hold their charge over time.

You should do a bit more research on the subject of batteries because they DO help when the power is out or to go camping. I have a 12volt deep cell marine battery that I use and have gotten 4 nights using my cpap machine with NO PROBLEMS!!!! I charge my battery about every 3 months when not in use and its always ready to go when the power goes out. ITS CALLED BEING PREPARED. I have also had it for 5 years now and it still is in good shape..... I used it last month to go camping for 3 days
Read up on the subject you may learn a thing or two. By the way, my son also uses a cpap at HIGH pressures and uses his battery for when he goes hunting or traveling on his motorcycle..... NO problems.