What would cpaptherapy do to someone without sleep apnea

If a CPAP were completely harmless, why would it require a prescription in the first place? Wouldn't the manufacturers rather have them completely free of restriction and market them on a larger scale for anti-snoring, or some other purpose?

ironhands wrote:If a CPAP were completely harmless, why would it require a prescription in the first place? Wouldn't the manufacturers rather have them completely free of restriction and market them on a larger scale for anti-snoring, or some other purpose?

A conscious decision was made early on in CPAP history by its manufacturing enthusiasts to keep doctors and the medical establishment involved so that insurance would pay for the machines, which were expensive in the early days. Not all countries require an Rx, though, since there is not much of a problem with recreational CPAP use, and mildly pressurized air is much, much, much safer than most OTC meds.

I fully expect the non-Rx day to come for PAP therapy once more research proves the benefits of preventing snoring with PAP and once the machines are routinely under $150 or so.

These are the early days of PAP treatment for improving sleep, which has only been around on any meaningful scale since about the mid-80's. OSA patients are now getting the early benefits of a technology that will be very helpful to many, many others in the years and decades to come.

KsUp wrote:I could be wrong but my pressure is 8-15 and I am 18 years old could this mess my lungs up down the road?

Only if your lugs have been majorly damaged due to disease or chemical exposure.

If you don't use your cpap you won't have long to use your lungs anyway or you will feel so wretched you won't care.

ems wrote: . . . much easier and less expensive ways to "control" snoring.

Which?: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/snorin ... -and-drugs

the first specialist i saw after my PSG gave me 3 options for my snoring (and completely ignoring the obvious symptoms of narcolepsy).

1) surgery - (no thanks)
2) $2400 dental appliance (yeah right, bus fare was a stretch this week)
3) lose weight. (appetite's difficult to control due to narcolepsy - he said i was imagining it and needed to see a therapist and a dietician)

also gave me some other info to lookup, a disposable appliance, $100 a month or something. I didn't even bother reading it.

kept insisting I didn't care about the snoring, I sleep alone, and it doesn't bother me!

"but that might change!"

"It won't doc, so let's talk about the rest of my test..."

"You don't need a CPAP, bye!"

Janknitz wrote:Ksup, the plastic smell is normal with a new mask and hose. It will go away in a few days. Next time you get new supplies, let them air out for a few days before you use them.

The plastic smell won't harm you anywhere near as much as sleeping without your machine. NEVER sleep without your machine. NEVER!!!

You are still getting used to your machine so your sleep is disrupted. That's why you seem to have slept better without it, if you don't count the periods you weren't breathing at all. you need time to adjust to the machine, and it may take some time. But you'll never get used to it if you don't use it.

You are an adult now, so act like one. Take responsibility for your own health and use your machine.

And no, it will not mess up your lungs to use the machine, but it will mess up your life if you don't.

I did let them air out I've also cleaned them but I had a weird warm chemical taste in my mouth literally and it goes to my throat an scares me.
And I've
Been using cpap since sometime in may. My worry is something hazardous chemical is in the machine or tube or something it's hard to describe

Hi, wondering if 1. your humidifier could have gone dry? 2. why don't you call your DME and try out your mask and tubing with a different machine and see if it makes a difference? good luck!

ironhands wrote:

Sleep2Die4 wrote:

KsUp wrote:How would it affect someone without sleep apnea?

Everybody has sleep apnea.

I don't, I scored a 0.0 on my PSG

So, on that one particular night, in that bed, with that pillow, in that position, you had no apnea.

NeedHelp2 wrote:

ironhands wrote:

Sleep2Die4 wrote:

KsUp wrote:How would it affect someone without sleep apnea?

Everybody has sleep apnea.

I don't, I scored a 0.0 on my PSG

So, on that one particular night, in that bed, with that pillow, in that position, you had no apnea.

multiple positions, but yeah. having another one in a couple of weeks.

ironhands wrote:

NeedHelp2 wrote:

ironhands wrote:

Sleep2Die4 wrote:

KsUp wrote:How would it affect someone without sleep apnea?

Everybody has sleep apnea.

I don't, I scored a 0.0 on my PSG

So, on that one particular night, in that bed, with that pillow, in that position, you had no apnea.

multiple positions, but yeah. having another one in a couple of weeks.

No offence at all. I hope you do NOT have apnea. I was just sounding a gripe I have with sleep studies in general.

Sleep2Die4 wrote:

KsUp wrote:How would it affect someone without sleep apnea?

Everybody has sleep apnea.

^^^This could be one of the wisest statements on this forum.

The continuum is UARS --> Hypopnea --> Obstructive Apnea

NeedHelp2 wrote:

ironhands wrote:

NeedHelp2 wrote:

ironhands wrote:

Sleep2Die4 wrote:
Everybody has sleep apnea.

I don't, I scored a 0.0 on my PSG

So, on that one particular night, in that bed, with that pillow, in that position, you had no apnea.

multiple positions, but yeah. having another one in a couple of weeks.

No offence at all. I hope you do NOT have apnea. I was just sounding a gripe I have with sleep studies in general.

As was I, check my earlier post in this thread. Since I didn't want to treat my snoring, and didn't need a CPAP, the doc ushered me out, despite the obvious signs of narcolepsy. There's no apnea (or very little), just narcolepsy/SOREMs with me, so have to redo the test and an MSLT because, they assumed it was apnea and didn't bother checking my symptoms first.

ironhands wrote: . . . redo the test and an MSLT because, they assumed it was apnea and didn't bother checking my symptoms first.

Since many sleep conditions aren't mutually exclusive, it often makes sense to run a check first for the easiest one to treat, and sometimes fixing airway stability during sleep with a little pressure somehow manages to fix a whole host of other problems. OSA can cause sleep-onset-REM troubles and many of the same symptoms as narcolepsy, as I understand it. And one school of thought, I believe, is that it may make no sense to do an MSLT until you're pretty sure something else isn't causing the trouble. Sometimes a particular diagnosis is best saved for last after ruling other stuff out. It can be worth taking the time to come around to that diagnosis later rather than earlier. So with a few exceptions, it can be useful to screen for OSA regardless of the reported symptoms related to sleep.

NeedHelp2 wrote:

Sleep2Die4 wrote:

KsUp wrote:How would it affect someone without sleep apnea?

Everybody has sleep apnea.

^^^This could be one of the wisest statements on this forum.

The continuum is UARS --> Hypopnea --> Obstructive Apnea

Snoring needs to be somewhere in that continuum.

I once read a post on this forum one time that referenced an article about snoring. The article claimed there is good evidence that snoring alone will cause a decline in IQ over something like (I forget exactly) ten years. It also said that snoring can break off bits of that stuff that clogs up your arteries. When a chunk gets to the heart you can have a sudden blockage - heart attack.

I don't think snoring should be ignored.

Thanks NH2 for mentioning the continuum.

jnk wrote:

ironhands wrote: . . . redo the test and an MSLT because, they assumed it was apnea and didn't bother checking my symptoms first.

Since many sleep conditions aren't mutually exclusive, it often makes sense to run a check first for the easiest one to treat, and sometimes fixing airway stability during sleep with a little pressure somehow manages to fix a whole host of other problems. OSA can cause sleep-onset-REM troubles and many of the same symptoms as narcolepsy, as I understand it. And one school of thought, I believe, is that it may make no sense to do an MSLT until you're pretty sure something else isn't causing the trouble. Sometimes a particular diagnosis is best saved for last after ruling other stuff out. It can be worth taking the time to come around to that diagnosis later rather than earlier. So with a few exceptions, it can be useful to screen for OSA regardless of the reported symptoms related to sleep.

A PSG checks for most things, but the second part, the MSLT, wasn't scheduled. As a result, they need to redo the PSG completely (and lie to the insurance company so I don't have to pay out of pocket). The doctor was really angry that they didn't bother to schedule a consult prior to the test, because now my treatment is set back 2+ months, they have to redo a test, and a consult appointment was wasted.

Yes, OSA leads to sleep deprivation, which leads to SOREMs. It wouldn't make sense to do an MSLT for just EDS, unless you ask a few followup questions, such as: sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations, weakness during strong emotion. A yes to any of those will get you an MSLT. They generally won't do just an MSLT without a PSG the night before to confirm sleep time. In Ontario we're limited to 1 sleep study a year covered by insurance, so they try to make it count, which is why they would certainly do both if there's any excuse. Find out the results, treat them, check back the next year.