OT: My New To Me CPAP Machine

[Blaine]

Seems to be doing what it's supposed to be doing. I'm better rested and seem more calm and collected (not that I needed to be ) Blood sugars seem to be coming down a bit and blood pressure, if I stay on meds, is down to the 130 over 70 range..... B U T, The dang thing reminds me of this:

[Rimfire McNutjob]

That creeps me out. I'm probably going to have trouble putting on my Respironics unit for the next few days.

[Rusty]

It's a piece of cake. After a while you'll put it on and your body will just know it's time for lights out.

[nemhed]

My wife is on one, her brother is on one, her dad is on one, and her mom is on one. Seems like an epidemic. They definitely help, though.

[mescalero1]

That was really bad.

[wm]

I have one and hated it at first but darn if it did not work well for me. And I have humidifier attachment on mine that helped clear up my reoccuring sinus headaches.

Wm

[Blaine]

I have one and hated it at first but darn if it did not work well for me. And I have humidifier attachment on mine that helped clear up my reoccuring sinus headaches.

Wm

Indeed!! Also, I've been warming the distilled water a bit in the microwave and the air is not so darn cold starting out. I wish the machine would let you warm for an hour before using.

[J Miller]

Blaine,

Where does the pic in your first post come from?

Joe

[2ndovc]

Yikes!

But if it works it works!


jb

[Blaine]

Blaine,

Where does the pic in your first post come from?

Joe

Google Images

[Rusty]

I quit using the humidifier on mine because I'm lazy and didn't feel like cleaning it once a week. Which you need to do if you use it to keep the little bugs out of your lungs. Besides down here the humidity stays around 70-80% all year long anyway.

[Nazgul]

I have one. Fell asleep walking one day before it was resolved.

Don

[rjohns94]

why can't I see the image?

[Rimfire McNutjob]

Blaine,

Where does the pic in your first post come from?

Joe

Google Images

Whew! I thought it might be something you had on your coffee table in the family room.

[mod71alaska]

My sleep study showed I was waking up 150-200 times a night. I'm addicted to my c-pap and never leave home without it. Funny, my insurance paid for the pulmonologist and sleep study to determine that I had a problem, but wouldn't cover the c-pap to solve the problem! Go figure.

[Blaine]

Blaine,

Where does the pic in your first post come from?

Joe

Google Images

Whew! I thought it might be something you had on your coffee table in the family room.

McNut, that's just the pic of my Ex I keep out to remind me why I never had money for guns when I was married.

[awp101]

I've always heard of those machines and as I understand it, they are to help with breathing at night correct? What I don't understand is how they do it or what problem they are correcting.

[Blaine]

I've always heard of those machines and as I understand it, they are to help with breathing at night correct? What I don't understand is how they do it or what problem they are correcting.

Basicly, you stop breathing at night in your sleep and you don't know it. When you blood oxy dips or you choke and wake up slightly, you start up again. The machine feeds you air under pressure that can force your air past your throat where it is closed off.

[mod71alaska]

I've always heard of those machines and as I understand it, they are to help with breathing at night correct? What I don't understand is how they do it or what problem they are correcting.

Google "sleep apnea." It's a serious health problem with potentially critical complications, not to mention always being tired.

[awp101]

Aha, many thanks! This may be part of my wife's problems...well, those not caused by me....

[Bigahh]

WOW! I guess I am not alone in using a C-Pap. It helped me a Great deal. No more serious Headaches when I wake up!

[AJMD429]

I've always heard of those machines and as I understand it, they are to help with breathing at night correct? What I don't understand is how they do it or what problem they are correcting.

A few quick notes:

1. Often the ONLY symptom will be fatigue or higher blood pressure than expected, which makes everyone 'suspect' they have sleep apnea, yet of course most people with only those symptoms don't have it. Since the harm of un-treated sleep apnea is so great, it isn't silly to get tested if there is any doubt.

2. Testing is WAY overpriced and insurance often weasles out of covering it (typical socialized medicine), but there are 'pre-testing' screening procedures that are less expensive or occasionally free; they can sometimes be used to 'qualify' you for the real test.

3. Testing at HOME is the best way (your normal environment) but often not available.

4. Many type masks and devices exist, so if a person has problems, they shouldn't give up; have the respiratory therapist find something for you that works better.

5. Being 'just a bit overweight' is like driving 'just a bit drunk' - it will leave you 'just a bit dead' if you don't deal with it, and obesity is the most common cause of sleep apnea.

6. The very characteristics which make gun owners so interesting and independent (unwillingness to abide by no-smoking rules, tendency not to go to doctors for every little thing, skepticism of arbitrary 'authority', skepticism of 'academics' who lack real life experience) are those which shorten many of their lives due to their hesitation to take doctors' recommendations seriously. Get a THOROUGH physical every year, and don't just pretend you can someday have good cholesterol and weight and so on by being 'tough', or that it doesn't matter. I've posted somewhere on this forum what I think preventative care should entail (and of course no other doctors have different opinions... ), so I won't belabor the point.

BOTTOM LINE - treat your body like a prized motorcycle or automobile - learn about what different experts recommend, and find a GOOD 'mechanic' who will keep it in perfect condition. Don't just pick whatever doctor and regimen lets you off the hook and seems 'easiest' (or least likely to get your prostate checked); most doctors are plenty busy with easy patients and won't bother to 'push' you to get the best care if you don't ask for it or seem interested, but instead will just go on to the next patient. As for wives - there are TWO kinds of wives when it comes to this stuff - the ones who nag, nag, nag their husbands about getting a checkup, taking their medicine, eating right, turning off the television, etc. - and the ones who just keep quiet and buy life insurance on their husbands. (Mine is really smart - she does BOTH.)

[piller]

The CPAP machines are not just for the old, overweight, or any other group to mention. One of my co-workers who happens to be 25 and still in good shape has to use one. On the other hand, he is a smoker. Maybe that is part of it.
For those of you who for whom it dries out your nostrils, you might want to try some saline nasal gel. That seems to help most of the customers who ask me about a remedy.

[Blaine]

The last few days, my BP has been in the 130s over the 70s......a couple weeks ago, even with meds, it was in the 170s or higher over 90s or higher.... Blood sugar was down this morning to the 150 level...a hundred points lower than a few weeks ago.....A little exercise and I hope to be able to start backing off meds in a few monthes...... Boys, I was in denial about needing insulin and cpap....I sure was stupid.

[Tumbleweeds II]

Not only is obesity a major cause of sleep apnea, sleep apnea is a major cause of obesity. That combo killed my brother, who weighed 500 pounds by the time he went under. With his example, I find that I can use a machine just fine.

It helps to think of the mask as a catcher's or goalie's mask, rather than a hideous monster. It also helps to think of it as a room air scuba rig, since it works much the same way (air pressure) and has the same purpose (lets you breathe while you're under). Kind of like dancing with your own wife, it's easier if you pretend you're having fun.

Another advantage of a CPAP is, you can sleep with your head under the blankets on cold nights without smelling any "exhalations" because your air is coming from outside the blankies. This is good, especially if you're as bald as I am.

I like mine so much, I had a generator installed as part of the house I built last year. We lose power for two weeks at a time during major ice storms. A portable generator would have cost less than the $5,000 this cost me, but in extended ice storms you have to sit up all night and guard a portable generator from thieves, which kind of defeats the purpose of a sleep machine. Mine is hard-wired not only to the house current but also to the natural gas line, and no one is going to just toss it in a truck and drive away with it.

[Tumbleweeds II]

Blaine, I forgot a paragraph. I'm glad things are working out for you. Just think of it a dodging a bullet, and go celebrate.

[Tycer]

Blaine,

Where does the pic in your first post come from?

Joe

One of the Aliens movies I think.

[Hagler]

Joe,

The picture is of The "Face Hugger" (on someone's face, maybe the character Kane), as seen in the movie "Alien", from 1979. See Google results:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=face+hugger

Shawn

[Cruise]

I quit using the humidifier on mine because I'm lazy and didn't feel like cleaning it once a week. Which you need to do if you use it to keep the little bugs out of your lungs. Besides down here the humidity stays around 70-80% all year long anyway.

Try soaking it in OXYCLEAN for a few hours. I find the gunk just washes away with no problem.

[SharpsShooter]

I had to go to a sleep lab recently for an apnea test. It didn't go so good. I couldn't sleep with all that stuff hooked to me. 10 wires on my head, two straps around my chest, two wires on my legs and a wire up each nostril. Small wonder I couldn't sleep huh? After laying there for five hours wired like a suicide bomber, they sent me home at 3:30am. Lotsa deer out at 3 in the morning. I've been hunting them at the wrong time.


Is it really worth it??? Feel that much better with cpap???


SS

[Nazgul]

It very definitely is worth it for me. I have lost major weight, BP is down, went from 12hrs sleep and being too tired to walk to 6-7 hrs and fine all day.

I would wake up and feel like I was drowning. Blood O2 was so low it took several minutes of struggling to catch up. Had mine for 4 years now.

Don

P.S.- you know you have bad gas when it travels from under the covers, over to the machine and back down a 6' hose. PHEW!

[Blaine]

I never would have guessed so many CPAP users......

[vancelw]

I went to police academy a few years ago. Before I me t my roommate, I saw his stuff in the dorm - including his CPAP contraption. I thought to myself, "Oh great! I'm in a room with a 'sickie' and will get to hear all his sniffling and gurgling."

He never snored or made any other sounds at night. I have a hard time sleeping with any noises in the room, but the motor noise from his CPAP didn't seem to bother me.

Now I am very tempted to get my own, I just don't know if I could sleep with something hooked up to me. I sure would like to be able to sleep on my back again.

The only thing about my roomie and his CPAP (w/humidifier)...when he would wake up you could almost see water squirting out of his eyes I had to make sure and give him "dibs" on the head in the mornings.

[Hairy Clipper]

I my memory serves me, Reggie White (Green Bay Packer great) died from sleep apnea.

The real bad part is with the O2 levels low your heart rate increases which runs more blood through your kidneys. Your blood gets thicker over time by increasing red blood cells to carry more O2. Mine were elevated 30%. This can cause strokes and heart attacks!