C-pap

I’ve been told that I need to use a C-PAP rig when sleeping. Anyone using this equipment and has it made an improvement in your life?

Rexedgar said:

I’ve been told that I need to use a C-PAP rig when sleeping. Anyone using this equipment and has it made an improvement in your life?

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Ahhhhhh.............no wonder your so grumpy all the time! j/k


My son in law got his through the Navy and say's it's made a very big difference.

He now wakes up ready to hit the deck plates, where he always woke up tired before.

RetiredUSN said:

Ahhhhhh.............no wonder your so grumpy all the time! j/k


My son in law got his through the Navy and say's it's made a very big difference.

He now wakes up ready to hit the deck plates, where he always woke up tired before.

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Touche! We can go round and round on the grumpy stuff! :2wave:

My problem is that I think I sleep fairly well; missus says the snoring isn’t that bad. I turn in early, read and get up early. My energy levels are lower than a few years ago and there have been some ancillary issues. I see problems in the US healthcare system from a user level . There are openings for abuse at almost every turn.

Rant off...

How old is your boy and what were the symptoms before and how were they alleviated? I can’t envision sleeping with the “fighter-pilot” rig on.....

My husband's been using one for years now. His sleep apnea was 20 seconds +. He has more energy during the day for sure, he's more active and even more pleasant then before.
Considering the complications, please make sure you don't dismiss your doctor's concerns.

Rexedgar said:

Touche! We can go round and round on the grumpy stuff! :2wave:

My problem is that I think I sleep fairly well; missus says the snoring isn’t that bad. I turn in early, read and get up early. My energy levels are lower than a few years ago and there have been some ancillary issues. I see problems in the US healthcare system from a user level . There are openings for abuse at almost every turn.

Rant off...

How old is your boy and what were the symptoms before and how were they alleviated? I can’t envision sleeping with the “fighter-pilot” rig on.....

Click to expand...

My son in law is 39 (ish)?

He felt better the first morning he woke up using it.

He carries it with him on board the Carriers when he gets underway with the air wings.

He also said that there 5-6 other Chiefs in the berthing who were using them.

Rexedgar said:

Touche! We can go round and round on the grumpy stuff! :2wave:

My problem is that I think I sleep fairly well; missus says the snoring isn’t that bad. I turn in early, read and get up early. My energy levels are lower than a few years ago and there have been some ancillary issues. I see problems in the US healthcare system from a user level . There are openings for abuse at almost every turn.

Rant off...

How old is your boy and what were the symptoms before and how were they alleviated? I can’t envision sleeping with the “fighter-pilot” rig on.....

Click to expand...

Waking up with no energy.

Wanting to take naps fairly early in the day.

Puffiness under his eyes all the time.

It took him a few nights laying there not liking the rig, but like most things it becomes 2nd nature. The Airdales don't have a problem going to sleep, because like the engineroom people, they are usually drop dead tired before they get to their racks.

Rexedgar said:

I’ve been told that I need to use a C-PAP rig when sleeping. Anyone using this equipment and has it made an improvement in your life?

Click to expand...

My wife uses it and it does help. Have you done the overnight test with the recorder to monitor your breathing patterns?

RetiredUSN said:

Waking up with no energy.

Wanting to take naps fairly early in the day.

Puffiness under his eyes all the time.

It took him a few nights laying there not liking the rig, but like most things it becomes 2nd nature. The Airdales don't have a problem going to sleep, because like the engineroom people, they are usually drop dead tired before they get to their racks.

Click to expand...

I don't need a Cpap but I have the same conditions...I think I might have the condition of old age....??

Rexedgar said:

I’ve been told that I need to use a C-PAP rig when sleeping. Anyone using this equipment and has it made an improvement in your life?

Click to expand...

My brother uses one. Immediate benefit according to him. Used to wake up at night, woke up tired and with headaches. Also, he said it was no trouble to use. He uses a little thing that slides under his nose and doesn't cover his whole face. Also has a heated water reservoir that keeps everything humid so you don't get dry or cracked skin under your nose, which I imagine would happen with dry air being blown at you all night.

Moonglow said:

I don't need a Cpap but I have the same conditions...I think I might have the condition of old age....??

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I was told to get one years ago.

I snore "like thunder" according to my grand kids.

Moonglow said:

My wife uses it and it does help. Have you done the overnight test with the recorder to monitor your breathing patterns?

Click to expand...

My first one was 7 years ago; the worst night’s sleep I can remember, maybe 5 minutes of sleep......First thing next morning, I was ushered into a doctor’s office. On the window sill were a dozen styrofoam mannequins with the “Mav, do some of that pilot ****,” rigs mounted. I was underwhelmed. Fast forward and I submitted to another test recently. Good night sleep and no interruption during the night to add O2. The earlier test had no C-PAP rig and the recent one did. Two weeks after the test, I get a call from the equipment provider and they are going to send out a rep to fit me for the rig and will I please provide my cc information. I declined and now I am going to their office for fitment and instructions on how to use the machine.

Moonglow said:

I don't need a Cpap but I have the same conditions...I think I might have the condition of old age....??

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Only one cure for that.......:2razz:

Rexedgar said:

I’ve been told that I need to use a C-PAP rig when sleeping. Anyone using this equipment and has it made an improvement in your life?

Click to expand...

I was manager of a district office for a national home respiratory company. I guess I could say with all probability that I know more about CPAP and Oxygen home therapy than most. I assume you've already had your sleep study.

Short story, my husband went for a sleep study back in 2004, his oxygen levels desaturated down to 40% during an apnea episode (stop breathing). When someone sleeps on their back, their tongue falls back obstructing the airway. That's why people don't usually snore while on their side.

During his sleep study, my husband had so many episodes in one hour that they stopped the sleep study and hooked him up to CPAP. He received his CPAP at home with a visit from a respiratory therapist. She set it up with the appropriate pressure settings. These settings are ordered by a physician. The first week or so, I would hear the CPAP mask flying through the air and hitting the bedroom wall. To put this another way, it takes a few days to adjust to the mask.

The secret to adherence with using a CPAP is choosing the right mask for yourself. They're small, usually only covering the nose. Some prefer nasal 'pillows' which is less intrusive but it has two soft prongs, they fit into each nostril. My husband didn't like it so he uses a small nasal mask.

Here's the benefit. You won't doze off frequently during the day because you're always tired because you never reach REM sleep when you have obstructive apnea. Once you settle down and get used to the CPAP even if you start with just a couple of hours each night, you'll be sleeping soundly and getting that REM sleep people need to feel rested.

Once you're comfortable with it, you will never want to sleep without it again. One more thing. It happens that some people 'die in their sleep' and I'm convinced that these people may have had obstructive sleep apnea which caused oxygen depletion which may have created a coronary event. Just my opinion. The big bonus is that you will never snore again so the wife gets a better night sleep too.

Good luck.

eta: one more thing I forgot to mention. There is no oxygen running through CPAP it's nothing more than ambient room air. Of course in more serious medical conditions, oxygen can be bled into the CPAP but that's not the norm.

Rexedgar said:

Only one cure for that.......:2razz:

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Fountain of youth?

Moonglow said:

Fountain of youth?

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Pine/cardboard box.......I went to St Augustine in the 70’s! HOAX!

Rexedgar said:

Pine/cardboard box.......I went to St Augustine in the 70’s! HOAX!

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I am afraid my family history tells me I have many more years to enjoy the discomfort of living..

Rexedgar said:

Pine/cardboard box.......I went to St Augustine in the 70’s! HOAX!

Click to expand...

The Fountain of Youth is pure myth. There was never a quest for the fountain of youth.

That place is interesting - and most interesting is they will sell you a little bottle of water from the fountain of youth. BUT if you look carefully, it states that the water has been filtered to met EPA standards. So any immortality within the water is filtered out under federal regulations. LOL!

People buy it anyway, of course. When in St. Augustine, we always stay at the Howard Johnsons, which is in front of the Fountain Of Youth commercial park - with a full liquor store up front beside it, a pizza place across the street and the Rain Tree restaurant a couple blocks away. Add breakfast or pie at the Village Inn and it's all covered.

PS, if you go on a ghost tour do NOT take then hearse tour. Basically you are stuck in the back of a station wagon with no windows and no A/C. However, the ghost tours are interesting. Don't do the walking tour either. Just take one of the ghost tour buses. The ghost side is ridiculous, but the history is very interesting as are some of the old landmarks and graveyards.

Another thing I wanted to mention. My company had set up CPAP on a few babies, children under 1 year. Luckily for these babies, their sleep apnea was recognized and corrected with the use of CPAP. 'Crib death' or SIDS - sudden infant death syndrome is something we've all heard about and the cause of these crib deaths can't be established even after thorough autopsies. It's my opinion that SIDS is related to sleep apnea. The respiratory system develops in an infant but doesn't do it's job of gas exchange until after birth, and the alveola in infant's lungs continue to develop long after they're born.

HumblePi said:

I was manager of a district office for a national home respiratory company. I guess I could say with all probability that I know more about CPAP and Oxygen home therapy than most. I assume you've already had your sleep study.

Short story, my husband went for a sleep study back in 2004, his oxygen levels desaturated down to 40% during an apnea episode (stop breathing). When someone sleeps on their back, their tongue falls back obstructing the airway. That's why people don't usually snore while on their side.

During his sleep study, my husband had so many episodes in one hour that they stopped the sleep study and hooked him up to CPAP. He received his CPAP at home with a visit from a respiratory therapist. She set it up with the appropriate pressure settings. These settings are ordered by a physician. The first week or so, I would hear the CPAP mask flying through the air and hitting the bedroom wall. To put this another way, it takes a few days to adjust to the mask.

The secret to adherence with using a CPAP is choosing the right mask for yourself. They're small, usually only covering the nose. Some prefer nasal 'pillows' which is less intrusive but it has two soft prongs, they fit into each nostril. My husband didn't like it so he uses a small nasal mask.

Here's the benefit. You won't doze off frequently during the day because you're always tired because you never reach REM sleep when you have obstructive apnea. Once you settle down and get used to the CPAP even if you start with just a couple of hours each night, you'll be sleeping soundly and getting that REM sleep people need to feel rested.

Once you're comfortable with it, you will never want to sleep without it again. One more thing. It happens that some people 'die in their sleep' and I'm convinced that these people may have had obstructive sleep apnea which caused oxygen depletion which may have created a coronary event. Just my opinion. The big bonus is that you will never snore again so the wife gets a better night sleep too.

Good luck.

eta: one more thing I forgot to mention. There is no oxygen running through CPAP it's nothing more than ambient room air. Of course in more serious medical conditions, oxygen can be bled into the CPAP but that's not the norm.

Click to expand...

You very likely know more than me, because my only experience is what my brother has told me. But from what I understand they've made alot of improvements since 2004. You have the CPAP machines that can fluctuate the air pressure, that can start at a very low pressure and ramp up as you go to sleep, humidifies the air, quieter etc.

Maybe my brother just got very lucky, but he told me it took him all of 30 minutes to fall asleep with his the first time and he woke up the best he felt in years.

roughdraft274 said:

You very likely know more than me, because my only experience is what my brother has told me. But from what I understand they've made alot of improvements since 2004. You have the CPAP machines that can fluctuate the air pressure, that can start at a very low pressure and ramp up as you go to sleep, humidifies the air, quieter etc.

Maybe my brother just got very lucky, but he told me it took him all of 30 minutes to fall asleep with his the first time and he woke up the best he felt in years.

Click to expand...

Yes that ascending pressure was always an option, even in 2004. The big improvements in CPAP have been that they're much smaller. They always need a water reservoir to add humidity. They're very quiet. They do require some maintenance and the mask and tubing needs to be cleaned every couple of days. The funniest thing is when someone wearing a CPAP tries to talk while wearing it. There's a vacuum created by the mask in the nose, so opening the mouth causes a big gulp of air to fill your throat and you can barely speak.

HumblePi said:

Yes that ascending pressure was always an option, even in 2004. The big improvements in CPAP have been that they're much smaller. They always need a water reservoir to add humidity. They're very quiet. They do require some maintenance and the mask and tubing needs to be cleaned every couple of days. The funniest thing is when someone wearing a CPAP tries to talk while wearing it. There's a vacuum created by the mask in the nose, so opening the mouth causes a big gulp of air to fill your throat and you can barely speak.

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What are the maintenance requirements? I have seen tv ads for C-PAP cleaning machines. If water/humidity is used there will probably be mold/mildew buildup. What are the reoccurring costs?

Rexedgar said:

What are the maintenance requirements? I have seen tv ads for C-PAP cleaning machines. If water/humidity is used there will probably be mold/mildew buildup. What are the reoccurring costs?

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Those machines are expensive. 'SoClean' runs around $500 and not reimbursed by insurance. A simple cleaning with warm soapy water with something like Dawn dish-washing liquid works fine. The only two parts that need to be cleaned are the parts that trap moisture like the water tray, mask and tubing. Rinsing the tubing out with soapy water and then a good rinse, then hang it up to dry from the shower head, or just connect it to the CPAP and blow it dry. The home respiratory company will sell you a bottled cleaner to use but it's pretty costly.

HumblePi said:

I was manager of a district office for a national home respiratory company. I guess I could say with all probability that I know more about CPAP and Oxygen home therapy than most. I assume you've already had your sleep study.

Click to expand...

The VA gave me my sleep study, and sure enough, a few minutes in, they came in and tried to fit me with a C-PAP.
It triggered an immediate reaction which I can only describe as what I would imagine would be a reaction to being waterboarded.
I had no control over my airway, and it triggered a fight or flight reaction.

I would love it if I could find a C-PAP that had enough sophistication that it could detect my normal inhale-exhale cycle and just add a little bit of gentle assistance. The unit they tried on me felt like a vacuum cleaner.

I wish I could sit down with you as a consultant to navigate through the choices.

Rexedgar said:

Only one cure for that.......:2razz:

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The blood of virgins

Rexedgar said:

I’ve been told that I need to use a C-PAP rig when sleeping. Anyone using this equipment and has it made an improvement in your life?

Click to expand...

I have not but have many friends who do. If you want a good night's sleep and want to wake up feeling much better everyday, use the machine.

FWIW, I'm waiting to be evaluated myself and suspect I'll need one too.