Sleep apnea, anyone got it?

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 9:25 pm

Double tap

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 9:28 pm

You've got a sticky trigger.

em2nought · Post by **em2nought** » Mon Nov 20, 2017 1:54 pm

There's an app in beta that supposedly trains your weak vocal muscles in order to help reduce snoring http://sleepsound.ly/

Cylus Maxii · Post by **Cylus Maxii** » Mon Nov 20, 2017 3:23 pm

Cylus Maxii wrote: ↑Thu Oct 31, 2013 6:11 pm I probably need to have myself checked. I don't fall asleep driving or in the middle of conversations, but I can be very drowsy during the day. Its especially bad when allergies are acting up. If it would help my focus and memory it would be so worth it!

I had this checked last year and have had a CPAP for about 18 months. It has been a huge improvement in a lot of areas of my life.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Nov 20, 2017 5:40 pm

I was supposed to make an appointment to pick up a CPAP last Wednesday. I followed up today because they never called. Now they say this Wednesday. We'll see if it's a life change this time. It wasn't 2001 (I think) when they put me on the machine last time but times have changed. This last sleep test didn't have masks that air into my eyes all night long and I fear 30 more pounds and aging has made my my condition way more severe than it was, as I am exhausted all of the time.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Mon Nov 20, 2017 5:59 pm

I stopped using my mask months ago. It certainly helped with the snoring, but the hose on it would wake me up at least 20 times a night as it rubbed against my face. I never noticed any benefit to wearing it. No extra energy or focus or whatever the hell you're supposed to notice.

I actually wake up more refreshed now, probably because I'm not being fully awakened every 15 minutes.

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Mon Nov 20, 2017 7:28 pm

I did a sleep study and about 3 months ago got set up with a CPAP. It has helped but it does take some getting used to. The hose has not been a problem for me as I really dont toss much when I sleep and I have it set up so the hose runs up and away from my face. They say that you do not generally notice changes until you've been on one 3 - 6 months. It's been 3 months for me and I am getting deeper sleep and feel less fatigued during the day.

mori · Post by **mori** » Mon Nov 20, 2017 7:30 pm

I cannot sleep without my CPAP. I have gotten so use to the humidifier built into the machine, I get horribly stuffed up congested during the night if I do not use the machine. I hate to take it with me traveling, but I feel I need to or else I will be miserable.

Z-Corn · Post by **Z-Corn** » Mon Nov 20, 2017 7:52 pm

mori wrote: ↑Mon Nov 20, 2017 7:30 pm I cannot sleep without my CPAP. I have gotten so use to the humidifier built into the machine, I get horribly stuffed up congested during the night if I do not use the machine. I hate to take it with me traveling, but I feel I need to or else I will be miserable.

Yep, me too. If I'm just going to lie in bed reading I strap that bad boy on 'cause it feels good to breathe that proper air. I huff down like a gallon of distilled water every two weeks.

To help with the hose being uncomfortable and medical I cover mine in a custom-made flannel sleeve. Something like this...but I got one that has robots on it...

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon Nov 20, 2017 9:16 pm

McNutt wrote: ↑Mon Nov 20, 2017 5:59 pm the hose on it would wake me up at least 20 times a night as it rubbed against my face.

You need some sort of hose 'holder' so it doesn't interfere with you. Something like the IV-pole or anything improvised to hold the hose away from your face will do.

It'd be something like this:

https://www.cpapsupplyusa.com/Bro-Gho-H ... O-GHO.aspx

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Mon Nov 20, 2017 10:27 pm

Or a different placement of the CPAP. Mine is on the nightstand so the tubing dangles in the crack next to the bed. That eliminates the pull and the excess tubing.

I also have a bilevel which adjusts when I exhale. Made all the difference in comfort and avoiding feeling oppressed.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Mon Nov 20, 2017 11:07 pm

I turn a lot in bed and am mostly a stomach sleeper. There is sadly no placement that's going to keep that thing from annoying me.

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Mon Nov 20, 2017 11:38 pm

I just finished an in-home test and got the results...fairly major apnea. Blood oxygen levels dropped to around 70% through the night, and I stopped breathing like 30 times an hour. So week after next I head in for an in-lab test with a CPAP. Not looking forward to having to deal with this.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Nov 21, 2017 12:06 am

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Oct 15, 2013 6:03 pm Me, too. I was diagnosed after a sleep study three or four years ago. Mine was 'severe', and I've been on CPAP ever since. It made a huge difference in my life. I can actually function during the day now.

Funnily enough, my cancer treatment cured this, too, or at least that's my doc's theory. Apparently all you have to do to cure sleep apnea is cut a big chunk off of the back of your tongue.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Nov 21, 2017 12:08 am

Well, it's not there to get in the way any more...

I'm hoping that I can get by with just having the tonsils removed.

Zenn7 · Post by **Zenn7** » Tue Nov 21, 2017 9:04 am

I've had a cpap machine for 10 or more years now. Just got a new one last year (about 1/2 the size of the old one, quieter, uses less power - but the old one I could turn the humidifier on or not; this one, it's always on - if it runs out of water, get a burnt smell; summers are humid enough I didn't always need the humidifier).

Life changing for me. I fall asleep FAR less often now. I can drive home (40-50 minute drive) without ever dozing now. Have gotten so used to it that a couple years ago when I went out of town for a few days and forgot it, I slept one night in bed and woke up several dry throat that hurt, thought I was sick or something. Had to sleep sitting up in a chair the rest of the time I was out there.

As for the hose, I try to have it going over my head behind the head of the bed (or over a headboard if there is one, or the arm of the couch at my parents place).

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Tue Nov 21, 2017 1:27 pm

over a headboard

This is exactly how I handle that issue. I sleep on my left side so I run the hose over the headboard and around the bed post. I have no issue with it. Humidification is a godsend. Prior to getting my CPAP, I used to wake up several times a night due to a dry throat. I no longer have that problem.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Jan 10, 2020 4:44 pm

Sleep apnea may be tied to tongue fat

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Fri Jan 10, 2020 11:41 pm

When I don’t use my CPAP, I can feel the roof of my throat being sore. Pretty sure that’s not my tongue being fat, but rather having the top of my pallet forcibly widened in HS. Hated that orthodontist.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Jan 11, 2020 12:04 pm

I call bull**** on that one. If tongue fat is a primary factor, surgery would have been done far more often. It's likely a combination of factors, including specific shape of the mouth and throat, tongue shape, and breathing patterns.

Suitably Ironic Moniker · Sat Jan 11, 2020 1:33 pm

I’ve been using a cpap for six years now, and I couldn’t live without it at this point. I fell asleep without it once last year, and my sinuses and throat were aching the next morning due to my not having snored for so long. I may look into getting a new one, as this one is pretty large, but I’ll have to deal with the VA on that one.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Sat Jan 11, 2020 1:41 pm

I recently got a Dream Machine for ~$600-$700. Very compact and it works great.

Z-Corn · Post by **Z-Corn** » Sat Jan 11, 2020 2:56 pm

There's a chance we might lose power tonight and I hate even thinking about sleeping without mine. I'll doze for 20 minutes at a time on the couch instead of lying in bed and gasping all night.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Sat Jan 11, 2020 3:26 pm

Battery backup

Suitably Ironic Moniker · Sat Jan 11, 2020 9:17 pm

In case of power loss, I employ a tiny Laplander to blow air up my nose through a straw.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Sat Jan 11, 2020 9:56 pm

I just die until morning.

Z-Corn · Post by **Z-Corn** » Sat Jan 11, 2020 10:28 pm

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Sat Jan 11, 2020 3:26 pm Battery backup

Yep, I know about those. My house is also plumbed for one of these, you think your parents will lend me the money for it?

Generator

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Sat Jan 11, 2020 10:43 pm

I doubt it. Dad just had rotator cuff surgery, and they're still not 100% after Hurricane Michael.

mori · Post by **mori** » Sun Jan 12, 2020 11:57 pm

I got a new cpap this last fall after my old one would cut out during the middle of the night causing me to sleepwalk and hurting myself. Ended up crashing my car because I zombied out while driving. But with the new machine I have been sleeping well and not feeling tired.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Fri Feb 07, 2020 1:28 pm

I have a bit of drama over on the career board since my DOT Health examiner decided she wants to see my CPAP download, and my machine was too old.

I just got the USB to serial cable in. But I'm trying to finish the online course, so it'll have to wait.

Just as an experiment, I decided to try if I can sleep without the CPAP. Turns out I can't.

I have the paid version of "Sleep As Android" app. it can record sleep noises (snore, talk in sleep, etc.) and record them as time events, and its accelerometer can sense your movement in bed if placed next to your pillow, so it can tell if you're in deep or shallow sleep, etc. And sure enough, I was snoring quite loudly... so much so, I woke up only 2 hours later. And yes, I heard myself snore... quite badly, and it's the apnea kind of snore.

I put the cpap back on, and slept till morning... only to be awakened by a spam caller at 9AM.

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