I've been diagnosed with sleep apnea and have been trying to use a CPAP machine for over a week now. Not making much progress. I would really like to hear from anyone with their experiences/opinions/thoughts/etc. about this topic, both those who have adapted to the machine and those who did not continue with it. For those who stopped using it, could you tell me what the drawbacks were for you and why you stopped and how you're doing since stopping. I know this is O/T for RA forum but haven't been able to get much information anywhere else except "the party line" for sleep apnea treatment. Thanks very, very much everyone.Hi Charlie, Yes I have a nasal mask and use it regularly, and actually miss it if I don't use it. I tried the full mask firstly and felt really claustrophobic, so gave up on that but then apnoea worsened, I was not breathing 127 x a night and it is very dangerous for your heart etc, so I went into hosp to try the nasal mask and bingo, it is so comfortable, like anything it takes getting used to, I have mine ramped so that the full force doesn't take effect until I am asleep, I usualy ramp it for 10 minutes and read a book to fall off to sleep. If you have apnoea I would advise you to use one as the effects of not getting deep sleep can be really dangerous to our hearts etc. Best of luck and feel free to PM me too. Kind regards Janie.
I'm glad this came up and would like to hear from more people as well. I go Monday night for my sleep study and pretty sure they are going to suggest the cpap machine for me as well. I am worried I won't be able to tolerate anything on my face. Heck, I can't even stand to sleep in pj's let alone a mask on my face!
Charlie, I have used a CPAP for about 1 year now and love it. I wouldnt want to sleep without it. I feel so much more rested after sleeping. I use a nasal mask and was able to get adapted to it in just a few days but I was worried because I could not stand it at the sleep study. I felt as if I couldnt sleep the whole night of the study. I also would suggest a humidifier if you are bothered by dryness when you awake. My CPAP also has a button to decrease the air pressure when I am starting to fall asleep and then adjusts to full pressure 15 minutes later, which helped me get adapted to the machine. Give it a good try before you give up, you wont regret it!
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