We've talked about these gizmos before, but rather than Lazarus-up an old thread, I thought it best to start a new one...
So: CPAP: Continuous Positive Air Pressure. There are other devices for sleep apnea, Bi-PAPs, and so on...but they all give you air so you can breathe as you sleep. Sleep Apnea is a silent killer. It is linked to a host of health problems. If you know you have sleep apnea, you probably agree with me. If you suspect it, well, maybe you should talk to a doc and think about doing a sleep study. It is also tied or akin to Restless Legs Syndrome which, like sleep apnea, is a condition you might not even know you have, but if you sleep next to someone, they know it! You flop around in bed and may kick the crap outta them a lot.
I've been using a machine for years. It has probably saved my life, (either the apnea or the wife was gonna do me in) as my first sleep study told me I was getting zero stage 4 sleep and was having an average of 37 events per hour, some longer than 30 seconds per event. An event is when you are "asleep'" and just stop breathing. It's usually caused by an obstruction; thus, it's called Obstructive Sleep Apnea. So, when you are "sleeping" and stop breathing; you may snort, gasp, or snore to counteract that and make your self grab a breath. But sometimes, you don't start again. And if you stop breathing long enough, you die. Basically, before I started using a machine, I was breathing about half the time I should have been when I was trying to "sleep". I had real difficulty getting into a deep sleep, like never...I didn't dream, tossed and turned, gasped, snorted, snored.... the full meal deal. My wife was constantly smacking me and telling me to shut up or turn over or ...other stuff. Not good.
So, after some several years with a CPAP, the Doc had me do another study and I found that I have not only Obstructive Sleep Apnea, but a recently discovered (Called?) kind of apnea called Central Sleep Apnea as well. So now I use a machine called an Adaptive Servo-Ventilator. I guess it knows the difference in obstructive and central apnea and gives me a positive airflow in either case so I can continue to breathe as I sleep. I always thought these would be hard to use, trying to sleep with this big Darth Vader looking headgear on, ya know? But it's no big deal; man, I strap that gizmo on my mug, hit the button and I am usually out pretty quick. I sleep a bazillion times better and wake up feeling pretty good. Because I am getting oxygen regularly now, I sleep deeper, easier and better now.
Any other users here? What's your experiences? Do you have trouble with the mask? Use a humidifier? (I do). Other?
So: CPAP: Continuous Positive Air Pressure. There are other devices for sleep apnea, Bi-PAPs, and so on...but they all give you air so you can breathe as you sleep. Sleep Apnea is a silent killer. It is linked to a host of health problems. If you know you have sleep apnea, you probably agree with me. If you suspect it, well, maybe you should talk to a doc and think about doing a sleep study. It is also tied or akin to Restless Legs Syndrome which, like sleep apnea, is a condition you might not even know you have, but if you sleep next to someone, they know it! You flop around in bed and may kick the crap outta them a lot.
I've been using a machine for years. It has probably saved my life, (either the apnea or the wife was gonna do me in) as my first sleep study told me I was getting zero stage 4 sleep and was having an average of 37 events per hour, some longer than 30 seconds per event. An event is when you are "asleep'" and just stop breathing. It's usually caused by an obstruction; thus, it's called Obstructive Sleep Apnea. So, when you are "sleeping" and stop breathing; you may snort, gasp, or snore to counteract that and make your self grab a breath. But sometimes, you don't start again. And if you stop breathing long enough, you die. Basically, before I started using a machine, I was breathing about half the time I should have been when I was trying to "sleep". I had real difficulty getting into a deep sleep, like never...I didn't dream, tossed and turned, gasped, snorted, snored.... the full meal deal. My wife was constantly smacking me and telling me to shut up or turn over or ...other stuff. Not good.
So, after some several years with a CPAP, the Doc had me do another study and I found that I have not only Obstructive Sleep Apnea, but a recently discovered (Called?) kind of apnea called Central Sleep Apnea as well. So now I use a machine called an Adaptive Servo-Ventilator. I guess it knows the difference in obstructive and central apnea and gives me a positive airflow in either case so I can continue to breathe as I sleep. I always thought these would be hard to use, trying to sleep with this big Darth Vader looking headgear on, ya know? But it's no big deal; man, I strap that gizmo on my mug, hit the button and I am usually out pretty quick. I sleep a bazillion times better and wake up feeling pretty good. Because I am getting oxygen regularly now, I sleep deeper, easier and better now.
Any other users here? What's your experiences? Do you have trouble with the mask? Use a humidifier? (I do). Other?
