Last night was my first experience using a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine while sleeping. I’m using a Phillips Respironics System One with a ResMed Mirage Quattro full face mask. For my first night it wasn’t the best night sleep I ever had but it wasn’t the worst either. I was able to get to sleep around 11:30PM local time and slept straight thru until I woke up around 5:00AM. I removed the mask and fell back to sleep until I got up an hour later.
For the past few years my wife and kids have complained that I snore like a bear. My hockey teammates even ragged on me when we played in traveling tournaments, telling me that they would pay for for my room so long as it was on the other side of the building. While my snoring is pretty bad, I also twitch while sleeping, which makes life for my wife miserable. In the fall of 2011 I had a sleep study performed. I’ve never had so many cables connected to me, there were literally at least 80-100 leads/wires coming off my body, legs, arms and head. You can see the selfie I took back then, I should really have asked the technician to take the picture. It took literally 20-30 minutes for the technician to wire me up to everything.
I was diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea, the doctor telling me that I was waking up approximately 25 times an hour. An average person will wake up less than 5 times an hour. The insurance companies will generally cover a CPAP machine for anyone that wakes up more than 6 times an hour.
A friend of mine recently highlighted some of the dangers of sleep apnea;
- High blood pressure – I have borderline high blood pressure
- Heart disease – no signs yet
- Type 2 diabetes – there’s diabetes in my mothers family
- Weight gain – I’ve gained 20 lbs since the sleep study in 2011
- Adult asthma – no signs yet
- Acid reflux – I continually have this problem if I eat anything past 6-7PM in the evening
- Car accidents – I frequently find myself very sleepy in traffic
The late NFL great Reggie White passed away from sleep apnea at the age of 43. It’s rumored that he had a CPAP machine but wasn’t using it. While I’m no Reggie White, I just turned 42 in October and decided it was past time to act.
So I’m on a mission – wish me luck!
Cheers!
Hi,
While it must definitely be an hassle to use that CPAP machine, I hope you will fare better using it.
Cheers
Bram
Thanks for the comment Bram!
I’ve had something similar and gone down the surgical route for my condition since I’m not having apneia issues. I’ve had uvulopalatoplasty and coblation on my throat which are extremely painful, expensive and, unfortunately, only lasts for a few years before you need to repeat the experience. I hope you have better outcome than I have.
Hi Greg,
Thanks for the encouragement. I heard your voice during one episode the the Packet Pushers episodes and it did sound painful. I’m guessing you’ve made a full recovery?
Cheers!
I’ve been using a CPAP for about 18 months, had significant Apnea issues. I can tell you that after the first two weeks of using it – when you get used to actually sleeping again, it will be a night and day difference for you. I no longer get sleepy in the middle of the day for no reason. My blood pressure is now well controlled. And my wife and kids don’t know when I’m sleeping any more because the snoring is gone.
I have the same machine as you. Helpful tip – buy a portable powerpak/jump starter for your car with a 12V outlet built in. If you buy a decent sized on, you can power that Philips machine of yours (it has a 12V plug in the back) off of the battery unit for a night. The cable to use is easy to find. Helped me out in a recent power outage. And I can use it camping with the kids.
Good Luck!
Darn, got a little mixed up on that. My mask is a Respironics/Philips. My machine is a Devilbiss Intellipap. I got it as it was a little more portable and still had the intelligent pressure rampiing, It has the 12V plug in addition to the 110 V.
Thanks for the feedback Kevin!
My first few nights have been tough… unfortunately I twist and turn a lot so that makes things more interesting. I’ve had to give up around 1:30AM the last two nights, just couldn’t get to sleep with the mask on. And if i thought about it too much my breathing would start racing and I’d end up hyperventilating.
Thanks for the tip about the battery, I might just go out and buy a small APC Back-UPS for the home but I’ll look into the other for traveling.
Cheers!
It took me about a week before I actually really slept well the whole night. There’s a number of reasons for that, mostly the fact you will dream A LOT when you first start using the mask so your sleep is not quite as peaceful as you’d think. As your body/mind adjusts to actually getting good ‘ol REM sleep you get back into a normal circadian rhythm and you will feel much better in the morning.
Mike- Your in my thoughts and prayers buddy. I had a friend that suffered from this and his condition was very serious. The doctor kept telling him he had to lose some weight and that was the root cause.
Thanks for the comment Shaun!
I hope things are working out for you in the Pittsburgh, PA area?
It definitely takes some getting used to. I think for me it took a good 3-4 weeks before I could sleep all the way through the night and then maybe even another 3-4 weeks before it became something that no longer bothered me. I’ve now had mine for a little over 2 years and sleep without issues. Don’t be afraid to try out different masks to see what works best. I’m a side sleeper and a “mouth breather”, so I needed to find something that would accommodate both. (I ended up with this: http://www.resmed.com/us/products/mirage_liberty/mirage-liberty.html?nc=patients) Adjusting the tightness of the mask may help too – I found that I had mine too tight at first and rather than creating a good seal, it was actually worse. Loosening it up not only created a better seal, but ended up being more comfortable as well.
Good luck – and don’t give up on it!
Thanks for the support Scott!
I also sleep on my side (along with twisting and turning) and also breathe through my mouth. About 3 years ago I had a septoplasty performed to try and alleviate the blocked nasal passages in my nose and while that helped my breathing it didn’t seem to help my sleeping.
The past week has been very hard… I’ve had a few nights where I see 3:00AM on the clock before I can fall asleep but I think I’m starting to settle into using the CPAP. I also found the mask was a little too tight at first but I’m still trying to find a happy medium. A few nights ago I woke up to the mask whistling and farting as the air was trying to escape from under the mask.
Thanks for the comment!
Good luck with your CPAP. I’ve been a “hose head” for almost 2 months and have the same machine you do. If you haven’t tried Sleepyhead to look at your data, I’d recommend it.
Thanks for the comment Jim… sleepyhead looks really in interesting, thanks for sharing!