Posted on 12/27/2008 3:07:32 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
I glad you posted this article. I didn’t know about appliances that can replace CPAP. My mother used one for years and my father used one for a short time before putting it aside. He hates it and refuses to use it, so I’ll look into the appliance.
Sorry to hear about your difficulties during Hurricane Katrina. Hope things are doing better for you now.
Fell asleep at the wheel and had a pretty bad car accident between diagnosis and getting that CPAP (still using that same machine today) but luckily wasn’t hurt. Didn’t help the front end of my Dodge minivan, though.
Only lost my business in Katrina, and moved here to Fort Worth and doing okay.
My husband fell asleep at the wheel (luckily I was in the car and screamed and he woke up and we stayed on the road.) But that led to diagnosing his sleep apnea, and he has worn his Bi-pap machine every night since, must be three or four years now. He has to be the most faithful CPAP wearer there is. He dislikes it, the cold air blows on his arm or some other discomfort bothers him but he won’t stop wearing it. And he gets good sleep now. This article is interesting but it sounds like an infomercial for the oral devices. But it is good to know that there is an alternative for those who can’t tolerate the CPAP.
I don’t get that some people won’t use CPAP. It was hard to get used to the first week or so, but going on about 15 years, I’m so used to it, and my wife has one, too. The alternative is death, so what’s a little irritation.
I have sleep apnea and I have the CPAP as well. I don’t mind my machine, although at times, the mask gets “leaky” and the air escapes. But a little adjustment and it’s fine.
Water and electricity. I need them both, or I will be in major trouble.
ping
I’ve used CPAP for five or six years and don’t go anywhere without it. A leak here, a whistle there, but it keeps the peace in our bed by stopping the snoring. I know it helps me sleep longer.
I have seen nothing in this study that has not been known for at least 30 years.
(I managed the sleep lab at GCCH in Biloxi from the time it opened in 1985 until 1991. Provided home care to sleep patients from 1992 until Katrina took my business.)
same here...i always keep a deep cycle marine battery fully charged and an inverter in the house...if the electricity goes down, you can use your cpap for up to 7 days, depending on how old the battery is....
Soon after that I had a sleep study done and found out that I had sleep apnea.
I started with the mask, but as others have mentioned I got annoyed with the air leakage around the edges of the mask. I changed over to a Adams Circuit and nasal pillows. That solved the problem with the air leakage.
What do you know about the “appliances”. I had (still have?) one from 10-12 years ago which would thrust my lower jaw forward and keep it there. The problem, not counting the slobbering, was that every morning when I woke up my teeth hurt, kinda like when you’re a kid and you’ve got a tooth about to fall out, execpt this was all of my teeth. I figured this couldn’t be good for my teeth.
And I’ve had my brush with Sudden Cardiac Death. On Nov. 25th I was playing golf, feeling a little tired but not overly so, standing over a putt on the 16th hole. I got dizzy and lightheaded and tunnel-vision set it. I had opened the door to SCD and stepped in. My implanted defibrillator jerked my back out.
I’m going to talk to my doctor about another sleep study.
I was diagnosed with sleep apnea in the late 90’s, and gave CPAP a go for about 6 months. Couldn’t stand it.
My doctor recommended the U3P surgery and septoplasty since I wasn’t overweight and had an obviously large uvula and deviated septum. Had the surgery and it was a great success, really changed my life (it even eliminated the wall-shaking snoring!).
Fast forward a few years and I now find myself snoring again. I think I’ll look into the appliance. Thanks for posting!
The most striking thing about going on a CPAP was that my dreams were so long that they got boring. I spent what seemed like five minutes in one dream standing by a lamppost at an intersection, watching the traffic go by while waiting for someone to meet me there.
It was a godsend that I got it when I did, because not long afterward I was laid off, and had to take a job at the far end of a 2- to 2 1/2-hour commute, getting out of bed at around 5:00am and getting home around 7:00pm. Without the CPAP I would have been an absolute wreck by now, two months into it.
You husband might try the Puritan Bennett Breeze nasal pillow system. My mom gave me one of her spares, and it made all the difference between a moderately-annoying hassle that I put up with for the sake of a good night's sleep with my nasal mask, to something that I could almost forget about while wearing. The one minor drawback during the winter is that the humidifier on my CPAP, even at the lowest setting, leads to considerable condensation inside the hoses due to the comparatively low airflow rate.
He might also take a look at the Resmed Ultra Mirage II if he prefers nasal masks, as it has a very good, very quiet exhaust system that directs the exhaust air along the incoming hose, which you can turn upward, rather than directing the air onto his arm or into your face.
Bookmark
Had the same problem with even a high flow rate. They sell thermal tube coverings to prevent the condensation inside the tubing.
Scroll down the page a bit and you'll see the listings for different lengths of thermal tube coverings.
Check with your insurance companies...you can get replacements such as hoses and filters quarterly for your machines, as well as masks that readily adjust to your face.
There’s alot of difference with equipment....you owe it to yourself
saltnlemons
Great post! Resmed and Respironics have similiar equipment
The Ultra Mirage series is very good!
saltnlemons
I too have been using a CPAP for 12 years and it has likely saved my life. Before my sleep apnea was controlled with CPAP, I had a near miss accident when I fell asleep while driving and frequently could not remember where I was driving.
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