CPAP dependency

[sheepless]

interesting WW. I hadn't thought of that.

[Sleepster]

I was asked by a friend if CPAP use becomes a dependency and that you can have issues if you do not use it. Is this true or myth?

You are just as dependent before you start using a CPAP machine as you are afterwards.

[Madcat207]

I was asked by a friend if CPAP use becomes a dependency and that you can have issues if you do not use it. Is this true or myth?

You are just as dependent before you start using a CPAP machine as you are afterwards.

This!  You needed the CPAP treatment from the moment you started having apneas; the dependency is on oxygen that your body deprives itself on.  If there was a surgery or pill that could stop making your throat collapse (in OSA), you could have that solution and stop CPAP overnight.

[SarcasticDave94]

yes, we are dependent on the machines to breathe better than without the machine.  we will revert to periods of not breathing without the machine so yes you can have issues not using it.  

however, I read the OP to be asking a slightly different question:  does use of pap lead to a further weakening of our native respiratory capability which will cause problems above and beyond the problems we had before treatment?  can pap make our pre-treatment condition worse if/when we go without pap?  I've never seen a definitive answer to this question and I am curious about it.  but as a practical matter I guess it really doesn't matter since we're dependent anyway as long as we don't want to revert to our pre-treatment condition (or worse if pap use does actually weaken our native respiratory ability).but

If anything it strengthens your respiratory system due to exhaling under pressure. It's the reason why some feel muscle ache in the diaphragm when first starting out.

I believe you're correct. I felt that on both the CPAP and BPAP, but as I assume I've acquired stronger muscles over time, I don't get that same exertion feeling with my ASV.

[SarcasticDave94]

yes, we are dependent on the machines to breathe better than without the machine.  we will revert to periods of not breathing without the machine so yes you can have issues not using it.  

however, I read the OP to be asking a slightly different question:  does use of pap lead to a further weakening of our native respiratory capability which will cause problems above and beyond the problems we had before treatment?  can pap make our pre-treatment condition worse if/when we go without pap?  I've never seen a definitive answer to this question and I am curious about it.  but as a practical matter I guess it really doesn't matter since we're dependent anyway as long as we don't want to revert to our pre-treatment condition (or worse if pap use does actually weaken our native respiratory ability).but

Yes, I see that as the probable true goal of the OP. In that scope, no I can't, in most cases, believe we would be worse off on xPAP. Nor, in this light, would any xPAP make one dependent as in they cannot function without it, like it's actually doing the breathing for one. All hosers still must be able to breathe on their own despite whatever level of assist an xPAP gives, and that is from the most basic CPAP on up to the ST.

[OMyMyOHellYes]

It's a silly concept ...

Using it does not make you dependent on it.

That would imply that it would allow you to be worse off than you would if you had never used it.

Since I started on CPAP, I've not driven off the side of the interstate doiong 70 miles an hour... So I am better, not worse off. It is a treatment that improves (and likely lengthens) life.

I guess the "friend" would consider hemo dialysis addictive to someone with renal failure? Absolute logic fail.

[chuff2]

My wife tolerates not using her machine to sleep. Now I know what's it's like to get a good night's sleep I haven't been able to tolerate sleeping without mine Ixve has to make sure I have backup power and batteries just in case.

[PoolQ]

Does sleep apnea treatment effect my breathing while I am vertical? Don't think so.
So any negative effect would be limited to laying down only (when I need to use CPAP anyway)
Does it make my airway better or worse by using CPAP? does not matter. It will get worse without using it
At the stage I am at currently, am I better off using CPAP than not? you bet your asp I am better!
If there becomes an electrical, surgical, or medical solution to sleep apnea will having used CPAP make it not available to me? Don't think so.

Am I dependent on CPAP? yep because I want to sleep, not get brain or heart damage, not be tired all the time, not fall asleep at random times during the day. I am dependent on not wanting any of that in my life.


This is a standard logic game. I do not care if I am dependent on CPAP because I cannot sleep without it and that is very bad. My option was suicide and yes I considered that before getting CPAP dialed in. Zero sleep is not an option to support life.