In it for the full ride?
Hi,
I'm suppose to wear mine at a minimum of 4 hours, which is reasonable. But do you guys go the whole night with the mask on? I don't sleep that deep, so I find myself tossing it off after checking the report.
Thanks-
Dave
RE: In it for the full ride?
Hi BreakingTraining77,
4 hours is the minimum usage that insurance companies look for to see if you are compliant, But I get a feeling from your posts that you are not real serious about making this work.
It takes time to get used to therapy, so you should try to increase your usage. If you are in a habit of just removing mask after 4 hours, then you will never get used to CPAP therapy and therefore your apnea is not being treated.
The first thing is to fill out your profile with machine, mask, pressure settings, etc. then download sleepyhead software, and start tracking your therapy.
Do you know your AHI, pressure settings? I believe, without looking back, that you state you've been using CPAP for 4 months. If so, you should be able to give us a little more information.
RE: In it for the full ride?
Let me be blunt.
Just do it all night or die early. Your call.
The stroke/heart attack/major organ disintegration/brain damage headed your way are a LuLu.
Don't play games with your life.
Just sayin'
"With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable." - Thomas Foxwell Buxton
RE: In it for the full ride?
Some nights, it's really uncomfortable. I do take it off. But then, again, I'm not under any checks or surveillance. But for the most part, it works and I sleep the whole night, which for me is six hours or so. Very seldom do I sleep for more than six hours.
RE: In it for the full ride?
Wow. Yeah, I'll continue to use it but I doubt I'll be that into the mechanics, settings and stuff. Just a small part of my life, that's all.
RE: In it for the full ride?
(09-30-2015, 09:15 AM)BreakingTraining77 Wrote: Hi,
I'm suppose to wear mine at a minimum of 4 hours, which is reasonable. But do you guys go the whole night with the mask on? I don't sleep that deep, so I find myself tossing it off after checking the report.
Thanks-
Dave
In answer to your question, most of us use the positive pressure therapy for the entire duration of the night, and most will use it for naps. Sleep apnea does not go away in 4-hours, it is always present during sleep, and not using the therapy is uncomfortable (once you're used to it) and places strain on the heart if you don't use it.
You need to take a bit of responsibility for your own care and therapy. A good starting place would be to actually look at what brand and model of machine and mask you are using, then download the manuals for that equipment. Next, if you have a machine that produces data, learn to read and interpret that information so you know why you're doing this and whether what you are doing is effective. All the tools for self-help are available to you on this forum, and no one can really do these basic steps for you. It's up to you if you want to make this work and benefit from the therapy
RE: In it for the full ride?
I'm with SleepRider.
This is a case where ignorance is not bliss, indeed, what you don't know can be lethal.
"With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable." - Thomas Foxwell Buxton
09-30-2015, 02:29 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-30-2015, 03:22 PM by kaiasgram.)
RE: In it for the full ride?
Dave -- Hi and welcome.
You were diagnosed in the Severe range -- that means you stop breathing at least 30 times an hour while you sleep. More often than not, apnea events are accompanied by drops in blood oxygen, sometimes to a dangerous level. (Your blood oxygen information should be available in your sleep study report.)
It's not that we're all "into" the details of our machine, data, etc., it's that we're doing what we need to do in order to make CPAP therapy work effectively. Some of us have already suffered damage from years of untreated sleep apnea and are trying to prevent further harm. I've finally gotten to where CPAP is a much smaller part of my life than it was when I started but I did have to dedicate some serious time to figuring out how to make it work for me. Once I did, it moved more into the background of my life. That's really our goal in helping people here, it's not to get people all excited about their machines and software. 
Man, if you've walked through 20 years of sobriety (in it for the full ride, yes?  ) then why would you now compromise your health by treating your severe sleep apnea only half the time?
What can we do to help you get the most out of this admittedly bizarre therapy?
RE: In it for the full ride?
Nah, just wear it every night and skip the details. I know you don't know me, but I've been so close to death that it doesn't even phase me anymore. Besides (and no offence) there is nothing more boring that talking about how you slept.
Ta ta
09-30-2015, 03:01 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-30-2015, 03:13 PM by kaiasgram.)
RE: In it for the full ride?
(09-30-2015, 02:36 PM)BreakingTraining77 Wrote: Nah, just wear it every night and skip the details. I know you don't know me, but I've been so close to death that it doesn't even phase me anymore. Besides (and no offence) there is nothing more boring that talking about how you slept.
Ta ta
No problem Dave, no offense taken. For me there are at least a couple of things more boring than talking about sleep, but that's a matter of personal interest -- and necessity in some cases.
At some point you may want or need to know more about the pesky details of your sleep apnea treatment (like is it actually working), and we'll still be here and willing to help.
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