night air hunger

[candigrl63]

hello.  i was diagnosed with moderate osa a year ago. given a cpap machine.  however i am claustrophobic and medicare said i had to wear it 4 hours a day for 22 consecutive days out of 30 in order for them to pay for it.  well by the end of week one i was still struggling with claustrophobia and could barely manage 10 minutes on it.  so they took it away. i have been untreated since.  well now lately i am unable to sleep for the last week because i am constantly waking up gasping for air. when i looked this up on the internet it says heart failure.  could i already have heart failure because of no cpap treatment?
thank you

[Mike1953]

That is a question for your doctor not a forum.

[OpalRose]

Now, if your DME took your machine away after one week, then they are in the wrong.

Under Medicare guidelines, you have 90 days to prove compliance, by using it a minimum of 4 hours a night for 30 consecutive days (can't remember if 70% of the time) which would be approximately 21 days) within that first 90 day period.

I am also claustrophobic, but I knew how serious untreated sleep apnea was, so I made up my mind early on to get over it and do my best to adapt.

You are asking us if you could have heart failure...Only your doctor can tell you that.  You should make it a point to get checked out.  

I think what you are experiencing as far as waking and gasping for air is an apnea event.  Your apnea has more than likely gotten worse since you were diagnosed a year ago.

The bottom line, get treated, know your rights and what your insurance covers.

We can help you out with machine settings and advise on masks.

[quiescence at last]

good luck candigrl63

hope you get some help soon.

I had a good laugh when I went to my DME to pick up a mask.  They showed me many, but said they had one even for someone that is claustrophobic, and showed me this one:


Now, I am told they were serious.  It apparently is easier to live in a bubble without having pressure of nose or mouth, so it does not feed the scared subconscious.

You might find something like this that will help.

QAL

[candigrl63]

actually i was more leaning towards whether what i was experiencing could be something other , like part of sleep apnea.  i had never experienced it before now. and i did hear untreated apnea could lead to heart failure . this being a sleep apnea forum , i thought maybe some had developed heart failure from their sleep apnea and had the same symptoms.

[MitchS]

My Primary Care doctor sent me for a sleep study because I was experiencing the same symptoms you are describing. It is one of the classic signs of sleep apnea. You will most likely have to continue with your cpap usage. There are some very knowledgeable people on this forum who will be glad to help you out. As stated, it wouldn't hurt to be checked out and look into getting a data capable cpap machine.

[trish6hundred]

Hi candigrl63,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Hang in there for more responses to your post and I wish you good luck, I hope you will try CPAP therapy again and that you are able to stick with it this time around.

[PsychoMike]

Candigrl, I have a couple thoughts. My first one is in the form of a question: What was the minimum pressure set at? If it's too low, it's a bit like having an asthma attack....breathing through a straw. You eventually rip the mask off as you feel you can't breathe. If so, then it is a set-up issue, and you were blind sided with no chance of compliance. I think OpalRose is right and they are in the wrong...both for taking it away too soon and for not giving you a decent chance to see if it would work (i.e. adjusting minimum pressure to see if that was the issue). I'd raise heck.

If it is a claustrophobia issue, there are actually a few total face masks out there. not just the one from Quiesecnce's post. I on occasion use the Respironics FitLife as I find I get pretty much no unintended leakage from it (great for me when I've had a couple "off" nights and need a good sleep...just not great for side sleeping). It looks a lot like the 50's vintage fighter clear masks that covered the entire face and eyes that you used to see on TV waaaaaaay back in the day. It's a different option.

About what you're experiencing / asking about heart failure, I think you need to see your doctor about it....and soon.

[xxyzx]

hello.  i was diagnosed with moderate osa a year ago. given a cpap machine.  however i am claustrophobic and medicare said i had to wear it 4 hours a day for 22 consecutive days out of 30 in order for them to pay for it.  well by the end of week one i was still struggling with claustrophobia and could barely manage 10 minutes on it.  so they took it away. i have been untreated since.  well now lately i am unable to sleep for the last week because i am constantly waking up gasping for air. when i looked this up on the internet it says heart failure.  could i already have heart failure because of no cpap treatment?
thank you

I suspect you were gasping because of OSA

that was the symptoms I had when i first saw the doc about it


it can cause heart failure
i do not think that is the symptom of heart failure

you could have some medical problems due to the apnea

they may or may not be caused by lack of cpap
although cpap should help with some of them based on that symptom 

are you sure of 22 consecutive days instead of  22 out of 30 days 

if you cant use it by the rules dont expect them to pay for it
you could buy your own and use it when you feel like it
maybe paying for it and having those symptoms woudl motivate you to use it

maybe a shrink could  help with the claustrophobia
my wifes shrink gave her a tranquilizer to help with hers
there may be other cures or helps

[xxyzx]

good luck candigrl63

hope you get some help soon.

I had a good laugh when I went to my DME to pick up a mask.  They showed me many, but said they had one even for someone that is claustrophobic, and showed me this one:


Now, I am told they were serious.  It apparently is easier to live in a bubble without having pressure of nose or mouth, so it does not feed the scared subconscious.

You might find something like this that will help.

QAL

rotflmao for now

i have to think that was a joke
no way to seal it under the chin as  per the picture

that volume of air in the mask would be hard for the machine to regulate properly for co2 removal imho 

now if this is real i would love an explanation from someone who has used it
but my engineering background makes the initial response to be very skeptical