CPAP - 1, Leah - O

Hey Leah - Glad to here you won in the end.  I guess we all need a little extra help now and again.  Keep beating that CPAP down!  All the best, sue
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Thanks, Sue, for your comment.  I hope that my post will show readers that getting used to the CPAP is not necessarily a continuously positive experience, but, with perseverance one can have nights of restored sleep. 

Leah

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Leah,

      

Sounds like you've got it licked. I had the same problem with the nasal mask, full face mask, oral mask, but it didn't prevent me from sticking with it from the time I went to bed until I got the next morning.

Dr. Barbara Phillips, past president of the NSF, has made it clear that one obstruction per hour during sleep can be deadly and it is vitally important to stick with the machine 100% to prevent even that one obstruction per hour. This is a concept that some folks don't seem to understand. 

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Leah,

 

I forgot to mention, that your CPAP is likely to improve your dementia.

I'll be surprised if it doesn't. That's assuming that the machine is doing what it's supposed to do (preventing all obstructions 100%).

Stick with it, you've got the right idea.

 

By the way, I prefer the APAP machine over the CPAP because the computer chip in the APAP automatically adjusts the needed pressure for each breath, whereas the CPAP has only a fixed single pressure that never changes. That would be ok if you never changed, but unfortunately, the blockage in the back of the throat is subject to a lot of variation, especially with time (position of the body, head and neck while asleep, weight gain or loss, aging, health status, etc.). You have to keep taking your machine in to get "titrated". The APAP doesn't have to be taken back for titration because it adjusts for the correct pressure with every breath you take. My own sense is that CPAP has done great job in the past, but it has it's problems that are being appreciated more recently. It's time has come, so to speak. I've noticed a lot of sleep doc's are taking this position too.

I have a friend who was on CPAP and asked his sleep doc. if he could switch to APAP and his doc. didn't bat an eye and said, "No problem" and wrote out a prescription without hesitation. He says he's doing better with his APAP machine.

Please don't misunderstand, I'm not telling you what you should do. I'm expressing my opinion based on my own experience and anything you decide to do should be between you and your sleep doctor.

Ok, now I'll step down off my soap box and get to bed. 

 

 

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Leah,

 

Some people with OSA forget that weight loss remains extremely important even when the PAP machine is working satisfactorily. I'm certain that you already know that, but a lot of folks I've talked to don't understand that it's possible to eliminate OSA entirely if they can get their BMI (Body Mass Index) down to the normal range. Most OSA patients are over weight, but not all. About 20% are of normal weight, but have a family trait consisting of a small jaw and airway that predisposes them to apneas. Obviously,weight loss isn't going to help these patients. Duke University did a study about 2-3 years ago in which 8 patients with OSA had BMI's of over 40 (morbid obesity) and underwent gastric bypass surgery. After they had lost 100 lbs. or more, 7 of the 8 no longer had OSA. This is an extreme example, but it proves the point that weight loss can put a stop to OSA. I don't know the odds of curing OSA by wt. loss, but my sense from what I've read is that the odds are small. But, hey, if there is only one chance in 10, 50, or 100, it's still worth a try because it's still a win-win situation. Even is your OSA is not cured when you get your weight down, your overall health is much improved by the weight loss itself. So far, there doesn't appear to be a way to tell which patients will benefit the most ahead of time. So, for those who need to, go for it, lose to win!

 

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You talked me into it. I'm going to the gym to get a workout right now.

M 

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