Cpap Machines

8 or 10 years ago there was a time when my wife and Dr questioned if I had apnea. ( have I told you this before? LOL) When I found that a study was expensive, I did my own study. I bought a recording pulse oximeter ( $75....clips on your fingernail) and set up laptop computer with a motion activated a video camera. I told it to record for a few minutes after any motion. It showed, as the wife said, that I stopped breathing now & then for 5 to 20 seconds. Once in a while my blood oxygen dropped to "too low" levels. A while later had better insurance & against my wishes, I went to have a "real study". It showed the exact same thing. Even thought my blood oxygen levels drop once or twice a night, they said I did not have a problem. I guess what I do a few times a night, some people do many times an hour.

I still have the recording oximeter if anyone wants to borrow it.

I tend to think mostly about what different projects going on or coming up to really dream much, might be better off (don't want to get deported). Never was a good sleeper but used to have some great dreams as a younger man, much better than having bad dreams that I sometimes get from my Nam days. As most medical conditions it mostly depends on the individual & your general health but so many do die in their sleep there may be a lot to it. My sleep study had me stop breathing over 70 times, still don't sleep well but at least I keep breathing!

samhill wrote: My sleep study had me stop breathing over 70 times, still don't sleep well but at least I keep breathing!

Holy Moly! Is that 70 times an hour? That would indicate you were spending more time not breathing then breathing - no wonder you didn't feel like you weren't sleeping well.

What's the count with the CPAP? I went from 20 incidents to 4 or 5 per hour and I can't say I'm sleeping any better. The radio is advertising an implant similar to a heart pace maker that shocks you when you stop breathing. That may be something to look into if you still have a high incident of stopping breathing with the CPAP.

Take care, Lisa

Lisa, in the hospital tests I contribute much of it to trying to sleep with all that crap stuck on you & a strange bed & place (I did take my own pillow).

samhill wrote:Lisa, in the hospital tests I contribute much of it to trying to sleep with all that crap stuck on you & a strange bed & place (I did take my own pillow).

I'll agree with you on that. I still question whether or not an apnea episode is waking me up or is it coming from anyone of sources of aches and pains I have on a regular basis. A strange bed and the thought of a stranger watching me sleep doesn't help. That's just a part of growing old and a CPAP isn't going to help.

You betcha on all that Lisa.

I will let you all know what I find out from my recent at home sleep study. Since there was minimal if any disruption to my normal sleep and it was done at home in my own bed and normal surroundings, I feel that it will be an accurate reflection of my breathing patterns and oxygen saturation. I didn't feel conscious of the device I was wearing and I do not believe that the testing interfered with my sleep in any significant way.

creek44 wrote:I will let you all know what I find out from my recent at home sleep study. Since there was minimal if any disruption to my normal sleep and it was done at home in my own bed and normal surroundings, I feel that it will be an accurate reflection of my breathing patterns and oxygen saturation. I didn't feel conscious of the device I was wearing and I do not believe that the testing interfered with my sleep in any significant way.

Yes, please keep us informed. I considering getting a nasal pillow mask. That may help with my dry mouth issue as well as the slight claustrophobia I get from the full mask. Take care

lowfog01 wrote:I considering getting a nasal pillow mask. That may help with my dry mouth issue as well as the slight claustrophobia I get from the full mask.

If you can breath freely through your nose, you may well be more comfortable with the nasal "interface" -- either the pillows or the surround mask that looks like a smaller version of the full face mask. Personally, my nasal passages are usually stuffed up or swollen and require mouth breathing, so I'm stuck with the full face mask. If my science is correct, the hydraulic pressure pushing the mask away from your face is directly proportional to the surface area of the mask. That means the straps holding it snug, and the mask itself, must apply far more uncomfortable pressure with a large full-face mask as with a small nasal mask.

Going in the way back machine a few pages to Isayre saying he had never heard of anyone NOT having it. I had the study done and was told I did not have it....Both of my brothers have it.....anyhoo, I now take Ambien to sleep and sometimes ZQuil....I realized I have never slept well and never wanted to get up early. That set up the test along with my brothers diagnosis.
Probably should try the wacky tabacy but I hate smoking......just doing the modern thing....take this little pill to sleep, take this little pill to work, etc, etc.....

Kevin

For all you guys spending money on these machines--don't forget to get the cleaner set up!! That should be another pretty penny! Just lookin out for your health people!

freetown fred wrote:For all you guys spending money on these machines--don't forget to get the cleaner set up!! That should be another pretty penny! Just lookin out for your health people!

Yes, Fred they do have countless ways to separate us from our money. I find the same thing with bee supply houses. My medical supply company was at least honest and told me not to get any specific CPAP cleaner. I use a white vinegar/ water mix once a week. I also disconnect all the tubes and mask parts every morning so they have a chance to dry out. So far so good.

Actually, I'm switching all my cleaning products to vinegar and water. It does a better job and is a lot less expensive. Take care, Lisa

lowfog01 wrote:Actually, I'm switching all my cleaning products to vinegar and water. It does a better job and is a lot less expensive.

Lisa, what do you clean with the vinegar and water? I used to have to de-scale the humidifier pretty often, but I switched to distilled water and now there is no mineral buildup.

To be honest, I have never cleaned my CPAP machine (except wiping the exterior) and I have no idea how it could be done unless I disassembled it. I vacuum the little foam intake filter when the dust builds up (carefully so it doesn't get sucked into the vacuum). I have a couple replacement filters, but the regular one looks so good and fresh after vacuuming that I just reuse it. I clean the hose a couple times a year, the mask whenever it starts to look disgusting.

rberq wrote:

lowfog01 wrote:Actually, I'm switching all my cleaning products to vinegar and water. It does a better job and is a lot less expensive.

Lisa, what do you clean with the vinegar and water? I used to have to de-scale the humidifier pretty often, but I switched to distilled water and now there is no mineral buildup.

To be honest, I have never cleaned my CPAP machine (except wiping the exterior) and I have no idea how it could be done unless I disassembled it. I vacuum the little foam intake filter when the dust builds up (carefully so it doesn't get sucked into the vacuum). I have a couple replacement filters, but the regular one looks so good and fresh after vacuuming that I just reuse it. I clean the hose a couple times a year, the mask whenever it starts to look disgusting.

I'm sorry I wasn't precise with my comments. I don't clean the actual machine. I clean the tubing and anything plastic with the vinegar water weekly. I also wipe the plastic accessories down with an alcohol swab every morning. They are cheap from Sam's club. On the machine I just change the filter when it needs it and use distilled water.

I'm about to stop the auto refill provision for getting my supplies. I'm not going to throw something away that is still good just because they say it's time to replace it. If the plastic is soft, not rigid or torn I'll continuing using it. If I'm still getting positive results for the older stuff on the monitoring website why throw it away. I now have a backup for all the components so when it does come time to replace things, I won't have to panic. I'll just have to pay attention.

Well, the results of my at home sleep study indicate that I do indeed have sleep apnea of a significant nature. Going for a ResMed 10 Autoset with all the heaters, humidifiers, bells, and whistles. We shall see how it goes.