Originally Posted by Shaid:
Did a sleep study and they said I had moderate apnea but it didn't show up until the later part of the test so it was a study with no CPAP on. I used a CPAP machine for months and really couldn't sleep so after 4 hours with it on, it would usually come off so I could actually sleep. When they reviewed my data it showed me with zero or 1 episode per hour while using it which they said was impossible. I said it wasn't impossible because I wasn't actually sleeping most of the time. They sent me in for another study with the CPAP from the start. It showed zero apnea the whole night and I barely slept. They of course said I slept well according to their data. It was only pushing air at a 5, maybe up to 10 at max.
What really became apparent to me was the CPAP forced me to keep my mouth shut. If my mouth stayed shut I wouldn't snore or have apnea. The problem was it also forces air into your lungs so it made it harder to sleep without it because it was basically training my body to not breathe in and that it would do the breathing for me. Not a good thing in my opinion.
I slept with it for a few more weeks after the second study before finally returning it. It took a few weeks for my body to get used to not having it since it had been trained to just let the machine breathe for me but after that I was fine. I keep my mouth shut while sleeping and my watch monitors my oxygen levels while sleeping and also has a snoring monitor. If I end up having it return, I'll probably do a chin strap or mouth piece to keep my mouth shut instead. I feel like training your body to not breathe on it's own is dangerous. My doctor told me before my sleep study that he had a person who went on vacation and didn't bring his with him and he never woke up because of oxygen deprivation. I blame that on the CPAP training his body not to breathe on it's own. What if your power goes out one day? I know they work well for some people but my experience was not a good one and I won't go back unless I have no other choice.
Lulz. That is so not true. It does not train you to not breathe on your own :-). That poor bastard was just cooked regardless. [Reply]
Okay but it is helping you to breath with less effort. Now the body has a "crutch" in performing that function while you sleep. And it seems logical that one would grow to be more and more dependent on that crutch. That doesn't mean it's a bad idea if somebody is already experiencing health problems, but it does seem worth considering. [Reply]
Originally Posted by wazu:
Okay but it is helping you to breath with less effort. Now the body has a "crutch" in performing that function while you sleep. And it seems logical that one would grow to be more and more dependent on that crutch. That doesn't mean it's a bad idea if somebody is already experiencing health problems, but it does seem worth considering.
You still breath like normal. Otherwise, it wouldn't work. It's not doing the breathing for you. Just pushing more in whenever you do. [Reply]
Plus, there are different pressures it can be set at. I've been able to go down on the pressure. That wouldn't happen if it was breathing for me or training me not to breathe. [Reply]
Originally Posted by luv:
You still breath like normal. Otherwise, it wouldn't work. It's not doing the breathing for you. Just pushing more in whenever you do.
I get it's not a ventilator. But "pushing more in" is aid/assistance that does seem like your body would become more reliant on over time, because your body no longer has to compensate for the original problem. [Reply]
Originally Posted by wazu:
I get it's not a ventilator. But "pushing more in" is aid/assistance that does seem like your body would become more reliant on over time, because your body no longer has to compensate for the original problem.
You are so wrong on all of this. Just stop posting about it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pasta Little Brother:
It does not train you to not breathe on your own
It 100% felt that way to me. My lungs more would open to allow air in then breathe on my own. That said, coming up with a zero on the CPAP score was something they had said they never saw so maybe that's how my body decided to adapt to it.
I know the doctor said most people like them once they are on them and didn't realize how bad their sleep was until they get on CPAP, that was not my experience though. [Reply]
Originally Posted by wazu:
I get it's not a ventilator. But "pushing more in" is aid/assistance that does seem like your body would become more reliant on over time, because your body no longer has to compensate for the original problem.
Stop.
You don’t understand what you’re talking about.
Obstructive sleep apnea is not caused by issues with lungs. It is an issue with the soft tissue in your throat/esophagus and specifically with the muscles relaxing more than they should while resting and reclined.
There is no “training your body to do better.” There is no getting your body to compensate.
Unless you want to count a CPAP as training. CPAPs push air not to help you get oxygen in your lungs but to instead prevent the obstructive relaxation from occurring.
Not treating sleep apnea is a great way to end up in an early grave like my dad, whose heart was horribly damaged from living wirh sleep apnea his whole life and never treating it. [Reply]
the APAP is one of the greatest inventions. i went from getting really shitty sleep and feeling like ass at work after 8 hours of sleep to feeling refreshed after 6 hours of sleep.
youll probably get an A-pap. (automatically adjusts to the pressure you need, without doing too much pressure) , it takes some experimenting to find what setting you like and also takes some fiddling with masks. if you dont like your mask, try another style or another brand of masks. theyre all compatible with the hoses and machines.
dont give up on it, you will feel so much better and get such better sleep... once you dial in the settings and mask, youre golden. [Reply]
Bottom line: "It keeps your throat open with forced air whether you choose a full mask, or a nose attachment(one is not better than the other, it's just a matter of comfort). The machine is set at a particular setting for that individual's severity of apnea, so that your oxygen intake is close to 100% during your sleep cycle, therefore, you are not exhausted in the morning when you wake up assuming you get the amount of hours of sleep that you need. A CPAP machine is nothing more than a respirator. [Reply]
Originally Posted by penguinz:
Picked this up yesterday. Surprised at how quiet it is.
About how long to start feeling better from not almost dying in my sleep every night?
It was kind of weird, for me anyway. It took me about a week to get used to it, and things felt normal. I used it for about 9 months before skipping a night (I forgot to take it on an overnight trip my husband and I went on). I thought it wouldn't be a big deal, since it was just one night. The following day, I was like, "Wow. Did I feel this bad before? Was everyday like this?" Thinking back, I guess it was. So, for me, it wasn't so much an instant feeling better as much as it was that my new normal had changed and I hadn't really realized just how bad my old normal was. [Reply]
