This is where all OSA sufferers can discuss their CPAP machines , makes models tips on face masks and accesories and generally to help one and another!
Posted 17 Nov 2011 at 11:29 PM
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Sleepio Member
874 comments
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Graduate
Hi Enfys
thanks as usual for your nice comments, yep I suppose some people might think wearing a CPAP would be a quick fix for sleep fatigue, yes it does help especially as I am now aware I am not likely to stop breathing during the night, HOWEVER if you have other “issues” that cause sleep disturbance then theres only half a fix
Wearing a mask is a chore however I am like you I lay on my side and try to bury my head in the pillow, however hissing sid doesnt so i have to have the top pillow the wrong way round so it doesnt interfere with the mask, there are special pillows that allow you bury your head and a recess for the mask to stop the pillow pushing the mask to one side….if you catch my drift.
Hopefully this idea might help anyone else with OSA ...thanks again Andy
Sleepio Member
874 comments
219 helped
Graduate
Hi all there are pillows made by COREPRODUCTS that are designed by CPAP users for CPAP users they are 10cm in height
also Realsleep do a contoured pillow for CPAP users
both I think are expensive I think I will persevere :-)
Sleepio Member
874 comments
219 helped
Graduate
Hi for those that suffer with OSA I found a good site that deals with sleep apnea
please remember this site only deals with this subject and not insomnia
http://forums.cpap.co.uk
Sleepio Member
5 comments
0 helped
Session 5
I've been newly diagnosed with sleep apnea. The doctor gave me several options: a device that holds the jaw forward and opens the airway, cpap, or surgery. How much does a cpap machine help quality of sleep? Even if I get enough sleep and have my SE over 90%, my sleep quality is still poor! Anyone who can give me their experience would be helpful!
One of the members andymoir who had cpap machine was wonderful at giving advice and support to fellow suffers, but he has recently posted he has poor health at the moment. If you check previous post on this thread or library you will probably find some good information. Good luck
This is a response to an old message, but I thought my experience might be of interest. When I began using the cpap machine I was given one of the full face masks. I ended up hating it within a few weeks and they switched me over to “nose pillows.” At last I didn't feel as though I was being smothered. The only problem at that point turned out to be bloating from swallowing all that air. I was then given a bi-pap machine which lowers the pressure on the exhale and kicks it back up when you're breathing in. That worked wonderfully and I've been using the machine and nasal pillows for around 15 years. Recently they came out with another nasal pillow mask that is very light, doesn't take up your whole face and is just wonderful for those who feel smothered and claustrophobic with the larger masks. I would never have known I had sleep apnea had a friend asked me if I thought I had narcolepsy (I would fall asleep in mid sentence sometimes). My GP sent me immediately for the test and found that I indeed had severe sleep apnea and had probably had it most of my adult life. It was not caused by obesity but I did put on a lot of weight when I hit my mid to late 40's. All those years I thought I had asthma and took asthma meds which just kept me awake!!
I hope this helps some people who may be suffering SA without knowing it.
Sleepio Member
39 comments
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Graduate
I've had nothing but bad experience with CPAP. Totally hate it. My insomnia improves not wearing a mask. I wear the mask and cannot sleep at all so I take it off after two or three hours.
There's also the problem of leaks. I have a special pillow but maybe it isn't so good. Will try COREPRODUCTS.
I'm a tiny person and I'm ordering extra small straps to see if there's a change.
I'm supposed to be having severe OSA and I'm sure not wearing the mask must be hard on my heart.
Thanks to all for any further advice.
I am just starting out with the CPAP machine. I have had lots of problems finding a mask that fits properly. I can totally relate to your feelings of frustration! I am small too and I think that the majority of masks must be for men or much larger people since even the small masks leak.
The company that is working with me is very supportive and determined to find something that works for me. I noted that I do sleep better with the mask (given that I am not used to it yet and have only just, I think, found a mask that fits me properly). After using it for a few nights I got fed up and did without for 2 nights. I really noticed a difference. What sleep I got was better with the CPAP.
One thing that I have tried that might help you is a chin strap. I use a full face mask since my mouth comes open when I fall asleep. This causes leaks at the bottom but with the chin strap there are no leaks.
Hope that is helpful to you. I would be interested in hearing from some people who are currently using a CPAP.
Sleepio Member
3 comments
1 helped
Graduate
My success lately is due primarily to using a CPAP sleep mask from my health insurance made by ResMed. The device increases the flow of air whenever my uvula shuts off and causes interruption in my breathing and increased snoring. I have gone from 11-22 events per hour to less than 1 and no snoring. An event is a 10 second stop of breathing. The device sends the data to a satellite and I can download the data to my PC. My health worker can download the data so that I meet Medicare's criteria ( 70% use for a minimum of 4 hours/day). This keeps people from getting a free mask and not using it. I actually get tired at 10:30pm and wake around 5-6am. I got used to the nose mask. It will not end up in my closet.
Sleepio Member
5 comments
1 helped
Graduate
I have recently come back into the cpap fold. I was diagnosed 3 years ago with mild apnea and I decided to get a machine even though I was told it likely wouldn't help. At the time I was suffering from depression triggered by a tough relationship. So I was willing to try anything. Overall though really I felt no effects from therapy. Fast forward to this year and I found myself once again in a sleep study office desperately seeking help for a recent bout of sleep maintenance insomnia. This time however I was diagnosed with extremely severe sleep apnea with over 100 ahi's per hour. I asked my doctor why this was happening and they told me that sometimes these things just happen. It was also suggested to me that the previous sleep study was inaccurate. So I guess that must be it then right? I haven't gained weight since my last study and nothing has changed appreciably. I've actually lost weight and my bmi is healthy. The problem is that now I have been on the cpap for the last 6 months but my symptoms haven't improved. My readouts tell me that the apnea is being treated but my other sleep issues continue. So I'm turning to sleepio and trying to adopt healthy habits for sleep. This all seems odd though. I don't care what the doctor says. But I'll keep persevering I guess and assume it's all in my head.
I completely understand SleeplessKissinger, 6 months ago, I started to suddenly get sleep onset Apnea (I stop breathing at the point of going to sleep). After going several days without sleep and ending up in the hospital thinking I was having a heart attack, I went through home sleep study and an overnight hospital stay. I had an AHI of 93. This all happened literally overnight and I'm still trying to figure out why it started and what can I do about it. I'm not overweight, I eat healthily, and had zero stress. As a result of having issues getting to sleep, I ended up having severe insomnia. I couldn't sleep at all during the day, so would walk round like a zombie. It didn't help that all this happened in Japan, so getting diagnosed and treated was complicated (my medical Japanese is limited to ow that hurts). Also complicated by the fact I came back to the UK 3 months after it started. Thankfully Resmed supplied an APAP machine with a Japanese doctors referral, and now I'm starting the process in the UK of getting treatment which has taken another 3 months. I found I had sleep paralysis when going to sleep with the mask on because while the APAP machine would help, the issue of falling asleep caused me such an issue by body felt like it was rejecting the notion of falling asleep. I have tinnitus and a dodgy knee, and the stress made the tinnitus worse, so imaging trying to get to sleep with apnea, tinnitus and a swollen knee, to say I was a mess is an understatement. 3 months in and a stop / start sleepio course and I can now generally fall asleep fairly quickly. I just suffer from waking up about an hour after I sleep and keeping awake. My sleep restriction says I should do 5hrs a night, but I struggle to get 4. I had a worry that it was all in my head too and probably is but it still doesn't stop it from happening.
Sleepio Member
1 comments
0 helped
Session 1
I have the dual problem of Idiopathic Insomnia and Sleep Apnoea. I have been on zimovane since they first became available and am on a high dose – 3×7.5mg nightly. The effectiveness has all but disappeared but without them I have terrible rebound insomnia and I have heard it is dangerous to come off them abruptly. I am meant to use a bilevel machine at night – the apnoea score wasn't too high as an average but was quite significant during the short periods I was asleep (sleep studies). I plan to start using the bilevel machine and mask tonight.
I take a long long time (hours) to fall asleep and wake frequently. I never feel refreshed in the morning. I often have nights with no sleep at all. I realise that the mask may stop me wakening up so much but my past experience was that the use of the mask aggravated my insomnia. I am interested in hearing if anyone with problems similar to mine has used the Sleepio Programme successfully.
My name is Ruud i live on the island Bornholm in Denmark,i am 52 years old and have severe birth onset idiopathic insomnia. Because i have very poor sleep and when i do sleep ( just like you ) i do have central and obstrucktive apnoea they decided that i needed to try an Apap.
I don´t use the programm but just got into it for one week to contact you.
I have been looking all over the world for one with the same problems like me.
I would like you to contact me but how can we do that.
We could both contact Colin Espie, and ask for the possebillity to exchange experiance
Sleepio Member
5 comments
0 helped
Graduate
Consider a sleep study in a medical setting. I was found to have severe Sleep Apnea, which meant I was awakening, or almost awakening--and stopped breathing for more than 10 seconds each time--37.8 times in an hour--that's more often than every 2 minutes. I have been fitted with an APAP (Automatic Positive Airway Pressure) device, i.e., a mask with tubes to the device, which has a heated humidifier. In three nights of getting used to sleeping like this, my awakenings have gone from 37.8 to 12.6 to 9.9 to 3.3. I feel better than I have since I can remember.
Sleepio Member
1 comments
0 helped
Session 1
How can this chat benefit anyone signing up and enrolling into this program now? It's 2019. The most recent comment was almost 18 months ago. I'm skeptical this automated program will work as designed. Most of the presentation has been about things that do not affect me, like stress, and thinking too much. I have issues with my CPAP machine, finding help with my CPAP machine, and physical pain. I will give this a go, but not holding my breath.
BigHoss18, If you are having problems with your CPAP machine, a forum I have found that has given me helpful advice, is cpaptalk.com –
What type of problems with your CPAP are you experiencing?
It’s possible that the interest in sleep apnea ebbs and flows from time to time. Perhaps there aren’t many sleepios with sleep apnea recently, but its worth a try to reach out.
Sleepio Member
1 comments
1 helped
Graduate
I have the lovely combination of sleep apnea and sleep maintenance insomnia. I've been using a cpap for 6-7 years and it has been helpful, but if I wake in the middle of the night (which is often and, l assume, frequently unrelated to apnea), I have great difficulty falling back asleep. As a result, I rarely sleep through the night and rarely wake up feeling refreshed. I'm on week 3 of the Sleepio program, so am just beginning the sleep restriction regime. Uggg.
Normally I have no problem falling asleep when I hit the sack (just problems with waking at night), but now I'm so anxious to fall asleep that I'm having difficultly doing it. Moreover, the cpap mask is suddenly feeling more annoying than ever!
None-the-less, I will persist. Now, off to meditate. :-)
Sleepio Member
1 comments
0 helped
Session 1
Diagnosed with Sleep Apnoea and use a CPAP machine each night. Sleep is better than it was prior to CPAP, but still feel less than refreshed and lacking concentration.
Any other users here?
Sleepio Member
1 comments
0 helped
Session 2
I am soo glad I found this site. Very helpful. I have OSA and trouble falling and staying asleep 90% of the time. I recently started on the CPAP machine. I have tried the nasel pillows along with the chin strap and switched to the nose/mouth mask, just to see if there is any difference other than air blowing up your nose. It is small and not confining as the other full masks. Will see what happens. Love everyone's suggestions !!!
Comments
Sleepio Member
Hi Enfys
thanks as usual for your nice comments, yep I suppose some people might think wearing a CPAP would be a quick fix for sleep fatigue, yes it does help especially as I am now aware I am not likely to stop breathing during the night, HOWEVER if you have other “issues” that cause sleep disturbance then theres only half a fix
Wearing a mask is a chore however I am like you I lay on my side and try to bury my head in the pillow, however hissing sid doesnt so i have to have the top pillow the wrong way round so it doesnt interfere with the mask, there are special pillows that allow you bury your head and a recess for the mask to stop the pillow pushing the mask to one side….if you catch my drift.
Hopefully this idea might help anyone else with OSA ...thanks again Andy
Sleepio Member
Hi all there are pillows made by CORE PRODUCTS that are designed by CPAP users for CPAP users they are 10cm in height
also Realsleep do a contoured pillow for CPAP users
both I think are expensive I think I will persevere :-)
Sleepio Member
Hi for those that suffer with OSA I found a good site that deals with sleep apnea
please remember this site only deals with this subject and not insomnia
http://forums.cpap.co.uk
Sleepio Member
I've been newly diagnosed with sleep apnea. The doctor gave me several options: a device that holds the jaw forward and opens the airway, cpap, or surgery. How much does a cpap machine help quality of sleep? Even if I get enough sleep and have my SE over 90%, my sleep quality is still poor! Anyone who can give me their experience would be helpful!
Sleepio Member
One of the members andymoir who had cpap machine was wonderful at giving advice and support to fellow suffers, but he has recently posted he has poor health at the moment. If you check previous post on this thread or library you will probably find some good information. Good luck
Sleepio Member
This is a response to an old message, but I thought my experience might be of interest. When I began using the cpap machine I was given one of the full face masks. I ended up hating it within a few weeks and they switched me over to “nose pillows.” At last I didn't feel as though I was being smothered. The only problem at that point turned out to be bloating from swallowing all that air. I was then given a bi-pap machine which lowers the pressure on the exhale and kicks it back up when you're breathing in. That worked wonderfully and I've been using the machine and nasal pillows for around 15 years. Recently they came out with another nasal pillow mask that is very light, doesn't take up your whole face and is just wonderful for those who feel smothered and claustrophobic with the larger masks. I would never have known I had sleep apnea had a friend asked me if I thought I had narcolepsy (I would fall asleep in mid sentence sometimes). My GP sent me immediately for the test and found that I indeed had severe sleep apnea and had probably had it most of my adult life. It was not caused by obesity but I did put on a lot of weight when I hit my mid to late 40's. All those years I thought I had asthma and took asthma meds which just kept me awake!!
I hope this helps some people who may be suffering SA without knowing it.
Sleepio Member
I've had nothing but bad experience with CPAP. Totally hate it. My insomnia improves not wearing a mask. I wear the mask and cannot sleep at all so I take it off after two or three hours.
There's also the problem of leaks. I have a special pillow but maybe it isn't so good. Will try CORE PRODUCTS.
I'm a tiny person and I'm ordering extra small straps to see if there's a change.
I'm supposed to be having severe OSA and I'm sure not wearing the mask must be hard on my heart.
Thanks to all for any further advice.
Sleepio Member
Hi Lolita:
I am just starting out with the CPAP machine. I have had lots of problems finding a mask that fits properly. I can totally relate to your feelings of frustration! I am small too and I think that the majority of masks must be for men or much larger people since even the small masks leak.
The company that is working with me is very supportive and determined to find something that works for me. I noted that I do sleep better with the mask (given that I am not used to it yet and have only just, I think, found a mask that fits me properly). After using it for a few nights I got fed up and did without for 2 nights. I really noticed a difference. What sleep I got was better with the CPAP.
One thing that I have tried that might help you is a chin strap. I use a full face mask since my mouth comes open when I fall asleep. This causes leaks at the bottom but with the chin strap there are no leaks.
Hope that is helpful to you. I would be interested in hearing from some people who are currently using a CPAP.
Sleepio Member
My success lately is due primarily to using a CPAP sleep mask from my health insurance made by ResMed. The device increases the flow of air whenever my uvula shuts off and causes interruption in my breathing and increased snoring. I have gone from 11-22 events per hour to less than 1 and no snoring. An event is a 10 second stop of breathing. The device sends the data to a satellite and I can download the data to my PC. My health worker can download the data so that I meet Medicare's criteria ( 70% use for a minimum of 4 hours/day). This keeps people from getting a free mask and not using it. I actually get tired at 10:30pm and wake around 5-6am. I got used to the nose mask. It will not end up in my closet.
Sleepio Member
I have recently come back into the cpap fold. I was diagnosed 3 years ago with mild apnea and I decided to get a machine even though I was told it likely wouldn't help. At the time I was suffering from depression triggered by a tough relationship. So I was willing to try anything. Overall though really I felt no effects from therapy. Fast forward to this year and I found myself once again in a sleep study office desperately seeking help for a recent bout of sleep maintenance insomnia. This time however I was diagnosed with extremely severe sleep apnea with over 100 ahi's per hour. I asked my doctor why this was happening and they told me that sometimes these things just happen. It was also suggested to me that the previous sleep study was inaccurate. So I guess that must be it then right? I haven't gained weight since my last study and nothing has changed appreciably. I've actually lost weight and my bmi is healthy. The problem is that now I have been on the cpap for the last 6 months but my symptoms haven't improved. My readouts tell me that the apnea is being treated but my other sleep issues continue. So I'm turning to sleepio and trying to adopt healthy habits for sleep. This all seems odd though. I don't care what the doctor says. But I'll keep persevering I guess and assume it's all in my head.
Sleepio Member
I completely understand SleeplessKissinger, 6 months ago, I started to suddenly get sleep onset Apnea (I stop breathing at the point of going to sleep). After going several days without sleep and ending up in the hospital thinking I was having a heart attack, I went through home sleep study and an overnight hospital stay. I had an AHI of 93. This all happened literally overnight and I'm still trying to figure out why it started and what can I do about it. I'm not overweight, I eat healthily, and had zero stress. As a result of having issues getting to sleep, I ended up having severe insomnia. I couldn't sleep at all during the day, so would walk round like a zombie. It didn't help that all this happened in Japan, so getting diagnosed and treated was complicated (my medical Japanese is limited to ow that hurts). Also complicated by the fact I came back to the UK 3 months after it started. Thankfully Resmed supplied an APAP machine with a Japanese doctors referral, and now I'm starting the process in the UK of getting treatment which has taken another 3 months. I found I had sleep paralysis when going to sleep with the mask on because while the APAP machine would help, the issue of falling asleep caused me such an issue by body felt like it was rejecting the notion of falling asleep. I have tinnitus and a dodgy knee, and the stress made the tinnitus worse, so imaging trying to get to sleep with apnea, tinnitus and a swollen knee, to say I was a mess is an understatement. 3 months in and a stop / start sleepio course and I can now generally fall asleep fairly quickly. I just suffer from waking up about an hour after I sleep and keeping awake. My sleep restriction says I should do 5hrs a night, but I struggle to get 4. I had a worry that it was all in my head too and probably is but it still doesn't stop it from happening.
Sleepio Member
I have the dual problem of Idiopathic Insomnia and Sleep Apnoea. I have been on zimovane since they first became available and am on a high dose – 3×7.5mg nightly. The effectiveness has all but disappeared but without them I have terrible rebound insomnia and I have heard it is dangerous to come off them abruptly. I am meant to use a bilevel machine at night – the apnoea score wasn't too high as an average but was quite significant during the short periods I was asleep (sleep studies). I plan to start using the bilevel machine and mask tonight.
I take a long long time (hours) to fall asleep and wake frequently. I never feel refreshed in the morning. I often have nights with no sleep at all. I realise that the mask may stop me wakening up so much but my past experience was that the use of the mask aggravated my insomnia. I am interested in hearing if anyone with problems similar to mine has used the Sleepio Programme successfully.
Sleepio Member
My name is Ruud i live on the island Bornholm in Denmark,i am 52 years old and have severe birth onset idiopathic insomnia. Because i have very poor sleep and when i do sleep ( just like you ) i do have central and obstrucktive apnoea they decided that i needed to try an Apap.
I don´t use the programm but just got into it for one week to contact you.
I have been looking all over the world for one with the same problems like me.
I would like you to contact me but how can we do that.
We could both contact Colin Espie, and ask for the possebillity to exchange experiance
Sleepio Member
Consider a sleep study in a medical setting. I was found to have severe Sleep Apnea, which meant I was awakening, or almost awakening--and stopped breathing for more than 10 seconds each time--37.8 times in an hour--that's more often than every 2 minutes. I have been fitted with an APAP (Automatic Positive Airway Pressure) device, i.e., a mask with tubes to the device, which has a heated humidifier. In three nights of getting used to sleeping like this, my awakenings have gone from 37.8 to 12.6 to 9.9 to 3.3. I feel better than I have since I can remember.
Sleepio Member
How can this chat benefit anyone signing up and enrolling into this program now? It's 2019. The most recent comment was almost 18 months ago. I'm skeptical this automated program will work as designed. Most of the presentation has been about things that do not affect me, like stress, and thinking too much. I have issues with my CPAP machine, finding help with my CPAP machine, and physical pain. I will give this a go, but not holding my breath.
Sleepio Member
BigHoss18, If you are having problems with your CPAP machine, a forum I have found that has given me helpful advice, is cpaptalk.com –
What type of problems with your CPAP are you experiencing?
Sleepio Member
It’s possible that the interest in sleep apnea ebbs and flows from time to time. Perhaps there aren’t many sleepios with sleep apnea recently, but its worth a try to reach out.
Sleepio Member
I have the lovely combination of sleep apnea and sleep maintenance insomnia. I've been using a cpap for 6-7 years and it has been helpful, but if I wake in the middle of the night (which is often and, l assume, frequently unrelated to apnea), I have great difficulty falling back asleep. As a result, I rarely sleep through the night and rarely wake up feeling refreshed. I'm on week 3 of the Sleepio program, so am just beginning the sleep restriction regime. Uggg.
Normally I have no problem falling asleep when I hit the sack (just problems with waking at night), but now I'm so anxious to fall asleep that I'm having difficultly doing it. Moreover, the cpap mask is suddenly feeling more annoying than ever!
None-the-less, I will persist. Now, off to meditate. :-)
Sleepio Member
Diagnosed with Sleep Apnoea and use a CPAP machine each night. Sleep is better than it was prior to CPAP, but still feel less than refreshed and lacking concentration.
Any other users here?
Sleepio Member
I am soo glad I found this site. Very helpful. I have OSA and trouble falling and staying asleep 90% of the time. I recently started on the CPAP machine. I have tried the nasel pillows along with the chin strap and switched to the nose/mouth mask, just to see if there is any difference other than air blowing up your nose. It is small and not confining as the other full masks. Will see what happens. Love everyone's suggestions !!!