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Can it be used without the humidifier? I find it very uncomfortable breathing in warm, damp air. I already need to sleep with a fan blowing on my face since the mask feels hot. (They actually make cooling pillows for women at my stage in life!)
I am looking to replace my machine since it is no longer being made. I will be purchasing it from an on-line supplier. I am looking for an APAP with a 45-minute ramp that allows the user, me, to review my data easily each day to see if the mask is leaking and whether my sleep is improving. I am not good with technology, so the "easily" part is important. I do not need any advanced reporting options for communicating with a doctor. I also want the auto-pap that will adjust as needed rather than having to depend on a doctor to set a pressure. (I get my prescriptions through my GP, who is able to consider my health needs as a whole rather than just focusing on one issue insisting that other areas have no impact on each other.)
After quitting and then trying again, I have finally found a mask that seems to work. I do not need to get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, and my ankles are less swollen. However, I continue to struggle to find a comfortable position so that I can fall asleep and wake up at least once, then require another hour to get back to sleep. Since I deal with chronic pain related to arthritis, I need to know whether I am still waking from apnea-related issues/mask leaks or whether it is merely the usual pain/stiffness.
Any recommendations?
I actually did check them out. I think my current collection will do. If not, I saw a post on how to create my own pillow. Thanks!
Before I ever had the back & neck arthritis, apnea ..., I had knee and ankle problems. I was diagnosed with chondromalacia(?), common for women in the late teens and early twenties, but did not want to give up my activities. I danced classical ballet as a girl (hence the ankle and knee arthritis now) and have practiced Tang Soo Do for over twenty years. Despite the arthritis and ACL/MCL/meniscus injuries, I don't regret those activities. And luckily, it wasn't until the back and neck problems that my sleep was interrupted. My main CPAP goal is to feel more alert so that I can participate in evening activities again. I have accepted that break falls and kicking a heavy bag can no longer be part of my repetoire, but I miss the intensity of martial arts. I have a whole collection of different types of pillows that I set up each night and switch around when I wake up in the middle of the night. It worked fairly well last night, so I'm hopeful. I look like a white-haired, grandma muffin. I love to play with my granddaughter, walk and hike in nature, swing dance & salsa - and punch and kick things. I want the energy to get back to doing all that.
I don't trust the sleep therapist I saw; she would not listen. I swear she must hold stock in companies that make nasal pillows and did not want to hear why I didn't want to use them. She charged my insurance $6000 for a machine that I found on line for less than $2000. A psychologist friend of mine, who is self-insured, buys all his supplies online, so that's what I do now. My ResMed machine may no longer be made. I bought filters for another one and cut them to size for my machine. I just saw the new mask I bought from Easy Breath advertised on Amazon for about $30 less than I paid. So shop around to compare prices.
I have Hashimoto's disease. Horrendous nightmares that woke me were part of the symptoms that started in my mid-thirties. They were misdiagnosed as many things for 5 years until a simple blood test indicated little thryroid function. (Actually, I'd had Hashimoto's all my life; times of low thyroid functioning coincide with times of severe childhood nightmares. As a toddler, doctors were unable to determine why I was losing so much hair. I just never told my parents about the nightmares. When they were bad, I got up in the middle of the night and slept outside my parents' door.) For me, the nightmares stopped once my Synthroid dose was established. My endocrinologist said that the dreams were related to hormone fluctuations that come with poor thryroid function. My sleep apnea is related somewhat to my slightly enlarged thryroid but mostly to the weight I gained when my thyroid nearly quit and then regained when severe arthritis interfered with sleep. So - after all that - check with your endocrinologist, too.
Greetings all! I'm de. Does anyone else here have back/neck problems that are impacted by CPAP therapy? I'm struggling to get back to doing my favorite things. Neck and lower back pain led to frequent sleep interruptions, that led to less exercise and incredible carb craving + weight gain, that led to sleep apnea, that led to additional sleep interruption... I'd actually overcome sleep apnea years ago when I lost lots of weight and became active. Now I'm struggling to get back to where I once was. Part of that is finding a way to tolerate CPAP therapy so that I get at least 5 hours each night of quality sleep. I've found a mask that seems to be workable. Now I just need to be able to fall asleep faster and remain that way longer. I figure I will still wake up in the middle of the night and need to get up to stretch and do the exercises that help relieve the neck and sciatic pain. I'm thinking of trying a switch to Provent for when I return to bed so that I can give my neck and back less pressure. I have to try something new; I want my life back.
Funny - I was experimenting with pillows from my extensive collection and decided to try a combination of 2 travel pillows tonight. I finally found a mask that actually fits my small nose without too much leakage and has a hose connection that doesn't pull on my neck so much. Now I need to find the right pillow combination for side sleeping so that the mask is not interfered with while my neck is supported and I am able to position myself for lower spine alignment.
