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Hi Trebor,
How the air comes out of the exhalation port depends a bit on the individual mask. Most Fisher & Paykel nasal masks have a diffuser over the exhalation port which make it virtually silent. This would be the HC405, HC406, HC407, Eson and Eson 2 if you want to look them up. Their full face mask does not. The quietest, least blowy full face masks are probably the ResMed Quatto Air, AirFit F10 and AirFit F20. The don't direct the air straight out but have a circular pattern that is more diffuse. They may help you.
Most masks are not that noisy though. Is it possible that a leak is causing the noise? When it is being noise, press around the outside of your mask. If the air gets quieter when you press in a particular spot then you probably have a leak there. The mask will also be noisy if not correctly assembled. Some models have pieces which can be almost-but-not-quite clicked together which will result in a noisy leak. Lastly, if you hear a lot of noise as you breathe in and out, this normally only happens when you are awake and breathing deeply. As you fall asleep and your breathing becomes more relaxed this noise usually disappears.
Which mask do you have?
Howdy Snuffie
I was not suggesting that you wear CPAP in bed while reading a book or watching TV, but in your living room or wherever else you might normally do these things (besides your bed). It should not have any significant effect on your sleep hygiene. The idea of not reading or watching TV in bed is related to classical conditioning. If the only thing you do in bed is sleep, then your brain learns to connect lying in bed with sleep. Over time your brain will probably become conditioned to connect CPAP with sleep, but at this early stage it is more important to just get used to it. It won't connect CPAP with sleep if you're not sleeping with it. The using CPAP during the day while relaxing thing works well for some people.
Thanks for your success story. It's human nature to ignore success and highlight problems (there's a name for it in psychology but I forget what). It's nice to be reminded that for the majority of users CPAP is a successful and useful therapy. Of course, those people rarely come online looking for advice coz they don't need it. Just last night we had 3 patients happily treated with CPAP. They are all fans.
I wholeheartedly concur. If the inositol works, then great! You have nothing to lose. And if it isn't doing the job fully it's important to know. You may not even have OSA to stay with, and your symptoms may be due to something else.
Is the dodgy switch on top of the unit or on the back where the power cord connects? Either way, a number of my patients tackle this problem by leaving the machine on and turning it on & off at the wall. If this is too hard, you could get a power cord with a normal rocker switch built into it. They are fairly common for bedside lamps. You could probably get one spliced into the power cord you already have. That would let you keep using your beloved machine.
Why can't you just use the one machine for the required period?
Just be careful if you are going to explore the clinical menu. There are some settings that are locked for a reason, and if you change them your therapy could become ineffective.
Kudos on your persistence and good result Madjack.
I can tell you that there is small but significant proportion of sleep apnoea sufferers who are asymptomatic. That meas that, like you, they don't really feel or show any ill effects of OSA. The good news is that means you have treated it before it has caused any major damage. If you had a proper sleep study, they will have been able to see every breath you do or do not take, so if they saw you stop breathing then it probably is so. Don't worry if you don't notice much difference other than sound sleep. It can only do you good. And, believe me, while you may not think it looks sexy, it's a darn sight more appealing than a snore. I have had hundreds of spouses attest to this.
Just a few thoughts Madjack, which you may feel free to ignore.
Wipes made specifically for CPAP masks are usually a ripoff. Your mask does not need to be sterilised. It's not like your sharing it with someone else (I assume) and your face and nose are certainly not sterile. All your wipes need to do is clean your mask, and plain ordinary baby wipes will do this. You should use alcohol free wipes, but most of them are. If you are paying any more for your wipes than for standard baby wipes (or wet wipes if that's what you call 'em) then you are paying too much.
You should empty your humidifier chamber every morning and let it dry. If water stays in it too long, mold can start to grow in it and inhaled mod spores can cause nasty infections. I have seen some pretty unpleasant cases of this. As long as you empty your chamber every morning, problem solved.
I hope you don't pay too much for your "CPAP water" either. It just needs to be demineralised in order to prevent salts from depositing on the inside of your chamber as the water evaporates. Triple distilled/filtered sounds expensive and unnecessary. The only problem with normal tap water is that it will eave deposits on your chamber over time and make it look dirty, and these can be cleaned off by letting vinegar stand in your chamber and cleaning it with a tooth brush. Most people opt for demineralised/distilled water though. Where I live, it can be purchased for $1 - $2/liter (much less that spring water for drinking). If you are paying more than that I would suggest that you may be paying too much.
These are all things I discuss regularly with my patients. There's nothing wrong with the CPAP wipes or the "CPAP water" per se, they may just be an unnecessary expense.
