Lifetime

So in 2020 i'll have been in CPAP therapy for 25 years! my sleep study was done in my home, completely wired up, including a night vision camera. a bundle of cables were stretched into our spare room where the tech sat and watched me and recorded my Apneos as i slept. Has anyone had therapy for this amount of time and been able to come off the machine? I've lost weight from time to time and noticed the pressure was more intense. i cannot nap without it and if the power goes out there's no sleep for me. I don't like the EPR feature, i need full pressure all the time.

I am coming up to only 2 years of CPAP use. If you use SleepyHead to monitor your results and the machine is in Auto that should give some indication of how necessary the CPAP is.

I also do not use the EPR full time. I set it to be on in Ramp Only. I think that allows the pressure to reduce some and avoid some of the central apnea events.

Hi Sleeptight

I didn't realise that CPAP went back that far.

I would also like to know if it is possible to escape from the machines after a protracted period of usage although, like yourself, I can't even nap without one.

I doubt that I could reasonably expect to escape from my cursed machine but I believe the question is important and should have been researched and strategies developed and implemented a long time ago, but in an industry that is all about immediate sales and control there is no perceived benefit.

Not sure how the machine itself would answer it Sierra. I doubt that an automatic machine would wind itself off entirely and even a low pressure could make the difference between breathing comfortably and not. Perhaps I am missing something here.

Probably the only way to really know what your current sleep status is would be to cease using the machine and do a sleep study without a CPAP but there must be some aspect that I just don't understand because I suggested doing that in a sleep clinic here and they looked at me like I was a basket case.

Anyways, the airflow is just the physical aspect of it. I wonder what level of dependence is Acquired on a psychological and emotional level especially when so many CPAP users seem to be dealing with (or end up acquiring) anxiety issues.

I have tried to raise this query before from a number of different angles but this forum seems focused exclusively on supporting CPAP usage, which may be a worthy cause, but the result is that serious doubts and escape options are largely ignored and effectively taboo.

The irony of it is that serious questions and diligent research that helps us attain comprehensive answers and increased understanding usually leads to new fields that can also be exploited and converted to revenue.

Avoidance of these kinds of queries and the issues underlying them is just short term thinking.

I have used CPAP for 25+ years as well. In my 30ies, I did lose weight and was able to come off of it for a period of time. I think it depends on the kind of Apnea you have. I know that many who lose significant weight can remedy their sleep apnea, particularly if it's obstructive apnea vs. central apnea.