So I went to a neurologist for migraines. They are pretty infrequent, but severe when I get them. Got a prescription and am doing well with that. As a part of the migraine diagnosis, the neurologist sent me for a sleep study. That's when things took a left turn.

Seems I have sleep apnea. I have had a regular sleep study test as well as a test with the full CPAP mask. I have an appointment with a pulmonologist to go over the results next week.

It's pretty clear they are going to push the full face mask. At this point I am thinking the cure is worse than the disease. I could be wrong about this but I don't think my sleep apnea is severe. I have never fallen asleep while driving, at red lights etc. However I have no doubt I have it. My research also tells me untreated sleep apnea can damage my overall health. I would very much appreciate some advice.

1. Have you worn the full CPAP mask? Were you eventually able to tolerate it? What was your experience? If you decided to just live with sleep apnea, I'd like to know that.

2. There appears to be a few alternative treatment products on the market. One company sells a micro-CPAP. There is also some sort of dental device the you wear at night that slides over your teeth as you bite down on it. There are others that are like nose clips. Any experience with any of these alternative devices?

This forum has been a great source of knowledge and advice to me on a wide range of subjects. Any advice or comments anyone has would be greatly appreciated.

I've worn the mask for more than fifteen years. It changed my life. I can't sleep without it. It didn't take much getting used to.

I have it, just diagnosed, not too bad though. I have to retest this month, home sleep study. I refused the CPAP thinking just like you, cure is worse than the problem. He is suggesting the dental device as well, I'll try that.

Yes, I have used the full face mask, tolerated it and acheived great benefits. I lost about 30 pounds after starting cpap. I also went from sleeping 12 hours and getting up feeling tired to sleeping 9 hours and feeling refreshed. I didn´t notice how much sleep apnea was affecting me until I used cpap. I think sleep apnea has gradual affects that are hard to detect if you have not had them before.

I've been struggling with cpap for 3 years now. I have an appointment this week to meet with a sleep specialist to try the dental appliance.

They say CPAP is best, but if you can't acclimate to it, the dental appliance may work well too.

Since I'm a night grinder I'm already used to wearing a night guard. So hopefully this won't be much of a transition and I'll have better luck than hose and mask.

Listen to me good. Don't you fucking quit. I had 7-10 nights of misery. Couldn't sleep worth a damn. Hose trying to kill me every night. I put the thing away for 6 months, and then tried it again. Same thing. Another 6 months of my wife bitching and I tried it again. 3 nights later it worked, I woke up the next day 10 years younger.


I find twith the full mask the best thing to do is rotate the hose so that it goes up and I tuck it between my pillow and headboard. That ikeeps it away from my arms. I was moving and ddragging the machine off the night stand. not fun.

There are non full mask options, I use the pillows as I couldn't stand the mask. Specifically the Opus 360, the hose goes up over your head, tuck it in behind the pillows and you can sleep without it getting in the way, I sleep on my side and it works great, 10+ years, in fact my current machine is over 5 years and 15,000 hours.

Be sure they setup the machine to ramp up, this will start with lower pressure as you acclimate and fall asleep, it's much easier than it having a full pressure start.

Fought it myself, but it does make a difference, less tired, no snoring, I've left it home an travelled, work up with sore throat from snoring so hard.

https://www.cpap.com/productpa...360-hc482a-cpap-mask

Like you, I never fell asleep while driving or at a light or stop sign. I held off on getting a sleep study - afraid my wife would kick me out of the room because of the noise of the CPAP - but the new machines are pretty quiet (and I'm told it's better than listening to someone snore). LOL
The place I went to wanted to start folks on nasal masks and move to full face mask if they didn't work. I
The key is to get a mask that fits well. Make sure the place you're using for medical supplies allows you to exchange masks (no charge) until you get one that works for you. I think the place I went allowed 3 or 4 exchanges. Had to return a mask within a few weeks for an exchange. I think we got it right on the second try.

Do you know what mask was used for the sleep study? If that mask worked, maybe start with that make and model.

I can nap without my CPAP but if I sleep the night I wake up with a sore throat and feeling lousy. So I travel with my CPAP. (Happy to go over the airline rules if that would help - some airline personnel don't know the rules.)



Additional detail - they started me with nasal mask saying my pressure was too high for the nose pillows. I have not idea what pressure you'll be at.

quote:

Originally posted by Timdogg6:
Listen to me good. Don't you fucking quit.

Perhaps the best comment in the thread!

I'm a nose breather and a back sleeper, so I don't need a full mask. It took about 2 weeks of hell to get used to it, but now it's great and I fall asleep super quick and wake up not feeling dead.

If you are a mouth breather, then you need the full face mask. If you sleep breathing through your nose only, then you can do the nose pillows or what I use, a nasal cushion.

As for the dangers of sleep apnea, when your breathing stops, so does your intake of oxygen. That can affect your brain activity. It increases your chances of a heart attack, among other things. If the sleep doctor says you need a CPAP machine, it's not just for falling asleep in the car.

Question--When you're driving, do you sometimes realize that you are farther down the road than you last remember? You're not asleep, but kind of road hypnotized? Then you are possibly under the influence of sleep apnea. You don't need to fall asleep to be a danger when driving.

Timdogg is on point. Like many I went undiagnosed for many years, probably most of adult life, until around early 50s. Not sleeping or fatigued during day, etc. but finally my wife said "You know, you stop breathing a LOT now while asleep and snoring." Probably not helped by picking up a few lbs over the years.

As an open-mouth snorer I knew the nasal pillow would never work and skipped straight to full mask. Yeah, it was a PITA for first few nights but soon after noticed that even waking up a couple times while turning over and feeling hose or pressure I was still feeling more rested when getting up in morning. As time passed, quickly becomes less and less an issue in most people's experience and in mine.

All that was punctuated at the same time by my very dearest friend and a neighbor being told he was making his already existing heart issues worse with his (much more severe) sleep apnea. He tried CPAP, pillows were blowing out his mouth and he swore the mask wasn't worth it and he just didn't like it. About 4 months later he sits straight up in bed at 0200, falls back full on dead from a heart attack.

Now sure, he was likely going to have that attack sometime anyway and was dealing with an already diseased cardiovascular system, but there's not much going on at that time of the day stressing a heart other than maybe, just perhaps, not breathing repeatedly in your sleep. That will make you a pretty firm believer, or at least it did me.

Similar to others...

I use a CPAP machine with the nasal pillows. At my 2nd appointment/study (to be fitted with a machine), I could not tolerate the full mask at all.

It did take me awhile to get used to it, but I don't remember how long. I just remember taking baby steps, and trying to use it a little longer each night. It finally just clicked, and I've used it ever since.

Stick with it, don't give up...it can absolutely improve quality of life and health.

The cure is not worse than the disease. Get a CPAP setup and use it. It takes a while to get comfortable with it but don’t give up.

quote:

Originally posted by pawprintsdoc:
Similar to others...

I use a CPAP machine with the nasal pillows. At my 2nd appointment/study (to be fitted with a machine), I could not tolerate the full mask at all.

It did take me awhile to get used to it, but I don't remember how long. I just remember taking baby steps, and trying to use it a little longer each night. It finally just clicked, and I've used it ever since.

Stick with it, don't give up...it can absolutely improve quality of life and health.

This was my experience.

Occasionally I'll fall asleep without it. I always wake up with a jolt and feeling of impending doom. Put the mask on, and I sleep like a baby.

quote:

Originally posted by Fed161:
I could be wrong about this but I don't think my sleep apnea is severe. I have never fallen asleep while driving, at red lights etc. However I have no doubt I have it. My research also tells me untreated sleep apnea can damage my overall health. I would very much appreciate some advice.

I've never once fallen asleep anywhere without intending to.

I didn't think I had apnea, either. I did a three-night, at-home sleep study maybe six months ago which showed a varying severity of apnea. Based on number of apnea events per hour, one night was mild but diagnosable, one night was moderate, and one night was very severe.

I started out with a nasal pillow mask. It took two or three nights to get used to and then I stopped noticing it. Because I have (diagnosed by ENT years ago) very constricted nasal passages, I am used to sleeping with my mouth open and had to use a chin strap to keep my mouth closed (which was annoying), and have difficulty breathing through my nose with even mild congestion (which sometimes interfered with using the machine with a nasal mask). After trying a few options, I ended up switching to a hybrid full mask, the Philips Dreamwear with full face cushion. It has been recommended here in several of the recent CPAP threads. It uses a small mask that goes over your mouth with a soft silicone section at the top that puffs up when the machine is on and seals around your nostrils - nothing goes over the bridge of your nose, or even over the tip of your nose, like on a traditional full face mask. It also has the hose come off the top of your head, rather than off the mask, which I find completely eliminates the occasional problem of waking up tangled in the hose.

Long story short, after finding the right mask and settings on the machine, I don't find the CPAP at all disruptive or annoying. I sleep better (almost never got deeply enough asleep to dream before CPAP), wake up in the night much less often, don't struggle as much to get up and get moving in the morning, and have a better energy level/less fatigue throughout the day.

For me, at least, staying on the machine is a no-brainer. I use it every night and pack it when I travel, even if I'm just going to be gone for a night or two.

Since I started using the CPAP I have had three or four nights where I didn't use the CPAP for various reasons, and without exception, I felt like crap the next day - and realized that was how I used to feel all the time.

I wear a full mask every night. If I take a nap I put it on. It's not an issue.

While I have the full mask and a ResMed 10 and use them regularly, I can’t tell you that you will be blessed with outstanding sleep. If not for the potential health risks, I’d kick it in a corner in a minute. You can get used to sleeping with it on just do it. It’s just unnatural to sleep with something attached to your face and head. You’ll adapt, just don’t expect bliss.

I'm getting set up with one in the next week or so. Will let you know how it goes.

I have the full face mask and the resmed10. The first night I wore it the mask was driving me crazy. Once I fell asleep though I woke up so refreshed I couldn't believe it! I have been using it faithfully for the last couple years now.
I amount of instances have gone from 8 or 9 an hour to 8 or 9 a night!