Hosehead Life

Posts Tagged ‘CPAP’

Well I have been on a CPAP for about 3 months.  General conclusion is that it is going very well.  After the pressure increase a month ago, I have noted further improvement.  It seems to have solved the mask vibration issue that was bothering me.  So I now tend to have the mask on more of the night – which is a good thing.

Also, we took a trip to a lake cabin last weekend.  I packed an extension cord with the CPAP just in case I needed it.  The outlets worked out so I didn’t, but seemed like a good idea to bring one with.  Still not 100% used to traveling with one yet, but a little preplanning goes a long way.

So all in all the CPAP treatment is a success to date.  I am sure there are more things I am forgetting at the moment, but that is what follow-up posts are for!

Well the first night on a CPAP was interesting.  I had a little of the laying there wondering if the mask was leaking, but got to sleep pretty quickly.

Interesting part was I woke at 2am feeling like it was time to get up and go to work. (ie as well rested as I normally am).  It took me a bit to get back to sleep, but then slept till shortly before my alarm normally goes off. Far more rested than usual.  So no matter what, I would say that is pointing in a darn good direction.

My wife did mention when I asked that I was still slightly snoring, though at a much reduced volume. Not quite sure yet if that is a normal part of the adjustment process or if that means the pressure will be adjusted later.  It was just night #1, so not really concerned since I suspect there will be a bit of up and down adjusting to it.

Posted my results on the forums and it sounds like that is actually a very good result overall.  A lot of people have difficulty adjusting to wearing a CPAP.

Well Meritcare Healthcare Accessories here in Jamestown was actually very helpful and great to work with.  A number of forum posts seemed to indicate that it was going to be hit or miss, but they managed to go a very good job here.

I did my homework reading up on the major CPAP brands and scoured the boards reading folks opinions.  They varied widely, but the 2 main US brands both had new models out that were full data capable (meaning a SD card can be pulled and review how treatment is going) though it was possible that a local place might not yet have those in.  Reporting is my job, plus being a geek, being able to pull information from this very expensive gadget was quite important to me.

I was pleasantly surprised when the gal came in with a Respironics PR System One REMstar Pro C-Flex+ with humidifier, which was one of the 2 top recommendations I gathered over the weekend.  While there I was finally able to get a copy of my sleep results.  Finally was able to put a number with the prescription.  Apparently I have an AHI of 23.9, putting me smack in the moderate obstructive sleep apnea category.

So it should be interesting to see how the first night of CPAP therapy goes.

Finally met with the doctor and got the diagnosis. Officially diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). (Hence the new blog, thought it might be helpful to both myself and others to blog about this.)

This diagnosis probably will not come as a shock to anyone who has (or tried to) sleep in the same vicinity as me. As a result I have spent the last few days trying to learn as much as possible about OSA, what CPAP machines do, etc. The Sleep Apnea Support forums have actually been a lot of help on this one, along with many people on there asking questions.

One of the things I learned this weekend – I never asked for specifics on the results of my sleep study.  I have no idea what my numbers came back as.  Since I am going in to the clinic to get set up with a CPAP, I did call and confirm I will be able to get a copy of my results (and prescription) from them.

So there is a lot to learn.  Should be interesting keeping track of it here.  I decided to start a new blog instead of folding it in on my personal site as it is a very specific topic and might be of help to someone else.