Psyber wrote:Brodlach wrote:Bum Crack wrote:Anyone here suffer from sleep apnea? I have a test coming up soon as the missus is ready to kill me keeping her up every night snoring and carrying on. I'm always tired during the day and I've had a gutsful. Apparently the sleep apnea machines work wonders. How much are the machines and do they take a bit of getting used to?
Mate of mine has a machine and it really changed his life. More energy, lost weight and feels healthier
Only issue he says (other than getting used to the face mask) is the machine makes a noise all night
I started getting symptoms of sleep apnoea in about 1996, daytime drowsiness, snoring++, rising blood pressure and cholesterol levels. These have all normalised since I started on CPAP in 1999. Some machines are more noisy than others, and mine (Resmed) has never bothered the woman who shares my bed.
Those that automatically drop the pressure as you breathe out are good. I've never needed the humidifier the dealers tend to try to sell you. Mask fit is critical. I've found the nasal pillows dislodge if you roll over in your sleep. I've never needed a full face mask, just the nose mask, but some of the newer very compact models tend to slide around a bit too, and so I use an older one. I've had to alter the straps on some masks as we all have different head shapes and they tend to be made for the average European shape - I have a flatter crown and longer occipital bulge at the back than that.
Hoses are a factor to watch - more modern softer rubber connectors tend to perish sooner.
I have had a machine now for about 10 years.
Last one i bought was about 2k. New mask every couple years for 250ish.
You should have no problems getting used to it as you are so tired anyway and can sleep in any conditions. Whenyou go to the hospital where they hook you up for testing youll know what i mean. if you can sleep for that youll sleep with a mask. Mine is just nasal too. I also use a chin strap to keep my mouth closed as well. If i remember rightly from my testing if i was sleeping for 8 hours i was actually only getting 3-4 hours sleep the rest of the time you are awake, , i think thats the simplest way to put it. Psyber might put it better.
When you are falling asleep a couple hours after waking up its not good.
Absolutely it will be the best thing you ever done. Losing weight, giving up smoking (if you smoke) will all help a little.
Get an auto machine, meaning the pressure required is adjusted by the machine as you sleep depending on what you require.
