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CPAP insights needed.


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On 10/5/2022 at 8:18 AM, Zero Knievel said:

 

I'll look into that, but so far every steroid based nasal spray ended up giving me migraines.

 

 

Make sure you don't get a generic, besides the fact that the generics smell flowery, they also give my wife a migraine, genuine nasonex doesn't. 

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One of my friends almost died of sleep apnea.  I don't actually know for sure, he seemed to have a bunch of problems going on, and seemed to be getting misdiagnosed.  Apparently the last diagnosis was that he had an accumulation of fluid around his heart being caused by apnea and getting a cpap seemed to be what finally cured him of everything.  I haven't asked him if he's noticed a difference in his life before/after the machine, but in talking with him I noticed that he's less retarded now.

 

Chino Dave, for Carlos who's met him.

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3 minutes ago, superhawk996 said:

he's less retarded now.

 

Heh.

 

I forget some of the psychological effects, though I joked about it above.  Several friends who needed them had positive personality changes after.  I mean, go figure, lack of oxygen to the brain...

 

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19 hours ago, SwampNut said:

WTF are you people putting in your drugs??  When I tried the generic it had absolutely no smell and no side effect.

 

IKR? Who the hell thought it would be a good idea to put a flowery scent in something you put up your nose because you're allergic to things like.. FLOWERS!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Resmed Airsense 10 over here. Nasal pillows and heated tube with humidifier. I love it. I’ve never tried a mask and I was definitely a mouth breather going into this but I’ve had no issue. 

 

My nostrils seem perpetually clogged, be it from plant bloom season, dusty rooms, sunny days, cats, etc. In other words pretty much all the time. The only time they are not sort of clogged and are very clear is when I’m using CPAP, cold winter days too. When I have a cold and my nose is completely blocked I look forward to bedtime when I can have that warm moist CPAP air pumping up my schnoz. It might take a minute or two but it clears out my nose and sinuses like a dream.

 

In typical male denial, I did not think I had a problem with sleeping and snoring but I went to a local clinic to appease my wife. CPAP has been life-changing for me for sure. For her too, she immediately started getting better quality sleep. In a couple of years I’ve had it I’ve only missed a single night and that was because I was passed out drunk on a buddies couch.

 

One thing I might throw out there as well is that I think CPAP machines are hard to come by these days. They were two major suppliers, Resmed and Phillips, and Phillips had a large recall. In combination with supply chain issues we see these days I’ve heard that new machines are like hens teeth. The machine they got you to test in house may have been of questionable quality perhaps. 

 

 

Edited by Nova Scotia Mike
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  • 1 month later...
On 10/4/2022 at 12:11 PM, Zero Knievel said:

 

I can only use Afrin sparingly...was hooked on it as a teen.  Burns when I use it now, but good for when I'm desperate to open a passage.  I see the doctor next month and will run ideas past him to see what to do next.  I have no obvious health issues from this, so I have time to figure out how to proceed.

 

I thought of this yesterday, have you tried the Xylitol-based decongestants?  Xlear is one brand.  Note that they have one version with Oxymetazoline, green label, but the white label is just xylitol, grapefruit seed, and water.  It was recommended by a client who is a doctor (well dentist), and he says he thoroughly researched that it has no long term side effects.  I find it barely takes the edge off light congestion, but doesn't do much when I'm totally stuffed.  Worth a try.

 

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On 10/5/2022 at 5:20 AM, DBLXX said:

 

Very weird something so simple doesn't work for you.   You are the easiest person to please.

 

Nothing is simple with him. This is a great community though still trying to help him.

He should run out of objective doubts in about three or four more pages.

Edited by CALCXX
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I've had three in-clinic studies, and two at home. My first study was about 19 years ago, back when they still had them in the hospital. When I woke up the next morning I asked how it went, and the tech told me that the doc had to interpret it... but that I had it BAD. Normal people have something like 5 or so apneic episodes an hour. I had over 60 per hour. With the CPAP on I have less than three.

 

The first machine I had was CPAP... couldn't get used to it. They then gave me a BiPap, but the preset cycle was off from my regular breathing pattern. They said they would order me a ViPap. I asked to get back the original CPAP while I waited for the ViPap. All of a sudden I could tolerate the CPAP, probably because the BiPap was so bad for me. My sats were dropping into the high 60's without it. Insurance will have you do repeat tests over the years to verify you still need it. Usually they have you spend half the night without the CPAP on to chart your apnea, and then they put you on the CPAP and play with the pressure until you have no episodes. At my third test they didn't even wait more than an hour because it was very evident that I had it. The next morning the tech told me that he had never seen anyone fall into REM sleep as quickly as I did after the CPAP was started.

 

I'm on my fourth machine, and can't imagine sleeping without it.

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Security guard at work is getting one.  He’s been told if he doesn’t use it a given percentage of time, insurance won’t keep paying for it.  I told him to verify that claim because normally, after x months of rental (10 for me), the unit is fully paid for and yours.  There is no way he should be renting the unit indefinitely unless they are paying less per month than what my insurance was going to be charged.  Of course his insurance will not pay for an in lab study.

 

FYI, my lab study is in mid February.  So no updates until then.  FWIW, the nurse was surprised the tech at the DME place didn’t make more of an effort to help me be comfortable with taking home the CPAP he had for me, but she agreed with me that if I couldn’t breathe with it, something was not right and I shouldn’t just take it home and “figure it out” alone.  It could have been as simple as my sitting upright compared to lying down.  Some places just want you to sign on the dotted line and take the kit home so they can start billing insurance.  I wonder if I should seek equipment from a different DME supplier…maybe the tech I got just didn’t have any fucks to give.

Edited by Zero Knievel
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Are you sure your security guard isn't just misinterpreting the term "device compliance" up here your license can be suspended for non compliance. They usually just check for a year. You bring in your SD card (probably done by internet now). This is for ALL drivers not just if you have a CDL. I mean you could just buy your own CPAP I guess, but the ministry of health pays for $700 of it, the trade off is now they know you have one. 

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Re: compliance. 

 

Usually it takes over a year to pay off the machine. The insurance wants to ensure that the $,$$$ CPAP they are paying for actually being used, obviously, otherwise they would just buy the unit for you outright. Initially it was an SD card that had to be read by the DME company. Nowadays the CPAP has a cellular modem in it that uploads your data daily. I have gotten emails from my DME when I've not used that particular machine recently to ensure I'm ok with it. When I would go for my CDL health exam I knew enough that they would ask for my compliance report, and so I call my DME company a few days before the appointment and they email me a copy of the current report.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just ran across this. I've been using a CPAP for 3+ years. I'm using a Dreamstation which was replaced by the manufacturer about 6 months after I started - necessitated by the recall.. Fortunately for me, I got the replacement rather quickly. My daughter also uses one  she's been at it longer than I.

I also have sinus problems - Worse in the winter - also allergies and COPD and to top it off, I am a mouth breather so I use the Amara View rather than the full face mask 

I use several remedies for nasal congestion - NACL nasal spray, Fluticasone Propionate Nasal spray and I sometimes take Allegra for the allergies. Mine also has the ability to be read and adjusted by the Doc at his office. I had my original evaluation at the hospital on a special floor there - mine was somewhere between low and moderate at the time. If you haven't yet been able to tolerate the CPAP you might try different masks. I couldn't tolerate the full mask. They tried the Amara on me and that worked fine. There are a variety of masks available to be tried.

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Been using my mom’s CPAP.  Nasal mask doesn’t work because eventually my mouth relaxes and opens.  Regular mask is only tolerable for an hour or so.  Then I have to take it off so I can sleep.  The most it’s done for me in blow in moist air which has helped with my sinuses drying out before I wake up in the morning.  I have no intention of buying a new CPAP if I can’t find a mask that lets me sleep through the night.  I sleep on the side and turn frequently…hoses are a problem because I don’t want to yank the unit off the nightstand.

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The Amara View is not a nasal mask - it's specifically for mouth breathers.

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That looks almost exactly like what I’m using.  It’s possible I just can’t get used to sleeping with a mask.

 

It’s not just the mask, but the hose, I curl up and toss and turn as I get sore from staying in one position too long.  Once I’m aware of the hose, I wake up enough to keep from pulling on it, which only disrupts my getting sleep.  I have no chronic health issues attributable to apnea, so I would be worse off if the solutions negatively impacts my sleep rather than improve it.

 

That’s why I’m using my mom’s machine.  I’d like to see if I can acclimate to it before the sleep study.  I’ve already decided to do the study fully medicated so any apnea events won’t be the cause of allergies or congestion…which might have been what the home study picked up on.

Edited by Zero Knievel
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