Thanks everyone, I am calling in the morning to try to get the doc to get me one.

I had a sleep study done a few years ago and found out I have Apnea and major storing. I put it off until now but it's time.

Thanks again.

My husband and I both have sleep apnea. We started on CPAP last June, but I was unable to continue after about four months because I was getting less sleep than before. (I fought with that darn mask continually!) My husband is still doing well. He has a full-face mask and does sleep on his back, but I used the nasal masks or nasal pillows and could sleep on my sides.

On July 28, I'm having nose surgery to have my deviated septum repaird. I am also having a relatively new procedure called a somnoplasty. This surgery is a simple procedure in which lesions are burned into the soft palate or tongue. The lesions then heal and pull the tissue tighter, reducing the soft tissue falling back in the throat which causes snoring and apnea.

The procedure is usually done on an outpatient basis, but since I'm having the nose surgery, I'm having both at the same time. Supposedly, the recovery time is much shorter and there is a lot less pain from the procedure.

You might want to check on this with your doctor, especially if you find that you can't tolerate CPAP (or Bi-Pap.)

My Mother couldn't tolerate her C-Pap, of course that was in the days that it was huge, so her doctor ordered just a plain oxygen tubing. Her sleep apnea was profound enough that he didn't feel comfortable in her not having anything at night. So she just uses O2 at a low flow. She just uses the little cannula that you have in the hospital for anything. She has this huge compresser in her bedroom that makes the O2 for her and a very long tubing.

In other words, no C-pap machine at all just oxygen tubing connected to straight oxygen. Yes, she still has the apnea but at least her blood stream is saturated with a higher level of oxygen than she normally would have.

I guess I must have the bi-Pap, cause I know it adjusts when I exhale.

I began using it again a couple of months ago (after an 18 month hiatus), but was having difficulty getting the mask to seal. Had it tested and mailed it off to the factory to get the settings adjusted -- it was like being blasted in a wind tunnel! Using a loaner right now.

I use the full mask (nose/mouth). I do quit breathing a lot and for extended periods (according to a recent blood-ox test); however, I really don't notice a huge difference in alertness/energy level upon waking between sleeping with or without it. But, if I use the CPAP consistently, the dark circles under my eyes fade nicely. Also, I think I have fewer body aches.

Are you recovered from your surgery? Sorry you weren't feeling well and missed the GTG.

Sweet dreams!

My husband just started using a BiPAP last week and we've had to sleep in separate rooms because of the noise of the machine. He did a 1 week test with a machine that recorded his breathing and that machine was silent. This one sounds like a tiny turbo with each breath--in, out, in, out.... I think I'd be OK with a solid white noise, but the in and out keeps me awake, or wakes me if I've managed to fall asleep. Using a loud white noise generator to drown out the machine might work, but I cherish the quiet nights with windows open listening to crickets when I wake up at 2 AM.

Has anyone had experience using sound insulation material around the machine?

Susan

I use ear plugs! Even crickets bother me!

Guess I have to find ear plugs that don't hurt my tiny ear canals.