Great pic pam, and you have the same exact type of cpap machine as my dh.
now we all want to see a pic with you wearing the mask .
I kid my dh that he sounds sorta like darth vader from star wars when the mask slips off or the tube ... elephant trunk thingy comes off.
Now have a great week and weekend of sunshine and peace.
BMW

Thanks BMW, I am sleeing much better with the mask on then I first thought I ever would. It's just easier to fall asleep wearing it and lying on my back. I took a photo of it on me but it's a weird looking photograph, so I won't be putting it up on my site. I would share it but I look way tired in it-LOL!!!1!1

Wish there was an easier way of taking it off and going to the bathroom. That would be one thing I wish this mask setup has. A quick release that you could easily replug into after going to the bathroom. Something you could do when half a sleep. That would be awesome.

Dear Pamster!
I just disconnect the hose from the mask when I have to use the bathroom. I hope that yours has that option. Believe me when I tell you that if the power goes off you will know it!

I am so used to mine now I am able to sleep on my sides and stomach. (just still takes time for me to fall asleep) A hint or two, get some Vicks Vapor Rub and swab a bit where the hose connects to the mask. This will sure help to clear your sinus. For dry mouth I suck on a piece of hard candy and chew it up when I feel sleepy.

Thank you candlelightlives, those are some great ideas. I will get some vapor rub just for the machine so that when I feel a little congested it will help knock it out of my system. I like the idea a lot and will pick some up next time I am out shopping. I can sleep on my side except for the sinus closing up and then I have to flip over onto my back for awhile, but maybe with the vapor rub that will no longer be needed. Great idea candlelightlives, thanks so much for posting about it!

I didn't post about this yet but I suppose I should. Jackie took my chin strap saturday morning/afternoon after being told no more food. It's always food with him. Anyway I had the mask and hose in my lock box with a padlock on it. I didn't take the chin strap and left it on the dresser, so during the day at some point he hid it, I think it was somewhere in the walk in closet.

Thing is he refused to acknowledge that he's done a thing, he's acting like all oblivious to it all, the night goes by without my chin strap so no machine use. I was sure it was in the garbage, that somehow it had gotten by me. I was resolved to buy a new one today, but as it turns out he responded to something, a bribe, Jack came up with the idea and we both told him numerous times, making gestures about our heads like my chinny strap has to be worn...

"Jackie, if you bring back Mommy's chin strap, her chin strap, bring it back and you can go in the pool today..."

Ten minutes go by he's still acting a little oblivious, but once no one was looking he ducked in the walk in and dug out the thing and replaced it on my dresser! Acting like it had been there all along and wasn't I just NOT seeing it? He manipulated the situation, so now Chinny strap is in my big tool box sized lock box is. I roll out here in my chair to the table, and open it (keys are always worn around my neck, I sleep with my keys...You have to around this autistic child, CONSTANT chain of custudy of objects...

That is the way things have to play out here in my house. So it might sound a little odd that I lock up my hose, mask and strap, but to keep the kiddo off it, it's the only way. It's working now where it was just out of control before and he was going in there turning it on and doing things with it. I don't like him pressing all the buttons. But I love my machine, he leaves that alone pretty much, but the hose and mask WITH the machine spell trouble...LOL!

have not had the strength to do hardly anything lately..not even reading here where i felt at my best...i waited for well over 6 weeks since being diagnosed..when i finally got a return call from the sleep lab---they were on vacation..you see everybody deserves a vacation was there excuse..i can never win..always fall between the cracks or misplaced or error in filing etc.. the dr kept apologizing with every phone call i made--but never fixed the problem or told me they were on vacation..anyway..i got the machine at last. the same one as pamster.it did take a few days to get use to-- then it helprd alot for a few days--now seems to make me clostrophobic,sweaty, wake up every 2-3 hrs-even though i am breathing only through my nose when i swallow i have a weird feeling and my throat feels like it is closing up. sometimes i feel like a need a bib when i can't wake up fast enough to take the mask off my face to swallow and i drool all down my pjs..
i still feel so embarrassed and try to cover my head when i sleep so nobody sees me. i am sleeping on the couch so my fiance doesn't (a) see me (b) doesn't move around on the bed (c) he stays up very late(due to the fact he works nights and doesn't get home till after 1:30 am) and then does his e-bay job till 4-5am.
no matter what time i fall asleep i wake between 4-5am..am starving and thirsty..then try to get back to sleep before i have to get up to put my autistic brother off to program at 7am.... i then fall back to sleep by 9ish and proceed to sleep for about 4 hours..i have called the dr to see if this is normal but then nothing is normal for me..whatever normal is??? dr tells me to give it some more time..
still can't seem to turn my brain off and depression is getting worse by the second..between the depression,pain,anxiety,sleepiness..taking a shower is putting me into panic mode-- well...again thank you my friends for letting me vent and whine..and being there when i am at my lowest and cn't explain my feelings to anyone(cept my therapist--who tells me to give myself a break) hope everyone has a peaceful night or day of sleeping...moonstar (or falling moonstar)

Oh moonstar I feel just terrible for you that they took SO long to get your machine out to you. I guess I was just lucky my doctor was able to get a medical supplier to get one out to me that same day he went over the results. It sounds like it's the same thing I have happening too. I drool a lot and it's all over my chin strap, but also the breathing thing, when you swallow, my ears pop and my throat feels funny, like it's constricting against the air. You might want to try the CFlex feature on the machine moonstar, it's supposed to 'ramp up' slower so you're asleep by the time it starts blowing the full incriment of air.

I have found I feel less depressed after a few solid nights using the machine. I do notice I am waking up and it feels like the machine's not working but then when I open my mouth a little bit the tornado of wind rushes out so I know it's working, it just doesn't feel or sound like it is at 3 am. I tried to take a nap today and couldn't, laid there for an hour and just could NOT nodd off.

I hope you start feeling better moonstar, stick with the machine, I know it's no fun looking like you're about to go deep sea diving, but it's to help you breathe and to help your body get the rest it needs to heal itself from the stresses of the day.

Pam,

Just to let you know about the conjestion part. I had a heated humidifier put on my CPAP machine when I was having sinus problems. That took care of part of that. I also see an allergy specialist now. I'm allergic to mold. Before seeing the allergery specialist, I was told to use saline spray during the daytime to keep my nasal passages clean. That's why you're having problems at night with your CPAP machine.

Becky

That's a good suggestion, I will have to get some, I have seen them in the store before. I think that it will help; I might see about getting an allegy pill like zyrteck or something soon, because my sinuses do get congested a lot these days and I know it's because of the pollen in the air.

Thanks for the reply Becky.

Moonstar,

This sounds like some bureaucratic problem to me.

I had to go for a second sleep test due the lateness in the first test that I actually stopped breathing, in the fourth hour, but it was a ridiculous amount of disturbances, once every minute average after it started, with a peak period of 3 times a minute, or one breath approximately every 20 seconds, which also aroused me out of any form of sleep state. There has to be a certain degree of arousal, as measured by brain activity, each time before it's considered an "incident." They got me back in for testing within a week because they didn't have the chance to test me long enough after the interruptions started. I had my cpap respirator within about another week after that. So from first test to having a CPAP at home took less than two weeks, and they apologized for making me come back for a second test. The name of the testing company is SomniCare, which has a home office in Des Moines, IA. I live in eastern Kansas, so it could have something to do with distribution, but I doubt it.

Even though this was not the final solution for me, I can't blame my insurance carrier or SomniCare. They did a great job. And it has helped, even though the obstruction has enlarged. I think we have it shrinking again due to Synthroid. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis about 7 weeks ago.

If your primary physician prescribes the treatment, then you should be able to get the equipment somehow. It sounds as if you are going to need to demand an explanation from someone as to why this is taking so long. Yours may be considered a "borderline" case, perhaps treatable in some other manner according to some MBA genius at the insurance company, and your doc and the insurance people are fighting about it. This kind of thing should be way out of the ordinary.

Good luck,
DJ