Going a night w/o therapy.

[Big Guy]

I'm asking for a friend. It it really all that bad to go a night w/o using your CPAP machine? And, should there be any level of guilt associated with doing it? 

My friend thanks you. 

[DeepBreathing]

Apnea is a chronic disease - its effects build up slowly over time and - for most people - the results of treatment occur rather slowly. So if there is a reason you - I mean your friend - can't use the machine for a night I don't believe there will be any lasting effects. However your friend will probably feel rotten the next day.

[mesenteria]

I'm following DB around agreeing with everything.     The risk is very small that this one night out of jail is going to be calamitous. I mean, an apnea is an apnea, and they do strain the heart, and when they happen they directly affect sleep badly.  But if he is being well served by his machine these days, he's probably in much better condition overall than he was when he first got diagnosed and commenced treatment.

Guilt?  I had two big chunks of my missus' date square tonight with a hefty sprinkling of chopped walnuts.  I'm sure I'll feel terrible about it tomorrow some time, but I can't bring myself to do it just now. 

[Bweekzzz]

Hey BigGuy. I haven’t gone a night without my PAP since starting 4 months ago, because I do everything I can not to go without it. If I’m sleeping anywhere but home, I pack that sucker up and drag it along. Reason being, is when I have a particularly horrible night for one reason or another, like when I was first starting out and tweaking settings, I know I feel like a TOTAL zombie the next day. There wouldn’t be any guilt if I absolutely had to go without it, but I know the way I’d feel, so I try my best not to. Here’s to hoping “your” friend doesn’t have to either.

Brian

[holden4th]

The next day effects of not using PAP are awful. In the past I have fallen asleep while reading in bed forgetting to put my mask on. I've felt like absolute crap the next morning until my oxygen levels have been restored which is usually around 10:30 and then the fatigue hits in the late afternoon..

[ragtopcircus]

I resisted starting CPAP for a long time. I tried just about every passive appliance out there. Some actually helped; most did not. The main difficulty was keeping the d$&@ things on/in all night.

My go-to was a combination, all worn together: Z-Quiet (MAD), Good Morning Snore Solution (TAD), and WoodyKnows nasal dilator (the clear one, not the totally different pink design). Together, these actually helped for as long as I could keep them in. The WoodyKnows was usually the only thing that would stay in all night though.

My other tricks were side-sleeping, keeping a light on, sometimes keeping a TV on, and drinking a cup of coffee before bed. Of course, side-sleeping helps with CPAP too. The rest was just to keep my sleep light and broken up. Basically, I was choosing exhaustion over suffocation.

I’m not saying it was smart, but I did a lot of shift work in the past, so I could cope with the sleep loss, but oxygen deprivation is a different matter.

Of course, it is going to take me years to unwind the physical effects of that strategy to whatever extent is possible.

[ragtopcircus]

The point is, if I had to skip a night, I’d use the WoodyKnows, some pepper nasal spray, side-sleeping, and coffee to minimize my sleep and get as much oxygen as I could while napping lightly.

This would not be entirely unlike my worst nights with CPAP, but luckily those are rare.

[Sleeprider]

If your friend finds that going without the therapy is an option, then go for it. I have actually borrowed a buddy's machine on a motorcycle trip when mine would not start. I will do anything not to do without the positive pressure. Some people tolerate a sleep without pressure, and I consider them lucky.

[Gideon]

The last time I went without my machine for the night was for a second diagnostic sleep test. I got 1 hr and 58 minutes of fitful sleep. 2 minutes shy of being able to officially say I have apnea. My apnea had improved to 77 ahi, 20 points better than my original.
I do not do nights without my machine.

The question is asked without context.
How severe is his apnea? Is he otherwise healthy? No other significant heart or breathing issues?

Depending on the answers it may be easily tolerated.

[DaveL]

I use mine every night.

I missed a night in all the time I've used cpap. (Ferry crossing in the north atlantic; sitting up; no berth)

I worry about not using cpap. I take my machine everywhere, with an extension cord and surge protector. I don't have battery back up.

If I was travelling in the US (Cape Cod trip from Toronto comes to mind.) and my machine failed while on vacation, I would not be able to get a new one that day. I'd turn around and go back home to Ontario. My sleep doc has not given me the prescriptions I need for travel. In fact I believe suppliers wouldn't honour them because he is Canadian.

It's a real issue for me and causes me worry.