[CPAP] 3 days in use of machine

[Shastzi]

Hi Elle
Do not fear sleep.
The fact that your body is waking up all the time and you're not getting any sleep shows that
your nervous system is in good enough working order to recognize that your oxygen levels may be dropping so
it jars you awake, "WAKE UP AND BREATHE, DAMMIT!!!"

Now you need to correct for the issue that you aren't getting any good Z time in.
You just need a little artificial help now and that's what the CPAP therapy will do for you.
(Just like about 40 million other Americans, Europeans and other assorted folks. Isn't that amazing?)

Don't worry that you may come to harm in some way from using the machine.
I proved this to myself by trying to use it to blow up a kid's toy balloon and the CPAP is too feeble to do that.
Our sinuses are quite delicate though and need to get used to this bit of extra pressure so they may be sore for a while when you wake up but they get toughend up after several weeks and the pain fades away.

Your chest muscles may get sore as well since they need to build up some strength to exhale against that bit of pressure too.
When the soreness goes away you can then focus on improving things in general and optimizing your sleep experience.

Sometimes I will wake up from some other event, like the cats misbehaving and find I am breathing normally, I can't hear the machine running over the air conditioning so I have to check and make sure I have some pressure by waving a hand in front of the mask exhaust vent. A 'foosh' sound tells me all is well.

Another concern is a sudden stoppege of the CPAP, from power failure or equipment breakdown.
To that I can say that I did yank my hose off the mask once by accident. (it happens)
The sudden pressure drop woke me up right away!

Anything else you run into, this group can help you with so you are in good hands now!



Cheers!

=^.^=

[archangle]

Welcome Elle.

Sleep apnea is a serious medical condition, but almost no one ever completely suffocates to death due to sleep apnea. Eventually, your brain panics and either does something to get you breathing again or just wakes you up and you start breathing again.

Sleep apnea tends to do a little bit of harm to you every night from low oxygen, stress hormones, poor sleep and other things that happen when you get strangled for a while. Eventually, you'll get brain damage, heart damage, and other health problems. This can lead to heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure and other problems.

If you can manage to wear the machine every night, you're 80% the way there. We talk a lot here on this board about adjusting your therapy, but just wearing the machine every night improves your odds enormously.