RE: Going a night w/o therapy.
Had to go without ASV during recent hospital stay. Why? Emergency situation to hospital means I didn't pack the ASV to go. Wasn't expecting to stay at hospital. Then family wasn't available to bring stuff for a few days. If I'm on oxygen, which I was, my apnea events are lower. Guilt? No because I couldn't change the circumstances.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
RE: Going a night w/o therapy.
Laughing at my own case....I broke my leg (5 places) ended up in hospital. They sent my wife home to get my cpap machine and mask. I got to wear it (2003). No one in the hospital knew what it was! You should have seen the reaction of visitors for the patient next to me.
the surgeon was more worried about my sleep apnea treatment than the work he did.
RE: Going a night w/o therapy.
I spoke to my friend today and he told me he's back on the juice (SA Therapy) as of last night and reassured me that he's in it for the long run.
He says that missing a night here and there every once in a blue moon, is kind of a treat for him. He says that he feels no difference what-so-ever between using it and missing a night.
I'm gonna keep on him and see that he toes the line.
RE: Going a night w/o therapy.
The first time he does that, and wakes up feeling like he was hit by a train, will be the last time he intentionally goes without his cpap.
RE: Going a night w/o therapy.
I'd say it's all very relative, like so many other things in life. When I started my therapy, about 5 years ago, at first I couldn't get used to it, so I often went without it. Honestly, I did not see any difference in how I felt next morning. Sometimes I would feel terribly tired for the rest of the day, sometimes it wasn't that bad, but it really didn't have to do anything with the fact if I had my CPAP the previous night, or not. Or at least, I couldn't see it.
Even nowadays, when I rarely spend a night without it, lots of times I feel horrible in the morning. My AHI numbers are typically in the range of 1-2, sometimes I hit 3, but not too often. There are days when I'll go without CPAP, usually not more than 3-4 days in a row, and I don't feel any worse.
The main reason I keep using it is that I can breathe easier with pillows (I have P10 and P30i masks), especially through my left nostril. Sometimes I use an oximeter during the night to compare the results with and without the CPAP treatment. They are definitely better with CPAP, but the difference is far from dramatic. All in all, I guess I am somewhat benefiting from using CPAP, but going without it completely most likely wouldn't be the end of the world.
Of course, I understand that what I said here does not apply to people with severe apnea. Mine was around 15, when I did my first overnight study, even though I barely slept an hour or two, so how was that enough to get accurate results still beats me. A couple of years later I did another study, this time probably not being able to sleep more than an hour, and they came up with an AHI around 5.
Do I even have apnea, I have no idea, but the P10 and P30i pillows help me breathe easier. That's all I care about right now. I still feel very tired in the morning, I'd say at least 70-80% of the time, even though, as I said, my AHI numbers have always been very good. Oh well...
