It was not a very successful first night. Every time I finally started to drop off into sleep, my mouth filled with air...so I woke up immediately. It got very frustrating, and after about 45 minutes of that I gave up on the CPAP, turned it off and took off the mask.
The next day at work, though, I felt great. I had energy like you wouldn't believe and I was dancing around and singing to people. I don't know if it was psychosomatic or if 45 minutes of getting lots of air while resting really made that much of a difference. (Another factor is that my doctor had me go back down on some of my heart medicine to get rid of the dizziness. That might be the main reason I felt so much better.)
I was told it could take six weeks to fully adjust to using a CPAP, so I wasn't discouraged by the first night's failure. In fact, the consultant at the place where I got the CPAP said I might have to start out only doing half an hour a day. I went to bed last night determined to leave it on as long as I possibly could, and to try to stop the air from filling my mouth...somehow.
I was somewhat successful in dealing with the air going into my mouth. I could kind of tell when it was going to happen, so I would just inhale a lot and then breathe it all out. I was awake when this happened, but not fully awake, which was an improvement.
This time, the problem was dryness. My CPAP came with a humidifier that is supposed to keep my nose and throat from drying out due to all the air blowing into it. I had it set to the average level, 2, but after awhile I woke up feeling awful because my mouth and throat were so dry. I kicked it up to 4 and tried once again to sleep, but the dryness never went away. I think I must have been opening my mouth while I was asleep, so that's something else I'm going to have to put my subconscious to work on.
Listen, subconscious: no letting air fill the mouth, and no opening the mouth. Behave!
My mouth was so uncomfortable that I had to stop the CPAP for that night, stick a cough drop in my mouth, and go to sleep normally. But I was pleased to find that I'd managed to wear it for two hours this time.
One thing I'm kind of concerned about is the redness on my face when I take the mask off, and the irritation I feel on my skin. I don't know if I'm allergic to the mask or if that's just what happens when there's a vacuum seal on your face. I'm hoping it's the latter. The redness goes away after hours of not wearing the mask. Hopefully things will continue this way as long as I keep the mask cleaned daily like I'm supposed to.
The CPAP requires a lot of maintenance. I have to refill the distilled water in the humidifier daily, and wash it out weekly. I have to wash and air-dry the mask daily, and the straps that hold it to my head weekly. And there's an air filter on the CPAP that has to be changed out every month or so--I have two of them so I can switch them out and then wash the dirty one. More little things to add to my routine, I suppose. It's hard for me to do things on a monthly basis, but hey, if I can remember to pay the rent, I guess I can also remember to change an air filter.
I don't remember the CPAP irritating my skin, or my mouth filling with air or drying out during my sleep study. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or if it's just that I'm more relaxed at home, so I do things I wouldn't have done at the study, like relax my throat or let my mouth fall open. Regardless, the last two nights have been very irritating, and while dealing with the various issues I've thought that I don't want to have this hassle in my life. But it's important, and like any other irritation it has a time limit, and I don't have to worry about it the rest of the time...so I'm going to suck it up and deal with it.
I'm pretty sure the only reason I have sleep apnea is because I'm overweight, so if I can solve that problem I may not have to do this anymore. Yet another very good reason to be healthy.
3 comments:
I don't have sleep apnea, but I'm sure that losing weight would help with my blood pressure, which isn't so high I need medicine, but is borderline on the high side when it didn't used to be...and I think that's due to weight I put on since I moved here. Ah well, such is life.
Good luck getting used to your mask!
My blood pressure is borderline too, but now that I'm on heart medicine it has gone down :>
Welcome to the world of sleeping with a CPAP. I've been on one since 2000. Trust me, at first it is annoying, but you get used to it. And it makes a significant difference. I can't sleep without mine nowadays. Well, I can, but I wake up with the worst migranes and feeling like my sinus cavity filled up overnight. I can usually get by on six hours of sleep when before it took me ten and I woke up feeling tired.
I don't use the humidifier. Two reasons, really. Mainly, I just don't need it and it feels weird breathing humidified air through it. Kinda of like being under a wet blanket, but maybe its the fact that I live so close to the beach and its ALWAYS humid around here. Second, and more importantly, I'm scared over what might happen if I don't remember to clean it. Be careful with that, Heather. If you don't clean it regularly, it festers bacteria, and that leads to Legionnaire's Disease, since it'll start force feeding those buggers directly to your nose.
Some people have skin issues with the mask itself. I did initially. I found baby lotion or hand lotion right at the point of contact helped, although I usually applied it afterward than before hand. It tends to make the mask slide around at night. Also, make sure you don't have the bands sinched too tightly. The mask is designed to hug your face even without the cradle, although not very well. Wash them ever so often in baby shampoo. No More Tears is what I use for both cradle and mask. Don't forget the hose either, although that's usually once a month for me.
I've gone through about four masks so far, although this last one has lasted far longer than the others. If it is pinching your skin or brow, have a medical rep come resize you face. My first mask was actually too small since they didn't take into account the bridge of my nose.
You'll get used to it with time. The trick is teaching your body to sleep with your mouth closed and inhaling much more air than it was used to. Remember, its had a lifetime to get used to a certain cycle, and you are changing what it is used to. Your lungs are expanding farther and getting far more oxygen than normal. Even on a subconcious level, your body finds it uncomfortable because its different. I can only encourage you to stick with it and it will make a huge difference in your life.
It did mine. I went down from a BP rating of 152/98 to 128/76. MASSIVE drop on the resting, all thanks to CPAP. Well, and diet, but you get my drift. Also, no more snoring. Which is a bad thing, I guess, since now people are willing to share hotel rooms with me. Can't lounge out on a queen-size bed by myself. Oh well...
You'll get used to it. It'll take a while, but it will happen. Good luck till then.
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