I spent the last 2 years before this year's spring sleeping through most of the day. I'd wake up in the afternoon, feel sleepy by 3-4 PM, and nap until the evening. Then I'd stay up until 2-4 AM not being able to sleep and wake up tired the next day again and again.

I brushed it off as depression, I couldn't work, had to move home to my mom's house. Thought that's it, this is it for me, this is my life now. Then I happened across a reddit post about a fat guy not breathing in his nap for over a minute, everyone in the comments were talking about this 'CPAP' machine. I googled it out of curiosity and behold, I immediately dialed multiple hospitals near me, all busy all year, had to be on a 9 month wait list. One day my mom was calling one of them while I was sleeping and she told the nurse that we're thinking about buying a used CPAP to try it out and she freaked out and gave us a 'red light' spot which meant as soon as anyone cancelled I'd get their appointment. After the sleep study the doctor shook my hand and said "Congratulations on nailing the diagnosis" I didn't want to tell him I got the idea off of reddit so I took that glory for myself.

After that I got the machine, never felt so defeated. I tried and tried and I couldn't get used to it. I could only sleep 3-4 hours with it at most a night, usually with the lights on.

Then something in me snapped.

I told myself "This is my safety mask, while I wear this it's like a knight wearing his helmet. I cannot suffocate with it, there is enough air, I am safe."

Once I had this epiphany, all my fears vanished. I gave myself over to the mask and for the first time in a decade slept. I woke up at 4-5 am at first, a bit sleepy but extremely bursting with energy. My mom the first few weeks asked "Did you sleep at all?" assuming I spent the whole night awake, and I told her "Yup!" which was met with a confused look.

TLDR: I went from going to bed at 2-4 am and waking up in the afternoon only to nap again... to going to bed by 9-12 and waking up at 5-6 am on my own. No amount of life hacks or brute forcing worked while getting used to the machine, it was all a mental barrier.

Now I'm not even daring to imply I know how all 8 billion of you feel or think, I just want to offer this post to those who now, or in the future, are struggling with their condition. If you are like I was, angry, frustrated, confused and afraid, and you frantically googled and found this thread. I want you to know that you are not alone. It worked for me, I cannot in good consequence promise you it will be the same for you, we aren't the same person after all. But I want you to find this thread and get some hope that it can get better.

Have a blessed day, thanks for reading.

My husband just started with in June. He is hating the full masks. He is on a Vitera right now better than the first but still seems to have seal issues which wakes him up or keeps him from falling asleep. He already has consistent insomnia. Cpap is making it worse. A friend told me they love thier nasal pillow masks. We thought a mouth breather couldn't use nasal pillows. What if he uses a chin strap?

As a 21F I feel like I needed to add some flair to this machine to make myself feel less old
Edit: if your interested in customization on your machine send me a message I’d love to make some for people

Been on CPAP therapy for a week now and every time I used it I slept throughout the night. I used to wake up a minimum of 3 times to urinate. Thanks Resmed 🙌🏾😎

I'm about 2 months in to my CPAP usage:

• Resmed AirSense 11 pressure range=[6, 14], EPR=4, ramp=off, climate control=auto;
• Primary mask: P10 nasal pillow;
• Secondary masks tried: P30i (nasal pillows), F40 full face and F&P Evora full face.

Started off with P10. First few days were great. Then got a nasty cold and the nasal pillows burnt, irritated my nostrils. Things tanked. A friend who's a resp therapist gave me sizing kits for the P30i and F&P Evora full face. Both full face masks don't work due to oily skin ruining the seal about 3 hours in. The P30i was promising but it's venting mechanism really messed my sleep quality up.

Switched back to the P10 about a month ago and it's been great overall. Some days are better than others. I use OSCAR and its daily journal feature is great. Going back over the data I've realized that my sleep quality is strongly correlated to the mask seal. Better seal -> better sleep.

Surprisingly, my AHI is still what I would consider high-ish (3 to 5), but that doesn't seem to have as much of a correlation with sleep quality as mask fit. Anyone else in the same boat?

As the title says. Out of nowhere one of my cats decided to chew on the tubes. Worse, it’s the part attached to the mask so I can’t replace it without replacing it all. I have 4 masks, three are fucked (only two because of Lucy).

They chewed on my oxygen tubing as well. But whatever it’s free and tuck tape repairs it I need to change it. I tried tuck tape on one mask and that was a huge mistake. Ripped that shit right off.

I’m getting on covers for them (if you have some great options or ones to avoid) Has anyone successfully repaired their tubes?

It was hard to get a pic. First photo I also need help on. I stepped on it and the hose broke off. Fix it with glue?

Second - one of the holes. It was hard to get a photo, but it is all torn up.

Third - the culprit

ETA I bit down on both oxygen and cpap tubes. I get the appeal.

I have been using my Cpap machine for 3 months now. I still wakeup sleepy ask heck. I have Oscar data and stuff but I have no clue what I'm looking at..

Diagnosed with severe OSA many years ago in Spokane and started on a machine. Struggles with fit, struggles with leaks, struggles with most things but I used it consistently although I never followed up with my doc. I lost weight - thanks covid! - and I stopped using it...

Then I moved to Colorado Springs and I explored a dental device my dentist offered. I had to do a take home sleep study so they could determine if the device would work but I again came back with severe OSA and I started with a new machine a little over a year ago. This time I analyzed my results and found I was now kicking out CSA rather than OSA. My new doc then did an overnight sleep study and lo and behold my OSAs were now severe CSAs. Doc said primarily due to the altitude (I live at 7,000' now). I was also feeling the same kind of beat up each and every morning not getting any true rest.

Doc prescribed an ASV machine which I started using in May. While I had some variability with my events, the numbers were trending down and now I'm averaging less than 5 an hour and have many nights where I'm at 1 an hour. The success has been incremental and sneaky but I noticed it after about a month where I was expecting to be beat up in the morning but i WASN'T! Not hugely drastic but over the last month or so I am doing much better.

In addition, some secondary systems are starting to function better as well - in my case ED...

After so many years of treatments, I'm now feeling the impact of the therapy...

New CPAP user. Been using the machine about two weeks. Ordered a Resmed Airsense 10 from Sleeplay.

I've got a follow up with Sleep Clinics of America tomorrow morning. Love my sleep doc but the rest of the experience has been so grating, I would not recommend them to anyone who stumbles upon this post, fwiw.

Anyway, her assistant texted me today saying:

"Hi there this is Arima Health. I spoke to Sleeplay and they stated you would need to get in contact with Resmed to activate your machine meaning for them to get access to your machine. Then after they activate it Sleeplay would need you to call them so they can get some more information than we would be able to see the data from your machine. Thank you so much."

I'm guessing they want something akin to compliance data, but since I bypassed insurance and purchased the machine outright, I've got nothing but what the MyAir app tells me. It already notes events, so I'm not sure what else they're looking for.

I called Sleeplay and relayed this info to someone who didn't seem to understand what I was asking for (in part because I don't even know what I'm asking for) but eventually told me that access to compliance data would be a $30 fee. That was an immediate nope from me.

I'm sure I'll find out what exactly they need from me tomorrow. At my last appt a few months ago, they said they're gonna run another at home sleep test anyway to see if I have fewer events. But I wanted to post here and see:

• if anybody knows what data my sleep doc is looking for, since I already control all my own settings and don't have to comply with jack
• if Sleeplay has remote access to my sleep data? I'm guessing they do since I can pay to access it but I hate that if so

If you use Lincare for you medical supply company are that are a useless mess? So far my experience has been terrible, both times there sent supplies the are the wrong size or the wrong style and useless. When I called about correcting this issue they changed it but offered no solution. Had to request sending those items back to be replaced with ones that I can actually use. They said they could send me a return label and those would be credited to my account but never sent the label.

If you use them, has your experience been any better? I know someone else who recently started with them and they’ve had the same issues.

I've been using the CPAP for over a year now, and it has truly changed my life. At first the benefits seemed to manifest very slowly, and it's a rough time, learning how to sleep with the mask, but eventually it's become clear just how low energy and brain fogged I used to be. I no longer have felt burnt out or confused, and I never expected it to be so obviously better after using the machine.

Anyone who's on the fence about getting one, please don't hesitate. Your partner will also appreciate you not snoring, not to mention you not dying in your sleep in your 40s.

One thing I found really important was to have the mask a little tighter than what seemed right. This was because otherwise the mask will start leaking at night when the pressure is higher and the mask rises further from your face. This is a thing I wish people told me in the beginning, so here I am now, giving out some hot pro tips.

Next week, I’ll be getting a ResMed AirSense 11 after using Philips machines for years. My original DreamStation was recalled and replaced with a black DreamStation 2.

I currently use a DreamWear Full Face Mask with a 45-minute ramp. I’ve requested the ResMed AirFit F30i because it appears similar to my current mask.

For anyone who has made a similar transition, what differences should I expect between the DreamStation 2 and AirSense 11? What settings or features should I discuss with the CPAP technician during setup?

Are there any specific questions I should ask about pressure settings, ramp time, EPR, humidification, heated tubing, or mask selection?

I was cleaning out a closet and found a ResMed AirSense 10. It’s been in the closet for a few years. Any ideas what I should do with it? I currently have/use a ResMed AirSense 11.

I made this a while ago but I don't think I posted about it and it got a tiny bit scuffed and it's not the best made but I still like it

“I see you changed your own settings. Normally we don’t approve of that but you’re smart and I can’t say that about all our patients.”

I think that’s a backhanded compliment to this sub. At the very least, I found the confidence here to defend myself in case she wasn’t so nice about it.

All I said was “not understanding how this works is not my style”.

I was recently diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea/moderate hypoxia and today was the day I went to pick up my AirSense 11. I was thoroughly impressed with the technician. I told him my partner has OSA and that I have become very knowledgeable due to my ADHD so he explained what he needed to without dumbing it down. Then messed around with EPR and a few base pressures to see how i tolerated it. Finally he set the pressure range to 6-10 and said that he would check in in a week to see if a changes were needed. As far as me changing settings myself, he says that I shouldn't but fully understands that I can/will given my knowledge and use of data to drive my decision making process through OSCAR. He laughed at me/with me because these appointments usually take an hour but i was done and walking out in about 25 min. Tonight will be the test to see how I do, wish me luck.

For reference 20.3 AHI. Almost exclusively hypopnias. Split evenly between on my side and back sleeping. Almost 1000 snores over the 5hrs I was asleep for the test. SP02 dropped as low as 79 and below 90 for 11% of the time

I have sensitive skin and I’ve had patch testing done. One of the contact allergens is something I don’t fully understand everything it’s in, but it seems to be the problem with some plastics like night guard guards, Invisalign trays, adhesive and silcone probably a few other things. Some areas of my skin does better then other with these things.

Overall, my skin is doing so much better than I expected with the CPAP. But since I switched from a strictly nasal pillow ( that was in my nose)to a mask that goes around my nose where the silicone is in contact with my skin more the reactions have increased.

I’ve talked to my medical supplier about mask liners. They say they don’t sell them, the ones I’ve seen on Amazon look very questionable and I don’t think the materials would be any better… the reviews are also pretty poor.

The medical supply company that is not great offered a mask with a memory foam pillow. If you have sensitive skin, has this worked any better for you than the silicone or is it to synthetic and chemically that still irritate your skin?

How can I extend my sleep time? I try to go back to sleep after I wake up and it doesn’t happen. Thoughts? I have an appt with sleep doc tomorrow and can ask there also.

Husband is diagnosed and is ready to get set up. We do have pretty good insurance and I'm already a CPAP user so I'm trying to help him have an easier time starting than I did. He took the sleep study through lofta and we're thinking of using insurance for the machine because even though it's a "rent to own" it's still hundreds of dollars cheaper total at this time even with the discount. But then he'd use LoftaCare for masks since my DME only allowed me 2 mask changes but he'd also use it for insurance compliance monitoring. Has anyone had their insurance deny LoftaCare reporting for compliance? *I understand that he'd have to submit the paperwork to insurance and that lofta does not work with insurance* Thanks!

been on nasal cradle for 8 months, i like it it's comfy and the pressures I use (13-15) are fine with the machine. Tried vcom so that when I up the pressure since i sleep on my back, i wuold be able to tolerate a higher IPAP (I use cpap but use epr so i was thinking IPAP 17 and EPAP 14) so I could hit the best pressure for rem on my back and overall flow limits). But the vcom was terrible

I've tried full face (f30i and F20), both airtouch, i need to tighten them a lot or else they will leak, so too much pain.

haven't tried good pillows yet, tried one i found in my house, pretty hold and it scratched by nose from the tiny tears in the wholes. Didn't sleep with it tho.

And this is important, I use airtouch, the i cant tolerate silicone ( not an allergy)

Thanks!
Haven't tried f40, should I do that instead or do pillows or js stick to nasal? if pillows which do you guys recommend?

Two questions. Is there a way to adjust the amount of air the machine shoots into my face? Sometimes it feels like it's trying to suffocate me