CPAP thread
 

Thinking about my dad's dementia, I think he could have avoided a lot of the damage if he was properly diagnosed with sleep apnea in his 40s/50s. He had high blood pressure. Drugs didn't really work, and his doc never thought about sleep apnea.

I remember times I heard my dad sleeping when he'd suddenly snort and take a deep breath. In my times of family vacations where we all stayed in the same space, I noticed this happening every night.

I finally got my blood pressure checked a few years ago and it was high. Drugs didn't do much. Then, my GP asked if I snored and my wife told him that I basically stop breathing at certain points of the night. That's when he suggested going for a sleep study and possibly getting a CPAP machine.

After a month of trialing a CPAP machine, the sleep study confirmed I had sleep apnea. My oxygen levels dropped to dangerous levels during my sleep. I had to get a CPAP machine. The place I did the sleep study was charging almost 3x the price for the same machine at another place closer to home.

I've been using my CPAP for a couple years, now. My BP was 150+, with meds, prior to the CPAP. Now, it's ~110 with meds. It seems to be genetic. My sister had a problem with high BP with meds, too. Now, she is using a CPAP and BP is at normal levels with meds. She also encouraged her husband to get a sleep study and he has sleep apnea too. They are both hooked up. LOL.

I don't know if the CPAP will prevent me from getting dementia, but I know that my BP will be manageable because of it and I can hopefully avoid those crushing strokes.

How are other RSer's doing? Are you using a CPAP? Do you need a CPAP? I believe this is critical for some people's health.

Does great things for sex life.:pokerface:

I'm gifted by genetics? I do not snore, unless I've had quite a lot more drinks than I am supposed to.

My parents don't snore, my brother doesn't snore.

From a friend of mine I learned that there's two types of sleep apnea. There's the physical kind and the psychological kind. Does CPAP help if you have the psychological kind where you straight up just stop breathing? I did a quick search CPAP works like a turbo, it provides boost. But if your valves aren't open does it still work?

It forces the valves open/keeps them open, that's what the air pressure is for.

I got diagnosed with sleep apnea, using a CPAP now. Huge difference in energy, sleep quality, hell even sex life.

Huge QoL and I think that it also helped my BP go down.

best place locally or online to get a cpap machine + equipment?

looking at the resmed airsense 11 pending my sleep results.

most sleep clinic places seem to rip you off.

Im possibly looking for one that can be claimed through Canada life insurance.

heard this site had good reviews from RFLD though, if anyone is looking to order.
https://papsmart.com/products/airsense-11-autoset

heard if you do get diagnosed for sleep apenea they might take away your license if its serious enough

CPAPs have become an industry. very few people benefit from them, and it's just an easy route for a doctor to prescribe. they're expensive, uncomfortable, and the maintenance on them is crazy high. more than 1/2 the users stop using them in the first year. the rest probably only use them because the wife won't complain about you snoring as much.

I think you are correct; It depends on the severity and there are a lot of grey areas. It gets more serious when they ask for a medical report from a doctor and you suddenly go from black and white to 500 shades of grey.

While it's not the same thing, this guy got his racing license revoked because the PCA medical committee was convinced he would fall asleep while driving his car on a race track. Similarly, there are other guys out there who race in PCA and use a CPAP, went through the same medical processes, declared they had a CPAP and continue to race. The thread is sensational.

Really? Stop using it in the first year? I have 3 users in our family and they love it. The other 2 others are in sync.. improvements on the sleep so much they wouldn't go anywhere without it.

Now, my father in law did take a while to get diff attachments to ensure fit is good. It's also easy for doctors to get referrals but you still gotta past the test in order to qualify.

Have yet to hear people say it's expensive as again... mostly covered by insurance.

the guy who crashed his is300 into a tree uses it. didnt help.... thus CPAP is stupid. I rather die than have that piece of shit hang off my face. how the hell is my poor little chihuahua suppose to sleep next to her daddy when hes making darth vader noises!?

I'm on year 7, and on my second Airsense 10 (the old machine is now my travel spare).
It's really nice not having to wake up with a destroyed throat. On the rare night where I don't use it, I can really feel it the next day. I hate going without it so much that I bought an ecoflow battery station and generator so that I can use it while off grid camping.

I'm not sure where the "maintenance is crazy high" comment comes from, it's not really tough or all that much work to maintain at all. Empty the humidifier tank every morning and set it to dry, then wash it with soap and water every now and then, not really a big deal.

Maybe the guy who crashed the IS300 is using it incorrectly? :badpokerface:

i think he hooked it up to his ass, works as intended.

I went to Mainland Sleep for my study and they wanted $2300 for a Airsense 11 and mask. My insurance only covers $1000 so I went shopping around. Found Inspire Sleep in Langley and got both the Airsense and mask for less than $1000. Their online store is https://thecpapstore.ca/ and regularly has sales.

as if i needed more proof that RS was an aging population :lol

i think i had this problem more when i was younger actually. i would snore a lot, wake myself up sometimes. i don't think that's happened in a long time..
my wife says sometimes i snore loudly and keep her up, but not often. i don't catch myself snoring in the middle of the night and waking up from it either..
somehow it's gotten better on its own.

the only things i can see that might have improved it for me is significantly reducing my drinking to barely a few drinks a week or even month.
weight has hovered around the same for 10 years +/- 10lbs..

I tried it and gave up. Are there better and better nose pieces/masks that aren't as intrusive? It was the nose piece/face mask that did it for me and made me stop. Got tested and was considered borderline so so far, my sleep is fine. Partner said that I don't snore and stop breathing.

thats the thing, if you get tested, im sure like 90% of the dudes have sleep apnea to some degree. fuck this shit

im sure there would be a lot more sleep apnea related deaths if like millions and millions of dudes have it. I havent heard of anyone dying in their sleep.

I snored a lot before too like unit but not anymore, in my case it was because I was fat… as soon as I lost weight I stopped snoring.

I think you weighed quite a bit more when you were younger unit? I remember you being thicker when we were in post-university days and quite a bit leaner nowadays.

STOP SLEEPING TOGETHER YOU HOMOS !

I tried a CPAP cause my ex bitched about my snoring and couldnt do it since all I did was clench my jaw when using it. That being said I'm 100% against it, when you use one your body forgets how to breathe on its own when you sleep. That means you can not sleep with out one. My buddy has one and his power goes out and he cant sleep at all which is a major thing I'm against and of course the wonders it does for the sex life.

lol ya i was working off that freshman 15 for a long time in the era of 5c chicken wing nights and my newfound love for beer.
it wasnt till i was in my late 20s that i learned about exercise. prior to that i was allergic to any kind of physical activity.

There are other side effects if a person needs CPAP and doesn't get one ... causes heart atrial fibrillation, high bp, and even contributes to dementia. (From what Dr. Google says).

Yeah my insurance mostly covered it, I just had to pay for the different mask.

CPAP doesn't solve skill issue. :failed:


Yeah, I got myself a travel machine (Airsense Mini) and a portable battery bank for camping/backup for power outage. If I don't use a CPAP (the rare occasion I forgot the adapter/mask or whatever) I feel like crap.

I don't get the maintenance thing as well - just wash your mask, wash humidifier tank every week if using, and swap filters every month.

There are so many different masks, you just have to find one that fit - I use a whole face mask, Philips Dreamwear, and it's more comfortable than the nose pillow ones etc for me. If you're borderline maybe you can get away with it.

I hit the high score apparently so I need the CPAP lol and it really has made a huge difference.

It doesn't cause death directly but it worsens things like high BP, heart attack risk etc. Also it makes you feel like ABSOLUTE shit. Like I would go to sleep, and wake up still tired the next day. Naps didn't help.

My oxygen level was down at 60% during the sleep test and the doc was basically about to order me into the ER for monitoring. lol.

Nah man your body doesn't forget how to breathe when you're on it, I can sleep without the CPAP but because I have severe sleep apnea my oxygen levels goes way down and I feel like absolute shit the next day.

Jesus Christ a CPAP thread?

This place really is full of geriatrics.

That's absurd, you don't "forget how to sleep". What's really happening is that you're just no longer used to shitty sleep.

Weight, alcohol are certainly factors, but genetics is the bigger factor. My dad snored like a buzzsaw since his 30's and he's been very fit and athletic his whole life.