I HATE CPAP MACHINE!!
on 12/9/09 7:53 am
I do. I hate it! Not that I expect anyone loves theirs. I'm not sure I can describe how this ugly little thing makes me feel.
I cried the day I got it and thought, "there is no way I am wearing that!" My fiance laughed at me when he saw me with it on and that brought on more tears.
It's not bad enough that I am morbidly obese and feel so unattractive 99% of the time? It is not enough that intimacy only happens with the lights off anymore? It is soooo un-sexy and let's face it UGLY! I look like a visitor from another planet.
Can it be vanity at 278lbs.? I mean really, how is this little machine capable of stripping the last bit of self -esteem I have left?
Does anyone else understand this and will I ever be RID of the little BEAST???
I made myself use it. I would toss it off after a couple hours and roll over when I couldn't stand it. After a month or so the SOB grew on me.
I got used to it, after that I loved it. I had no idea how sleep deprived I was. It had been so long sense I really slept i didn't even know what real rem sleep was.
It will blow cob webs out of you skull, you never knew you had.
The damn thing became a crutch for me, after I lost 50 or 60 lbs I didn't need it anymore, but it was tough for me to give up.
Almost as hard as quitting smoking.
Funny story though, after years of my wife's sharp elbows, and viscous pokes in the middle of the night complaining about my snoring, guess what we found out KIM (my Nazi wife) snores too.
on 12/9/09 8:30 am
I am trying to overcome the way it makes me feel. Just looking forward to the day I no longer need it.
My advice is use a full face mask.. one with mouth and nose coverage.... AND the machine that also has humidity.. where you add distilled water. My husband's cpap DID NOT have this and he never got used to his at all.
In addition.. give the cpap 1-2 months.. Seriously you should start feeling better during the day.. more rested and get used to the stupid mask and machine.
Good luck.. Remember.. that sleep apnea and the CPAP is one little comorbidity that you can use get the insurance coverage for the DS.
Ami



on 12/9/09 8:40 am
Mine does have the place to pu****er and I tried that for the first time last nite but I couldn't tell any difference. And mine just goes over my nose. You know what, It just starts to make me feel claustrophobic after while and I just rip it off. Maybe I will change the mask.
I am seriously hoping to have no problems with insurance approval. I have called them 3 times to verify requirements for approval. Being a little OCD.



Please use it! The dangers of heart damage, high blood pressure, and/or stroke, caused or aggravated by sleep apnea, as well as microsleeping while driving or doing other hazardous acitvities, are just too great to blow it off (no pun intended).


Frank talk about the DS / "All I ever wanted to be was thin, like that Rolling Stones dude ... "
HW/461 LW/251 GW/189 CW/274 (yep, a DS semi-failure - it happens :-( )
on 12/9/09 8:46 am
Thanks
I had a love/hate relationship with my CPAP. At first, I felt exactly as you did about it. Then, I switched to a different style mask that was a bit more comfortable, and I forced myself to wear it. After that, I grew to love it, only because I felt so much better. Besides, I read a scary story about a lady with untreated severe apnea who ultimately destroyed her heart and died.
At the moment, I am not using it. After losing 50 lbs since the DS, it started feeling like too much air pressure. Going without it, I feel fine, and my DH says I am not snoring anymore. My Pulmonologist won't do another sleep study until I'm 6 months out, so I will only find out then if my apnea is really gone.
Hopefully, you will be able to ditch yours down the line.
Jenna
www.cpaptalk.com is a great forum for help and support on your CPAP. A few tips to keep your mask fitting correctly....don't over tighten and clean your mask every day.
I wouldn't worry how you look. How many people look good sleeping without one either.
Good luck,
Cathy