Hey Webby thanks for bringing this up!
I've got Obstructive Sleep Apnea and have used a CPAP since about 2002. My old machine, still reeks of the stench from cigarettes, even though I haven't used it in over 4 years. Since getting my new machine in early 2007, I never smoked in the house, but the smell of smoking would somehow get on my mask. I now use one of those "nasal pillow" masks (Breeze?), but my old masks were the bluish Respironics Gel kind, that go over the entire nose. I never had an issue with leaks but if i sweat a lot, it would "squeak fart".
Heh, I'm snoring less now that I don't smoke but I still need the machine. About the high pressure thing, my machine that I've got now, changes the setting automatically (if there's leaks) to keep it at 22 cpm(?), but I used to snore like a gas powered chainsaw, and stop breathing for a minute at a time. Most respiratory therapists doubt that I need such a high pressure setting until they see the sleep study, hehe.
I use the water reservoir because if not, my nose and throat get super dry in this arid Colorado air. I use filtered water in my reservoir and wash it in the dishwasher from time to time. I wash my mask and hose out with AB Orange-scented Dawn (or generic) dish soap about once a week, or daily if I have a cold.
Before I ever had a CPAP, I suffered with the sleep apnea for 3-4 years and it damaged my heart (permanent right-side heart failure). I should have listened to my friend's dad when he warned me about it shortly after I had gained a ton of weight and started snoring really bad. I got my first machine and it sat for almost a year before I started to use it. Even then, it took me months to get used to the machine. My nose has a high bridge and I still have a scar between my eyebrows, from where the first mask type would give me blisters. I have a permanent indentation from that.
I used to do stuff like, fall asleep mid-sentence and I could never go to the theater to watch a movie because people would get ...... off at me for falling asleep and snoring so loudly. Skittles hurt when their being thrown at your head, lol. Driving was a scary prospect as well.
When I first started using the CPAP, it was like night and day for me. I was literally living in a haze it seemed. Amazing, is the way sleep (or lack of quality sleep) can affect your day-to-day functionality.
I always feel a bit self-conscious about my CPAP when sleeping over other people's homes or taking vacations and stuff. Good thing this new machine is a lot quieter and smaller than the old one. When spending the night at other people's homes or travelling, I don't take the reservoir with me, and my CPAP is then the size of a large grapefruit.
I've got Obstructive Sleep Apnea and have used a CPAP since about 2002. My old machine, still reeks of the stench from cigarettes, even though I haven't used it in over 4 years. Since getting my new machine in early 2007, I never smoked in the house, but the smell of smoking would somehow get on my mask. I now use one of those "nasal pillow" masks (Breeze?), but my old masks were the bluish Respironics Gel kind, that go over the entire nose. I never had an issue with leaks but if i sweat a lot, it would "squeak fart".
Heh, I'm snoring less now that I don't smoke but I still need the machine. About the high pressure thing, my machine that I've got now, changes the setting automatically (if there's leaks) to keep it at 22 cpm(?), but I used to snore like a gas powered chainsaw, and stop breathing for a minute at a time. Most respiratory therapists doubt that I need such a high pressure setting until they see the sleep study, hehe.
I use the water reservoir because if not, my nose and throat get super dry in this arid Colorado air. I use filtered water in my reservoir and wash it in the dishwasher from time to time. I wash my mask and hose out with AB Orange-scented Dawn (or generic) dish soap about once a week, or daily if I have a cold.
Before I ever had a CPAP, I suffered with the sleep apnea for 3-4 years and it damaged my heart (permanent right-side heart failure). I should have listened to my friend's dad when he warned me about it shortly after I had gained a ton of weight and started snoring really bad. I got my first machine and it sat for almost a year before I started to use it. Even then, it took me months to get used to the machine. My nose has a high bridge and I still have a scar between my eyebrows, from where the first mask type would give me blisters. I have a permanent indentation from that.
I used to do stuff like, fall asleep mid-sentence and I could never go to the theater to watch a movie because people would get ...... off at me for falling asleep and snoring so loudly. Skittles hurt when their being thrown at your head, lol. Driving was a scary prospect as well.
When I first started using the CPAP, it was like night and day for me. I was literally living in a haze it seemed. Amazing, is the way sleep (or lack of quality sleep) can affect your day-to-day functionality.
I always feel a bit self-conscious about my CPAP when sleeping over other people's homes or taking vacations and stuff. Good thing this new machine is a lot quieter and smaller than the old one. When spending the night at other people's homes or travelling, I don't take the reservoir with me, and my CPAP is then the size of a large grapefruit.
I ruined each night during my trip to New Orleans with my friend before being diagnosed. She slept in the bathtub with the door shut every night. That was waaaay more embarassing than sleeping with the CPAP. And I traveled extensively around the states with a CPAP for one year. It was a pain but at least I was rested every morning!
