I went thru the sleep test and it turns out I quit breathing 20 times an hour. So I am going thru different styles of masks and am about ready to throw the who thing out the window and go back to go old apnea.

I am wondering what other's experiences have been.

Is there no other way to address quitting breathing at night?

I made it thru the one night lab OK, but once I got to wearing the masks every night, it is horrible. I can never sleep more than 4 hours with one on. I wake up feeling like I have been run over. Like a hangover. My lungs feel like they are full, not of blue sunny Arizona air, but of some heavy air like a horrible London fog. If I take off the mask and go back to sleep for 3-4 hours, I and my lungs feel fine. The first time I used the mask for 3 nights in a row, I was so beat and drowsy during a run up to Flagstaff that I had to ask someone else to drive while I slept in the car. I can just see a direct statistical connection between use of the mask and me killing myself by falling asleep driving and taking three others with me when the car crosses into oncoming traffic. I have woken up and found I took the mask off sometime in the night. It just is not working.

So how has it worked for others?

I found the masks intolerable. I sent the machine back. I'll do without.

It took me a while to find the right mask (actually a "nasal pillow") that was comfortable. I now sleep far better than I did before. I'm less tired during the day and get more work done.

I tried a CPAP and the BPAP but it was horrible. If I could tolerate it I did wake up very refreshed but I believe out of the several months I tried it I probably had only one or two nights of satisfactory sleep. I ended up having orthognathic surgery to move the upper an lower jaw outward and also fairly extensive throat surgery. I was not over weight so I am not really sure if would work for most. There are mouth pieces which goes inside you lower jaw and pulls it forward, depending on your bone structure it might be helpful. Also I found that if you can put a small pillow under your neck so you head is tilted down it will open up your air way. Sleeping on you side also works for some people.

Sometimes, depending on how bad your sleep apnea is, the machine may be you only real option.

Jesus sleeps a lot better, I can attest, from having shared a room with him many times.

He scared the hell out of me at a MOM some years ago, and I nearly had to jump on him and beat him to pull him out of it. Needless to say, I was up the rest of the night.

kristoff wrote: Tue Aug 25, 2015 3:46 am I found the masks intolerable. I sent the machine back. I'll do without.

My reaction too. I'm just too set in my ways to sleep with that thing hanging on my face. Even the sleep tests were a pain. I go to bed early and get up early. They didn't want me there until 10 PM, I'm usually getting up to pee for the first time by then. By 3:30Am I was wide awake. No TV, wrong bed, wires attached everywhere, this mask and hose hanging on my face, even the hospital gown was all twisted up. I told them, "I've had enough. I'm outa here. Cya." They convinced me to try it at home but I said "No Way!" when I learned I had to use it at least four hours a night or Medicare wouldn't cover it. I told them the Gubmint watches me when I drive with all their F--- traffic cameras, can tap my phone, read my emails etc. I'll be damned if I'm going to give permission to let them watch me sleep. I lost a bunch of weight. That did more to help me sleep than any CPAP machine.

Try a "Wisp" mask. lighter weight better fit. worked for me.

Just to wrap up this thread, I thought I would post how it ended. I tried different masks and it just did not work. I made jokes about Dick Cheney approved air boarding which everyone seemed to laugh at. People seemed like they were trying to be helpful and understood the issue when they looked up the air pressure that was prescribed for me.

This whole thing was the culmination of a lot of things. I think one start was when my chiropractor told me that sleeping on the stomach was the worst position possible. I then got used to sleeping on side and back. Thinking back after the whole apnea chain, I remembered that I used to like sleeping on my stomach with my feet just hanging off the edge of the bed (don't ask why). I tried that as an experiment and - WOW - how rich the sleep. I slept all night, felt great and wife commented that I did not snore anymore. If I take that personal preference and look at the sleep tests where you lay face up on big pillows (part way to sleeping in an airline seat) all wired up and I can see why it showed sleep issues.

Anyway, everything has been returned and I signed a release that I was returning the equipment against doctor's advice. The only problem now is a rich source of humor has gone, but I am sure medicine or politics will solve that point.