CPAP Machine and Mask (aka “The Vader Trainer”)
This morning, I got supplied with a CPAP machine for my sleep apnea. I got a brief runthrough of how the guy works, and… hopefully, it’ll help me sleep better at night. The part of the left is a humidifier (I’m supposed to add in a tray of distilled water); through this machine, air will be forced through the hose and into a mask that fits over my nose and mouth.
It’s pretty quiet when it runs. It’s incredibly noisy if the mask is off and the air just comes whooshing out… but if it’s on, it’s very soft. Eerily enough, it sounds like one of those hospital air pumps – the kind that you always see next to the coma victim, the one that does all the breathing. Yeesh.
For those that missed the backstory, check out my sleep study at Northwestern and my visit to the ENT doc.
And a one…
And a two…
And a three.
Yeah. Loooookin’ good.
I was going to say – for the record, my hair normally doesn’t look that bad. Even pulled back, it’s usually a little less crazy. But I now realize that I’m obsessing over my messy hair, and trying hard to ignore THE GINORMOUS MASK OVER MY FACE.
Ah well. On the flip side – I’ll no longer stop breathing 40 times an hour at night. That’s a fair trade, I guess.
Just be careful with those things, I saw an episode of Miracle Pets where this guy’s house has a power outage and that machine almost killed him but his dog chewed through the hose in order to save they guy in his sleep. If the dog didn’t chew through the hose, the guy would have suffocated and had brain damage.
Your Cousin Ellen (May 23, 2007 at 4:32 pm)Good thing we have Baxter, the wonder rabbit.
liz (May 24, 2007 at 9:46 am)Is it comfortable for sleeping? Do you try to take it off in your sleep? I’d probably wake up the next day with the whole contraption hanging from my ceiling fan.
AbbeyW (May 24, 2007 at 11:10 am)Ellen: Even if the power goes out, there’s little chance I’ll actually suffocate. The machine doesn’t do all the breathing for me; it simply forces a steady amount of air into my mouth/nose, to keep my passageways open.Abbey: It’s fairly comfortable, and honestly – I’m someone who can pretty much fall asleep anywhere. I have no problems with it on at night, going to sleep. I have been waking up in the mornings, and taking it off though – somewhere around 5 or 6 AM.
avoision (May 28, 2007 at 8:45 am)I’ve been on a Cpap for about six years. I snored, and was very tired in the mornings. On a vist to my doctor, he said he would like to have me take an over night test for Sleep Apney. I wasn’t to familiar with the term. The test was quite easy. The results were surprising to me. They said I had severe Sleep Apney. They scheduled me for an overnights stay at the hospital for a closer look at my sleeping habits. I had quite a few electrodes connected from my feet to my head. They monitored me very closley, and concluded that I did indeed have severe Sleep Apney. Although I didn’t realize it, I tossed and turned about 90 times during the night. The doctor wrote me a prescription for a mask and Cpap machine. Sure, it took me a couple of nights to get use to having a mask on but today I wouldn’t be without it. I love it. For the last six years I have slept very well. I toss and turn very little and my snoring is gone. Would I recommend it? Yes!
Allen Hughes (October 14, 2008 at 7:20 pm)