1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Sleep Apnea and CPAP experience

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by bwilson4web, Feb 7, 2024.

  1. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2005
    27,373
    15,513
    0
    Location:
    Huntsville AL
    Vehicle:
    2018 Tesla Model 3
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Over weight and over age, sleep apnea is a killer. Associated with heavy snoring, it is the temporary blockage of the airway. As the oxygen level drops, the sleeper sort-of wakes up, an interruption of their snoring, which silently destroys their sleep.

    We wake up subject to some short term memory loss and 'micro sleep' events that can happen even while driving. The treatment is a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine. I've been on CPAP therapy long enough my second machine began reporting "end of fan life." My 80 year old, pulmonologist practices 120 miles away so I found a new, younger one locally.

    Diagnosis starts with a questionnaire (ask Google) followed by a sleep study but instead of a sleep over in the clinic, they now have home systems. Consisting of a chest band and recording pulse oximeter, it is good enough for sleep apnea diagnosis. Then comes getting the machine.

    Medicare requires a 3 month monitored rental followed by an additional 13 months rental. Then the machine is yours. But these shoe box sized machines come with a messy hydrometer and are somewhat large and bulky. I wanted a portable, about the size of a thick paper back book. Sad to say Medicare calls the portables a "luxury" device and won't cover.

    Buying out of pocket, I ordered the portable and just finished my first night. The machine is quiet but the smaller diameter ribbed, air hose is noisy. Each inhale sounds like Darth Vader. Regardless, this soon becomes 'white noise' (remember a snorer) and being a widower, the dogs don't complain.
    [​IMG]


    The portable CPAPs run about $1,000 but there is a trick. Put the machine order in the 'cart' and wait. After a few days, you'll get an email for 20-30% off. The sellers figure you're waiting for income and want to get the sale. So $1,000 machine was offered for $600 from another vendor. In fact, any big ticket item left in the cart seems to attract a 'discount.' Hummmm.

    I've ordered from Amazon, an adapter for a larger mask that should or may support the large diameter, silent hose. But then am a retired engineer and hangout at hardware stores. <GRINS>

    About masks, I found all of the nose ones led to sleeping with my mouth open. So I use a full face mask that fits under the end of the chin. These work great but my portable came with one that pushes against the chin. It works but masks are a personal option.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #1 bwilson4web, Feb 7, 2024
    N4HHE likes this.
  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
    11,070
    4,506
    0
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Only thing as bad as capitalist corruption in health care industry is people who won't take responsibility for their own health and depend on a machine or pill to solve all their problems as if improving their own health is not their problem.

    Truth is, the people making CPAP machines aren't doing it to help solve people's multiple health problems, they're doing it to boost profits.

    As always, preventative health care with a healthy diet and enjoying the feeling of an empty stomach and lots of exercise is presented as though that's not an option because eating too much unhealthy food and being lazy and inactive is more pleasurable to people than actually living a healthy life.

    I'm certain when they look back on our time a century from now they'll shake their head at how much unhealthy behaviors & products were legal when they should of been considered a crime against basic human survival, especially when it comes to mental health.
     
    #2 PriusCamper, Feb 7, 2024
  3. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2005
    19,857
    8,159
    54
    Location:
    Montana & Nashville, TN
    Vehicle:
    2018 Chevy Volt
    Model:
    Premium
    judging? age & overweight can make a difference for some people having sleep apnea but others - not necessarily. Brother-in-law gasps/stops breathing every night & yet he's too stubborn to listen to my sister telling him to get treatment. The guy is in excellent physical health for late 50s age. heck - even for someone in their 30's.
    Anywho, the Meds industry has a subcutaneous implant they can do to mitigate the manifestation of sleep apnea.
    @bwilson4web - does/doesn't look like that little portable unit has a humidifier built in - being that small. yes? no?
    .
     
    #3 hill, Feb 7, 2024
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2024
  4. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2005
    27,373
    15,513
    0
    Location:
    Huntsville AL
    Vehicle:
    2018 Tesla Model 3
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    I never found a humidifier to be needed or useful even when suffering a cold. There are prepackaged humidity 'filters' available and I ordered some spares. I just don't find them generally useful with one possible exception.

    In the winter, the dry air can sometimes lead to a spontaneous nose bleed. Rare, perhaps once every decade, this is not a chronic problem. If someone had an asthma or other lung problems, a medicated water tank could make sense.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #4 bwilson4web, Feb 7, 2024
  5. srellim234

    srellim234 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2015
    1,197
    1,687
    0
    Location:
    Laughlin, Nevada
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    I've been on CPAP machines for decades. It runs in my family and every male has had it for at least 3 generations.

    Tests come in various forms. Besides what you describe with the chest strap, some tests for it are done by sending the patient home for a night with a CPAP machine that records the apnea episodes for review by the doctor. Other sleep clinics test by having the individual sleep at the clinic, hooked up to monitoring electrodes and with a technician in the clinic covering the monitoring. I've done the tests all three ways over the years.

    I've been using my current tabletop machine, the AirSense, 10 for years now. It costs a little under $1000 and comes with a carrying case for traveling. It's quiet and easy to use. I do know there are other decent tabletop machines that are reasonably sized and come with travel bags.

    I'm forced to use nasal pillows as the air flow over my nose from a larger mask wreaks havoc on my skin skin as confirmed by my dermatologist. A relatively cheap chin strap takes care of the open mouth issue.
     
    #5 srellim234, Feb 7, 2024
    bwilson4web likes this.
  6. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2010
    7,744
    6,544
    0
    Location:
    Redneck Riviera (Gulf South)
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Well, alrighty then.
    Now that we've gotten the 'Body Positivity' portion of tonight's entertainment out of the way....

    I was born in the deep end of the gene pool.
    We ethnic Germans tend to drink fully from the cup of life and we are not 'skinnys' but Germans are Germans.
    A good work ethic MAY be able to overcome a few points on the BMI charts.
    Or?
    Maybe not.

    The warranty on a human is three score and ten.
    After that?
    It comes down to maintenance, and "science and data."
    I often scorn those who place blind faith and allegiance to the latter but truth is truth.
    As I tap this out, it's 2024, and it costs a for-real doctor START at about a quarter million DOLLARS and ten years of life, at least to become a REAL WORLD doctor.
    Access to their skills means that their investment in time and money should be fairly compensated.

    The reason CPAP machines cost $1000 is because they're WORTH it!
    Otherwise some CHICOMM knock-off would be widely available AND effective for about $100.

    I say this as a retired USN Chief with a set of Dolphins AND an EXW pin on the uniform stowed away in my chest in the attic.
    Submariners are not well known for being health Nazis.
    NOT even close!
    People in the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, in truth, don't have to be much better but they DO have to meet real-world, data verified physical norms.
    Some people cannot
    SOME people are NOT born on the deep end of the gene pool, and they should not be judged for the 'sins of their parents' just because they were born a little differently.

    They might not be able to run a mile and a half in 10 flat, which means they might be a heck of a good doctor instead of being able to meet....'physical norms.' ;)
     
    #6 ETC(SS), Feb 8, 2024
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2024
  7. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2005
    27,373
    15,513
    0
    Location:
    Huntsville AL
    Vehicle:
    2018 Tesla Model 3
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    These are some technical photos of the ResMed MiniAir.

    travel_size.jpeg
    That is an iPhone 12 Pro in the foreground. Both have basically the same footprint but the MiniAir is thicker. If humidity is needed, there are discs inserted in the mask. Absence of a water reservoir reduces the size and avoid the mess. CPAP is air pressure treatment, not humidity.

    On the left is a ROSCOE, DreamEasy, Full Face CPAP Mask - large. The right is a ResMed F20 - medium. travel_mask_seals.jpeg
    The differences:
    • Seal area - ROSCOE has more area which makes sealing harder.
    • Face fit - the F20 fits in the gap between the lips and chin. Both require adjusting the straps for comfort and air seal.
    • Noise - the ROSCOE is virtually silent while the F20 makes a rushing noise on breathing in. I suspect a rounded, camber rim inside will solve the F20 noise. Regardless, after a few minutes, the F20 becomes 'white noise.'
    travel_mask_front.jpeg
    On the exterior side:
    • Vertical fit - the ROSCOE has a forehead cushion to help offload pressure on the nose. The F20 uses the indent between the lips and chin. The F20 has a profile template to identify the seal sizes, small, medium, and large.
    • Air exit - important for bed partners, both masks exhaust air straight out. In the past, a very thin, loosely taped gauze defuses the air stream for partner comfort.
    • Air hose diameter - the MiniAir hose has a smaller diameter but an adapter allows using either. Ad hoc testing indicates the hose does not contribute to the F20 noise.
    Bob Wilson
     
    #7 bwilson4web, Feb 13, 2024
    N4HHE likes this.
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)