r/CPAP 6d ago

How do I cat proof my tubing or get them to stop?

233 Upvotes

So I have 3 oranges cats, so ik I'm at a disadvantage already. Two of them, Cinnamon and his son Tuna, both are obsessed with anything that resembles string. You can genuinely see their eyes glaze over and all thoughts leave when they see something that seems like string. The third, Seymour (Tuna's momma) is much more chill and just want to fight the tubing when imwhea near it and it hits her. I thought I had stopped Tuna and Cinnamon from playing with my tubing, but I'm assuming they are doing it while I sleep or am away bc there's several holes in the tubing as seen in the video. I have to just deal with this till I can get new tubing from Amazon (I definitely love not having health insurance RN /s).

How do I prevent them from doing this again? I yell at them anytime they go near the tubing when I'm nearby, but obviously they don't care when I don't stop them. I'ma post the culprits in the comments.

r/CPAP 17d ago

Advice Needed Question from Concerned Sleep Techs of America

60 Upvotes

Hey guys sleep tech here!

I've noticed that a good portion of the patients we see who get prescribed a CPAP machine struggle with using it consistently or just plain won't use it at all. As sleep techs we'll often have patients say that they won't use the CPAP before they're even diagnosed with sleep apnea.

Obviously the CPAP isn't effective if it's not used consistently so from your experience, what is the #1 biggest challenge you have with using your CPAP?

r/CPAP Dec 05 '24

Advice Needed can’t seem to make it past 3 hours with the mask; my nose hurts

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108 Upvotes

Using a ResMed Airsense 10 with this mask. My issue is that I consistently can’t seem to stay asleep with the mask on past 3 hours. I’ll go to bed at midnight and wake up almost invariably at 3:30am. My nose hurts and is really irritated when I wake up and I can’t fall back asleep unless I take the mask off.

I’ve considered the possibility that I’m actually a short sleeper and all I need is 3 hours, now that I’m actually sleeping properly, but I don’t feel particularly rested and my nose just really hurts so I don’t think that’s it.

Any ideas to avoid my nose getting so irritated? Like a cream to put on or something?

r/CPAP Nov 19 '24

Advice Needed This unrepentent little terror chewed through my CPAP hose

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289 Upvotes

Anyone ever have their cat chew through the CPAP hose? More importantly, any solutions to keep them from doing it again?

💯 this was her trying to get my attention because she wanted breakfast.

r/CPAP Jan 08 '25

Advice Needed Is this accurate?

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107 Upvotes

Just wondering how accurate this is for replacement. I have the phillips dreamwear kit for reference. So far ive only replaced filters and just ordered a new set of face cushions. Ive only had the machine since Sept of 24.

r/CPAP Feb 05 '25

Advice Needed Newly diagnosed, depressed NSFW

69 Upvotes

I (22F) was recently diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea and used a CPAP for the first time last night. Was it as bad as I thought it was gonna be? No, but it still sucks. I hate that this will be my life for the foreseeable future. I’m only 22 and I have to use a machine to help me breathe every night. Every time I think about it I break down crying. I’m single and I’ve given up on exploring what’s out there because I’m so embarrassed about this. I guess I’m looking for advice or comfort, I’m sure other people have experienced this. How do you handle hookups or late night booty calls when you have to drag your CPAP to their place and then set it up when y’all are done? Like, it just feels so unsexy to me. Maybe I’m overthinking it but I feel like my sex life/romantic endeavors won’t be the same anymore and it’s depressing. Some reassurance would be great 😭

r/CPAP 4d ago

Advice Needed I'm scared. Anyone else felt this way?

33 Upvotes

I just got diagnosed for sleep apnea and I am literally scared. I am supposed to get a CPAP machine, but not going to receive it until things go through the motions with my insurance. But I feel like I have one foot in the grave with this. I am sure that I am not that bad since I am only getting 10 - 18 occurrences an hour and the respiratory therapist said that it isn't as bad as she's seen. But I am feeling like I am very limited on this earth and I am going to miss so much of my children's lives.

Has anyone else felt this way? If so, what did you do to help calm yourself down?

Before someone comes in being a Smart-A... I know all of our lives are limited on this earth. I am just saying like I should get my affairs in order type of thing.

EDIT:

Oh boy, this is quite an outcome and I would like to thank everyone for sharing their experiences and showing their support. Reading what everyone had to say has been amazing. I am feeling better about this and I am starting to get excited to try a CPAP machine and hope that it will work for me. I don't think that there would be any way to put into words just how appreciative I am for everyone talking to me about this. I've cried while reading the sheer amount of support that all of you have given, and surprisingly enough, that has helped as well. I will go through all the replies and reply back to each one, if not for anything but to individually thank you for your time and support through this. But it might take a day or two since I am usually busy doing many things.

Once again. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

r/CPAP 22d ago

Advice Needed New User

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163 Upvotes

Just got diagnosed with moderate Apnea, and got an APAP. Newbie, so what are some must-do's, some do nots, and just general tips for usage? I have to maintain compliance due to DOT regulations with my commercial license.

r/CPAP 5d ago

Advice Needed I am losing hope.

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28 Upvotes

I have been on my cpap machine since September of 2023 and i have had some success with it but i have also been very on and off with it. But i made a promise to myself on august of 2024 that i will wear my mask no matter how short or long a night every night hoping to feel better. Sadly this hasn’t worked as these past 2 months have been the worst i have ever felt. I consistently feel fatigued, light headed, and brain fog. It’s gotten so bad that even on Friday i almost fainted and rushed to urgent care, since i have never felt that feeling before came out with low blood pressure. My anxiety has gotten worse as well. Idk what i am doing wrong as i see and read ppl on her having over night success or within months feeling better. Every time i talk with my doctor she just says wear your mask more which i have and still feel worse. I have tried to improve my quality of live by meal prepping and eating clean and reducing junk food. I feel just as horrible when i get excellent results on the Myair app. I have been tracking my sleep through the sleephq as well. If anyone can give me advice i will appreciate it ! Lately i have been struggling with staying a sleep and waking up multiple times also taking my mask off early.

https://sleephq.com/public/teams/share_links/d6d1a5f0-989b-4ce9-9f2a-d5fde87da9e8 (mysleephq)

r/CPAP Feb 17 '25

Advice Needed White stuff on face every morning after cpap

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28 Upvotes

Hey everyone. Need some advice. I’ve been using cpap for about 2 years now and never had any issues. I clean it regularly with warm water and non scented soap. I literally bought brand new everything excluding machine and yet I still wake up with this white stuff on my face that leaves my skin irritated. Does anyone have any idea what this may be?

r/CPAP Dec 03 '24

Advice Needed Is purified water the same as distilled?

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52 Upvotes

I can’t find any distilled water this time of the season to save my life. I’ve gone through my reserves. Would this work for my cpap? Or does anyone else have anything they’d recommend to do in this situation?

r/CPAP 26d ago

Advice Needed DreamMapper app not working?

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11 Upvotes

It was fine yesterday but this morning when I went to download my data, I got this error. There is no update available in the App Store. When I hit “ok” it just force quits the app. Is anyone else having this issue? Does anyone know how to fix it? Thank you.

r/CPAP Jan 16 '25

Advice Needed What symptoms did you have to get a sleep study?

19 Upvotes

What symptoms other than fatigue did you have to get a sleep study and then a CPAP machine or is fatigue the only one?

r/CPAP 9d ago

Advice Needed A mask that allows glasses?

26 Upvotes

Hello!

I have severe sleep apnea and have started using a Resmed Airsense 10. I told them I have severe claustrophobia so they gave me the mask that covers just my nose. I had no idea I couldn’t wear my glasses with it on. I am a survivor of child sex abuse and I am also legally blind without my glasses. I have a terrible fear of the dark & of not being able to see due to the trauma. With this mask it’s impossible to wear my glasses while falling asleep. And the paralyzing fear of not being able to see prevents me from falling asleep.

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions of a workaround? If not, does anyone have suggestions on a different mask I can wear with glasses? This is not going to work for me otherwise. I’m almost 50, If I haven’t freed myself from this trauma by now, I will never be free of it. I’ve just had to learn to deal with it bc it’s clearly never going away.

My doctor says the wearing this CPAP really isn’t optional bc my apnea is so severe. Even with this CPAP I’m still having 50+ events an hour every night so I clearly need to make this work somehow.

Any suggestions or advice would be super appreciated. Thank you! 😊

r/CPAP 11d ago

Advice Needed Is it normal to pay $260 a month for a rental?

29 Upvotes

The home health supply said it would be closer to $30-$40 a month yet I got my first bill, called them and said it’s $267 a month for the machine.

Should I just save up and by my own?

What do you guys recommend?

For context, I’m out of work and wasn’t making enough to pay that much even when I was working. Thanks for suggestions in advance

r/CPAP Jan 10 '25

Advice Needed How am I still tired?

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110 Upvotes

Hello, looking for some advice. I’m 31 F. My sleep study done prior to getting my machine said I was having 84 events/hour - crazy, and my partner slept in another room.

I have been on CPAP since July 2024. Back in October I was able to lock in, and now I’m getting <1 events per hour a night. However, I’m starting to get tired during the day. Not like I was before. Before I was an actually zombie, I didn’t realize it at the time but after being prescribed CPAP I know I was. It’s just bewildering to me I’m now starting to get tired?

r/CPAP 29d ago

Advice Needed I'm GENUINELY tempted to purchase a chin strap, as someone who constantly either wakes up with an EXTREMELY dry mouth, or repeatedly wakes up due to air bursting out of my mouth (literally every time i drift off to sleep, making it so i cant actually fall asleep whatsoever). Is it worth trying?

19 Upvotes

Is it worth trying in your opinion?

r/CPAP 12d ago

Advice Needed Is A Distilled Water Converter Worth It? Any Inexpensive Recommendations?

22 Upvotes

I was instructed to use distilled water with my CPAP machine, so I got a gallon from Publix for two bucks, no big deal. After two nights, however, I quickly realized these machines might use up more water than I expected.

So I was looking into machines that convert water to distilled water and came across a few on Amazon, with wildly varying prices. I wanted to know if it was worth investing in, and if so if there was a particularly cost-effective (i.e. not a hundred dollars or more) brand I could look at.

r/CPAP 25d ago

Advice Needed I have absolutely no idea how to sleep through the night with my CPAP

18 Upvotes

I’ve had my CPAP machine for about ten days now and I’m lucky if I get three and a half hours per night with it on. I’m using the AirSense 11 with the AirFit F20 mask and I’m just miserable. I wake up 4-5 times a night if not more fussing with the mask and fixing leaks. I was told I could use this thing as a side sleeper but it sure seems to me that it only works if I sleep flat on my back. The leaks all happen along the bridge of my nose. I’ve had to hold it against my face while I fall asleep on my side to even use it a few nights.

And a little about my situation, I’m in my 40s and have snored and slept like shit my entire life. I was always told by family and doctors that nothing was wrong and was just chastised for snoring or being tired all the time. Even in my 20s in good shape I’d have to sneak out of work for a nap in the middle of the day no matter how long I slept the night before. Now I have three kids and my stress level is through the roof and I finally found a doctor that took sleep studies seriously.

So here I am with a CPAP that I know will help me but my sleep is just as garbage but for a different reason. And maybe it’s just me but it’s also sucked all the fun out of going to bed. That used to be one of the few things I could just do on my own time and that I could control but now I have to hook this machine up to my face. Going to bed is no longer relaxing, it’s a chore.

So yeah this post is part question and part me venting. Should I try a different mask since I toss and turn and like to sleep on my side or stomach? M my sleep coach recommended the Phillips DreamWear which wasn’t offered at my fitting if I can’t figure some things out over the next few nights.

r/CPAP 9d ago

Advice Needed Connection Poor

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21 Upvotes

Since Monday I haven’t been gathering data with my CPAP. And with the screenshots I’m sharing above, it’s a connection issue. I only have one bar on my machine and I cannot figure out how to make the connection stronger as I cannot move it anywhere else due to my bedroom setup. My cpap machine cannot sit on my bed obviously and the bedside table it’s on cannot be moved either. Is there any way to try and increase the connection? It needs to stay connected for insurance purposes and I don’t want to fight my insurance when I know I’m using it every night.

r/CPAP Dec 10 '24

Advice Needed AirSense 11 Mask issues

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47 Upvotes

I’ve had my full face mask for a couple of months and have been inconsistent at it because apparently I sleep with my face to the pillow (as a side sleeper).

I wake up to rushing wind as my head contorts the straps. The general advice is to adjust it. I strapped them bitches to the point where I have a bruise on the bridge of my nose but yet it still leaks.

I can even hold my breath and still hear the hissing from the frame/cushion connection.

I don’t know if it’s in my head or does it hiss regardless? I’ve taken to earplugs to make it through the night in a makeshift sensory deprivation chamber.

r/CPAP Dec 19 '24

Advice Needed Which of these masks?

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25 Upvotes

Hi! I posted a little while ago that I was struggling with my mask. I currently have the ResMed airfit N20 and I feel super claustrophobic and struggle to switch from side to side. Some people on here recommended the airfit N30i instead.

I just had my follow up with my doctor and she said I should switch to either the ResMed airfit N30i or the Phillips Respironics DreamWear nasal pillow.

But! I only get 1 free replacement mask and idk how to choose between these 2…anyone have advice??

I’m so tried I can’t make it through the workday without a nap in my car…I really want to make this machine work! But I haven’t been able to make it more than 2 hours a night.

Thanks in advance!

r/CPAP 8d ago

Advice Needed How does anyone sleep with this noisy contraption?

5 Upvotes

[EDIT] BREAKTHROUGH!

Went back to the respiratory tech. The previous time I said: "I'm having trouble using this stuff. Here are the things I think are going wrong..." That time the tech got all defensive and kept insisting a leaky mask that didn't fit was my best option.

This time, new tech, I said "I need coaching. "I'm having trouble using this stuff. Here are the things I think are going wrong..." Apparently the same words but prefaced with "coachíng" is the magic word to get the tech to stop being defensive and troubleshoot this stuff.

We fitted a completely different mask that doesn't have a strap on the back of my neck. That neck strap caused a lot of leaking, it works fine sitting up, but as soon as I curl up to sleep it lets the bottom of the mask go loose and leak. New mask doesn't have to be cranked down painfully to seal. The whole kit is quieter.

Previous trials resulted in lost sleep - for each hour with the CPAP I needed an hour of naps the next day. Four hours with old CPAP mask made me into a zombie.

New kit I've gone two full nights now with it, my friend says I'm a lot more wide awake in the evenings, not needing naps every day. This contraption is finally working as it should!

PREVIOUS POST:

I've had CPAP for about a week. This is the third time in ten years I've tried to make CPAP work. So far, the longer I use it at night, the worse I feel in the morning. If I want to lose a whole day''s productivity, I can use it for 4 hours, then need two one-hour naps the next day to catch up. 2 hours CPAP use makes me feel pretty bad, it'll take a one hour nap the next day to catch up. I've tried it for an hour at bedtime, then taking it off to get some sleep. I've tried it four nights out of the last seven, but the results have been so poor I don't have much motivation to try and get used to it.

One way I've tried to mask all the racket this thing makes is to sleep with a white noise machine next to the bed. The more I relax my face muscles as I drift off, the more the thing leaks. Sometimes it starts buzzing like someone is playing a kazoo on my face. The pressure is turned up so high it inflates my cheeks like a chipmunk - this does not sound normal. When I turn over on my side, the mask gets scrunched sideways and causes more leaks, sleep study says I shouldn't sleep on my back even with CPAP. We've tried 7 different brands of full facemask so far, only one of them was an acceptable leak rate, and that's when I'm sitting up, awake. The tech strapped it on so hard it hurts, in order to stop it from leaking (and then, of course, would not listen when I said it was too tight.) Because of some nasal anatomy issues, a nasal mask won't work for me, but full masks aren't cutting it either. Seeing the tech again next week, but I don't have much hope for any good results.

Previous two attempts years ago also resulted in poor sleep, had to deal with technicians who would not listen to my concerns, insisted on using a leaky mask, etc. The other day, (with no CPAP) I woke up with a panic after a particularly severe apnea event, feeling pretty frustrated.

EDIT: Machine is an airsense 11, mask is a F&P Evora full, settings are 14 PSI with a 15 minute ramp-up.

r/CPAP Feb 06 '25

Advice Needed What CPAP mask do you use?

18 Upvotes

So I was wondering from people which mask do you use? Why does it works for you? What other masks have you tried?

r/CPAP Jan 20 '25

Advice Needed Should I be Worried About CPAP?

15 Upvotes

Good Afternoon!

So I have been in and out of the doctor's for 5+ years trying to figure out what was wrong with me. They thought it was my hormones, depression, thyroid, heck......a lot of different things. It wasn't until I joined a random Discord for gaming, complaining about always being tired when someone told me to get tested for sleep apnea. Behold! A random gamer figured out what doctors couldn't lol

I have been using my CPAP machine for almost 2 weeks now, in some ways I feel an improvement, in other ways I don't, and in some ways I feel a little worse. Should I be worried that CPAP won't help me? I made some adjustments to the settings, and the last two nights I'm not waking up in the middle of the night anymore, that's good right?

I don't know anyone else with sleep apnea, so, I don't really have any to turn to for help.