Sleep Apnea and C-PAP Machines: How I Learned to Sleep Again

As I have grown older I found that I seemed to grow more and more tired during the day. It seemed like I would wake up every morning more tired than when I went to bed the night before. Wondering if something was physically wrong with me, I mentioned this to my doctor during a check up and asked if she knew of a reason why this would be? She sent me to a "sleep lab" for an evaluation.

The sleep lab had me come in for an initial consultation and then set me up for a sleep test. The test consisted of a very uncomfortable night during which they attached more wires to me than there are running to my home computer and TV/VCR/DVD player combined. They strapped a silly mask to my face, like something a fighter pilot would wear then sent me to bed. Then they had me try to sleep while they watched me on a lowlight camera all night. Though I could swear that I never actually slept that night, they said they collected "data about the way (I) slept" and provided me with a "Continuous-Positive Airway Pressure" (C-PAP) machine to take home.

They told me that I was snoring so bad that I was actually waking myself up, hundreds of times a night, for very short periods. This is called "Sleep Apnea." These periods were so short that I was not even aware of it but this was ruining my sleep. The C-PAP machine is supposed to provide air pressure to inflate my airway and eliminate the Apnea.

I must admit, this contraption took some getting used to. I had to strap this mask to my face every night and get used to the sound of flowing air. Since I habitually sleep on my stomach, planting my face in my pillow is somewhat difficult with this huge mask attached to my face. At first I thought this would just be impossible. Yet, I stuck with it and slowly got used to the thing. I noticed I was less tired during the day. Remarkably less tired, in fact.

Then hurricane Isabel came through and left us without power for nearly three weeks. The C-PAP machine does not work very well without power and I quickly discovered that I could not sleep without the thing. I was high and dry and wanting my C-PAP machine. It works and it works well.

Several years later I am still using my machine. I have learned a few things over the years that I would like to share if you are considering the use of some form of C-PAP machine. The first is, the full-face mask is far better than the nose mask they usually try to first pawn off on you. Second, you will need at least two sets of mask and hose for the machine for two reasons. It is just easier considering how much trouble it is to clean these masks and hoses and how often they must be cleaned and you never know when you need a spare because these things break at the worst times and getting a replacement can take weeks. The third thing I would like to share is this, get yourself a humidifier attachment for the machine. The C-PAP machine will dry your nose and mouth out severely and the humidifier attachment is priceless. The last thing I would like to share is to take good care of the machine. Like most pieces of equipment, you take care of it and it will take care of you.

The bottom line is this, if you are approaching middle age and you are always running around tired, go and get checked by a sleep lab. I cannot promise you that sleep Apnea is your problem; you need to see the doctors at the sleep lab to determine that. If it is and if they put you on a C-PAP machine or the other version of an airway pressure machine, it may be able to greatly improve your sleep patterns and that will help your life.