Comments on: (Wheeze) Luke (Wheeze) I AM your father…. (love me, love my CPAP)

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 09 May 2007 04:50:08 +0000

I started using a cpap at 16 units of pressure (whatever they are) and it’s been like night and day. After 6 years and a UPPP procedure not working for me, I’ve developed high blood pressure because of it. So I do definitely recommend anyone with those “sleepy” symptoms to get checked!!!

By: Bill Petro

Bill Petro — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 03:58:21 +0000

Chuq,
Hard to tell from the picture but is yours nose only, or nose/mouth mask? Is it just CPAP, APAP, VPAP, BiPAP? Did you go with the humidifier?
Cheers,
Bill

By: Nick Arnett

Nick Arnett — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 16:03:28 +0000

Wow — 58 percent oxygen saturation is baaaad. Glad you decided to get the sleep study done. I’ve been on CPAP for about three years now. Luckily, my sats stayed above 80 percent… but I had even more sleep interruptions than you. And apnea gets worse as time goes by, so I’ve had to increase the pressure every year or so (and all this despite losing weight, which helps even though I’m not a big guy). The machine annoys me, but it has made a huge difference in my life. I’m looking at some possible work on my nose to help me stop swallowing air at night, which is an increasing problem. Sure beats being sleepy all the time and dying young.

By: StefanSeiz

StefanSeiz — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 18:29:58 +0000

Chuck,
wouldn’t loosing some weight help with that problem too?

By: Evan Robinson

Evan Robinson — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 06:03:11 +0000

Chuq,
I have a Goodnight 420E (it’s my third machine over about 8 years), which has the wonderful attributes:
1) it’s tiny
2) it’s dual power
3) it’s not just a CPAP, it’s also APAP (which automatically adjusts pressure for you over a set range)
Probably much more interesting to play with than the machine, however, is the mask technology. I use nasal pillows, Sara uses a gel mask. Check out a bunch: some of the materials may irritate your skin, some may actually put a dent in your forehead.
And consider a humidifier if your nasal passages dry out.
Oh yeah, the vertical piece of that mask you’re modeling is going to break one night — right between your eyes — make sure you’ve got at least one spare

By: Tom Negrino

Tom Negrino — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 01:30:43 +0000

Hi Chuck,
I was diagnosed several years ago, and I’ve gone through several machines. I need the BiPAP flavor, which makes things more expensive. Last year, I bought a Puritan Bennett GoodKnight 425. It’s incredibly small, and much quieter than my previous Respironics unit. The GoodKnight plus its heated humidifier is smaller and lighter than the other BiPAP alone. It’s great for traveling; I took it on a 3-week trip to NZ and Aus last fall. They have reasonably priced CPAP versions of the same machine.
By the way, if you haven’t gotten a heated humidifier, I recommend it. I didn’t need one at first, but then I just got to the point where I had too much nasal drying and irritation.
Got questions? Drop me an email.
Tom