CPAP fitting update

Hi, Everyone.
I promised an update, and here it is. I received a loaner CPAP machine at the medical supply place today. The guy who fitted me was very nice and careful, knowing my past and how hard it would be to have anything near my nose and mouth.
He used a rather simple headgear and something called a nose cradle/pillow. It's very small and lightweight, new, and, according to this guy, better than the other things.
My anxiety level was pretty high, with the air on, even though he started it at very low. I didn't run out, screaming, though, so I feel it was a victory for me. Now, I just have to get used to sleeping with the thing.
Thank you for your words of encouragement and your prayers. I'm hoping that the machine I was given, that's STILL being checked out, will come back as good to use, as the loaner machine retails at $1600! Yikes.
Blessings,
Mary

Mary, I, too, had a thing about stuff on my face and neck (especially my ex who would try to choke me when I was asleep and he got mad at me)  I have that same type "mask" and I do fine with it.  Believe it or not, now I love to put it on, I go to sleep instantly, and sleep like a baby all night.  I now even put my whole head under the blanket -- since I have my breathing machine -- and get really warm !!!  I know they've said I can probably do without it now, and will probably get tested soon, since I feel like it's blowing my brains out now, but I know I would miss it.  Go figure !

How encouraging to know that you have issues, like I do, and yet you are doing so well with it AND enjoying it. It sounds like we have something else in common--an abusive ex. Look how far God has taken us, since then!
Blessings,
Mary

I can't say I'm a huge fan of my face serpent (CPAP) but I will have to say that I felt better when I started wearing it.  And I don't wake up as many times as I used to either.  So it's all a good thing, for sure.  I went in after 3 months and they said I still need to sleep with it.  He also said that I may be stuck with it because my neck was "skinny".  The one time in my life I don't want to have a skinny body part.

Go in to it with an open mind and know that your body will thank you.  It takes some adjustment but is worth the peace of mind that you are getting the necessary oxygen.  I'll bet you feel a bunch better!

Good luck!

Thanks, Kim. I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep. Haven't had one in a long time.
Face serpent--that's funny. :)

 Hi, Kim
Love your comment about the skinny body part.  I'm of the opinion that we only lose weight in our ear lobes and toes and we gain weight everywhere else.  donna

I love the results I get from my CPAP.  I thought my brain had turned to poop since I was older and fat.  When my asthma doc wanted me to get tested for sleep apnea I thought he was crazy but did it because I trust him.  I was shocked when I did indeed have sleep apnea.  My oxygen saturation was falling to about 70% during the night.  No wonder I had poop for brains! 

I am so happy I don't have to write notes to find my notes!  I can remember things now.  I feel so much better.  Learning to deal with the face serpent is worth it.  Life gets better with oxygen!

I can SO identify with that!  I thought I was getting Alzheimers, for real!  When I landed in the hospital in June, with 40 lbs. of fluid, stroke-level blood pressure, and congestive heart failure, I tried to sleep. I didn't know that my oxygen level would go down so low that the nurse would come to check on me.
That hospital visit changed my life, in more ways than one. I think the Lord knew that I needed to get to that point, before I'd say "Yes" to WLS, which I had previously said we couldn't afford to do.
Looking forward to a better memory,
Mary

See, I'm all jealous cause I don't have a cpap machine.  I'm just the opposite though-I'd have to have the full face mask because I can't even stand the little hoses they put up your nose in the hospital...(I think it dries out the sinuses).  I'm all about brain enhancement and anything that would improve brain function is worth a try.

Well, if Michael Jackson could sleep in some hyperbaric chamber (and probably didn't have a prescription for it), I bet you could find a way to get a CPAP machine. I mean, it's air...what harm could that do. Oh, and they have the kind that gives cold or warm mist with the air, so it wouldn't dry out your sinuses.
Something to think about. ;)
Blessings,
Mary