CPAP machines and a tear!

[CliffinGA]

Well I've had a crazy week and have had gettin older smack me in the face literally! Was at a jobsite going into a house when a plumber knocked a piece of small 2x4 about 6" off the second floor as I was walking in and smack caught me in the hard hat and knocked my glasses off and breaking the frames! Went in today to get my eyes re-examined for new glasses and lenses was told I needed to get them in yes bi-focals , shoot my mother doesn't even have them yet . Then as I was leaving I received a call from the neurologist to give results of my sleep study I did last week and was told I have extreme sleep apnea and would need to do another study with the CPAP and make sure it would help. My questions is who all has them and how big are they and just where do you have yours in your tear? I know alot of questions but if it helps me that much I figure it will be going with us on our camp outs. Any pics would help also!

Cliff

[LDK]

Cliff

You're lucky you had a hard hat on. As far as bifocals, I have them too along with reading glasses. You posted a good question about sleep apnea and the use of a cpap machine. I'm curious also to see if people use them in their TD's

[Maureenm]

Hey Cliff, I have one and have been using it for about 7 years. It's a little tricky to get used to, but now I wouldnt go anywhere without it. The quality of sleep I get is definitely worth it! Before I had a tear, I would tent camp, so I was able to get my hands on one that is smaller than the norm and will operate off of a rechargeable battery pack. A charge lasts about 3 nights for me. My tear does not have any electricity, so I now have a solar set-up that allows me to recharge for a longer trip. The recharging can also be done through the cig lighter in the car. I believe that my 'portable' CPAP is no longer being made, but there may be another company that is making one now. My at home machine is 13"x7"x6" and the travel one is 8"x5"x6". I have a small nightstand in the tear and it fits on that. Good luck with it all and it's not as bad as it sounds, and certainly better than to stop breathing
Maureen

[starleen2]

Cliff
As far as a cpap machine - I can't reply, but for the bifocals, the advice I have is: watch out for that last rung on the ladder when you're going down - cause it ain't always there

[CliffinGA]

Thanks Larry and thats the reason I don't get out of the work van with out one on.

Maureen thanks for the info, I know it will help me sleep better, I was just shocked at how many events they said I had in a 6hr period. 279!!! With a 1/4being full blockage and the rest being partial with duration of min 30 seconds and longest being over 79 seconds! I'm to see what they have when I go in a couple of weeks because the machine that was on the night stand during my sleep study was small ike 6 x9 and 4-5" thick. Thats the kind of size I can live with in the tear but not sure if thats a regular model or not.

Scott I already have that problem I usually have to take my glasses off or look under the lenses to look at something close or to read, drives the wifey up the wall .

Cliff

[shootr]

Used a cpap for four years. My suggestions:

Get one with a built in humidifier. Here in AZ at least it was imperative to keep from getting super dried out and morning nasal dryness. Just more comfortable.

If they are going to do a night study with a machine - make them try all different types of masks - took me a few hundred dollars of trial and error to get the right one - I wound up going full face, so if I got allergy congestion it didn't matter. Since they are taking the time - use it.

Mine all up was 3 lbs. with an extension cord. They come with a bag that will hold hose, mask, unit, cord - maybe 8" thick x 12" wide and 16" tall for the bag and contents. The unit itself, with humidifier, was approx. 5" x 12" x 4" tall. Never took it camping, and I'm not a tear owner yet, but if you have a shelf or cupboard above the bed it will most likely fit fine. My hose was 5' long so I had plenty of roll-around room.

Good luck!

[asianflava]

I use mine in the TD. At the last IRG, I ran for 3 days off my TD's battery. I may have had juice left but I went ahead and charged it with a generator and used it for a couple more nights. Maybe this time I'll run it without the humidifier to see if I can get away without having to recharge the battery. My unit is DC but has a converter (like a laptop cord) when I plug it into the wall.

I use a humidifier as it is very dry here (single digit humidity). One thing that I got is a snuggie for my hose. During the winter, I encountered some self inflicted "waterboarding" the moisture from the humidifier would condense out when it was cold and I'd have liquid when it got to my nasal pillows. It's just a zippered sleeve that you put on the hose, I bought it from eBay for under $20.

[Vedette]

Wow!

[angib]

People are telling you: "it's not all that bad". Well, I will tell you: "it's ruddy brilliant". When I first started using a CPAP, I slept much better and so had huge energy. I would suggest you have something planned for all this new energy - though maybe you want to make that just finishing the teardrop. My experience was that I felt 10 years and 100lbs lighter.

[LDK]

People are telling you: "it's not all that bad". Well, I will tell you: "it's ruddy brilliant". When I first started using a CPAP, I slept much better and so had huge energy. I would suggest you have something planned for all this new energy - though maybe you want to make that just finishing the teardrop. My experience was that I felt 10 years and 100lbs lighter.

Wow, maybe I need to have a sleep test done. I never feel fully rested and my wife complains all the time about my snoring. Maybe it's time I get tested. Would be nice to have alittle extra energy.

[Larwyn]

The VA has me scheduled for a a sleep study next month on the 10th. I had laser surgery a few years ago for sleep apnea and it helped but my present doctor suspects that I should be on a cpap. I suspect that she is right.

[48Rob]

Cliff,

Can't help you with the breathing, but I do have bifocals.

My first set was the newest greatest "no line" bifocals. Terrible, for me. There is only a pinpoint in the center of the lens that is clear, you have to turn your head side to side and up or down to be able to see clearly.

I traded them in for the old fashioned ones where you can see the dividing line (seems most people don't want that style because they think it makes them look strange, or blind or something.
Odd, since they already have glasses sitting on their nose...
Anyway, with lined bifocals you get the full range you are used to, and need only look down to see things that are closer.

Rob

[shootr]

It was the best sleep I had in years when I got it - but my apnea was weight induced. Last year I dropped 50+ lbs, got my now 47 year old body in shape, and mothballed the machine once and for all.

Good thing, I don't think I would have fit in my soon to be built teardrop otherwise!

People really need to investigate this if you're a heavy snorer - the test results are kinda scary when they tell you how often and how long you stop breathing every night. And I always slept so well, you really don't notice the apparatus at all.

[Verna]

Here's some info that might help you Cliff.

My sister used a CPAP machine the first time we camped. I wasn't sure how loud the machine was, so I brought soft, disposable ear plugs. I didn't need them. Her machine was so quiet I didn't even hear it.

I love my no-line bifocals. I've used them since I started wearing bifocals some 20 years ago. And, it's no joke that the last steps disappear--on stairs and on ladders!!! You get used to it.

[toolman]

CPAP machines are small, quite and wonderful. As someone said, get a humidifier with yours. You can get an adapter to run it off of 12 DC, that would be your expense as they do not come with the machine.

You will need a shelf to hold it and make sure you do NOT pull it off when you turn during sleep. The same applies at home. The manufacture of mine suggest that you keep it on the floor so that you do not pull it off of a shelf. Not real practical as the hose is only six feet long. I have mine on a bedside table which I have rigged up with a bungee cord to prevent it from being pulled off.

Wait until you have trifocals! That really make one feel old.

Have they checked your oxygen levels? I have to be on oxygen 24/7 which is a real problem for me to design a TD to hold the oxygen machine!

Jerry