Given an APAP

[Floatyboaty]

many thanks...having used the cpap for years i am amazed how clever these machines can be.......ime trying to buy a battery powered unit so i can go away in our caravan without using an ellectric hookup....ive only found them available frow the usa so far.....(grrr import tax)...ime pleased to have found so many people who are in the same boat as me....lol

Hi Carlonablue
I am not sure what machine you have but I found it cheaper to buy a spare 110amp leisure battery for use on the boat and caravan, this just needs an adapter available from maplin. The battery should last 10 days.
Another way is to get an inverter but we found the first way much more practical.
We are also looking into a solar charger to keep it topped up

[James @ Intus]

many thanks...having used the cpap for years i am amazed how clever these machines can be.......ime trying to buy a battery powered unit so i can go away in our caravan without using an ellectric hookup....ive only found them available frow the usa so far.....(grrr import tax)...ime pleased to have found so many people who are in the same boat as me....lol

FYI we do a couple of great travel CPAP machines of which the BreatheX Journey is battery powered by default. Machines that will run on 12V (most of them) can eaisly run off the Super CPAP Battery Pack.

If you have a reliable battery already, as Floatyboaty says, that would be ideal. You just need a cable matching your CPAP machine, often available from its manufacturer or in case of DeVilbiss or Puritan Bennett for example, also from us.

[Tigers Fan]

Lillie's thread - not about batteries and travel CPAP

Hi Lillie

Air in your eyes or cold jets across your face are mask leakage, right enough. If you are not aware of leakage while you sleep, I guess there aren't any implications! If it gets bad enough to have any effects, you will know it!! First off are dry eyes - very sore! I doubt you would get leakage severe enough to effect your therapy without you were woken by the air rushing around your bedroom.

Keep up the good work - it pays huge dividends in the end!

Tigers Fan

[Lillie]

Hi Tigers Fan

Thanks for sticking up for my thread!

I managed about 5 and a half hours, with about 5 hours of sleep, last night, so I'm really optimistic. Tonight I'm not going to take the Lorazepam and if I wake early I'm going to try to continue the night 'plugged in'.

Didn't seem to have any real leakage last night apart from the odd leak if I knocked it as I got comfy.

Your continuing support is much appreciated.
Cheers
Lillie

[Lillie]

PS

I managed the noise by imagining I was trapped in a log cabin with Daniel Day Lewis, as in The Last of the Mohicans, with a blizzard blowing outside. Worked a treat!

The ladies will know what I mean!

L

[James @ Intus]

Sorry for joining the derailing!

Five and a half hours is good going, hopefully the scents will help bring that to 7 hours. 5 Hours of quality sleep is infinitely better than 7 hours of OSA filled sleep and you seem to be going about things the right way so you can expect some further gains.

[carlonablue]

apap vs cpap

well that means i was on a cpap... but now im on an apap....ime one of the lucky ones who didnt have a problem ...i dont fear the face mask(a full face )and i dont have any phobias or hangups about the residue on my face in the morning.(its only water from the humidifier)ime not a wriggly sleeper and i dont care how it looks like to my husband.....he snores outrageously, and is too scared to go to the doctor..in case he has to wear one....i find it has allways helped me to imagine what could happen if i didnt..................
my only problem has been peoples opinion...ime labled a hypochondriac....
but then other peoples opinion of me has never stopped me before.....
keep trying,, its important to your overall health..and once youve cracked it you wouldnt beleive the difference a good nights sleep will make ,,,,,,,,,

[carlonablue]

many thanks... your a star

[Lillie]

A night of Stop Start!

Hope it was just a hiccup! First it took ages to get the mask comfortable and the catarrh was worse than previous nights which meant I kept having to try to clear and swallow. This seemed to cause the pressure to rise and made breathing harder.

I got up after about an hour and took half a lorazepam and an anti-histamine but I don't think they helped much, if at all. Kept getting increased pressure which was hard to breath through. Turning the machine off and starting again seemed the only way to sort it out.

I did finally go off only to wake a couple of hours later with the mask leaking like mad, all round. I think I was on my back at the time. I stopped it again but went straight back to sleep and awoke 2 hours later with the light on and the mask on the bed! I put it back on for another hour or two and then gave up! I was wiped out today and could only spend the morning curled up in an armchair! Good job I'm retired and don't have the worry of going to work.

Thanks for the smellies, James. I'm not going to try them just yet as lavender tends to irritate my sinuses and throat so I'll give it a go when things are more stable.

I was wondering if masks can stretch? I seemed to have trouble getting the fit right at the top of the mask even though I hadn't altered the fit which had previously been fine. They measured me as small to medium and gave me a small first but it seemed to press on the top of my nose. They changed it for a medium but because of, what I can only descibe as, the conveyer belt approach of the sleep clinic I wasn't really able to ascertain that it was a better fit because they insisted we all had to listen to the next bit! It did seem fine to start with but maybe lying down makes a difference.

Anyway I'm off to give it another go!

Lil

[Tigers Fan]

Normal behaviour

Hi Lillie

You describe a normal enough night - well, perhaps not 'normal' but certainly they occur every now and then, too frequently sometimes.

I've just had a couple of such nights - and my own fault! Out of curiosity, I'd switched 'on' the 'auto off' function and then forgotten about it. It resulted in very disrupted sleep - it stops the machine whenever I have an event, strangely enough.

We have to survive the bad nights, knowing that good ones are to follow.

For that mask fit, I can think of two solutions. March back to the Sleep Clinic and have a word with them - a stern one may be needed, by the sound of things. If that fails - and it should not until you have tried every type of mask they issue, if neccessary - then you have to go the private route. For about £25, you can have a mask fitting session at the manufacturers offices.

Tigers Fan

[Lillie]

Hi TF

Thanks again for your valuable advice.

Had a slightly better night but the leakage was the main problem. Took me quite a time to get settled, partly because there was some catarrh but I could feel cold air on my eyelids. Not masses but enough to bother me. I couldn't actually feel it on my fingers when I tried to locate the actual place and wondered if it was some sort of down draught from the vent.

Eventually slept for probably a couple of hours when major leakage woke me. I remember putting the light on and switching off but the next thing I knew it was some hours later and it was too late to be worth putting it back on. But I didn't feel so stressed so something must be working.

When it is at it's best I really enjoy the sensation of the air keeping things opened up I just need to sort out the pesky mask problem. I'm going to phone the techs soon to see what they say but it is about 20 miles to the clinic so I can't just pop in. I have to take it back on Wednesday to get a CPAP so my concern is that there may not be enough data for them to set it at an accurate setting.

I like the idea of buying a mask fitted by the manufacturers. I think that would be £25 well spent.

Thanks again
Lil

[James @ Intus]

Unfortunately you can only find out whether the mask really works well when you sleep with it. Your face just isn't the same when awake in the sleep clinic, getting it fitted. Having said that, a proper fitting session will get you as close to the ideal mask as you can possibly get so it should be worth it indeed.

Clinic staff do want to see you gave it a serious try so indeed try and get the max hours on its clock as possible so if anything, it wasn't for the lack of trying.

If you have a video camera, you can film yourself when asleep, in night mode, to try and see at which stage your mask gets dislodged. Could be tube pulling on the mask, mask digging in the pillow and so on. It could help troubleshooting and finding solutions.

[Lillie]

Thanks James.
I don't have access to a video camera but the leaking hasn't been too much if a problem tha last 2 nights. The cold air on my eyelids seems to come from the vent and I've reduced the effect by putting a tissue over my eyes.

My main problem remains the catarrh. Having to keep swallowing and trying to get my breath makes my heart pound which takes me away from sleep instead of towards it! I usually end up having to get and take a lorazepam to calm things down as it can go on for a couple of hours. I think I'm just going to start taking one before I go to bed until I see what the clinic say on Wednesday. I've only got a few left anyway.

Once I get to sleep I seem to get at least 5 hours. I usually leave it off then as I've had enough but I'm certainly feeling better in the day. Just wish I could sort out the start of the night.

I have 2 tender spots on my forehead from the mask. Does this go away once you're used to it? I try not to overtighten it.

Regards
Lil

[Tigers Fan]

Protection

Hi Lillie

For those tender spots, if it is a reaction to the headgear pads, try putting some cloth between your skin and the pads. Cloth sticky plasters stuck to the pads might be a good first try.

They could be due to an infection, in which case Savlon and if that doesn't work, athlete's foot cream.

They could be due to over-tightening even though you say you try not to do that. In your sleeping poition, slack the top straps back till you just get leakage then pull them in again 1 mm each.

You are doing really well - getting good results against the odds!

Tigers Fan

[James @ Intus]

The catarrh can be moved with sinus cleansing, a ritual many here do regularly. If it's at the back of your throat, it could be post nasal drip, something relatively easily helped with with a nasal wash. Also check your diet isn't too much based on flour and dairy products as these are known to clog things up.