How would I know if I don't need cpap anymore?

[ElleCee]

Is there any way of knowing if I didn't need my cpap any more other than go back to the technician?
If I manage to dream without it, does that mean anything?
If I wake up as often with it as without it, does that mean anything?
Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks
Lorraine

[Tigers Fan]

Hi Lorraine

If you try a night or five withouit CPAP and then do an Epworth Scale test and you are fit to live and drive and.....

you feel OK in the mornings and throughout the day...

then you probably don't need CPAP. #

You could alway get a sleep study by Intus to confirm - or wait for the NHS.

TF

[Berneta]

Need it or not?

Hi Lorraine, If you drive--then you should have a sleep test done somewhere that proves that you don't need the CPAP anymore. Just losing weight may make you have less air obstruction problems while sleeping. That wouldn't mean that you don't need the CPAP---it just might mean that you don't feel uncomfortable because you don't have as many episodes. Some of us never actually exhibit all the signs of needing a CPAP--- and that is why many may have mild Sleep Apnea for years before finding out. If you have needed the CPAP to get your driver's permit--then don't you need some proof to show them that you no longer need the CPAP and can drive safely without it? If you don't get that proof, and have even a mild fender bender--then they will say you probably fell asleep at the wheel, and that it was your fault because of not using your CPAP-- making you liable for it all. I'm glad you are feeling much better--but to be on the safe side, and to protect yourself, I think you need to have it in writing that you are ok to drive now. Good Luck, Berneta

[James @ Intus]

Many indeed keep a log of their Epworth Score over time, say every other month. Yuo;d have to stop CPAP for a while, calculate your score and see how you go. But sleepiness aside, some people don't get sleepiness but do get the apnoeas, with all the bodily stress that causes. So you'd basically want to do a sleep study again, perhaps with and without CPAP, to compare the results. That would seal it.

[acebass]

Many indeed keep a log of their Epworth Score over time, say every other month. Yuo;d have to stop CPAP for a while, calculate your score and see how you go. But sleepiness aside, some people don't get sleepiness but do get the apnoeas, with all the bodily stress that causes. So you'd basically want to do a sleep study again, perhaps with and without CPAP, to compare the results. That would seal it.

This was reinforced at the SATADay conference recently. Basically the advice for someone who has lost a lot of weight, is that when you a have few days without the need to drive or operate machinery, try the first night or two without the CPAP. If you feel rubbish then it is obvious that you still need it.

If you find that you feel reasonably ok, try another night. If you can do a few days without treatment and still feel ok, get your sleep clinic to do an oximeter test.

[ElleCee]

I saw my GP this evening and have been given the paperwork to book a new referral which I have done for Dec 24th.
In the meantime I am going to try a few nights without cpap and note down my waking times and then after a few days try using it again and noting the times again just to see if they are different. Having said that, using cpap may be what I need but I still need to find my optimum pressure which I can't do without a night on apap. I don't fancy a night in the hospital though but I may not have an option.
What a palava!

Lorraine

[acebass]

xmas eve!! well, at least you got the appointment....good luck with it

[ElleCee]

I am pleased I have got an appointment but am concerned that it may be in the wrong department. The only person that I can get an appointment with is a respiratory doctor who deals with asthma, COPD and the like. I just hope he knows about OSA because the only other person that I have seen about it in the past is a technician and he is the one that refuses to help me any more without a GP referral.
Deep joy!
Lorraine

[Tigers Fan]

Don't worry - it will be cancelled, anyway. Enjoy your Xmas and see them mid-Jan, per usual practice!

TF

[ElleCee]

Ohh TF, that's a very defeatest attitude
I am sure I will get to see someone, probably not the right someone though!

I am going to Malta for a week on the 11th Dec, do I bother to take the machine or not?

Oh and the comfy pad things are a great help, at least I can be comfy even if the sleeweaver does still make weird noises when it leaks.

Lorraine

[Tigers Fan]

You confuse experience and realism with defeatism! You'll get to see someone right enough - just not on Xmas eve. They always cancel!

Now to invesigate 'speaker pillows'! The concept both attracts and repels me!

TF

[ElleCee]

It is just a pillow with a tiny speaker inside. You plug it into a radio and when you put your head on the pillow you can hear it, take your head off and you can't. Saves your partner having to listen to it too.

I could not sleep without it.
Lorraine

[Berneta]

sleeper pillow

I think I would be awake all night trying to figure out who was whispering in my ear--not that I mind that--it's just that I like someone else to be there when it happens. I have to ask--does that have an effect on your dreams? I can hear my cats scratch at my door at night, and that wakes me--don't think I could handle a pillow that makes noise. In fact my hearing is so sensitive that I run a fan summer and winter to drown out the sounds of owls and howling coyotes. I find the sound of the CPAP soothing. I wonder if they make masks with speakers? Sounds a little spooky to me--but to each his (or her) own. It would be a dull world if we were all alike! Berneta

[acebass]

It is just a pillow with a tiny speaker inside. You plug it into a radio and when you put your head on the pillow you can hear it, take your head off and you can't. Saves your partner having to listen to it too.

I could not sleep without it.
Lorraine

Hi Lorraine, could you post some details on the radio pillow thing, I know an elderly relative who really benefit from this as she doesn't sleep well and often listens to the radio into the early hours which disturbs her hubby a bit so this could be ideal...

Thanks

[ElleCee]

Just do a search for pillow speaker. Robers do a speaker that you put under your pillow which is good, or there is a pillow with a speaker built in to it. (I have had both and personally prefer the Roberts one but both work well) With the Roberts one you can move the speaker around so that it is under your ear, with the pillow one the speaker seems to be to one side so you need to move your head around rather than the speaker.

I hope that makes sense!

You can get the following from Amazon:

Sound Asleep Pillow
Buy new: £20.00
7 Used & new from £10.80

Sound Asleep Memory Foam Pillow
Buy new: £19.95
3 Used & new from £19.95


Sound ASleep Pillow
Buy new: £14.25
1 Used & new from £14.25