Originally Posted by Sadiemae
Listen to your doctor...
My oxygon levels go so low when I sleep that it is critical that I use my machine. The first time I had a surgery even with oxygon, my levels were 76 when I went to sleep--not a good sign. The nurse kept waking me up and I told her to leave me alone, so she told the doctor I needed to go immediately for a sleep study. During my sleep study my numbers were in the upper 50's--very dangerous. If I fall asleep even for a short nap without my machine, I will have the headache that is miserable, so I am very careful. I never seem to be normal with most things, and my Apnea is different also. I am in REM sleep all but about a half hour each night.
I had no problem adjusting to my machine at all, but they told me I could die at any time without it. That kind of makes it easier to use.
My husband is like you - they estimated him at 45 minutes of sleep in an 8-hour period. His was so bad that he fell asleep immediately the first time they put the test CPAP on him -- and stayed asleep all night!
I have to add here that I never slept either before he started using the CPAP. It turned out that I was holding my breath in my sleep and if I ran out of air before he snored again I'd wake up, and wake him up. This was a Very Bad Time.
Also, my husband now sleeps with pillows and a blanket over his head and uses his CPAP like a scuba mask. Sometimes it's hard to tell if he's even in there.
Next, if someone passes gas in the night you won't smell it anymore, so you can use that to torture your loved ones.
On the other hand, if you or someone else passes gas too close to the machine's air intake... :twisted:
As a corollary to that last point, take care where you put the dog's bed.