Anybody use these?
Pros? Cons?

I'm doing a sleep study tonight and wanted to see what you think.

I think some people find them annoying and some people find them helpful. But there are not a lot of other options and sleep apnea has the potential to cause significant problems.

I have used one for 3 years. It's hell to get use to but believe me real R.E.M. sleep is just around the corner. If your claustrophobic it will take you a bit to deal with it but it is so worth guttin' it out. I had forgotten what a good nights sleep was until I got use to mine. Don't even nap without it. I hope you have a good respiratory and sleep Doctor. They can lengthen your life. Oh, I'm Pro CPAP by the way.

My father had sleep apnea and wouldn't use his C-PAP machine. He also had high blood pressure and sleep apnea can cause major cardiovascular problems. Long story short - My father went in for a minor heart surgery, they found major calcification of the heart, and he died not too long afterwards.

He already had a pretty weak heart, but his surgeon and doctors have said if he had just used his C-PAP machine and got a good night sleep every night, he might still be alive.

If you have sleep apnea, PLEASE use a C-PAP. It will save your life.

Here is a helpful website: Sleep Apnea and Heart Disease - National Sleep Foundation (http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/ask-the-expert/sleep-apnea-and-heart-disease)

Well over a decade ago a dr. advised: get a cpap or undergo surgery to correct the apnea.
Me and my football still get along just fine.

Dec. 07 when the power went out six days was not fun. I was not much fun to be around after the second day. There's been another power failure or three, but none that long.

I think some people find them annoying and some people find them helpful. But there are not a lot of other options and sleep apnea has the potential to cause significant problems.

If your over weight and have sleep apnea losing weight and exercise helps many (not all) people and it helps with other problems.

Stan,
I have been on a Bpap since January and what I have found is that prior to the Bpap I was sleeping too many hours but I wasn't rested. Since I have been on it, I sleep less and I am well rested. Now, opinions on this thread are fine, but the reality is, do what your doctor recommends.
C. T.

I was on one for a while and it took some getting used to since I liked to sleep on my stomach but it did help. Mine got damaged when my house flooded and I haven't got another one yet.

I took a sleep test Monday at a pleasant facility. There seemed like a million wires were attached and I didn't think I slept well. Got up a few restroom break times. But, they said I didn't have enough interruptions to warrant testing the machine.

I'm not overweight at all but have constant nasal congestion which my respiratory doctor says might indicate a problem. To them my exhale on the breathing test sounded like an obstruction.

I've heard there were C-PAPs and Bi-PAPs. What's the difference? Can you rent them to test them?

Stan,
The "C" stands for continuous and the "B" stands for bi (or variable) so the air flow is constant on the CPAP and variable based on your breathing on the BPAP. I don't know about renting them but if your doctor prescribes one, your insurance will pay for it. Medicare and my supplemental plan paid for mine, it didn't cost a dime.
C. T.
I took a sleep test Monday at a pleasant facility. There seemed like a million wires were attached and I didn't think I slept well. Got up a few restroom break times. But, they said I didn't have enough interruptions to warrant testing the machine.

I'm not overweight at all but have constant nasal congestion which my respiratory doctor says might indicate a problem. To them my exhale on the breathing test sounded like an obstruction.

I've heard there were C-PAPs and Bi-PAPs. What's the difference? Can you rent them to test them?

Stan,
I found a better definition on Wikipedia. Hope my comment wasn't too far off.
C. T.

Bilevel positive airway pressure (BPAP) is a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mode used during noninvasive positive pressure ventilation. It delivers a preset inspiratory positive airway pressure (IPAP) and expiratory positive airway pressure (EPAP). BPAP can be described as a continuous positive airway pressure system with a time-cycled or flow-cycled change of the applied CPAP level.[1] CPAP, BPAP and other non-invasive ventilation modes have been shown to be effective management tools for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and acute respiratory failure.[2] Another term for bilevel positive airway pressure, and the term becoming increasingly adopted by the medical community, is non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) or non-invasive ventilation (NIV).[

aside from BPAPs and CPAPs has anyone used the mouthpieces that are supposed to allow for mouth breathing while jutting your lower jaw a bit forward? I dried CPAP and it was horrible for me so I've just been sleeping on my side. Input?

I think some people find them annoying and some people find them helpful. But there are not a lot of other options and sleep apnea has the potential to cause significant problems.

My wife had one and one of my Great Danes found it tasty. Seriously! Expensive chew toy.

I have to keep mine away from my ferret. Way too much chewy stuff there. It's hard to wear that mask all night for sure. It's like the smaller creature from Predator hunching your face all night. They also have a wrap around that plugs into your nostrils. Haven't tried that one yet. I was only in sleep lab and snoozing for one hour before they come busting in and hooked me up for the first time. They said I stopped breathing 77 times in the first hour. The first month has rough but after that I got used to it. It was like I was reborn.

I got my sleep lab report back with a conclusion of mild sleep apnea (10 breathing interruptions in an hour but some as long as 30 seconds).
They called me back for another study, this time while wearing a CPAP that covered both my nose and mouth. I came into the study with stuffy
sinuses but was sure I wouldn't have to breathe through my mouth. Because I never or rarely snore.

I'm now worried I may have contaminated the findings by showing up with an allergy condition which might indicate a need for the wrong equipment.

I've used a CPAP for several years. It may not be easy to get used to it but do it.

Part of the sleep study with a CPAP is to determine if it works for you and at what level of pressure you need for it to work.


aside from BPAPs and CPAPs has anyone used the mouthpieces that are supposed to allow for mouth breathing while jutting your lower jaw a bit forward? I dried CPAP and it was horrible for me so I've just been sleeping on my side. Input?

I have one of those too. I wanted it mainly for backpacking and backcountry travel. It's a long story but I'll try to make it brief. My understanding is CPAP is the preferred treatment but since a lot of people won't use it you might be able to go that route. I went to a local doctor who I won't name. His office did a number of tests to see if I could get some effective use from a mouthpiece. The evaluation was $200 plus or minus, and insurance didn't cover it, since he wasn't a provider on my plan and I do use CPAP. They don't file insurance and don't care what your insurance thinks about what they charge.

The tests showed that I might be a good candidate for a mouthpiece. That doctor offered the service to work with me for a year, fit a mouthpiece or several mouthpieces until we found one that worked, send me home with monitoring equipment that watched blood O2, pulse and other vitals and recorded them to help the doctor determine if the mouthpiece was working as it should. Cost was $4600. I could say more about the experience with this doctor but I won't. The take away for me was a mouthpiece might be an option for me.

I asked my dentist about it. He said yes, no problem, he could make one for $400. So I had him make one. No monitoring, no real follow up other than my own experience of if I thought it helped me sleep. Not a scientific well rounded approach at all. Possibly even false security that it's helping if you compare that with the first doc's approach.

I bought a recording O2 and pulse monitor and ran a few nights recordings with my CPAP and with the mouthpiece. I already had some information from my sleep study about what blood O2 was doing without a CPAP or mouthpiece. With a mouthpiece, my blood O2 stayed above whatever the minimum level was supposed to be but it wasn't as good or as level as with my CPAP. I've used the mouthpiece in the backcountry for a few nights at a time and it does help me sleep and feel better in the morning than without it. But from all I read about the potential problems from apnea, I wouldn't monkey around with treatment or use a mouthpiece for the long term that didn't include follow up to know if it is doing what you need.