C-PAP: The Sequel




Three nights and counting. Maybe I’ll eventually get some proper rest, finally dealing with my sleep apnea.

I’m trying to adjust to another C-PAP machine. They’ve made progress in the design of the units: the new one is smaller, lighter, portable. But I still have to sleep with a facemask attached to a long hose, a cyborg elephant man.

Once again I’m using a nose mask. With the other unit the mask just clamped on around my proboscis, held in place with straps. It didn’t move; it just sat there. The new mask has a bellows-seal that slowly pulsates in and out as I breath. Remember the face-hugger from the movie Alien? That’s what I think about as I drift off, that some living ET glob has attached itself to the center of my face.

But I have slept with this hi-tech hook-up. The first time I kept waking up every couple of hours. The second time I slept with only one interruption during an eight hour stretch. Last night I only slept maybe four hours hooked up and then just slept free. I never woke up enough to reconnect.

So far I do seem to have a bit more energy, but I’m still putting in too many hours of slumber overall, plus not feeling totally rested for most of my waking hours.

I’ll stick with the program as long as I can. Maybe I’m not seeing the dramatic results that other people have experienced because the pressure has to be increased even more to keep my airways open. I’m at 10, the same pressure as the old machine. As I mentioned in a previous post, they didn’t get enough data during my last study at the sleep lab because I could only go under for about a couple of hours. Maybe the pressure has to be increased. I’ll just have to wait and see what my doctor says during my next appointment.

Until then, all I can do about the problem is sleep on it.