Treating Sleep Apnea
Oct.12, 2008
Health and Fitness
Tags : AIDS, Aids Resources, Airway Pressure, Apnea Patients, apnea sleep, Best Choice, Breathing Problems, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, doctors, health problems, insomnia, Mask, Obstructive Sleep, Oral Appliances, Physicians, Pills, Popularity, sleep, sleep aids, sleep apnea, sleep disorder, sleep disorders, sleeping, snoring, Snoring Problem, Surgical Procedures
October 13th, 2008 at 1:17 am
I have been a snorer for a long time. As I got older, my snoring has gotten more frequent and louder. I also noticed I was tired a lot and liked to take naps during the day. People complained about my snoring and I could not sleep in the same room with other people for fear of keeping them awake.
Finally, I asked my doctor about the problem and he had me try out a CPAP machine. The doc said my airway was closing off up to 70 times each hour, and that I stopped breathing for as long as one full minute at a time! He strongly recommended I start using the CPAP machine, since I was risking damage to my heart due to lack of oxygen.
I had read about CPAP machines before and always thought I would never be able to sleep with one, since I am somewhat claustrophobic. Surprisingly, it only took me a few minutes to get used to, and I was able to sleep comfortably from the very beginning with no problem.
The mask portion is just a small apparatus that fits on the nostrils to blow in air that keeps the throat inflated, thus preventing any snoring. Straps over the head are a little annoying, but they are necessary to keep the nose piece in place. If one changes sleeping positions at night, it’s possible for these straps to move, causing the nose piece to slip off.
I have been using a Dreamhelmet, a combination sleep mask sound-muffling pillow for years now, for sleeping at night and for napping during the day. I always find it hard to sleep without the Dreamhelmet, and I was afraid I would not be able to use it with the CPAP mask, but I was wrong about that too.
After I slept with the CPAP machine and mask for a short while, I tried wearing the Dreamhelmet over the CPAP, covering up the straps – voila, it worked like a charm! I found that the Dreamhelmet actually helps keep the straps in place when I change positions, so now I can sleep all night in comfort, not being bothered by sound, light, or changing positions. The CPAP and the Dreamhelmet are the perfect sleeping combination for me.
I now wake up rested, and I have energy that lasts all day long. I don’t feel so run down all the time or feel like I need an afternoon nap, but I still carry an extra Dreamhelmet in the car with me just in case I do need a nap.