Sleep apnea.....can you ever get off the cpap mask?? Or once diagnosed always on it.

[a kennedy]

I just had my at home test last night, am waiting for results, and just wonder if I do have sleep apnea will I ever be able to get off of it?? And damn, having it sure seems like a money maker for the cpap companies, changing the tubes, filters, etc every month?? Yikes.

[CountAllVotes]

1. There is a medication for sleep apnea

It is called Nuvigal.

The generic name for it is armodafanil.

https://www.drugs.com/mtm/armodafinil.html

It can be difficult to get this medication but it does help.

I could see that one of those machines wouldn't do well around here with all of my cats.

Best of luck.

[eppur_se_muova]

20. It's Nuvigil, but thanks! nt

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

2. A friend did

He also lost about 120lbs, so that solved it.

I also don't know anyone with a cpap who replaces everything per the recommended schedule. If it doesn't leak and isn't dirty then they keep using it.

[a kennedy]

3. Great, all I could see was hundreds a year for all the supplies.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

4. You can usually find individual parts on Amazon

I’ve been using the same mask frame for years, I just get new head straps, hoses and the mask cushions when they start getting ragged, maybe twice a year. Less than $50, as opposed to several hundred.

[a kennedy]

5. Thanks......will keep this in mind.

[fierywoman]

6. If you use the cpap be sure to be extremely rigorous about keeping it

properly clean... a colleague died from an infection he got because his cpap was filthy.

FWIW I've been reading about a lot of people who have gone carnivore and lost the weight and gotten rid of sleep apnea.

[WhiteTara]

7. I love my sleep machine

you need to study the structure of the uvulu and the throat. You can try singing and doing exercises to lift it, but most people simply use it and don't do the exercises (raises hand) but I might take up singing again.

[nilram]

9. There's other therapies

As someone else mentioned, losing weight can help (but sleep apnea can affect those without excess weight, too). I saw a set of DVDs that claim to be a singing/breath exercise they claimed would help, also. And I’ve heard that playing a didgeridoo can help (which makes me wonder about other wind instruments, also).

I haven’t made the leap to get a CPAP, or to do the other therapies, but my case is relatively mild. I’ve heard that a lot of CPAP machines are sitting in peoples closets, and I’ve heard of some people who wouldn’t give theirs up for the world. My brother-in-law uses one and my sister says she can tell within a day or two if it’s not working right—he gets loopier than normal.

[CanonRay]

10. I had a CPAP for about a year

Absolutely hated it. I'm a stomach sleeper and I never could get used to the thing. I finally chucked it about18 months ago, and I seem to be doing fine.

[a kennedy]

11. I'm a stomach and right side sleeper.........damn.

I’m going on this for my hemoglobin……it’s high, and this sleep apnea business is the first of possibly many tests to start out to find out why. My medical history is such that they think sleep apnea is the cause. I’m hoping it is…..scared to find out what else I have to do if it isn’t.

[brewens]

12. Donating blood might help with high hemoglobin. n/t

[rickford66]

13. Try an oral appliance which pulls the lower jaw forward while asleep.

Very similar to a retainer. I have had to wear a retainer after braces as an adult and the apnea appliance I use isn't much different. Mine was prescribed by my dentist over 25 years ago. Now I see they are sold over the counter very reasonably. Worth a try for comfort and convenience. I had to travel for work here and abroad and slept OK.

[phylny]

15. I don't use one, but my husband does.

I cannot tell you the difference it has made for the quality of his sleep AND MINE!

It's been great. He has had no difficulty getting accustomed to it. It is extremely quiet, unless the seal is broken - that's when I hear it and nudge him to fix his mask.

I haven't slept this well in ages because he no longer snores.

[a kennedy]

16. Good for you.........my husband should get a cpap too, he quits breathing and then after

a few minutes he’ll gasp and almost choke. I know he needs one. He won’t tho, as he doesn’t hear the snores and the gasps. I am working on him tho.

[vanlassie]

18. My son actually convinced me that I snored by

recording me and putting it on a DVD.