Short but helpful suggestions: Handling the hose- To keep from being strangled to death with your hose, run it from your machine over the back of the headboard and down to your pillow. In this way it is controlled and you will not fight it all night as you move around. Use the least amount of tension on the mask straps and still have an air tight seal. Those with stuffy noses from allergies can find relief with Vicks VapoRub. Each night I unscrew the lid, stick my nose into the jar just enough to feel the ointment, then draw…

Do you have to use your machine every night? NO! Knowing that involuntary habits can actually be retrained made me wonder if the Bipap/Cpap therapy is something that needs to be continued indefinitely. My answer to that question (in my case) is an emphatic No! I began my test to find this important fact was true by discontinuing my nightly practice of lacing up my mask and pushing the start button on my machine. For two weeks I refrained from using my machine in order to establish a starting point with the number of episodes the first night I returned…

#1 Complaint- Dry mouth After visiting with other sufferers of Sleep Apnea, the most consistent complaint seemed to be dry mouth. The dryness in my mouth each morning was so severe that I eventually developed a lesion in the back of my throat which progressed into a serious problem. After several visits to an eyes, nose, throat specialist, I decided that the bleeding was caused from the excessive dryness brought on by the BiPap therapy. I mentioned that this was my decision because the specialist, after two exploratory excursions through my nose and throat, could not determine why I was…

Results not accurate My experience during my sleep test can only be described as exceedingly uncomfortable. Throughout the night, I was forcibly ventilated through the mask covering my mouth and nose. Repeatedly I was told that it would eventually normalize to my natural breathing pattern but unfortunately it never did. Throughout the night I as forced to inhale more air, more frequently than I am accustom which obviously had an impact on my readings. Most of my so-called apnea episodes were reactions from this extremely uncomfortable sleeping condition. I repeatedly told my tech of the problem and was repeatedly told…

Testing Begins Once your physician suspects you may be suffering from Sleep Apnea, you are sent to a specialist who will isolate you in a small chamber to evaluate your breathing patterns in order to assign settings for your next level of testing. This next procedure is to simulate your normal breathing history during actual overnight sleeping conditions. This procedure is called the sleep test. You are told that you will spend the night in the test area while measuring your sleeping habits in order to determine the severity of your condition. After checking in, you are told to dress…