use my CPAP every night

since this is going so well, and now I’m tracking it on the Body Clutter Investigator.

I thought of a new rule – my CPAP has to be on whenever I’m in bed – reading, or whatever. Hopefully this will create some associations & help make it a habit.

I went through a pretty bad year, CPAP-wise, in 2005. First I mouth-leaked so much that I literally had to tape my mouth shut at bedtime. Then that started giving me a sore throat, so that I’d rip the mask off 2 hours into the night, unable to take it anymore. Then I got my CPAP taken away by the insurance company, and when I couldn’t handle it after a month, I bought it back out of pocket. THEN I had the crappiest nasal pillows ever that never stayed in my nose. Now I have a good CPAP and a good mask – but I just have to break the habits developed when I didn’t.

I’m forcing myself to wear it when I go to sleep, not listening to excuses like, “It’s soooo much harder to get to sleep with this thing on.” When I go to the bathroom, I leave the mask on and disconnect the tube, so that it’s less of a big deal to restart it when I go back to bed.

And I think it’s actually helping!

It is well worth it if you suffer from sleep apnea. Unfortunately, my case is pretty bad. I am currently using BiPAP with pressures of 16 for inhalation and 12 for exhalation. My apnea has gotten worse over the past few years. If I could get off my lazy duff and lose some of my weight, I might be able to get off this thing some day.

seems to be defined as 4 hours a night or more of usage, according to this article and other sources I’ve found poking around online. That’s much less daunting a goal than using it all night long. I can do that!

I have my BiPAP prescription but am running into some red tape attempting to trade in my old CPAP machine towards a new BiPAP. But at least I went and bought a new mask. Wow, what a difference! It doesn’t fall off when I move (although it does leave marks…can’t have everything). I’m wearing it for longer than I wore the old mask, but still not all night long.

to see if a BiPAP would fix the problem of breathing through my mouth at night.

Breathing through one’s mouth is a problem because it basically undoes all the work the CPAP is doing pumping air at constant pressure into the nose. The best ideas people have come up with to fix it aren’t very good: a velcro strap that goes around your head, taping your mouth shut, etc. I’ve tried a few things with mixed success.

So the Sleep Clinic people thought that a BiPAP – a CPAP that uses 2 different pressure settings, one for inhalation and one for exhalation – might be the answer. I thought that was unlikely, but went along with it.

I woke up bouncing with energy at 5:30 am this morning at the clinic, after a mere 7 hours of sleep (unheard of for me), so maybe there’s something to this BiPAP thing after all.

I’m going to get a prescription in the mail soon, and I’m also going to make an appointment to check out the Sleep Clinic’s big Room o’ CPAP Masks and try to pick out one that doesn’t suck this time.

I’m doing this with Merraqabi now, which is terrific because accountability is just what I need.

CPAP is a machine used to treat sleep apnea. It involves breathing through a mask all night long, which can be uncomfortable or sore-throat-inducing. I tend to rip mine off in the middle of the night if I use it at all, so I’m trying to do better.