CPAP Addiction

[Georgio]

My cpap mask didn't make it on a short trip this past weekend. I spent 5 hours one night sitting up in a chair with an ottoman and a couple pillows. This was my first night in over a year w/o cpap. it was a nightmare. I got up with a irritated throat, headache and difficulty speaking coherently.

The experience raised a question. Does the body grow increasingly dependant on cpap therapy? If relaxed muscles in the throat are the problem to begin with, do the muscles after being splinted open by cpap pressure every night, become even more dependent on the therapy to maintain an airway than before start of cpap? I believe my throat muscles are lazier either from normal ageing or dependency on cpap, or both.

Back home on cpap was a refreshing experience!

Georgio

[BlackSpinner]

No you have just forgotten the nightmare before cpap, The mind is good at that otherwise no woman would have more then one baby.

[goose]

Wow.
Dude how did you get outta the house without ur mask????
I can't imagine sleeping without my "little buddy" blowing in my nose. I'm not sure I'd call it an addiction, but I tend to agree with Blackspinnter.....you've just forgotten "life before CPAP". I'll never forget it, that's what keeps me going on mine.
After more than 2.5 years I'm still waiting for that "Morning after titration" feeling I had, but my numbers are consistent and good, so I just keep pluggin' away at it....Haven't made any changes in a LONG time.....

Put that mask on the packing list for next time!!!! Or how about a piece of white medical tape on the top of the machine with one word on it....."MASK"!!!

Take care
cheers
goose

[raggedykat]

I can't sleep without my cpap. I'm afraid I will die in my sleep if I do. That's sounds really stupid but it keeps me using it!

[roster]

..... Does the body grow increasingly dependant on cpap therapy? .....

There is evidence that it does, but not because of changes in the airway tissues.

Let me explain. The typical sleep apnea sufferer goes for years or even decades undiagnosed/untreated. He is constantly experiencing hypoxia when asleep. The body builds up defense mechanisms to deal with the hypoxia. One of these defense mechanisms is a significant increase in hematocrit levels ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hematocrit ). So the untreated sufferer is going to sleep every night with abnormally high hematocrit levels which helps the body get the low supply of oxygen more quickly to the organs.

Now take that sufferer and make him a patient of an effective CPAP therapy. He breathes normally while asleep and is seldom experiencing hypoxia. The body allows the hematocrit levels to return to normal over some period of time.

Now the patient sleep a night without CPAP. He no longer has high hematocrit levels to speed oxygen to the organs when he takes a breath after experiencing an apnea. You now know what that feels like.

There is also some indication that an untreated patient experiences defensive changes in the mitochondria ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondria ). These changes allow the mitochondria to produce energy more rapidly during times of hypoxia. Treat the patient successfully with CPAP and the mitochondria will turn to their normal level of efficiency over some period of time.

So sorry for your bad experience. It is a big fear of mine. When I travel, I make sure the location of my equipment is known at all times.

[jweeks]

Rooster,

So, is they why folks sometimes have a really good night at their titration study? Your body is compensating for years of low oxygen, then suddenly you have one night where your oxygen levels are good again? The combination of the high levels of the chemicals you mention plus suddenly normal levels of oxygen results in feeling good for the first time in years?

-john-

[roster]

Rooster,

So, is they why folks sometimes have a really good night at their titration study? Your body is compensating for years of low oxygen, then suddenly you have one night where your oxygen levels are good again? The combination of the high levels of the chemicals you mention plus suddenly normal levels of oxygen results in feeling good for the first time in years?

-john-

john,

That is an interesting thought that never crossed my mind. Someone else should comment.

I have always discounted those "wonderful night" stories and considered them to be a placebo effect. Four years of CPAP for me and life is pretty good but I have yet to have what I would consider a "wonderful night" of sleep.

Regards,

[LinkC]

I'm afraid I will die in my sleep if I do.

Isn't dying in your sleep the best way to go? Doesn't everyone HOPE they die in their sleep? We CPAPers have a golden opportunity here...

[Georgio]

I had packed the mask/tubing bag in a duffle bag in the truck. When checking off items on my list, I removed the duffle from the truck to find an item inside. In doing so, had to pull out the mask/tube bag to find it, and I left that bag sitting aside when the duffle went back in the truck. I had an extensive list with everything checked off, and arrived with my everything else including a swiss army knife, two fillet knives, cutting board, 5 fishing poles, ayer gel.....etc..etc...lol. A freak accident.

Rooster your information is very informative. I think the answer is yes the body does quickly adapt and become quite dependent on the therapy and it's new supply of oxygen at night. (I did much worse that night than any night prior to cpap.) Back home after a few hours on the machine I could almost feel the oxygen levels had returned to my muscle tissue.

I am racing my grandson in the 100yd freestyle this Friday and need to be ready!

[wcj1]

One of these defense mechanisms is a significant increase in hematocrit levels ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hematocrit ).

Interesting. I have a blood test from one year ago, before I started CPAP, and my hematocrit was 53.5%.

I had another test in June, ~4 months after I started CPAP, and it was 48.4%

BillJ

[roster]

One of these defense mechanisms is a significant increase in hematocrit levels ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hematocrit ).

Interesting. I have a blood test from one year ago, before I started CPAP, and my hematocrit was 53.5%.

I had another test in June, ~4 months after I started CPAP, and it was 48.4%

BillJ

Thanks for reporting that. I hear the theory, but now you are maybe a real live case. The next time I see my GP, I am going to ask the nurse to look at some of my very old blood tests and see what my levels were before treatment.

You wonder why the hell the doctors do these blood tests if something showing abnormally high (hematocrit level > 50%) is ignored. Of course why don't they screen all patients for SDB is a bigger question. Last year the family practice I use put a sleep lab on the upper floor. I assume the GPs are now looking for SDB symptoms in all their patients.

[tattooyu]

I'll have to check the details, but I do know that prior to CPAP therapy I had a slightly elevated number that had to do with my CBC. That number has gone down since starting therapy. It might be the red blood cell count or size.

[DoriC]

Rooster,

So, is they why folks sometimes have a really good night at their titration study? Your body is compensating for years of low oxygen, then suddenly you have one night where your oxygen levels are good again? The combination of the high levels of the chemicals you mention plus suddenly normal levels of oxygen results in feeling good for the first time in years?

-john-

Regards,

I can remember when I went to pick my husband up after his titration and knew nothing about OSA or oxygen levels or anything yet, the first thing I noticed was his nice ruddy Sicilian complexion. Gone was that white pasty look I had become so familiar with. The tech then told me that his oxygen levels measured 96-98% all night. Quite a difference from the 78-81% during the initial study. He too has never been able to recapture that first night but he feels much better and looks good so we'll take it.

[roster]

...... Gone was that white pasty look I had become so familiar with. .......

Ah, that look of death that I saw in the mirror many mornings. I was beginning to wonder if you lose your ability to tan as you get older. My ignorant doctors could not explain it.

We had a new pastor and he often had that pallor of death. Soon thereafter we both got diagnoses of sleep apnea and the pale face suddenly was explained.

It took the pastor a while to get his therapy tweaked. I could tell when he had a bad CPAP Saturday night because on Sunday morning he looked like death again. After a few months it became rare to see that look on him. I think he started to get a consistently good CPAP therapy.

[BlackSpinner]

Ah, that look of death that I saw in the mirror many mornings.

Ah now we know where the vampire stories come from!