Ah ha! I get it now

[aswayze]

So I have had my CPAP (Phillips Respironics Dreamstation) for a little over a month now and due to constraints of needing to be in compliance have not slept with it yet since early attempts to do so always resulted in me knocking the mask off and waking up to .3 hours of time elapsed and needing to huff and puff at the machine for the rest of the compliance time in the morning. Given that this was obviously a no go when I had a work day that meant puffing into the machine each evening after work till I had my compliance in then going to bed.

Basically I felt like I was suffocating with the mask on and had to take big deliberate breaths much like what you have to do when exerting yourself with a gas mask on. Every here and then I would dose off in the chair and the autoset would finally ramp the machine up and things felt much better so when I was at the docs last week I bugged the person who has the keys to the kingdom setup wise on my machine and got her to turn the start pressure up to 7 from 5.

I was short on time last night and despite needing to work decided to give it a shot actually sleeping with it.

I slept like a rock.

I totally get why you guys like these things now.

I cannot risk being off compliance so I will likely keep with awake use till I get my 4 hours in just to be sure for a bit but after that I will try actually sleeping with it some more. Hopefully, I can reliably sleep with it now since at the very least it would be nice to get my evenings back.

[Janknitz]

Shhhhhh! Don't tell the rest of the world how it feels to wake up after a full night's sleep while you are BREATHING. Then everyone else will want to try it, too.

Or the FDA will regulate it--require prescriptions and that sort of thing . . .oh, wait . . . . . . .

[aswayze]

Pretty good example of compliance vs use this thing.

Tell me I must comply then comply I will but not one ounce of effort beyond that.

Tell me it will make my life better and ALLOW me to use it then we will get somewhere.

[chunkyfrog]

Understand that the 4 hour compliance thing is an absolute MINIMUM
that insurance bean counters use to authorize or deny therapy.
It is too bad the approach is so negative, but that drives off the rebels,
which saves them money--(((god above all others to them))).
You have to outsmart the dirty rascals and use your cpap ALL THE TIME you sleep.
As soon as you can manage it.
This is necessary for your health, nay, your survival.

[mesenteria]

I know we are different, but I tackle such problems with the singleness and verve I do a flat tire. I get it fixed. I put it right, even at some considerable inconvenience and bother. My own CPAP therapy started very sketchily. First night was an absolute nightmare. I decided I needed to tape my mouth, even though the therapist said it isn't something she'd recommend wholesale...for obvious reasons. But, when she offered the chin strap or tape, I elected the tape because I knew my lips had to be sealed no matter what. And that is how it works for me to this very day.

That old aphorism, "Those who fight and run away live to fight another day," often get the real meaning of that wisdom wrong. It doesn't mean that one should pick one's battles, or that discretion is the better part of a testicle. It means that those who put off dealing with Big Issues eventually have to contend with them, and it might not be any easier than the last time. It might be much worse.

[chunkyfrog]

I always make it a point to take care of the small stuff,
because in the grand scheme of things, it is all small stuff.
Big problems are only piles of small stuff we should never have ignored.

[D.H.]

To the OP. Four hours is the minimum for insurance compliance in the U.S. These are the Medicare guidelines, and has been adopted by almost all insurers. I don't know if there are different standards for safety compliance (i.e. truck drivers, train operators, etc.), or what the standard might be for other countries.

[BTS]

It is the same here in BC ... 4hrs min a night for 30 days using it 70% of those days. You have 90 days to complete this with the xPAP treatment you were scripted.

[palerider]

I have no (meaningful) words...

[BTS]

You should be using it anytime you're sleeping and really there is no point keeping it if you're not going to do so. Let others have the machine who are serious about being treated.

[Goofproof]

Maybe they can give it to someone that wants to live. Jim

[palerider]

You should be using it anytime you're sleeping and really there is no point keeping it if you're not going to do so. Let others have the machine who are serious about being treated.

This.. a thousand times this...

[aswayze]

It's my machine. I bought it. I do not have to give it back to anybody. Similarly, I do not mow the grass 4 hours per night however I am not obligated to "give back" my 1980s Lawnboy lawnmower.

I DO want to live. Note that I have been living for some time now and as of yet have not been dead so clearly this is not an instant death situation.

All of that said, the near term priority is "compliance" so comply I will but it does seem to be doing me some good so I am glad to actually put it to use.

[BTS]

If it is your machine then there is no reason for compliance, you OWN it, move on and do as you will ..

You sound like the guy we had here a few weeks ago about staying awake having to meet compliance with no explanation.. Strange if you ask me ...

[Janknitz]

It's my machine. I bought it. I do not have to give it back to anybody. Similarly, I do not mow the grass 4 hours per night however I am not obligated to "give back" my 1980s Lawnboy lawnmower.

I DO want to live. Note that I have been living for some time now and as of yet have not been dead so clearly this is not an instant death situation.

All of that said, the near term priority is "compliance" so comply I will but it does seem to be doing me some good so I am glad to actually put it to use.

No compliance requirements if you bought it outright. Now the trick is to learn to use it all night, every night. You will have some good nights and some bad nights but eventually they all become good nights. So keep at it.