Thursday, January 03, 2008

CPAP ideas?

Hubby said that he has to take it off in the middle of the night because his mouth gets so dry he can't swallow. Anyone have experience with a cpap or suggestions? I suggested that he call his provider and see if it needs an adjustment. He seems to think it's just him.

I'll get a great night's sleep as I'm in the guest bedroom tonight. :o) Every now and then you just have to sleep alone and get caught up on rest.

DW

8 comments:

JustLittleMe said...

Does the CPAP machine have the ability to take a humidifier like an oxygen machine does? That would definitely help

Unknown said...

his mouth getting dry is a sign of his mouth opening during the night, a common thing to have happen, sometimes a humidifier on the cpap can help. when it happens to me I just close my mouth and it takes a few seconds to a minute for my mouth to replace the moisture, also have him aim to have his tongue at the roof of his mouth, this will help.

Jean Berg-Sarauer said...

It is definitely not just your hubby who has this problem. Does he have an attached humidifier? If not, he needs to talk to his provider. There are also chin straps that help keep the patient's mouth closed, as well as face masks that go over the nose and mouth. In any event, the provider should be able to help him be more comfortable, and hopefully, you can get some rest :)

-Faith

Anonymous said...

I don't know anything about CPAP, but I do know about horrible snoring and I've had to sleep in our guest room for more than half of the nights of the last month. My significant other and I always start out in our joint bed, but I am soon woken up by the miserable noise and have to leave. We are both sad about it but don't know any other solution at this time. He is a Type I diabetic, 46 years old, and was diagnosed at 18. He was partially noncompliant for most of those years and, as a result, is blind in one eye due to diabetic retinopathy. When he lost vision in his eye three years ago, he got more serious about his diabetes and went on the insulin pump. I am scared to death in this relationship; his kidney function is declining as well. I was so happy to find your blog. I look forward to your next update. PS - my name is Sue.

whimsy2 said...

In order for CPAP to work properly, mouth must be closed. He needs to wear a chin strap to keep his mouth closed. He should tell his CPAP provider that he needs one and they should provide it.

I speak from experience.

Anonymous said...

Everyone is right about the humidifier, it will make a significant change. My husband must use a V-Pap machine for sleep apnea and the humidifier really helped his dry throat. However, be sure the tubing is cleaned regularly as mold can develop due to the moisture level (a problem we noticed), then pneumonia is possible. The snoring is a thing of the past, and he went from very tired days to feeling energized in just a few days. Best of luck to you all.

Anonymous said...

for the first six months I used a humidifier on the cpap, then I was able to not need it, it is a bit of pain to have to clean/fill, and get the correct water, but it was worth it, for me it took six months to start feeling more rested and a year to be able to have a bad nights sleep and still be able to be productive the next day, there is a sleep debt that has to be repaid, hang in there it will be worth it.

Diabeteswife said...

OK, this is MY sleep debt we are talking about. He has no problems sleeping through his own snoring and flopping around! LOLOL!!! My hope is he will talk to the technicians and they can calibrate it so that he keeps it on all night long.....so I don't have a sleep debt! :o)

DW