C-PAP

I was fitted for my C-PAP machine yesterday. I talked to the man who was showing me what to do and then the woman who was training to be a... I don't know what exactly he was... for a long time about my concerns. The guy told me that it takes a while to adjust to using the machine - some people days, others weeks - he did say that it would probably be no more than four weeks. He said that they both are using the machine and the girl said that it changed her life. She said I will be amazed at how much better I feel. The thing is that I don't feel BAD now... I told them that I am a side sleeper and I sleep with tons of blankets and pillows. They both do too. They were telling me what they personally do to make it more comfortable. I told them that when I did the sleep study the next day I felt like I was hungover. The girl (I really can't remember her name... Lou, maybe?) said that she felt "weird" for the first four days of using the machine, and thought hungover was a good description. Then she said that that feeling went away. I do want to give this a good fair shot at working - which I guess is about a month. Sigh.


So, last night I dutifully put my machine together, cleaned off my bedside table to make room for it, and got myself all geared up and went to bed. OK - It wasn't THAT uncomfortable. I was able to settle into my pillows and move back and forth from side to side. HOWEVER, and you can all try this at home, put your hand over your nose and breathe. Now, imagine that you are doing this in a stiff breeze, where you can't quite catch your breath. THAT is what it feels like. I feel like I can't get enough air. You can't open your mouth to breathe, because that cuts off ALL airflow. I forced myself to relax, and I managed to fall asleep - but two hours later I woke up (as I tend to do) I was overly hot. I had an extremely dry mouth (which they warned me may happen) and I couldn't take a drink of water because THAT uses your mouth!!