CPAP diary (6)

This will probably be the last CPAP diary entry, just because tomorrow morning a new adventure begins. I may be reporting more CPAP stuff, but as something else displaces the novelty, I'll probably be perseverating on other things.

So I had my consult with the sleep people at RANA. This is the company that deals with the CPAP stuff. I've had my trial machine for about 3 weeks, and as I'm off to Toronto tomorrow (there it is), it was important to see if they could switch me to my permanent machine before I left. It can take up to 3 months to get steady data with which to program the machine.

So my new CPAP consultant, Audrey (it was Kendra) congratulated me on my compliance. I used it every night and for a couple of naps, and apparently that was astonishing. I guess most people have trouble adjusting to it. Me, I like playing spaceman as I drift off to sleep. My apnea episodes, which you may recall were occurring around 80/hour, have been greatly reduced. (I didn't get a specific number, but apparently it was also impressive. The difference, I mean.) I seem to need pressure of around 18 cmH2O, which is quite high. Audrey, interpreting the data collected by the smartcard in the trial machine, said that it seemed to work--reducing the apnea astonishingly, without a lot of leaks or me waking up or fiddling with the mask. I do wake up about 3-4 times per night and reset the machine (the machine has a "ramp" function, which starts at a low pressure (5 cmH2O) and ramps it up to whatever slowly--presumably as you fall asleep.

The new machine is bigger, and I'm told has a superior humidification system. But it doesn't automagically monitor and adjust the pressure. It just goes on and ramps up to the programmed 18 cmH20 and stays there. It also lacks the coolest feature of the trial machine--which would start automagically if you put the mask on and exhale sharply a couple of times. Way cool, but oh well.

I should use it tonight, but since I just have to pack it up at 4am, I'm going to have a go without it, and just hope I get some decent sleep before I have to get up. I'm also totally out of distilled water, and since you can only get distilled water in 4L bottles, I figure it's just as well I don`t leave an open bottle of distilled water to collect microorganisms just sitting around when I need as soon as I land in Toronto anyway.

Next entry: Toronto Diary (1)