Les Jones

Home Life > Morning After CPAP Sleep Apnea Treatment

So I spent last night in the sleep lab wearing a CPAP device to keep my airways open. I actually didn't sleep as well this time as I did the first time without the CPAP, but that's a combination of getting used to wearing a CPAP, the technician having to adjust the electrical leads for the EKG and such a couple of times in the middle of the night, and me not really being tired enough to go to sleep when they wanted me to.

One of the things they do during the CPAP night is to gradually increase air pressure until the airways stay open and the blood oxygen level stays up. At one point I woke up feeling suffocated. The tech said that he had gradually adjusted the pressure from 5 up to 9. At 9 I started having trouble because I couldn't exhale completely against that much pressure. Once he lowered the pressure I was fine.

He tells me the more I wear the mask the more pressure my lungs can handle. He's going to recommend a CPAP with a ramp, which starts out at a low pressure and gradually increases during the night. The ramp models are more expensive, but my insurance will probably pay for it since it was recommended by the sleep center. (And Mike: I used the Ultra Mirage II mask you recommended. Thanks for the tip.)

I feel pretty good this morning (though I would have liked a little more sleep - 6:00 am came early after being awakened so many times). The congestion I had yesterday is completely gone. In contrast, the night before I snored like a freight train (says the wife) and woke up congested and feeling like I needed three more hours sleep.

I had already scheduled a vacation day, so I drove into downtown Knoxville this morning for Starbucks and WiFi at the Hilton. I'm going to blog a little, then visit the East Tennessee Historical Society. I'm looking for an August 23, 1934 Knoxville Journal cover story on the arrest of the Bunch Gang, of which my wife's bank-robbing distant relation Babe Simpson was a member.