Turns Out My Snoring Wasn’t Just Annoying! Life with a CPAP Machine

I used to snore a lot. Like all the time. And loudly.

My mum used to comment all the time on how she could hear it so loudly when I was sleeping with the door closed in an aircon room. When we travelled to a Thai village, one morning the kids woke up and started talking about this wild boar snoring - turns out it was me (as declared by the adults sleeping near me). And it kept my wife awake all the time.

I actually did a test earlier in 2018 - but the results showed that while I did snore, I did not have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). And so I continued to sleep as per before, and continued to snore.

Getting Tested

However, beyond snoring, my wife actually hears and observes me gasping for breath. So what was happening was that the obstruction was blocking me from breathing, and until I finally change my position or move my head because I have not been breathing for a while. She has also observed me not breathing for periods of time in my sleep.

And in my pursuit for better sleep, I was asked to get tested once again. And I thought, why not?

To set it up, the technician came to my home, wired me up before bedtime. I could do everything normally but I had to wait for him to come the next morning and remove everything before I could shower.

So the results showed that I had OSA, I stopped breathing in my sleep. One of the key reasons is that my tonsils block the passage at the back of my throat.

The Device

Okay, so after you get diagnosed, the result is that you try to use the CPAP machine. CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, so there is a stream of air, at constant pressure, being delivered to your nose. Sounds straight forward? Maybe not.

Firstly, when you arrive to get the device, you get to trial it for 2 weeks. However, you have to buy the mask, and for sanitary reasons you shouldn’t use one that someone else has used before. 

But you have to make that decision whether to buy a full face mask (that covers your mouth and your nose), a nasal mask (that covers your nose) or a nasal pillow mask (that fits just at the tip of your nose). There was so much information and that process was so quick I can’t even remember if I had to chance to try anything but I just decided to go with the intermediate solution, the nasal mask.

So I tried the nasal mask and the CPAP machine, and got to rent it for 2 weeks to try it at home.

Using the CPAP

Surprisingly, it wasn’t that difficult to get used to. Apart from taking the mask off once or twice in the first few nights, the foreign sensation of something on your face (and the mask and tube sticking out from your face) wore off quickly.

Before the test and diagnosis, I didn’t really have big issues like falling asleep during the day and other symptoms. But after using the CPAP I did realise a big change - I couldn’t sleep without the CPAP.

At night, if I forgot to wear it, I would be woken up by me not breathing or gasping for air. I can’t even take an afternoon nap without it. All in - I feel well rested now when I sleep at nights or taking naps because the CPAP helps me breathe well throughout my sleep. And my wife’s sleep app no longer records me snoring at night. (Success, I guess?)

I do carry the CPAP when I travel, and it’s not that small, so I am thinking of getting the travel version so I don’t have to carry a medium-sized body bag, but one that just fits into my backpack.

Sleeping Well at Night

The CPAP is the cornerstone of a great night’s sleep for me. What other things make up the perfect sleep environment?

• A cool room. If the room is not cool enough, I can’t fall asleep. Sometimes when we turn off the aircon and just use the fan before sleeping, the room gets warm at night and I wake up and can’t get back to sleep.

• The weighted blanket really helps get me comfortable and helps my mind wind down quickly

• A good, firm pillow at the right height is key. I don’t sleep well when I travel and sleep in hotels because of this and the next points…

• A firm mattress. I can’t sleep well on soft mattresses.

• I don’t really have a wind down routine but exercise in the morning primes me to feel tired earlier in the evening, and normally after a good dinner my body naturally starts winding down.
  
  

Featuring Weavve’s Weighted Blanket

When Should Someone Get Tested?

I’d say from my own experience, I should have gotten retested earlier when I started gasping in my sleep. It does show that I’m oxygen deprived, and that reduces the rest and rejuvenation I was getting. Maybe it’s not a big thing to some but don’t we all want good sleep - with good sleep as the end goal itself but also as a means to feel better and do more during the day?

The test may be a little uncomfortable but it’s just a night’s sleep. And frankly using the CPAP has been life changing in how great I feel after each sleep / nap, but also in how much better I feel during the day, each and every day!