Ed Might Catch More ZZZzz's!

Yeah, he should sleep better because I won't be snoring erratically; he'll just have the consistant white noise from my machine. Today was the day - I got my CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine. I have severe sleep apnea when I am on my back and my oxygen level drops a lot.

My second night at the sleep center I slept with a CPAP machine to be sure it's the best choice for me. To make it slightly more complicated, after I was halfway asleep, the technician came in and said that every time I started to doze, my mouth dropped open. So, he put a chin strap that goes up over my head to hold my trap shut.

I had no idea what I was getting in for. Assembling the machine, filling the built in humidifier with distilled water nightly, and washing parts of the machine daily, etc,etc. seem overwhelming at this point. It took the American HomePatient Medical Supply Company (the Sleep Center sent me to a national company so I can do my follow-ups in Florida) 2 hours to teach me what to do and another half hour to sign, sign, sign, and sign more papers for insurance.

Here's the tricky part - I heard people at the Sleep Center talk about "downloading" and had no idea what that meant. Ah, ha, someone stayed up late at night to design this system! There is a little card that you put into the machine periodically and you have to go to American HomePatient for them to download it into their system. There is no fudging on this - it will tell them every minute, day, and setting that I used the machine. If you don't go for your downloads and/or don't use the machine faithfully, the coverage will end. What pressure!! I hope I can figure all this out! Nighty, night!

Two weeks later:
This is how I look at night but Ed doesn't see me in the dark and he's sleeping well. I have gotten used to it and am sleeping better. This is so embarrassing but you need a laugh for the today so here goes nothing......