Quick CPAP update (and diary entry)

[beowabbit]

So, life with the CPAP machine continues to go well. I have some irritation where the mask presses against my nose, and I tend to have very dry skin in the morning where the mask (and its little gel spacer) press against my face, but those are trivial problems. I did wake up with an utterly bone-dry nose two nights in a row, despite having the humidification on high, which was uncomfortable and peculiar, but I’m relieved that didn’t happen again last night. Maybe it was some sort of weird interaction between the CPAP machine and the minor cold I had.

I am feeling much, much better. People (where ‘people’ are specifically cathijosephine and docorion at dinner last night) are noticing that I’m more energetic and that I have a better short-term memory, and I continue to feel much more alert and rested. I feel great. And all the little things I have to do are starting to feel like things to check off on a to-do list, rather than like Huge Insurmountable Obstacles I don’t have the energy to face.

We will permit this to continue; it meets with Our approval.

In other news, I had a very lovely dinner with plumtreeblossom, docorion, darxus, and cathijosephine at Kagawa (a sushi place in Quincy Center) last night, followed by yummy dessert with plumtreeblossom, and I drove her down to dietrich and imlad’s wedding on the Cape this morning and dropped her off. (I got to briefly see a bunch of people, including minerva42 and underwatercolor, and may I say that quem98’s corset and pheromone’s towel both looked lovely!)

By the way, last night was plumtreeblossom’s first night sleeping with me with the CPAP machine on me, and it was fine; the machine didn’t seem to bug her at all. Yay!

Comments

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

*hug* Welcome to the ranks of the CPAP converts! You see why I was so eager to have you try it. :-)

[beowabbit]

You see why I was so eager to have you try it.

Indeed! And you will remember that (after the time I went to my doctor a couple years ago and she told me I didn’t have sleep apnea), it was that long conversation with you that convinced me to go back and try to get a sleep study after all. So thank you very, very much!

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

You're quite welcome. A happy Jay is a fine and beautiful thing! :-)

[samsarra.livejournal.com]

Do you have a heated humidifier? It makes a huge differnece for Seth to use that as opposed to the regular one.

[beowabbit]

Do you have a heated humidifier?

Yes, I do! I made sure to get one. (Among other reasons, I want to try an oral-only mask, and that needs to be used with heated humidification.)

[thanos73.livejournal.com]

I combat the dryness with lotions and drinking more water. (it rubs the lotion in or it gets the hose again... I really must stop saying that to myself.) That reminds me I am out... TO CVS AND BEYOND!

[beowabbit]

I’ll try the drinking lots of water thing tonight! (And I got some moisturizer today.)

I really must stop saying that to myself.

I don’t see why; it’s an excellent line!

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

Did you wash the mask before using it for the first time? Sometimes the new masks come from the factory with some coating or residue or something, and that might irritate your skin.

I find that in the winter, I have to use a room humidifier AND the CPAP humidifier in order to make the air moist enough not to wake up dry. And since we keep the heat set to 57 degrees at night in the winter, I also use a space heater to bump my room temperature up a couple of degrees, so I don't get that "raining in your face" condensation.

I'm annoyed that I need THREE machines to sleep during the winter, but well, it's still way better than not sleeping. YMMV

[sionnagh.livejournal.com]

Yay!! Bouncy, bouncy!