It’s been almost 5 years since I started on CPAP. Diagnosed in the winter of 2019/20, I finally received my Resmed AirSense 10 and accompanying F20 mask just as the UK was entering Covid lockdown.
The lockdown part is important, as ‘receiving’ is exactly what happened. No discussions on how to use it. Zero advice on how to keep it (and the bundle of kit that goes with these things) clean.
Back then I knew less about CPAP than a 5-year old knows about choosing a battery backup for a power outage. I took what was in the box and put things together in the most logical way I could muster.
Confused & Bemused
The first 2-weeks were a nightmare. I just couldn’t get used to having air forced down my throat. When I called my sleep clinic and explained the issue, they gave me all the expected reassuring chat and told me they would remotely INCREASE my air pressure!
Bemused? Yes I was. But what did I know
CPAP claustrophobia is a real thing, only it wasn’t ME that felt confined… it was just my airway. It’s hard to describe, but the bit of me that wasn’t impacted by the mask and forced-air… so everything except my mouth, nose, airway and lungs… was fine. Those 4, however, were definitely not!
Strangely, when I got into week 3, I turned a corner and for some weird reason, didn’t notice the forced-air anymore. Needing to disconnect the air-hose just to check if it’s working is a strange experience after weeks of turmoil and little sleep.
It wasn’t long though before all that air-flow created a desert as the hurricane force gales flowed past the teeth and gums on it’s way to keeping me alive.
So, there I was, back on the phone to the sleep clinic.
‘Ah’, they said, ‘We’ll send you out a humidifier tank and heated hose’.
‘What’s a humidifier?’ I replied.
At least they didn’t laugh out loud.
Covid-times meant no personal contact (or advice) again so, when the tank arrived, I had to work out how to get the blanking plate off the side of the machine without breaking it. Thankfully there’s a handy service called YouTube for that. And it’s free too.
And that was it… or so I thought. Years went by and the dry mouth was noticeably better. I took the machine and humidifier everywhere. On a flight to Australia - minus the humidifier tank (where I thought I’d frazzled the machine while trying to use it on the plane), China, North America… and various road-trips throughout Europe.
Rosy Cheeks
About a year into using the machine, I developed rosacea. Now, I’ve never had any kind of porcelain complexion but these red lumps and bumps on my face caused real concern… so a trip to the doctors got me some cream that never really worked. It wasn’t until I was due a replacement mask that I spoke with the sleep clinic again and mentioned the red face.
‘Oh’, they said (surprised at how much of a Muppet I had been), ‘You’re supposed to wash the mask-cushion daily and the rest of the mask and hose weekly.’.
‘What about the humidifier tank?’, I asked.
‘Once a month should be okay for that.’, came the reassuring voice.
‘Eh… why am I only hearing about this now?’, was my pained reply.
‘I don’t know. I thought we would have told you when you were given your machine.’.
Now, my sadly departed Mother had a saying when the word ‘thought’ was used as a get-out clause. ‘Do you know what Thought did?’ she would ask.
I knew what was coming, but there was no point in saying anything before she finished her statement.
‘Thought pissed the bed and blamed the blankets!’.
More than 40 years later, I still have no idea what that phrase actually meant, but for some reason it seemed quite appropriate as I stood silently, hand glued to phone and phone glued to ear, listening to someone telling me I now have a lumpy red face due to Thought pissing the bed.
What’s the point in me telling you about my Mother’s strange use of self-created idioms?
Well, from that day on, I was diligent about keeping my kit clean. And while my rosacea has never fully recovered, my CPAP kit has.
Happy Days?
And everything got better after that… until it wasn’t anymore.
Earlier this year, I started getting really bad coughs. My doctor gave me a nasal spray. I started doing some cardio at the gym. I tried to get outside more to clear the tubes and stop the coughing.
It didn’t work.
I knew the humidifier tank would develop a thin layer of grime, which I cleaned with white-vinegar and warm water solution and thought that was as good as it gets.
It apparently wasn’t.
The cough got so bad it sounded like I was smoking 40 a day. A trip back to the doctors proved useless. What else could I do?
Stop.
That was the only thing I could think of that hadn’t already been tried.
So, I did.
I cleaned both my tanks (I usually had a spare handy just in case) and boxed them up.
I haven’t used them since.
And the result?
The cough has gone. I don’t use the nasal spray anymore. I sleep better.
It isn’t all rosy though. The reason I started using the humidifier was dry mouth.
Now the humidifier has gone, the dry mouth has returned.
So, I’m now left with a rock & a hard place decision. Go back to a water tank that I know will eventually bring back my cough… and who knows what else with nasty bacteria floating around in my airways and lungs… or… bite the bullet and accept dry mouth, and any oral side-effects, are the price to pay for coughing less and sleeping better.
What would you do?
I’ve made my decision. I ain’t going back.
Until next time... keep breathing,
Cheers,
Alan
P.S. I have taken to creating various bits on sleep and sleep apnea. If you would enjoy hearing more and find out where else you can find stuff like this, you can get my weekly Triple Whammy email, which has 3 short topics each week. Some written or recorded by me and others I’ve found out there in the strange world we live in.
If this is you, sign up here and you will get the very next one.