This is a timely bump.
I've joined the CPAP community, with a ResMed unit and I'm using the P10 nasal pillow headgear.
So, here's some observations from a newbie:
1. CPAP sucks. Not because it doesn't help, but because it's life altering in an 'intrusional' sort of way. New machine, new tasks (cleaing), new routine(s), completely altered sleep habit.......etc, etc.
2. My guy, during my first visit with him, had me pull my shoes, and socks off to look at my feet. ?? First observation was my big toe is slightly smaller than my second toe. In many people, this is less pronounced (my case), but I've noticed in others (and, as he stated), it's very pronounced. This is often called 'Boss' foot', or 'Boss' Toe'. Whereby the large toe is actually underdeveloped, and thus shorter than the second toe. So he immediately surmised that I (probably) have a Vitamin B6 deficiency. What does this have to do with sleep apnea? People who have B6 deficiency, began this deficiency in the womb. Turns out, most women are B6 deficient, and thus gets passed on to their babies. Women in the baby boomer generation (my mom included, born 1944), were notoriously B6 deficient, thus developmentally, many baby boomer children (me, born 1964), grew up deficient, and so other developmental issues appear. The big issue is: Big Tongue, Small Mouth; thus, propensity for snoring and sleep apnea. This particular statement struck a huge chord with me as suddenly a number of things fell into place, such as me remembering my dentist complaining about my big tongue while trying to work on me as a kid, and one of my early girlfriends complaining about me snoring in my early twenties. Didn't think anything about it then, but now....... Vitamin B6 has a lot to do with metabolic processes as well, so I'm now taking 'activated' B6, also known as P5P. I'm supposed to have a B6 level drawn next month to actually see where I'm at, we'll see....... He also highly recommended something called 'Oolong Tea'.
3. First few nights truly sucked and I didn't know if I could continue, but over time, the tolerance level improved. As mentioned by several, I too, suffer from the occasional soreness in the nasal entry point.
4. Cleaning -- I bought a tub, approx 30x20x5 or so with a lid. I take all the expendables once a week, place them in the tub with some anti-bacterial dish soap (just a few drops), then fill the tub with hot water and let everything soak for a couple hours. I initially swirl everything around the tub as it fills, making sure the solution gets to into all the stuff. Afterwards, I rinse everything thoroughly then hang the tubing up to dry. I rinse the water chamber every morning then let it air dry during the day.
5. Mouth opening -- The first week after staring this CPAP journey, I started to notice a terrible (read: horrific) aftertaste in my mouth. I figured if the aftertaste is this bad, then my breath is probably exponentially worse. So, my self-diagnosis was my mouth was opening at night. Off to the Interwebs to investigate. People on CPAP, due to the pressure, often have their mouth come open at night, thus losing pressure (benefit), and also causing severe dry mouth. The dry mouth issue leads to a lot of other dental problem so that's the last thing I need is more problems. So, after reviewing the options, a chin-strap was a Big Fat Nope. So, mouth taping it is. To date, there does not seem to be any 'serious' medical studies about 'mouth taping'. So far, for me, that's been a good solution, and the aftertaste has gradually resolved, and I don't get up feeling like I have a sock in my mouth, so I think some residual gum issues I had before CPAP are also gradually resolving as well. I've tried medical Transpore tape, but I find the best so far has been the Somnifix product:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076CQ1NR...p_rep_k0_1_5&crid=196B3AIG77DOO&sprefix=somni BUT -- spendy for sure. I'm about to try this one and see how it does:
https://www.amazon.com/STRIPS-strip...eywords=hush+mouth+tape&qid=1632054946&sr=8-5 The Transpore medical tape does OK, but if you have any stubble, it's problematic in staying on all night.
6. Results -- So the first few weeks, I couldn't tell a 'real' difference. I was still horribly fatigued, and desperate for a morning 'nap' after just a short time at work. So I was (and still am), pretty cynical about the CPAP. Now, these last couple of weeks, and possibly in conjunction with the B6 therapy (who knows.....supposed to have a blood level taking next month), I'm slowly finding the fatigue level not quite as pronounced. So, I'm willing to keep working with the system and give it more time. I have an N10 setup to try out, but I 'think' I like the minimalist setup of the P10.
Totally sexy stuff this CPAP...........