disasterous first night with oxygen

So, last night was my first night with the oxygen.  It was awful, the machine was noisy and made my room cold and the air going up my nose was cold.I don't think I fell asleep till about 4am and that was because I took the oxygen off.

On top of that I had one of those headaches at the base of my skull, probably tension headache.

Today was a total waste, couldn't get warm for nothing.  Swollen glands or muscles in my neck.....the nasty flu like symptoms. 

I will probably sleep better tonight.  The oxygen machine is going in my closet and I didn't sleep today for that reason.

Hi V~

I too am sorry you're having such a hard time. When my husband was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea he had to go on positive air at night, no oxygen though. But it's the same sort of setup I think. Headgear, hose and a machine humming in the background. It took him a while to adjust. More than anything at first he was angry that he had to put up with this "stupid stuff". He called it "the latest disorder to get and everyone was just being diagnosed because it was 'new". He knew it wasn't true but his anger was ruling at the time.

For the first several seeks he only used it maybe 2-4 times a week and then never all night. He advanced to putting it on each night but only for 3-4 hours...around midnight...then off it went. In the mean time I listened to the machine the first 1/2 of the night and his snoring the remainder. Either way I wasn't sleeping well either. I slept most of the night in my recliner.

For about a year now he's been wearing it every night, all night with no complaints. He still doesn't want to talk about it but at least he's using it. So you're certainly not alone with hating the darn thing. I wouldn't be too happy about it either. But one thing he seems to understand is without the treatment his health was being compromised. I remember when my mother's oxygen level was low and anything below 92%-95% was dangerous and in need of oxygen treatment.

Be patient with yourself, if you can. Since you have to do something miserable, pamper yourself. Buy yourself a luxurious new pillow with a satin case, have 1 or 2 fresh flowers on the nightstand each week, invest in some yummy sheets, maybe some aroma therapy appeals to you? How about some headphones and an "I-pod" type of machine. Plug then in at night and listen to music, white noise or my husband's favorite, talking books. There are tons of great sites where you can download them really cheap! You can also get lots of them on CD for free at your local library. Do whatever you need to make bedtime a more pleasant time.

Keep in touch~~
Chutz

Thats great you found a solution and got some sleep.

Denise,

I am so happy that you got a good nights sleep. What hypervee said does make sense about the oxygen machine. But being you got some rest, that makes me happy to hear. You will figure out what will work best.

Hugs, Karen

It took me quite a while to get used to my CPAP, too. Don't give up. You will feel better eventually. Diane

Hang in there kiddo, I'm pulling for you!

Hugs, Robin

Geesh, Denise!!

Doesn't carma know you need some good to go along with the bad?? I  hadn't read all the posts attached to your initial one here (mostly cuz I am in pain and mad as hell, will post about that in a minute) but just read yours and hope you get something figured out. Hope your sleep study does more good for you than mine did me. The night I went for the study, I was so exhausted from not sleeping for months prior to that, that I crashed as soon as the lights went out and I didn't move till they woke me the next day. Completely inaccurate. Good luck!! and ummm.. sweet dreams??

Pam