A new mask!!!

I think I've mentioned that one of the things I deal with is sleep apnea. When I was tested a long time ago, the results were that I stop breathing in my sleep about 106 times an hour. (Approx every 45 seconds) Having been a user of CPAP for at least 12 years to treat this, I've had only one difficulty with the whole thing...

There have been great advances in the whole treatment thing - better CPAP machines, BiPAP and AutoPAP, humidification (which I use, and is great!), and new mask designs to make the whole thing more comfortable. The only issue is, I couldn't EVER get used to a different mask. Each year, I'd check out something else, only to get home and have it fail once again. The whole thing would give me fits - both in not being able to get into a better mask, and at the cost of trying all these types of mask, most of which came out of our pocket. Why not stay with my old style of mask? Well, it gives me sores on the bridge of my nose, so Vicki has to cut band-aids to put on my nose each night, and the newer masks are easier on the skin overall.

Well, having lost some weight, I was hopeful that I might be able to get into a different mask. We found one that is very cool - has a flexible cell that alows me to shift a bit and still maintain a seal - but I expected as always that once I got the thing home, it would fail. Even stayed awake until 4:30am Tuesday morning because I was too afraid to even try the mask, anticipating that I would have another failure.

Well, with a smaller face, and newer technology, I now have a GREAT new mask! It works like a charm, and I actually slept almost 8 hours last night with it! Yee Haw!!!

So, I look toward another weigh-in tomorrow, full of hope, and glad for the path the Lord is taking me on.

One more note, since I know Topher will probably ask this: Although some folks find that after getting to their goal weights, they are able to stop using the CPAP because the apnea no longer is an issue for them, I don't believe I'll be one of them. I've always had a very constricted throat and airway, and have always snored loud enough to rattle windows, so I'm guessing that using the machine will be one thing that doesn't change, although when all is said and done, I'm guessing they'll re-test me, to see if I can use a lower pressure setting. Besides, I really don't mind the machine, and it makes Vicki's sleep a whole lot more peaceful!

One more note of God's goodness: I am one of the small number of folks who took to the CPAP the very first time I used it. The majority of people take quite a bit of time and effort to finally be able to tolerate the mask and machine, but I took to it imediately. Didn't realize that until a couple of years ago, reading comments from so many people about the difficulties of using the machine. One more thing the Lord took care of without me even knowing about it. There's a Ken Medema songs that I want played at my funeral, that contains this line:

"I stood on the edge of danger, more times than I ever knew, and now I see that You were always there beside me, nudging, turning, nudging, turning..." (Ken Medema, In My Life)

Praise the Lord, who watches over us and protects from so much that we never even are aware of!