Recently I had to do a sleep study… I had no actual symptoms but the doctor I see thought it would be a good idea after I marked high as a candidate for sleep apnoea on a check list… the questions asked could have covered basically anyone as having sleep apnoea as most people would fit into the categories asked but hey, the questionnaire said I had symptoms of sleep apnoea, so I had to undergo a sleep study.

I saw the sleep specialist a couple of weeks after being referred by the GP and they arranged for me to take an at home sleep study. I booked a date and time to pick up a sleep study kit for the at home sleep study.

The day of the sleep study, I went to the medical centre and picked up the kit and took it home.

That night, I followed the instructions on how to place all the wires and electrodes on my body before going to bed. I looked and felt like a lab rat once all the wires, electrodes and electronic devices were attached and ready to collect the data from my night of sleep.

I am no stranger in doing a sleep study as I’ve done one previously a few years ago, a hospital sleep study, which involved a night sleeping on the narrowest and hardest hospital bed I think that they could find for me to sleep on. There were more wires and electrodes attached that time and the wires were connected to a bigger box I had to wear but the memory is still in my mind like it was yesterday.

The following morning before 9am, I had to return the sleep study kit back to the sleep specialist centre, then wait for the results which were given several days later by the sleep specialist.

At the appointment with the sleep specialist, I was diagnosed with having severe sleep apnoea and I would need to have a CPAP machine. Oh joy… not.

I then had to book another appointment with another person who would help me choose a suitable face mask and CPAP machine for me to use.

I went home with a CPAP machine, an Airsense 10 Autoset and a full face mask. The first night using the face mask, a Resmed Airfit F20, I couldn’t stand it… I couldn’t stand the air blowing straight on my face, the feel of the full face mask on my face. That night was a interrupted night of sleep. In fact, I hated the mask so much, I took it off, turned off the machine in the very early hours of the morning and left it off to sleep.

That first night while struggling to get used to the machine and battling with the full face mask, which was a losing battle, I thought of giving my machine a name as something fun. Since this machine was going to be my new sleeping companion I have to sleep with, I had better get used to it. I also decided that the machine was a He as well as it looks like a male. After much thought, not really, I came up with the name “Colin” for my CPAP machine… call me weird for naming a machine if you must… but Colin is named after the inventor of the CPAP machine, an Australian by the name of Colin Sullivan in 1980, a fitting name I thought. Here’s the funny thing, now I can talk about Colin, my machine and have people think he’s my partner haha.

After having a word with the company I obtained the CPAP machine from, they provided me with 3 other masks to try in the hopes that one of them is more suitable for me.

The face mask I have been using is a nasal pillow which just sits under the nose, which is perfect for me as it’s not a full face mask, I don’t have air blowing on my face and I’m not feeling as though I’m suffocating. I’m also a person who sleeps with their mouth closed, so I don’t need to use a full face mask to cover both my nose and mouth.

It’s early days with using the CPAP machine but I hope the set up I have now with the face mask I am using, I hope I feel the benefits of it soon and get a better night of sleep than I was having after receiving the results from the sleep study.

Until next time

Kaye