How dangerous is it to use a CPAP machine without being officially diagnosed with aleep apnea?
by Sarah Aniston
Filed under Sleep Apnea Videos
I know I have sleep apnea. I snore so loud and I have excessive fatigue to the point that I have to sleep more than 12 hours a day. It also runs in my family. I just got a CPAP machine from someone. How dangerous would it be for me to use it? Educated responses only.
Monica- I asked for educated responses only. I am also in the health profession and that doesn’t mean I know everything about everything. CPAP machines are not by prescription only, otherwise you could not buy them anywhere. And If you aren’t even aware that they are for sleep apnea, I am not quite sure how you managed to become a nurse.
Davisk- pneumothorax is not a “hole in the lungs”. I have studied cardiorespiratory care. I am also well aware that too much O2 can be dangerous. Also, there are no H2O levels on this machine. Are you meaning O2 levels? And finally, it is not gross. Obviously I am not stupid enough to use another person’s mask! lol.
very you shouldnt even take other peoples prescribed medications let alone a cpap machine which i dont know if its used for sleep apnea,but anyway the cpap has different settings for doing its job which is done by trained medical staff(usually a respitory therapist)go see a dr and dont use the cpap,its not safe and may be illegal.seek medical attention before you try to use the cpap or anything else.take care
First of all, CPAP is to be used by prescription only! Yeah, you may be able to buy them on the internet or ebay, but thats just gross and extremely dangerous. Secondly, each cpap is to be titrated to your specific needs!!! People can need a pressure on 6cm H2O while others need 14 cm H2O. If a pressure is forced on to you that is to strong then you could end up with a pneumothorax or in layman terms, a hole in your lung! Doesnt sound fun at all, huh?! You need a sleep study and titration to determin what exactly your needs are.
On most home units the home care company or dr office will preset the pressure and each machine has a specific way to be reset that only the home care company or educated person knows how to change!
DO NOT USE ANOTHER PERSONS CPAP. EVEN THOUGH IT IS NOT A MEDICATION, IT IS A DR. ORDER!!!!
Well, I am educated only in the fact that I use a CPAP myself. First of all, I should tell you that you absolutely need to have a prescription and yada yada yada. However, I got a sleep study done, it came back that I had very mild sleep apnea (AHI of only 8 if you know what that means.) I couldn’t get a doctor to believe that I had sleep apnea or pay any attention to me (even after the sleep study.) So, I acquired a machine and started using it. It worked and has helped me big time. In my humble opinion, there isn’t anything dangerous about it. The worst that could happen is that you get a sore on your nose from where the mask hits it. The best that could happen is that you could start to feel better. Try it.
Also, if you are using a regular machine without the oxygen attachment what you are getting is NOT oxygen. It’s just the regular air around you except forced at a higher pressure into your mouth or nose.