bethsheba

Hello shelley,

Sounds like your father is lucky to have you going to bat for him!!

I'm not an expert, just someone who has been on cpap for a few years so I'll try answering your post. Hopefully, someone with some personal "ventilation" experience would have more to share.

Cpaps and ventilators are not the same thing. A cpap blows air into the airways to keep the airways open so air can come in and it can go out.....but a cpap only blows air in...a bipap is another matter, but you specifically mention cpap. But again, a cpap doesn't make you breath...it prevents you from stopping breathing. Some machines (like mine) have a little plastic card, like a credit card, that keeps a breathing history for the doctor. When I go to the doctor, the nurse downloads the info from my card into the computer, and the doctor adjusts my pressures accordingly.

Ventilators facilitate the movement of air in and out of the lungs...

A person can die when on the machine but that's because a person can die anywhere...properly calibrated, the machine shouldn't cause a death....but in some cases, not using a machine may cause death because some people have apneas that are so severe they cause cardiovascular damage and heart failure....so using a cpap isn't just to prevent fatgue, it's to prevent/alleviate other health problems, too.

You and your father will be learning more about cpaps over time...so don't expect to learn everything overnight. I certainly didn't. The first night I slept with my cpap, I wore my mask on upside down...but I'm still here, and still sleeping sucessfully with my little machine.

Bethsheba