Nablopomo post no. 8 - What does this thing do again?

 I had a sleep study done back in September. During the study, I had 11 events per hour. Translation: I stopped breathing 11 times every hour. According to the doctors, when you do that, you briefly wake up to full consciousness to breathe and then fall back to sleep, not even remembering it because it was that fast. The sleep specialist prescribed me a CPAP machine. I wasn't sure if they were big and bulky still, like the ones advertised in the 90s. I wasn't sure about pretty much anything except for the fact that if I was having problems breathing then I need to do something about it.

I picked it up today. I was surprised that the health insurance didn't make a stink about the fact I was getting some medical equipment. The way they get over my prescription medication, I figured this was going to functionally cost an arm and a leg. It was a pleasant surprise that the cost of everything could fit into my budget because of how much the insurance covered.

CPAP is an acronym that stands for continuous positive airway pressure. Basically, I put on a mask (no, I didn't come out looking like Darth Vader) and the machine continually blows air into my airway. This prevents things like my tongue blocking my airway. I look rather silly with the whole get up on but it was shockingly comfortable. I was given a brief lesson on how to service it and what to use to clean it. There are parts I clean everyday and parts that I clean every two weeks. It was all rather interesting. The sales person basically disassembled the entire machine and named all the parts, told me how they work, and how to take care of them.

There wasn't any pressure (ha, stupid pun is stupid!) to purchase anything. If I had gotten up and walked out with out the equipment, there'd be no hard feelings. Confusion, yes, but there wasn't the typical sales attitude that you encounter in so many other specialty shops. That right there convinced me that if I am in need of other specialized medical equipment at some point, I'm going to work with these people. The emphasis of the whole experience was explaining how the equipment worked, what to expect out of using it, and things to take into consideration during use. I was expecting things to work differently and not be so ... pleasant.