This has been a long relationship with plenty of ups and downs along the way. Love/Hate comes to mind. Before surgery I composed a list of goals and getting rid of the CPAP is on there twice. Being hooked up to a device drove me nuts at times, but over the years I also gained a certain amount of security from it. The white noise of the swooshing air helped get me back to sleep during my frequent wake-ups in the night but a lot of the time it was the machine itself waking me up (not being strapped on properly, the nose pillows coming loose, etc.). We went away for three nights and it was wonderful not having to pack up my machine and set it all up in the hotel room. I gave it a few more days as an experiment once home, and while I plan to keep it in a closet somewhere just in case I am delighted to have it off of my bedside table. Yippee!

Oh, and I looked up my measurements to check: I have lost 2 inches off of my neck. That's a lot, for a neck. My waist? This one is kind of a shocker: 8 inches. Wow! No more Mrs. Winnie-the-Pooh and no more CPAP.

@@Indieflickers

Hi Indie, what worked for me was going away without the machine. First few times I went right back to it when I got home -- missed it! -- but this last time I think maybe we are there....

@@Bandista that's good to know! I'm a little worried because I work really long hours so I need to get the best sleep I can but at the same time, the mask is damaging my face and I'm tired of waking up with extra air in my stomach.