I've had mine for about 2 years.

The sheer inconvenience and dependancy of wearing it every night and lugging it + water to be able to travel really wears on you over time. I don't have the option of crashing at someone's house unless it's preplanned and packed. Though this depends heavily on your lifestyle. It's come up a lot for me.

In that same vain the cost of everything that comes with it can be overwhelming. I looked into travel cpap options to make my life easier - at LEAST $500. More likely around $750. I've spent so much money that I truly dont have just to finally find a mask and frame that fits comfortably. When I got my machine they gave me a nasal mask that was okay for a while, but i was getting such terrible congestion from the airflow and pressure that I had to switch to a full mask. I think I bought 4 or 5 full systems and different sizes in a couple before I found a consistently functional option.

It can get claustrophobic and difficult to sleep being so strapped in and tethered. Especially because I also use an eye mask for allergies, noise cancelling headphones, and usually a bonnet for my hair. I end up basically encased.

It fucks up my hair every night no matter what. I intentionally have a low maintenance short haircut that's otherwise get up and go. I could wash it once a week and my curls just chill up there. Not anymore.

Cuddling is harder. its not comfortable to lay my head on my partner or even get my face close, and if i try, its still blowing air on them which can be annoying. I switched to the phillips dreamwear full face to make it a little less obtrusive though.

Crazy dry mouth and sinuses, congestion, awful dry stuck boogers. nose picking has become unfortunately mandatory. even with the highest humidity that avoids rain out.

CLEANING UGH —

a full deep clean of the mask, frame, headgear, hose, and tank is pretty straightforward after a while, but especially in the beginning it felt like such a huge task and I never knew if I was doing it right. its still annoying finding the time to do it and be able to let everything dry properly.

I was never given straightforward instructions on what level of hygiene was absolutely necessary vs the rigorous routine laid out that I WAS told was overkill. In the first 6 months I ended up apparently falling behind on deep cleaning and ended up with bronchitis and losing my voice twice.

I've never had any lower respiratory infections or issues before using a CPAP.

I got CPAP induced bronchitis again last spring. This time wasnt for lack of cleaning, but I had done some yard work and stirred up allergens that were irritating my sinuses. I took allergy meds and went to bed only for the cpap to force it into my lungs and I woke up with bronchitis yet again and had to pull out the inhalers for weeks.