Noob to CPAP and Group. AHI in the 50's...

[metsfan302]

Hang in there, Metsfan. I think we've been at this about the same amount of time. After much tweaking, I'm down to 5.0-6.0 AHI/night. Still working at it. I was stuck in the 9.0-11.0 AHI range for a while. Still felt way better than I did without treatment. Still plugging away, trying to get it down as far as I can.

Thanks thanks! Yea it's slowly getting lower. Glad yours is getting better too!

[metsfan302]

I am going to open up about something, that I did not disclose fully in the very begining and to be honest not many people do know what I am about to share.

I like this group of relative strangers, yet at the same time "friends" or group of people who help each other out and have the same problem (Apnea).

When I did come to this group a year or so ago, I did leave out something. It was thru talking with senior members of this group that this info was a private matter and that the world did not need to know everything so I left it out.

I did this as there is a stigma attached to both of these drugs and well......

Oh let's see how far back I need to go lol......

June 3rd of 2003 I was a passanger in a horrable car accident on a major highway, was able to get out of the car to get to saftey and I was struck by yet another vehicle (this time I was a pedestrian).

I am going to try to keep this short as I can, that might be hard lol...

Well after getting thrown 87 feet, as high as a suburban suv and landing on the pavment of the hwy ( a retired state trooper was the witness and suv our vehicle stuck causing the first accident) - it was later discovered that the vehicle that stuck me was going 71mph but enough about all that......

I was out of it to say the least and dont remember much, thank god or someone lol. I only remember telling whomever was trying to keep me dry and warm with a blanket (it was summer but i was freezing) - the only thing I remember was telling him to call my boss that I might be late for work the next day lol. wow.

I am not sure who was looking after me that evening, but I do know it was nothing short of a miracle! I was in the hospital only a week and the major injury was a Shattered Femur. I had a rod installed thru the middle of what was left of my femur and screws attaching it to my knee/hip etc.

Damn this is getting long, srry.

Thru all this I went to pain managment for 10 years, was on a lot of opiates - 1 - 70mg time release morphine every 12hrs and also prescribed 30mg roxicet's - 6 a day (every 4 hrs as needed). Roxicets are Oxycodone with very little Acetaminophen. Sure I did not start off with those doses it did take time to get to that lvl but it happened..... After sometime into it, I relized that I was addicted to the pain meds, that my body/mind craved the opiates etc and made the pain seem worst then it was.....

I then when the pills were not lasting went into sniffing herion. This whole time I was not on any cpap therapy.

It was not till I met me wife/best friend did I decide to get some help, to see a dr and to get off opiates - pain meds n herion.

She would always see me stop breathing and would have to wake me up so in 2012 I went to see a sleep dr. I did the sleep study and to my suprise it was mild sleep apnea (I was still on opiates at the time, only herion not pain meds).

I went and got help with an addiction specialist and I have been on Methadone since then. I did go about 2 years when I/my councler decided it was time to ween down and try to quit compleatly. Well it was fine till I was compleatly weened off the methadone and then it was hell the pain was unbearable and I went right back to Herion even harder then before and relized I was going to die if I continue this way and went back to get the help, counceling and methadone. I am now looking at it like a diabetic would insulin.

Yes I am sure the opiates might have a factor in the central apnea events, but I was on opiates during my first sleep study and had none......

I dunno just wanted to share this with someone there are not many people that I do tell my "story" too, heck maybe it might even help someone.

[metsfan302]

Dang just noticed this thread has had over 16,032 views? that cant be right lol