CPAP was worthless.

[OkyDoky]

While his post come across as if he doesn't want help, I wasn't sure. I can understand some of his frustration. I was forced to get a sleep study for a DOT physical and I certainly had a chip on my shoulder. I thought I was sleeping just fine. But my work had a new requirement, and I had little choice. With no support from the DME, I might have been a failure statistic if I hadn't found this forum and answers to some of my problems.

But you wanted life to be better and were open to making it so. Good for you! You can't be helped it you won't do what's needed to live better. Jim

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.
And be aware the horse may kick you for your effort.!

Well aware. Just trying to leave the gate open so he can get to the water.

[MaxINTJ]

I can't remember who uses this tagline, so please forgive me for stealing it without giving credit:

"The untreated Sleep Apnea sufferer died quietly in his sleep.. Unlike his three passengers who died screaming."

Lucky for me I usually don't have passengers.

I'm really sorry you are not having any luck with CPAP--your struggle is real--but I hope you are staying off the road entirely. It's not just yourself you may kill or maim if you cannot stay awake behind the wheel or have slow reflexes because of lack of restorative sleep--it's a menace to everyone else on or near the road. You cannot take other lives for granted. Nowadays there are many alternatives--public transportation, Uber, telecommuting, walking, bicycling, etc . . . No excuse is good enough.

Do you live in Europe or something? I live in the boonies and 30 miles from my workplace which is also in the boonies.

Public transportation in the US? Ha! Tell me another funny...

[Goofproof]

All the jobs I had that were over 5 miles from home required that you be there ready for work at a set time period, or you lost the job very soon. Most were in the boonies, you had to have transport that was able to get there. (A big car or truck) When everything you would need for 24 hours if need be.Rain, Snow or Sunshine. Some we were meet of the property and bussed to our workplace for the shift. Our Motto was "Can't Do, Can't Stay", you were replaced. Jim

The Shop Dog had it better that us, but she was nicer too.

[buffaloman]

Contrary to what some have said, I did not come onto this forum to give anyone grief. I came here hoping to encourage those who have not had any success with the CPAP that they are not alone and that there might be a good reason why it does not work for everyone. There are several problems in my experience, and I am sure others may be in the same situation, so I think my story might be helpful to some of them.

I have read all of the symptoms of sleep apnea, and I have none of them. I have never even come close to falling asleep while driving, which seems to be one of the big concerns that several people have expressed. I have lost a great deal of weight. I don't snore at all anymore. I always sleep on my side. I never wake up gasping for air. I could say more, but you should get the idea.

To top it off, the people at the sleep clinic told me that it was entirely possible that the CPAP machine could itself be a problem and could produce symptoms or make them worse. At least they were honest, but that did not instill confidence in the process. Obviously, I went home with mixed ideas about the machine, but I have to say that I didn't have a great deal of reason to believe I needed it or that it would do anything. As it turned out, all it did was keep me awake. There has to be something better. For me, "something better" was to get rid of it, because no one ever convinced me I needed it. I also got the impression that the people at the sleep clinic want to get everyone on a CPAP machine, as if it is the cure for all ills. People who don't need it should not be put on it any more than people who don't need a drug should have it prescribed.

[zoocrewphoto]

Contrary to what some have said, I did not come onto this forum to give anyone grief. I came here hoping to encourage those who have not had any success with the CPAP that they are not alone and that there might be a good reason why it does not work for everyone. There are several problems in my experience, and I am sure others may be in the same situation, so I think my story might be helpful to some of them.

I have read all of the symptoms of sleep apnea, and I have none of them. I have never even come close to falling asleep while driving, which seems to be one of the big concerns that several people have expressed. I have lost a great deal of weight. I don't snore at all anymore. I always sleep on my side. I never wake up gasping for air. I could say more, but you should get the idea.

To top it off, the people at the sleep clinic told me that it was entirely possible that the CPAP machine could itself be a problem and could produce symptoms or make them worse. At least they were honest, but that did not instill confidence in the process. Obviously, I went home with mixed ideas about the machine, but I have to say that I didn't have a great deal of reason to believe I needed it or that it would do anything. As it turned out, all it did was keep me awake. There has to be something better. For me, "something better" was to get rid of it, because no one ever convinced me I needed it. I also got the impression that the people at the sleep clinic want to get everyone on a CPAP machine, as if it is the cure for all ills. People who don't need it should not be put on it any more than people who don't need a drug should have it prescribed.

Please do not discourage others from using cpap. The sleep labs have video of the person sleeping as wel as the data showing how much the person was actually asleep, how low their oxygen went down, and how many times their sleep was disturbed. We don't have your numbers, so we don't know if you were borderline or not. If you truly question the results, you could request the data, and the video.

But really, most people who are diagnosed really do need treatment. For me, it was far more than snoring or gasping for air. I had symptoms that I didn't even know were symptoms. Multiple trips to the bathroom, headaches, occasional nightmares, quick to get upset, slow to fall asleep, tossing and turning, lower blood pressure, and more. I was amazed at how many things improved with cpap. But it didn't happen right away. I slept great with the cpap at the sleep study, but at home, it took me 6 weeks to master my machine.

I do wish you well, but please don't discourage people here. This treatment is a life saver for a lot of people. Sleep apnea is a deadly problem that causes damage long term, and leads to high blood pressure, heart problems, and stroke. We don't want to encourage people to fail. We want to help people succeed.

[Julie]

"people at the sleep clinic told me that it was entirely possible that the CPAP machine could itself be a problem and could produce symptoms or make them worse."

That's just outrageous. In the first place the techs are not supposed to discuss anything with you, but apart from that, you seem to have found the most ignorant ones I've ever heard of if they said that to you. It's not true at all, I'd sure want to know what on earth they referred to and I'd report them to whatever board or authority they work under. You may or may not have some version of apnea, and/or some other sleep problem, but if it had been me at the time I would have asked my doctor to send me somewhere else for testing, or refer me to a known sleep specialist (i.e. a pulmonologist or neurologist trained in SDB).

Please don't cut off your nose to spite your face though - you orig. saw a doctor for some reason, something wasn't right, and you should follow up to find out what might be wrong, whether or not apnea has anything to do with it.

[RogerSC]

One comment on "I never sleep on my back". I'm primarily a side sleeper, a habit I acquired to avoid snoring. I didn't know that I slept on my back either until I had a sleep study, and they had a picture of me sleeping on my back *smile*. There's no way to tell exactly what your body is doing when you're sleeping without making a movie of yourself. The reason that it matters whether I sleep on my back or not is that my AHI when I slept on my side was just over 6, while it was 42 (as I recall) when I slept on my back. Net AHI was 29, so I apparently sleep on my back and my side. Although I don't remember sleeping on my back, I always fall asleep and wake up on my side.

Just a thought about how one's convictions about how things are can be a bit off center from reality *smile*.

[FrederickRose]

... sleep apnea, if such a thing actually exists.

In particularly severe cases, it's not subtle. A little history:

[chunkyfrog]

Still not a "monstrosity"!
(Kind of sounds like the propaganda used by promoters of alternative "treatments".)

[Goofproof]

Please don't cut off your nose to spite your face though - you orig. saw a doctor for some reason, something wasn't right, and you should follow up to find out what might be wrong, whether or not apnea has anything to do with it.

At the least Cutting your nose off might allow masks to fit better, but for me, the mask would probably crawl to the back on my head, I think my nose is all that keeps it in front. Jim

[Sheriff Buford]

Don't be quitter!

Conquer that sucker!!!

Sheriff

[CPAPPED-ADAPT]

One can have a bad test, bad techs, bad doctors, the wrong machine, and ineffective treatment. I've had them all, lol. Symptoms may or may not manifest immediately from airflow stoppages / limitations and/or clear airway events, but the damage is being done just the same.

Would you consider a home sleep test? While those are a bit uncomfortable, they're fairly benign. What was your AHI as read by the machine? You weren't able to sleep even long enough to get a reading from that?

Being a complex apnea sufferer, I can say this road is a long, hard one. But I'm finally at the point after three years where if I don't get a full night on the machine, I feel it the next day...and not in a good way.

And that is a very good thing.

[Goofproof]

One can have a bad test, bad techs, bad doctors, the wrong machine, and ineffective treatment. I've had them all, lol. Symptoms may or may not manifest immediately from airflow stoppages / limitations and/or clear airway events, but the damage is being done just the same.

Would you consider a home sleep test? While those are a bit uncomfortable, they're fairly benign. What was your AHI as read by the machine? You weren't able to sleep even long enough to get a reading from that?

Being a complex apnea sufferer, I can say this road is a long, hard one. But I'm finally at the point after three years where if I don't get a full night on the machine, I feel it the next day...and not in a good way.

And that is a very good thing.

You forgot to add, Poor Attitude, De-Nile, Can'ts Syndrome! Missed maybe 4 nights in 12 years, no night above 5 AHI. Jim

[CPAPPED-ADAPT]

One can have a bad test, bad techs, bad doctors, the wrong machine, and ineffective treatment. I've had them all, lol. Symptoms may or may not manifest immediately from airflow stoppages / limitations and/or clear airway events, but the damage is being done just the same.

Would you consider a home sleep test? While those are a bit uncomfortable, they're fairly benign. What was your AHI as read by the machine? You weren't able to sleep even long enough to get a reading from that?

Being a complex apnea sufferer, I can say this road is a long, hard one. But I'm finally at the point after three years where if I don't get a full night on the machine, I feel it the next day...and not in a good way.

And that is a very good thing.

You forgot to all, Poor Attitude, De-Nile, Can'ts Syndrome! Missed maybe 4 nights in 12 years, no night above 5 AHI. Jim

LOL

[DreamStalker]

I can't remember who uses this tagline, so please forgive me for stealing it without giving credit:

"The untreated Sleep Apnea sufferer died quietly in his sleep.. Unlike his three passengers who died screaming."

Lucky for me I usually don't have passengers.

I'm really sorry you are not having any luck with CPAP--your struggle is real--but I hope you are staying off the road entirely. It's not just yourself you may kill or maim if you cannot stay awake behind the wheel or have slow reflexes because of lack of restorative sleep--it's a menace to everyone else on or near the road. You cannot take other lives for granted. Nowadays there are many alternatives--public transportation, Uber, telecommuting, walking, bicycling, etc . . . No excuse is good enough.

Do you live in Europe or something? I live in the boonies and 30 miles from my workplace which is also in the boonies.

Public transportation in the US? Ha! Tell me another funny...

I don't think I live in the EU but I'm sure glad I don't live in Missouri.