Reason to believe

[carbonman]

Tonight will be 6wks on the hose for me.

Everything in my life revolves around cycling.
For the last 6yrs, atleast, I have endured constant fatigue
and chronic pain in my legs, but I love being on the bike
so I rode w/the pain. Over the years I have tried any number
of things, trying to find the answer to stop the pain.

Two months ago, I was sitting in my docs office, saying we
have got to try something different. He looked at me and said,
"you sure do not fit the profile for apnea, but lets do a sleep study."

In any kind of athletics, there are certain things that are important
it you want to enjoy it and excell at your particular activity.
For me there is the on bike fueling, on bike and off bike training,
general nutrition and recovery.
Of all those things, the most important one is recovery, both
nutrition and rest. I have not been getting the rest part for years.
Now I am.

As I feel better and get stronger, each day, little by little, I decided
it was time to put it to a test. How well can I recover over night,
w/cpap.

Yesterday I did a hard climbing ride up Lookout Mt.
42miles 2.7K' vertical w/1.5K' of that coming in the 4.5mile climb
up Lariate Trail. It is a favorite training ride in this area.
I gave it a good effort and finished feeling really strong.
I use Hammer nutrition on bike and recovery products, so
I had a Recoverite/protein shake when I got home and two
balanced meals.

I had a great night on the hose. Still getting used to the Quattro,
but slept much of the night. AHI this am, 4.0. Best I have had
w/the Quattro.

To test my recovery, I planned to do an endurance ride today.
Which I did in fine fashion.
65miles 2.3K' vertical 3:42' I cruised the entire ride. Felt really good.
My legs were abit tight to start but once warmed up, they were fine.
I had a great recovery sleep last night.

So, as I was enjoying this new body that CPAP has brought to me,
I thought about the mask and the machine and how it is almost a living thing.
......so it needs a name.

Grace, as in amazing grace.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That sav’d a wretch like me!
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ’d!"

It is the sweet sound of the mask and machine that is
saving me, and it did appear about the fourth day
when I stopped fighting the mask and believ'd.

[sharon1965]

carbonman
what an awesome post
inspires me to push myself to get back to all the activities i've missed the last few years due to crushing fatigue
will i do it? dunno
but i'm inspired!

[Snoredog]

[quote="carbonman"]Tonight will be 6wks on the hose for me.

Everything in my life revolves around cycling.
For the last 6yrs, atleast, I have endured constant fatigue
and chronic pain in my legs, but I love being on the bike
so I rode w/the pain. Over the years I have tried any number
of things, trying to find the answer to stop the pain.

Two months ago, I was sitting in my docs office, saying we
have got to try something different. He looked at me and said,
"you sure do not fit the profile for apnea, but lets do a sleep study."

In any kind of athletics, there are certain things that are important
it you want to enjoy it and excell at your particular activity.
For me there is the on bike fueling, on bike and off bike training,
general nutrition and recovery.
Of all those things, the most important one is recovery, both
nutrition and rest. I have not been getting the rest part for years.
Now I am.

As I feel better and get stronger, each day, little by little, I decided
it was time to put it to a test. How well can I recover over night,
w/cpap.

Yesterday I did a hard climbing ride up Lookout Mt.
42miles 2.7K' vertical w/1.5K' of that coming in the 4.5mile climb
up Lariate Trail. It is a favorite training ride in this area.
I gave it a good effort and finished feeling really strong.
I use Hammer nutrition on bike and recovery products, so
I had a Recoverite/protein shake when I got home and two
balanced meals.

I had a great night on the hose. Still getting used to the Quattro,
but slept much of the night. AHI this am, 4.0. Best I have had
w/the Quattro.

To test my recovery, I planned to do an endurance ride today.
Which I did in fine fashion.
65miles 2.3K' vertical 3:42' I cruised the entire ride. Felt really good.
My legs were abit tight to start but once warmed up, they were fine.
I had a great recovery sleep last night.

So, as I was enjoying this new body that CPAP has brought to me,
I thought about the mask and the machine and how it is almost a living thing.
......so it needs a name.

Grace, as in amazing grace.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That sav’d a wretch like me!
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ’d!"

It is the sweet sound of the mask and machine that is
saving me, and it did appear about the fourth day
when I stopped fighting the mask and believ'd.

[sleepydoll]

[quote="carbonman"]Tonight will be 6wks on the hose for me.



It is the sweet sound of the mask and machine that is
saving me, and it did appear about the fourth day
when I stopped fighting the mask and believ'd.

[socknitster]

Great post. Testimony to how important sleep is to repair our bodies. I was suffering from a pain that doctors were calling fibromyalgia when I was diagnosed. After a few weeks on the hose, it was gone, never to return. In fact all my health problems started to reverse themselves. My high blood pressure, which used to require medication, was down to 100/60 last week. Enjoy your hobby!

Jen

[carbonman]

inspires me to push myself to get back to all the activities i've missed the last few years due to crushing fatigue
will i do it? dunno
but i'm inspired!

My motivation comes from within and I
always ask this question,
"How bad do you want it?"

In the dead of winter when I think about going downstairs and
facing an hour on the trainer, I ask myself
"How bad do you want to do Triplebypass next summer?"
I always answer, "I want it!"

Do NOT IGNORE leg pain with exercise, that can be a sign of PAD.

Snoredog, as always, thanks for your reply.
I don' think I have that problem, because the chronic pain is going away,
w/the cpap therapy. I will save your post and I will bring it up to my
doc when I go in for my physical.

It is good to know that no matter how it comes down here,
you've got our back side.

Always appreciate your knowledge and thoughts.

And you're amazing too!

....not really.
I just feel so blessed to have been guided to this therapy and this group.

It is so nice to have a place to share the success that I am
feeling, w/people that know.

My heart just goes out to those that are struggling to make it work for them.

Everyone has to have, a reason to believe.

[echo]

Hey carbonman - wonderful to hear your progress!

My sister is a recent bike-junky convert she's doing a 3000+ mile US tour from Florida to California with Bike and Build ( http://www.bikeandbuild.org/ ) so I've really come to appreciate cycling.

I like this :

It is the sweet sound of the mask and machine that is
saving me, and it did appear about the fourth day
when I stopped fighting the mask and believ'd.

Amen to that!

[crossfit]

Carbonman - I am so happy for you. I once was part of a support team for a friend training for the race across america. While I tend to be more into weightlifting (olympic type, not curls and bench stuff), I really learned how much cyclists love to ride. Your distances sound a bit like his early training distances. I am really happy your able to do them and recover and go again. My worst nightmare with OSA has been the loss of my fitness. Check out crossfit.com to find out what type of fitness I mean. Its like yours. I am hoping to make a comeback over the next year and I see it is a possibility. maybe we will do it together! YAY for HEALTH!

[pianomagoo]

Snoredog,

I realize your post is very serious and it is good that you posted that information for others benefit. That had to be scary for you.

Please forgive me if I sound insensitive... it won't be my intention. Your typo gave me something I missed today, a good belly laugh. I usually watch "According to Jim" to get my weekly belly laugh but missed it today.


Typo: For me, I developed red sore spots on my chins about the size of a nickel near the ankle...

I must be very tired because I was visualizing my problem with that extra chin and I was visualizing the extra chins hanging down to the ankle when bending.

I hope you have a sense of humor or I am in trouble.

My seeing humor in the typo didn't distract from the seriousness of your message (after I got past that visualization).

Anne

[Volcanomom]

Very encouraging post Carbonman. For someone who is only 2 days into this whole experience it's nice to see yet another concrete example of it helping someone instead of seeing statistics on studies.

[-SWS]

Tonight will be 6wks on the hose for me.

Everything in my life revolves around cycling.
For the last 6yrs, atleast, I have endured constant fatigue
and chronic pain in my legs, but I love being on the bike
so I rode w/the pain. Over the years I have tried any number
of things, trying to find the answer to stop the pain.

Two months ago, I was sitting in my docs office, saying we
have got to try something different. He looked at me and said,
"you sure do not fit the profile for apnea, but lets do a sleep study."

In any kind of athletics, there are certain things that are important
it you want to enjoy it and excell at your particular activity.
For me there is the on bike fueling, on bike and off bike training,
general nutrition and recovery.
Of all those things, the most important one is recovery, both
nutrition and rest. I have not been getting the rest part for years.
Now I am.

As I feel better and get stronger, each day, little by little, I decided
it was time to put it to a test. How well can I recover over night,
w/cpap.

Yesterday I did a hard climbing ride up Lookout Mt.
42miles 2.7K' vertical w/1.5K' of that coming in the 4.5mile climb
up Lariate Trail. It is a favorite training ride in this area.
I gave it a good effort and finished feeling really strong.
I use Hammer nutrition on bike and recovery products, so
I had a Recoverite/protein shake when I got home and two
balanced meals.

I had a great night on the hose. Still getting used to the Quattro,
but slept much of the night. AHI this am, 4.0. Best I have had
w/the Quattro.

To test my recovery, I planned to do an endurance ride today.
Which I did in fine fashion.
65miles 2.3K' vertical 3:42' I cruised the entire ride. Felt really good.
My legs were abit tight to start but once warmed up, they were fine.
I had a great recovery sleep last night.

So, as I was enjoying this new body that CPAP has brought to me,
I thought about the mask and the machine and how it is almost a living thing.
......so it needs a name.

Grace, as in amazing grace.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That sav’d a wretch like me!
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ’d!"

It is the sweet sound of the mask and machine that is
saving me, and it did appear about the fourth day
when I stopped fighting the mask and believ'd.

Oh how I loved reading that post, carbonman! Thanks for sharing that!!!

[jnk]

Great post, carbonman!

Last week was the first week in a long, long time that I was able to play handball/raquetball every day without a break. My legs are sore (so, yes, Snoredog has me worried), but it is a new experience for me to be able to be that physically active every day. All because of the hose.

jnk

[LavenderMist]

Carbonman, WTG!!! I never was athletic, but since treatment have found my inner athlete and have been pushing my limits on the treadmill, elliptical and riding my bike. It feels great to get stronger and stronger and have more endurance! I hope you continue to improve and realize all your biking goals. Congrats!

Sundra

[carbonman]

Very encouraging post Carbonman. For someone who is only 2 days into this whole experience it's nice to see yet another concrete example of it helping someone instead of seeing statistics on studies.

Volcanomom, I believe that I was lucky.
In the first few days after starting cpap, I was reading everything I could
get my hands on.
As much as I didn't want to believe that this was happening to me,
I realized that for whatever reason,
I did not have a choice here.
This therapy is my life.
......and once I started to FEEL the results, I accepted it.

I hope my thoughts and words and experiences have help you
in your cpap journey.

Sleep well!!

[marshaeb]

They say that timing is everything.

Carbonman, your post could not have been timed better. I really appreciated what you had to say, and I really needed to hear it.

I realized that for whatever reason, I did not have a choice here.

Actually, carbonman, you did have a choice, as do we all. Several of them, and most of them harmful. But, as I'm sure you meant to infer, there was only one healthy choice, and to your credit, that's the one you grabbed.

Not that many years ago, I was walking 4 to 5 miles a day and otherwise enjoying an active life. Now I have to sit and catch my breath after walking across the street for the mail. I wonder some mornings if I'll be able to make it from my car to my desk at work. It's a five-minute walk. Stairs? Forget it. I'm a singer, and the only way I can do concerts is to use a stool, because it hurts too much and I have too much muscle weakness to stand for them.

A few months ago, I traveled three hours to see a world-renowned specialist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore for a consult about suspected Cushing's Syndrome. He wisely said he didn't think I had it (which tests later confirmed) and sent me home with instructions to have my doc send me for a sleep study. My doc sent me to a neurologist who specializes in sleep disorders, and the rest is history. OSA at the high end of moderate: 29 events/hour; 72% oxygen level. I’m not on CPAP yet, but I will be soon.

I discovered this site almost three weeks ago and have been reading voraciously ever since. Not only to learn about machines and masks and DMEs and, and, and -- but also to hear people's stories and learn from them. So much learned. So much yet to be learned.

Your thoughts in this and other posts; danmc's in his "symptoms of life" about not being his acronyms (also, if anyone reading this hasn't read his "how to set your hose on fire with a reptile cord," DO SO; DreamStalker's in his "opus 360 modification" about his two-year anniversary and journey to the perfect mask; and jnk's in Fscott’s “1.5 months on CPAP and bad anxiety” about "merely" determining to stay strapped in during this xPAP roller coaster ride have especially reached my heart and helped prepare me for the next step in this journey. All of you and so many others, including (in no particular order) snoredog, Mile High Sleeper, rested gal, Wulfman and Slinky, have offered such support, encouragement and practical suggestions. All of you have helped me get on the right track and in the right mindset. Please allow me to add my voice to those of so many others in saying a heartfelt thank you. It may not seem so to you, but your writings are a great public service of tremendous import.

I'm expecting a call from my DME today, saying my equipment's arrived, and over the weekend I've been giving a lot of thought to all of this.

Life (THE REST OF MY LIFE???!!!) on the hose.

My thoughts? Mostly that it's daunting. Scary. Particularly because I know myself fairly well and my practically pathological inability to do the SAME thing EVERY day. That I can’t be as brave or committed as those I’ve read about in this forum.

Then my thoughts progressed to.... Inability? HA! More like dogged determination. Bone-headed stubbornness. Rampant hedonism. I want what I want, and I want it when I want it.

So why not -- you bonehead! -- take those traits you're beating yourself up for and use them to treat yourself WELL for a change?

Well..... yeah.

Just got the call -- my equipment has arrived, and I’m getting my equipment this afternoon. I think I’m actually ready for it. All of me -- my sleep-deprived brain and body and my doggedly determined, bone-headedly stubborn, rampantly hedonistic self. This time, though, to make good, healthy choices; to have a different goal. Not for some immediate self-gratification, but for the long haul. A haul that now has the possibility of being longer.

They say that timing is everything.