New Member - Just Had Titration Study - Let The Fun Begin!

[JCWarrior]

Hi Folks!

Just wanted to pop in and say hello. I was diagnosed with severe OSA (Would have never guessed) and just had my titration study. Even though I had a little difficulty getting to sleep and woke up a few times through the night, I must say I felt better the next day than I've felt in a while. Quite suprised.

I think the mask I wore (that worked for me during the test) was the "AirFit P10 Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear". I'm glad I was able to use a nasal pillow.

Oddly enough, one thing I noticed was when I slept on my back I could smell/taste my breath. Gross!! LOL!

Well, I'm sure I will have lots of questions once I get my results and prescription.

I was in denial after my 1st sleep study. Didn't want to admit that I'll need to sleep with a hose strapped to my face. But I have to say that if it makes me feel like I did that first next day, I'm going to give it my best shot.

[PartlyCloudy]

Hi JC and welcome. I felt the same way as you after my titration study. Who knew you could feel that good? Is that what other people feel like??

[Pugsy]

Welcome to the forum.

You might want to start your education with a bit of reading about full data machines and what to expect from your insurance and DME (term we use for the store that supplies your cpap equipment)

Here are a couple of blogs written by one of our forum members.

http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/ not quite up to date to include the Respironics PR System One 60 series machines which have an optional heated hose

http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/what-y ... me-part-i/

[JCWarrior]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I'll be reading this info for sure. One goal is to get a very quiet machine so I don't run my wife out of the room. She's a very picky sleeper.

[mgaggie]

One goal is to get a very quiet machine so I don't run my wife out of the room. She's a very picky sleeper.

If she can stand your snoring, she will tolerate a machine easily

[JCWarrior]

If she can stand your snoring, she will tolerate a machine easily

Ironically, I don't snore very often. But when I do, it can get loud.

[Sheriff Buford]

Hi JC and welcome. I felt the same way as you after my titration study. Who knew you could feel that good? Is that what other people feel like??

Until recently, I never heard of people on the forum feeling better after the sleep test. But... we are all different and respond to treatment differently. I started that "ah-ha" feeling around day 18. Unfortunately, some folks go years without feeling better... or... the positive treatment is so subtle, it's almost unnoticeable. Anyway... it's great news and its a great incentive to work thru your issues.

Sheriff

[JCWarrior]

Hi JC and welcome. I felt the same way as you after my titration study. Who knew you could feel that good? Is that what other people feel like??

Until recently, I never heard of people on the forum feeling better after the sleep test. But... we are all different and respond to treatment differently. I started that "ah-ha" feeling around day 18. Unfortunately, some folks go years without feeling better... or... the positive treatment is so subtle, it's almost unnoticeable. Anyway... it's great news and its a great incentive to work thru your issues.

Sheriff

I wonder if that is because most people don't seek out forum's unless there's a problem. When all is good - their attention is elsewhere. When things are bad - they seek help.

[zoocrewphoto]

Hi JC and welcome. I felt the same way as you after my titration study. Who knew you could feel that good? Is that what other people feel like??

Until recently, I never heard of people on the forum feeling better after the sleep test. But... we are all different and respond to treatment differently. I started that "ah-ha" feeling around day 18. Unfortunately, some folks go years without feeling better... or... the positive treatment is so subtle, it's almost unnoticeable. Anyway... it's great news and its a great incentive to work thru your issues.

Sheriff

I wonder if that is because most people don't seek out forum's unless there's a problem. When all is good - their attention is elsewhere. When things are bad - they seek help.

I think it has to do with how well the sleep lab works. I dreaded the idea of a cpap machine and a sleep study, so i put it off for about 10 years. When I finally realized what my sleep apnea was doing to me health, I confessed to my doctor and did the sleep study. I was still dreading both, but I took my pillow, blanket (I get cold easily and don't like cold sheets), and I went to the sleep study. My sleep study was one of the most expensive studies I have seen listed on this forum ($6,000, thankfully my insurance paid for most of it), but I am also one of the few who had an awesome sleep study.

The room was like a hotel room with a comfortable bed, no windows (I thought there would be a window for somebody to watch me, but just a video camera in the corner). My sleep tech was awesome. She chatted and got me hooked up without being really nervous. She fitted me for the perfect mask (mot many people get the right mask for them without trying several. This lady asked me if I am a nasal or mouth breather. I said mouth breather 100%. She fitted me with a Quattro FX, and that is still my preferred mask 2 years later. I was in for a possible split night study, so she set up before bed with the cpap machine and had me use it for about 10 minutes to get a feel for what it is like. That way, it wouldn't be a shock in the middle of the night. I was surprised at how nice it was. I remember thinking, THIS is what I have been dreading?

I woke up about an hour into the study and needed the bathroom. At that time, I didn't know how common it is for sleep apnea to cause bathroom trips. So, I was embarrassed and didn't want to speak up as I needed to have her unhook the wires to go to the bathroom. She came in, with some explanation of needing to check a wire and seeing that I was awake. Looking back, I suspect, she sees that a lot and knows that we are nervous to speak up. So, she can be the ice breaker and get us back on track. She woke me up after 2 1/2 hours and told me they had enough data for the diagnosis part. She sent me to the bathroom and then put the mask on me. I rolled over and slept for over 5 hours straight. First time in many years. They didn't wake me until 8am in the morning (later than most of the places I hear about), and felt good that day.

Then the next night at home, I actually dreamt about having to wait 6 months for my machine and being angry. I wanted it now. The next day at work, I felt like crap, and I realized I didn't feel any worse than normal. I just didn't know it was crap until I had a good night to compare it to.

I consider myself one of the lucky ones. Yes, I struggled a bit with getting used to the machine. It took me over 6 weeks to master my mask and leaks. And I still have issues with taking off my mask sometimes. I just got past a big struggle and I'm getting back on track again. I found this forum the day I got my machine, so that has helped a LOT. But I know I was very lucky that my sleep study went so well. I got a good taste of what a good night's sleep feels like and what the following day is like. That helped me to keep trying when I had problems. A lot of people had horrible sleep studies, and continued with mask struggles, leak struggles, etc, so they still didn't have a taste of a good night to keep striving for, just a hope for improvement. So, I know I got a better start that most people get.

I actually found this forum on my first day, not because of a problem, but because I was thinking I should get some kind of cabinet to hold my machine. I went online to see if there was anything marketed for it, and I found this forum. I found out I was lucky to have gotten a full data auto machine, which has been awesome. I found a link for the free software, and that was really helpful too. I am a computer geek, so it is nice to see normals and see how well my machine works for me. After my followup with the doctor, I let my mom use my machine for a couple partial nights. She has used cpap for 20 years, but had a brick and didn't feel much improvement. Her ahi of 3.4 was deceptive, as she was still have very long events. With the data from my machine and a trip to my new sleep doctor, she got a new auto machine like mine and a range of pressures that help her much better.

[Sheriff Buford]

Hi JC and welcome. I felt the same way as you after my titration study. Who knew you could feel that good? Is that what other people feel like??

Until recently, I never heard of people on the forum feeling better after the sleep test. But... we are all different and respond to treatment differently. I started that "ah-ha" feeling around day 18. Unfortunately, some folks go years without feeling better... or... the positive treatment is so subtle, it's almost unnoticeable. Anyway... it's great news and its a great incentive to work thru your issues.

Sheriff

I wonder if that is because most people don't seek out forum's unless there's a problem. When all is good - their attention is elsewhere. When things are bad - they seek help.

We get a new crop of newbies all the time. Some will stay until they get what they need... then leave... some will stay a little longer because they were/are grateful for the help they received while going thru their trials and tribulations, then some stay around for a long time to help others thru their issues. I've been here since 2010, and I have never heard anyone say they felt better after their titration (I swore I'd never use that word!! ) study. Most folks feel like crap having 30+ wires hooked to their noggin... having a tech interrupt them all night and it's usually the first time they've tried to sleep with the mask on. But I've never had a suspect pull a gun on me while he was handcuffed in the back of my car.... but it happens... just never happened to me.

Sheriff

[zoocrewphoto]

I've been here since 2010, and I have never heard anyone say they felt better after their titration (I swore I'd never use that word!! ) study. Most folks feel like crap having 30+ wires hooked to their noggin... having a tech interrupt them all night and it's usually the first time they've tried to sleep with the mask on.

Sheriff

Me! Me! Me!

I couldn't believe. First night of good sleep in many years. At home, I would be up 2-3 times for the bathroom. In a hotel, I would normally be awake part of every hour and at least 4 trips to the bathroom.

At my sleep study, I did 2 1/2 hours of diagnosis phase with one bathroom trip that I woke up for and one where the tech woke me up. With the mask on, I rolled over and slept over 5 hours solid. I remember waking up once and feeling fidgety after that. I realized later that I was past 8 hours of sleep and had never had over 5 hours of solid sleep, so that was why I was getting fidgety. I had scheduled two days off so that I could be available for the sleep study (I normally don't get off work until 11pm), and so that I could go home after the study and go back to bed. I never did. I felt good. I was completely amazed.

[jweeks]

I've been here since 2010, and I have never heard anyone say they felt better after their titration (I swore I'd never use that word!! ) study.

Sheriff,

Once I got to sleep in my titration study, they woke me up after about 30 minutes and told me I was done and could go home. Well, at least it felt like 30 minutes. I actually slept the entire night and it was 7 AM. I hadn't slept more than a minute or two for over a year, and could not remember ever sleeping like that in my entire life. I was totally disoriented like I had gone through time travel, but it was the single best night of sleep in my life up to that point in time. I was on cloud 9 for a few days. Then frustration set in because it took 10 days to get the paperwork back so I could get my machine.

-john-

[john5396]

[quote="Sheriff Buford I've been here since 2010, and I have never heard anyone say they felt better after their titration (I swore I'd never use that word!! ) study.
Sheriff[/quote]

Sheriff,

I'm also one of the people who felt better after titration... I had a split study, diagnosed AHI of 53. They put me on the mask at 2:00AM, spent 1/2 hour getting comfortable and falling asleep. Wake up an conclude the study at 5:30, so at best I had 3 hours of sleep on the mask. I felt more alert at 6:00AM as I left the center than I had in any morning in the previous decade. And I was deep in my trip down the DNile... I didnt have a problem (LOL).

It probably helped that one of my hobbies is SCUBA diving, so air delivered at varying pressures/flows is something that wasn't completely strange. The 3 weeks from my study till I could see the RT and get my machine were HELL, I knew there was something better out there and I couldn't get it.