Stressed, Depressed, Anxy...Help!

[janetlee]

Hi, Everyone
I haven't posted recently because I was having login problems but your wonderful computer whiz Trinh Vu helped me get back on!
You likely won't remember, but I posted about how the physician assistant got really rude towards me and didn't want to order me a sleep study because I am on disability and don't work secularly so I could take naps during the day, especially since the sleep studies are very expensive! He treated me like dirt! nonetheless, I got my sleep study done on 6/26 and when I went back to the clinic on 8/6 for the follow up appt., the new doctor I was assigned to said that the test showed that I do have severe sleep apnea. She wants me to lose weight, but gave me a script for a cpap machine. She then reassured me that I would absolutely HATE it, but to keep using it anyway, as it was my best option. I disliked the way she was so negative. I am on disability for anxiety/depression and her attitude didn't sit well with me, but I'm really trying to wait and see before I change doctors again. Do new cpap wearers ALWAYS HATE their machine? Man, I hope I will adjust easily! But whether I do or don't, I know I need to try hard to wear it.
Another thing she did bothered me. She ordered me to do 15 minutes of exercise everyday and says she will get me up to 75 minutes a day eventually! I don't do well with anyone trying to force me to do things by pressuring me. She's already let me know that she's "fired" patients that don't do as she says. Now I know that a patient needs to obey doctor's orders as best as they reasonably can in most cases since if a patient doesn't take their medicine and such, the doctor is wasting time with the patient. But in this case, she needs to back off and let me do exercise at my own pace and not be unrealistic on the goals she's making. I don't care if I was 120 lbs., there's no way I'd ever do 75 minutes of exercise everyday. I don't have the time (believe it or not!) and really, I think that amount is excessive and obsessive! I'd already made up my mind to lose weight before I went for the appt. I have so many reasons to do so. The OSA might get better and my blood pressure and diabetes might not need drugs to control them. That's my motivation. I don't know if anyone reading this will understand why I found the doctor to be a bit too much. Perhaps I come across as a fat and lazy cow that don't want to get up off her butt and MOVE, but truly that's NOT what I'm about at all! All my life, whenever anyone's tried to get me to do something through fear, intimidation, shame, etc., I get all stressed out and can't deal with it. I WILL lose weight and I WILL try to start walking for exercise but it has to be on my terms and at my pace or it will never fly.
Does anyone understand my feelings?
Whatever the case, thanks for listening!
janetlee

[Julie]

Oh boyoboyoboy!!! I do understand why some people think about going postal ! Well, first of all, that negativity in general is so misplaced as only a rare few of us 'hate' the machine (usually those who were not taken care of to begin with), the majority of us may or may not 'luv' the things, but really appreciate them and are grateful they're out there, and a last few are wild about them... I'm somewhere between those last two, with only the odd 'hate' night thrown in.
Secondly, did you not see CNN yesterday? I actually heard this prior to that, but in any case, it's no secret that exercise does not help you lose weight as it increases your appetite. While it's still important to be active, and not a couch potato, because of your overall health, don't begin a regimen thinking it's "the" way to losing, because it isn't. Lifestyle changes are, and I won't insult you with a lecture on those as I'm sure you can find them all over.
And lastly Janet, don't take that awful woman so seriously! She may well even think she's being funny ("firing" you?) but just isn't very good at it. You must get a little backbone and some perspective - you are in charge (as the customer) NOT her!! Just play along about the exercise thing (tell her you're doing something or other if it ever comes up again) but maybe also ask your MD to refer you to a dietician who can really help you make small changes at home to help with weight, as you would feel better even with those (I'm so aware of even losing 5 lbs when it comes to how I feel on Cpap). Anyway please keep writing in as I know we'd all like to help and support you through this, but somehow you need to just learn to tune out people like that tech who's on a power trip (those are usually made worse by innocent looking patients .

[jnk]

Yep, what Julie said.

And yes, I think I understand your feelings.

Personally, I love my machine. But that's becuase of what it represents. If you get a machine that gives you efficacy data (the information that lets you know it is working for you), you have a valuable tool that can be the ingredient needed to make the lifestyle changes that can turn things around for you. Every ounce of energy you get from the machine's helping you get good sleep can be invested in being more active and eating healthy and being positive, and all that stuff.

The doc may be trying to do double-duty as a fitness coach. It sounds like she is trying to focus your goals for the future. Unfortunately, many people who try to motivate others end up using guilt and shame as motivational tools. If you can't shrug off how her words make you feel, you may have to let her know, in a low-key way, what you are hearing when she talks down to you.

It sounds to me, though, like you have the right idea about what your real motivations are and should be. You are doing it for you. You are looking at the future rewards and you know you are worth the effort you are putting forth and will continue to put forth. PAP therapy has allowed me to adjust my way of eating and my patterns of exercise and I have reaped some rewards. That is what is keeping me moving forward.

As for the stress, depression, anxiety, etc, I heard two sleep specialists at an A.W.A.K.E. meeting a few days ago say that many of their patients have found that depression/anxiety issues go away once treatment of sleep problems is successful. That may not be true in evey case, but it proves that successful PAP therapy can go a long way toward helping us get enough sleep to be able to deal with the stresses, anxieties, and disappointments of life.

I wish you success. Keep posting. I think you are going to do great, janetlee. In fact, in all the important ways, I think you already are!

jeff

[janetlee]

Thank you Julia and Jeff for your good words! I have been dealing with anxiety issues for a very long time and when people make me feel pushed into a corner, I get worse. It isn't helping that I'm at that age where a woman goes through the "change of life" either. I think I'm pre-menopause. Anyway, with my disorder, it's hard to NOT dwell on negativity. I am so hoping that the cpap will help me with some of my anxiety/depression issues! What a blessing that would be!
Thanks so much and I will keep in touch!
jl

[BlackSpinner]

Tell her she can't fire you because she works for you. Once the wonderful cpap therapy starts to work you will naturally become more active because you won't want to sit on the couch and doze anymore!

Look at some of the threads here and you will find people praising their cpap to the skies. Next time you are at that doctor tell her to get on the internet and actually learn something about cpap. The only "negative" comment my doctor made was that "Your brain has been protecting you determinedly from dieing while you sleep it make take a month or two for it to accept you can safely sleep deeply"

exercise does help you lose weight, use the calories and lose them but you need to watch your intake too. In most people exercise is an appetite suppressant but some people's mind links activity with food. A lot depends on how hard you work out. A mild workout makes me hungry, a heavy one makes me feel nauseous at the thought of food.

As far as anxiety is concerned - a lot of mine disappeared after a month. Especially the ones that attacked me at night. I now realize that when I was falling asleep it was not the anxiety of my life that was waking me up but the fact that I couldn't breathe. I thought that as I was drifting off to sleep my issues would rise up and grab me by the throat but now I realize it was just lack of oxygen.

[janetlee]

Thanks for that Spinner! I am so tired right now from the stress I'm under. I know that I didn't get any quality sleep last night because my tongue is windburned again. I will be going Monday to the place where I get the cpap. I don't know how good of a one that I will be able to get since I am on medicaid (gov't. medical insurance for us poor folks!) I imagine that medicaid will only pay for the least expensive options. I do look forward to seeing what a real good night's sleep is like. I don't think I've had one in years. I'll keep posting and I do need to take time to read up on other threads here!
jl

[Muse-Inc]

...You likely won't remember...

I wondered where you went and how things were working out for you. I'm glad you came back.

Suggestion: don't let the doc rattle you! Echoing someone else most of don't hate out machines! I love mine, CPAP therapy is working and I honestly don't think I'd have lived more than several more months if my new doc hadn't recognized my apnea and it's side kicks (I hug him every visit saying "thanks"). That doc is giving out good advice but it's waaaaay beyond what you can likely accomplish right now...IMHO that is ! I couldn't exercise beyond 5-7 mins at a time until I had 9 months of CPAP therapy! If I tried, not only was I horribly exhausted afterwards but I also had leg shakes and then cramping. My initial goal was just to sleep thru the night on CPAP. As I began to get some decent sleep, I started walking more (parking further, walking loops at work, walking down 1 set of stairs 'cause up was way too strenous) several times a day. After that 9 months, I was able to begin reasonable exercise; I cried from joy the first time I was able to do 15 mins on my bike because I thought I would never be able to do that again. That was May 08, by Aug I'd worked up to 35 mins every few days on my exercise bike and now do 35-60 mins sessions almost daily (I take a vacation every month for 1-2 days). The benefit to exercise isn't in losing wt, no good study yet verifies that claim and vigorous exercise ramps up the appetite giving the person trying to lose wt yet another thing to struggle with; for a diabetic...depending on your gluocose level just before exercise...it might actually increase your glucose levels! The real benefit for a diabetic is that it strongly reduces insulin resistance; studies show that 1 moderate exercise session reduces insulin resistance for 36-48 hrs. With apnea, the progression goes like this (not everyone gets all of these or in this order bu this is common): poor sleep, gain wt, apnea, gain lots of wt, hypertension from the oxygen deprivation of untreated apnea, if you have diabetic genes they get triggered and you end up diabetic -- from apnea to diabetes is approximately 5 yrs. The chemical stew (your blood) shown in your bloodwork results takes months to normalize and won't begin until you start getting some good sleep.

......there's no way I'd ever do 75 minutes of exercise everyday. I don't have the time (believe it or not!) and really, I think that amount is excessive and obsessive!...

To get outta control blood sugar levels under control using just oral meds and strict diet, you must reduce insulin resistance which means taking metformin and exercising. The other choice tp reduce blood glucose is shooting up insulin but it does nothting for insulin resistancee in the cells of your brain, your liver (which causes it to ceaselessly pump out sugar), your muscles, and your gut. There's a reason that researchers now call Alzheimers diabetes type 3...insulin resistant brain cells. If you're at all like me, when you want something bad enough, you'll find a way to get it so don't rule out long, slow exercise sessions...they burn fat way more effectively than short, intense sessions and that will help you lose if your eating is disciplined. There are 2 of us here who eat a very low carb diet, I am one and have lost 53#s...my sleep doc has been able to reduce my CPAP pressure...he believed in the beginning and repeats it at every visit that he believes my apnea and it's side kicks will disappear when I lose all the excess wt...this gives me hope on the days when that seems a far away.

...Perhaps I come across as a fat and lazy cow that don't want to get up off her butt and MOVE...

JanetLee, we've all been there, we know; apnea makes everything just take so much effort that we don't have and as our apnea progresses we can't think straight and just give up struggling for answers & improvement...in my case, I just resigned myself to dieing in few years. I still get incensed when I listen to someone making idiotic statements that wt is a 'moral' issue, puleeze, no one chooses or wants to be fat. Yeah, we ate every single mouthful that ended up making us fat but I gained 50#s in a single yr with no changes to diet or physical activity (my doc blamed it on eating too much, then said I had normal sugar diabetes...say what? ) -- I date the start of my apnea to just before that yr. Oxygen deprivation affects every single biochemical activity of the body.

I'm glad you came back! Keep us posted. You can do this, we can help you.

[kteague]

I do understand why you were uncomfortable with the doctor's warning about firing patients who don't follow instructions and going so far into the future as to expect 75 minutes exercise a day from you. I don't think their psychology in motivating you was very good - especially wth your history of depression and anxiety, it could be easily overwhelming. Not only that, it is human nature to become defensive when feeling forced or coerced. While her method may not have been effective for you, I don't doubt that her intention was to prompt you to activity - for your own well being.

My current sleep doctor is very direct - abrupt even. I am the queen of excuses, so it was a bit difficult for me when my excuses didn't fly and she cut straight to the point. In sharp contrast to my prior sleep doc, I trust this one's skills and expertise. I was so weary of needing to be both the patient and the advocate that when I found this doc, all I wanted to do was relax and be just the patient for a change. I felt like, "Just tell me what to do." Obviously what I'd been doing for myself wasn't fully working, and I was so set in "my way" of doing things, but I knew this doctor was the best thing for me if I really did want something to change about my life.

Just saying to try to appreciate her intentions even if not her delivery. If you could give her the fifteen minutes (or 5 or 10 to start) as an act of good faith, maybe you could get past this rough start. Time will tell.

Kathy

[SaltLakeJan]

Hi JaneLee,

You have such a pretty name, I enjoyed writing it. Well, by the time you read this you will have your machine. And you will have about 40,000 people minus a few, (all of cpap's membership) who are rooting for you to be successful with it. It does take a bit of time to get used to. At first that gust of wind in your mouth feels like your vacumn cleaner. Tell yourself, you will get used to it in a few days -- and surprise, surprise you do. If you can stick-it-out for three hours a night for the first week, Congratulate yourself.

I was tense when I started but after the second night, I realized the rythmn of the air flow was relaxing me. Just breathe in with the air, and breath out. If you like music and it relaxes you, the cpap will do the same thing if you let it. The in and out of the air also helps you to go to sleep.

I have diabetes too, and I will admit to high BP too . . all my secrets are revealed now, anyway, while the weather is nice, walk up to a nearby street or corner, a couple of times a day. Just to get used to the feeling and enjoyment of being out. Walking will help your diabetes. I also take metformin, and I take my BG 2-3 times a day. Walking has done good things for my diabetes and my blood pressure is doing just fine.

Post and let us know how you are doing . . we will watch for you.
Jan

[Rustyolddude]

JanetLee you need to come to grips with a few things.

First, you and you alone are in control of your life, you are your own master. You need to realize a few things about life in general, for example; police are not there to protect you, only to clean up the mess afterwards. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away. Therefore you need to prepare for your own personal safety in advance. Likewise, you have a fire extinguisher in your home because you can't have a live-in fireman to protect you. The same holds true for your health. Doctors are not there to make & keep you healthy, they are there to help fix & clean up the mess afterwards. You can't take your basket of problems and dump them on the doctors desk and simply ask that they be fixed. You have to recognize your problems then ask the doctors to help YOU fix them.

You need to strive to be more self aware.

Your doctor is trying to be a drill instructor with the exercise demand. You need to brush off the defensive attitude and ask yourself what changes you can make in your daily habits to beat your Doc.. Don't do it for the Doc., do it for yourself, to prove the doc wrong. You need to quit looking at things as burdens and more as personal challenges. You have to want to face and overcome those challenges for NO ONE but YOURSELF. You need to recognize your Doc's next move in advance and beat them to the punch.

Nobody can make you do something that you don't want to do. You have to want to do it for yourself.

There are triggers in your daily life that cause many of your feelings, especially depression. You need to learn to recognize these triggers. You might might like to watch movies on TV that make you cry, maybe because you feel sympathetic towards the character. There might be certain things that you see while out in public, perhaps a mother disciplining her child, that trigger sadness or depression. The same for things that trigger your anxiety. You need to recognize these triggers and work on avoiding them. You need to work on being self aware so when you first detect such triggers, you redirect your attention elsewhere. You can modify your behavior without any doctor giving you orders. Make sure others around you understand too. If someone invites you to sit and watch a movie that you know is going to make you feel bad, tell them so and go do something else. If you know in advance your Doc. is going to be hard on you, prepare yourself mentally in advance. Anticipate it and have a response already in place.

You need to work on recognizing things that make you feel good about yourself and the world. Make a list of those things. If you feel good when you accomplish something as simple as making your bed, put it on your list and each time you accomplish it, check it off. Take a moment to savor the accomplishment and continue on. Don't go and make a great big list all at once, concentrate on very small steps. You can write one or two things on a note. Like wash the dishes, make the bed and these can be your goals for the entire day. Maybe taking a walk is a goal for the day. (I don't mean to be overly simplistic or patronizing, these are just simple examples). Write the goal on a note, when you complete it, crumble it up and throw it away.

You need to start small and work in very small steps to success. Savor the little victorys, totally forget the failures; do not dwell on them for a single second and keep moving forward.

As a side note, a very dear friend of mine suffered for years with Bi-polar disorder. I watched her reach the very edge of her life. It wasn't until she finally realized, even after being committed to mental hospitals multiple times, dozens of doctors & therapists, living in a drug induced fog, that she had to take control of her life. She had to sort out the meds and they effects that they had on her brain & find the right combination, she had to take control. In the end, she crawled up out of the deepest, darkest pit I have ever seen a human being in and found a beautiful life. She went to school, became a nurse and has a wonderful daughter. NO ONE but her can take the credit for her transformation, not the doctors, not the therapists, not her family or friends. Yes, there were always folks ready to support her but they couldn't do anything to help unless she wanted the help. It was her determination alone against the all the challenges that brought her back from the edge.

As for hating CPAP, I never did. I learned about it, prepared myself for it and I faced it head on and adapted to it from day one. It's just another part of my life that makes me feel better, and I like feeling better.

I hope you can find the path to feeling better as well.

[janetlee]

I don't know how to single out "quotes" from the different posts in answer to mine, so I'll just make a blanket statement to tell everyone "thank you" for your feedback. You've made some wonderful points! And let me say that I've already made up my mind that the doc is not going to bully me. I do know that she meant well, but I must do this in my own way and in my own time. Yes, I do plan to get up and move around more. I've already cut waaaaaaaaaaaaay back on my carb intake and every time I feel like cheating, I remember that there's a lot at stake. I WANT to feel better and I'm the only one that can do it.
Some of the things that have been said to me here are basically correct, but please remember that no one has my WHOLE story. So perhaps some suggestions aren't realistic for me, but you have no way to know that, so I just shrug it off because I know that all here are nice caring people and only mean the best for me. Maybe one day I'll reveal more about myself, I don't know. But please know that I am truly appreciative for your heartfelt support!
I'll let you know how it goes!
Oh, to "Jan", I'm glad you like my name!
janetlee

[robertmarilyn]

Hi, Everyone
I haven't posted recently because I was having login problems but your wonderful computer whiz Trinh Vu helped me get back on!
You likely won't remember, but I posted about how the physician assistant got really rude towards me and didn't want to order me a sleep study because I am on disability and don't work secularly so I could take naps during the day, especially since the sleep studies are very expensive! He treated me like dirt!

Poor guy...must have been having a bad day, week, year, life and he was taking it out on you. But we'll just send mental wishes that his life will improve and know that he had no valid reason to treat you like dirt, you aren't dirt, and you have us to remind you that whatever his problem with you was, really was HIS problem...not your problem.

nonetheless, I got my sleep study done on 6/26

What fun... I have had three sleep studies and a day study done since late Feb. (Oh, and a sleep study 15 years ago).

and when I went back to the clinic on 8/6 for the follow up appt., the new doctor I was assigned to said that the test showed that I do have severe sleep apnea. She wants me to lose weight, but gave me a script for a cpap machine. She then reassured me that I would absolutely HATE it, but to keep using it anyway, as it was my best option. I disliked the way she was so negative.

Yuck, I would dislike that manner of "informing and teaching" a patient also. I have been on CPAP since March and have had a LOT Of problems (don't worry, my particular problems are not usual...you won't have them) but even though I have had such a hard time on the machine, I have not hated it...I have wanted to be able to use it and have put a lot of time and effort into figuring out how it can work for me. And my main resource to get to the point I am at now (things just took a turn for the better about two weeks ago...perserverance is VERY important) has been this forum and the folks that have helped me. Some of the folks have even given my extra support through PMs, which has meant a lot to me and has helped me to know that my CPAP support group is very REAL, even if I have never met these folks in person. And don't let other folks negativity become your way of thinking. It may be hard to throw off in the moment or even for a little while but all you have to do is to look for the positivity here among CPAP users who have been successful for a very long time. I am not there yet but I plan to get there someday and will keep striving toward that goal. We want to feel better and we have to be a very active part of getting to that point.

I am on disability for anxiety/depression and her attitude didn't sit well with me, but I'm really trying to wait and see before I change doctors again. Do new cpap wearers ALWAYS HATE their machine?

NO...there is a huge learning curve and sleep lifestyle curve but that is part of life and seriously if you look at this as something that is going to help you for the rest of you life (that is a very good thing), then if makes sense that you will want to put your best effort forward towards making it work. BTW, my internal medicine doctor that got me started on this huge round of medical testing in Feb is a CPAP user...and she had been very tempted to specialize in sleep medicine when she was younger. I realize I am lucky to have such a positive doctor who can actually relate to the CPAP experience...wish you could meet her

Man, I hope I will adjust easily! But whether I do or don't, I know I need to try hard to wear it.

You may or may not adjust easily. I have had some issues to work out before I got to the point that I can see and feel that my sleep improving (actually my sleep situation has been so bad, it had no where to go but up). Most folks have a much easier time of it although they will probably had to ask questions here to get advice on ways to make it better for them. And as bad as things were for me, they are getting better. Here is my thread.

viewtopic/t41490/so-very-tired-and-it-i ... etter.html

You don't need to read it but just know that there are folks like me who have had a really hard time and we haven't given up and we aren't going to give up on ourselves and our well being.

You are at the right place for support and help. I know it is disheartening to read that so many folks have problems but a person who starts out and has no problem probably would not have looked for a place like this. And I'm sure that a lot of folks that did have problems and got help here, eventually just got back to their real life (on CPAP now) and drifted away from the forum since real life can have a more immediate call on ones attention when things are going smoothly CPAP-wise.

Another thing she did bothered me. She ordered me to do 15 minutes of exercise everyday and says she will get me up to 75 minutes a day eventually!

Forget the 75 minutes...the doctor's people skills don't seem to be very adaptive to the needs of each individual patient so you just have to filter out the parts of her 'motivation' plan that don't work for you. What I would advice for you to do is to break that initial 15 minute exercise plan into three 5 minute exercise plans. And start where you are right now. Use a can of 'something' in each hand to do arm curls, walk/hobble/roll from one room to the other for 5 minutes, sit in a chair and do leg raises (I'm just making this up not knowing where you are starting and what you are starting with). Be creative and know you are doing this for you and take each day at a time. Seriously, don't think you have to climb Mt Everest ever. That doctor can't hurt you and you don't have to keep seeing that particular doctor.

I don't do well with anyone trying to force me to do things by pressuring me. She's already let me know that she's "fired" patients that don't do as she says.

This year I fired my endocrinolgist and my first sleep doctor and I really like my new sleep doctor a LOT. My new endocrinologist is taking things in a much better direction so I am happy seeing him also. I too suffer from depression and my sleep deprivation has been extreme so seeing the two doctors that I fired was very stressful for me but it took several months for me to make the changes I needed to make since I was second guessing myself and letting myself take the blame for how badly those doctors and I got along. But even in that tired, depressed state, I knew I needed to stand up for myself and make changes. It was not easy since that meant I had to get acquainted with new doctors...but I used the experience with both former doctors in a good way...you want to get better and you are the keystone to that happening.


Now I know that a patient needs to obey doctor's orders as best as they reasonably can in most cases since if a patient doesn't take their medicine and such, the doctor is wasting time with the patient. But in this case, she needs to back off and let me do exercise at my own pace and not be unrealistic on the goals she's making. I don't care if I was 120 lbs., there's no way I'd ever do 75 minutes of exercise everyday.

You know what I think she is doing? Her thinking is that patients (not just you) won't do even a fraction of what she tells them to do so she greatly exaggerates what she says you "must" do in the future because then she thinks you will at least do a little of what she says. Forget about the 75 minutes...that is silly...and anyway, she may not be the best doctor for you. Decide whether you want to continue seeing this doctor...if you decide she has positives that out weigh the negatives of seeing this doctor, just know that not all of her ways of motivating you are the best way to motivate you. You do need to exercise to get better and if you take one day at a time and work on helping your body to be fitter and stronger for YOU...then that is what is important.


I don't have the time (believe it or not!) and really, I think that amount is excessive and obsessive!

Stop thinking about the 75 minutes of exercise a day. Mentally see yourself kicking that thought over the moon whenever it bothers you. You do have the time for 5 minutes x 3 or for 15 minutes in a row. Start there and don't think about having to increase that amount until you have made the 15 minutes a day a habit (no fair not doing it so you never make it a habit) And remember, start where YOU are and what is realistic for YOU to do at this time. You can move some body part or parts for 15 minutes...this is for YOU...you are worth this 15 minutes.

I'd already made up my mind to lose weight before I went for the appt. I have so many reasons to do so. The OSA might get better and my blood pressure and diabetes might not need drugs to control them. That's my motivation. I don't know if anyone reading this will understand why I found the doctor to be a bit too much.

I absolutely, totally understand...your feelings are valid. It is important though, with this doctor or any new doctor that you go see, to look at the whole picture...be sure to see the benefits of each doctor as a person and as a professional. Keep an open mind but also know you don't have to keep seeing a doctor who is a bad fit for you.

Perhaps I come across as a fat and lazy cow that don't want to get up off her butt and MOVE, but truly that's NOT what I'm about at all! All my life, whenever anyone's tried to get me to do something through fear, intimidation, shame, etc., I get all stressed out and can't deal with it. I WILL lose weight and I WILL try to start walking for exercise but it has to be on my terms and at my pace or it will never fly.
Does anyone understand my feelings?
Whatever the case, thanks for listening!
janetlee

I think a lot of us understand your feelings. At the same time, no one can do those things for you and YOU have to want to do them for YOU without any thought to the fact that by doing those things, you are doing what some authority figure "ordered" you to do. You are the one who has to live in your body, no one else suffers if you don't do what is best for your health because you feel like someone bossed you around. Forget your weight...whether we are thin or thick we need to exercise...it does not have to be a bad word, it isn't a bad word...just like having a CPAP on each night isn't a bad thing. If we need them, it is to our benefit to make use of them in our life.

Exercise has been very helpful with my depression. I always want to do something 'big' or 'more' and I have sabotaged myself so many times doing that. Writing this had been good for me. In my case, I will want to go out and do way too much for where I am at the moment. Folks on this list have read where I felt better for a day and then went out and rode my horse on a really long ride and then came home and crashed big time. So while you can consider the benefits of doing 15 minutes of movement a day, I can consider the benefits of building my endurance up slowly and not doing too much too soon. We both can be our own worst enemies if we let our minds keep us from doing what is best for us to do at this point in our life.

Sorry I wrote so much and I hope you understand that I want to encourage you to know you are worth the effort...whether it is in putting more movement into your life or having fun with the rest of us while we brainstorm on how to help our CPAP therapy work the best for each of our circumstances. Things can and will get better. (Wow, this is long!)

mar

[DaveInPhx]

I seldom post, but thought this might be helpful to some.

Like others here in this forum, I have several health issues, and several doctors. Sometimes it seemed that the doctors either didn't really care, understand, or didn't have the time or didn't want to create the time to address the issues I have. I'm overweight, and of course, they all said loose weight, you'll feel better. Until a few years ago, I felt great, even though I was just as overweight then, as I am now. (BTW, I am 55, 5'7" 270 lbs. fairly active, non smoker, male, with severe sleep apnea, and some heart and lung problems added in for good measure). I also work 48-55 hours a week in a stressful job as a business analyst. I was seeing my doctors on a regular basis, and they would poke around some, and that was about it.

Then something unusual happened with my last visits to my pulmonologist and cardiologist. They both seemed to take a greater interest in my health. I lost 9 pounds since my last visit to the pulmonologist and 11 lbs since my last visit to the cardiologist. It's amazing, I've been prescribed new drugs, new tests, and both said they really want to help me out. It's like I now have a partner (my docs) seeking the same goal, to improve my health. I think what really did it, was loosing the weight. I am doing my part, and now I think they feel they have an obligation to do theirs.

Do I feel any better losing 11 lbs? Nope, but I’m really excited that my doctors have taken a real interest in my well being.

Hope this helps. Take Care

P.S. This is my second attempt to post. Hopefully this isn’t a duplicate post.

[camacho6969]

Totally understanding!!!! My husband has a hard time on it because he can't get comfortable. The hoses are always getting wrapped around him and the mask just drives him nuts but we are looking into a suggestion we got of getting a special pillow for the masks that align and support his neck and keep the mask from getting leaks. Maybe this is something you can look into too. I found them for 60.00 online but if that makes it better for him then it is 60.00 well spent. Also look for another doctor if you are dissatisfied with your current one because if you're not happy then you are less likely to be open about any problems or concerns you have and that could cause problems in the long run. We had to change doctors three times before we found a good one. Last but not least my husband found that just watching what he eats and going for daily walks has helped him loose weight a lot better than rigorous exercise on a daily basis. Good Luck.

[GumbyCT]

Janet, there are several ways to "Quote" but you must be logged in 1st.

In the post you will see an Orange "Quote" button to the left of the Subject line - click on that "Quote" button and it will *wrap* the entire post in the tags with these words

Code: Select all

[quote]  [/quote]

[quote]Entire Post will be in between these "quote" tags - as shown here. You can edit the text in between. 

Just don't delete any of these brackets [ or ] or it gets all messed up ;-)[/quote]

HTH
ps - it won't look like this. This is ONLY to illustrate.