New and not abused ....YET!

Hello Everyone

I have just found out that I am going to have to get one of the dreaded CPCP's.

I know that I will fine this site very informative, and hopefully make some friends as I go thru this with you.

Hope that I will keep a sense of humor as I see many of you all have.

Keep smiling...thank you for this wonderful forum.

Welcome Darleen!

I actually lived in Kennesaw for a bit a few years back. Neat place, only one I know that has a law on the books that if you are not a criminal you must own a gun.

Makes people downright friendly, or civil.

Or it could just be that Southern Hospitality thing too...

Hello;

I'm in Atlanta. I was disappointed to find out that there's no local A.W.A.K.E. chapter, yet I know there are a good number of folks in the area that have used cpap's for years and just starting out. It would be great if we could get together once in a while.

In the meantime, welcome to the forum. I was diagnosed with severe OSA a couple of months ago and have been on a BiPAP for almost two weeks. This forum has been invaluable and I've already recommended it to several people facing cpap therapy. I woman that works in my building said when she expressed her concern after a couple of weeks of therapy that she was still tired and only up to being on her cpap 4-6 hours per night, the DME told her that she needed to hook it up if she sat down to watch television, in case she dozed off, basically do anything she could to get 8 hours per day on it and there must be something wrong - or something she's not doing - because she should be feeling absolute great by now, which is not necessarily true.

I do know one thing, you'll get the real story here. Check-in often and read posts, ask any questions you have and tell us how you're doing. It takes time, but you will see improvement.

And . . . welcome.

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I know I will be hanging around this forum a lot.

I haven't been to my "fitting" sleep study yet...as I read...it will be at least interesting. So far I have found a lot of info that makes me aware of what to expect a bit.

I never for the life of me would have believed I had OSA. I was shocked when I found out I stopped breathing 33 times an hour on my side and 58 on my back...doesn't sound to good to me. I didn't have the jerking when getting a breath...I thought taking the study was a waste of time.

Thanks for being here for me...and all the others that share this pain in the buttermilk condition!

Darleen

Darlene, stop thinking of your machine et al as "dreaded CPAP", think of it instead as your life-saver, because that is what it is. This isn't something you have to conquer, this is something you have to do. Face your treatment with that mindset. Accept that you need this treatment and the options are painful and shortlived. You could do worse, you can't do much better. You need to be sure you get the right machine for your condition, not just something they hand you, and the right mask to ensure you have comfortable treatment with a minority of leaks and discomfort.

Don't be afraid to ask questions ....of your DME, your doctor, anyone connected with your treatment. Search the forum for old post that will undoubtedly answer many of your questions.

Janelle, thank you for the nice reply. I suppose I am making lite of it cause I a nervous about it all. I was totally surprised when my doctor told me. I hopefully get my sleep study done quickly and I can get back the energy I used to have. Right now...it is hard to make it from room to room at times. I couldn't understand why at 9:00 in the morning, I felt like I had run all day. Now I know...

I can see now, with people like you on this forum, I will have the knowledge and the friendship to help me with this.

Again thank you for your wonderful reply.