Hey look! It's the new guy!

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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ISnoreBadly
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Hey look! It's the new guy!

Post by ISnoreBadly » Sun Jun 21, 2015 7:21 pm

Hello everybody... I've recently been diagnosed with OSA and have just completed a titration study so I don't yet have any CPAP hardware. But I will soon and I'm sure will have a whole load of questions.

When I had the initial sleep study, the tech woke me in the morning and I asked how I did and she said ""awful, I'm sure you'll be back for another study with a CPAP". A few days later I heard from my doctor and I found out that i had an AHI of 63.9. During the sleep test I had 292 obstructive sleep apneas, 3 mixed apneas, 0 central apneas and 110 hypopneas. My oxygen desaturations was down to 75%. I'm not 100% positive what that all means but it sounds pretty bad to me.

Last night I had the titration study, they used a nasal pillow on me and I was able to sleep pretty well with it. Lights out was at 11 and I was asleep a few minutes after that. As far as I recall I slept through the night until they woke me at 5:30. I asked how I did and if I had snored, the tech said that I was snoring a bit until they upped the pressure and my mouth was kind of fluttering so they put a chin strap on me and that took take of it. Today I feel that I'm able to focus and concentrate better than I had been, I'm not sure if that's from sleeping one day with the CPAP or it's just me wanting to feel better. Once I get my own machine and am able to use it on a regular basis I'll find out for sure.

Aside from snoring like a freight train I've found that for the last few years I haven't been able to concentrate on anything for very long, I'm short-tempered, have gained weight, I'm wiped out by 5 PM almost every day and I'm grumpy and grouchy (my wife says it's gotten worse). I've had issues where I've woken up in the middle of the night and find that I can't move at all (sleep paralysis) and I've seen that other people with OSA have reported the same thing. I've always had OCD tendencies but find that it's been getting worse over the last year and have seen others with OSA saying something similar. So I'm really hoping that once I get the apnea under control my life will greatly improve! I'm really looking forward to it...


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kaiasgram
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Re: Hey look! It's the new guy!

Post by kaiasgram » Sun Jun 21, 2015 7:41 pm

Welcome to the forum. My first eight years were spent in Stuyvesant Town.

Yeah, those stats are not good but you already suspected that. Your AHI is in the severe category. And the symptoms you describe are classic for OSA. The first and most important thing for you now is to make sure you get a full data machine. To learn how to identify full data machines and avoid 'bricks' click here: https://sleep.tnet.com/reference/tips/fulldata.


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ISnoreBadly
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Re: Hey look! It's the new guy!

Post by ISnoreBadly » Sun Jun 21, 2015 7:51 pm

kaiasgram wrote:Welcome to the forum. My first eight years were spent in Stuyvesant Town.
Manhattan? I'm out on the Island, about 60 miles east of there.
kaiasgram wrote: Yeah, those stats are not good but you already suspected that. Your AHI is in the severe category. And the symptoms you describe are classic for OSA.
I knew about a bunch of the symptoms but reading over the last few days I found out about the sleep paralysis and OCD things, I had no idea what was related to apnea.
kaiasgram wrote:The first and most important thing for you now is to make sure you get a full data machine. To learn how to identify full data machines and avoid 'bricks' click here: https://sleep.tnet.com/reference/tips/fulldata.
Since I'm an IT guy and love data I'm going to try to get a machine that could provide as much data as possible. When I meet with my doctor I'm sure we'll talk about some options and I'll see what he recommends. I'm sure I'll back here to do some searching or to ask questions about those recommendations.

Thanks!

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postitnote
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Re: Hey look! It's the new guy!

Post by postitnote » Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:00 pm

Yo!
Morbius, are you bored?

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kteague
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Re: Hey look! It's the new guy!

Post by kteague » Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:03 pm

Hello and welcome. Before I got my sleep straightened out a bit, my nerves were quite frazzled. Guess it was a combination of sleep deprivation and stress hormones. Can't say I was OCD but the more frazzled (and irritable) I got the more important order and control became - more of a desperation. It will be interesting to see how much things settle down for you once your body and brain are recovered from what they've been through. Good luck with everything.

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OSAHell
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Re: Hey look! It's the new guy!

Post by OSAHell » Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:04 pm

Hi ISnoreBadly,

So far you seem to have had a straightforward experience and the fact that your titration show some benefit look really promising for your therapy and the benefits that come with it.

kaiasgram have a good point here with the type of machine (full data) to get.

Let us know how it goes once you'll get some nights on your machine.

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Julie
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Re: Hey look! It's the new guy!

Post by Julie » Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:12 pm

Little suggestion - if you're a back sleeper, do whatever you can to not do it (put something behind you, etc.) because it will not only provoke more apneas but many hypopneas and snoring. Let us know if it makes a difference if you can side sleep... it won't cure your apnea, but may well lessen it.

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kaiasgram
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Re: Hey look! It's the new guy!

Post by kaiasgram » Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:25 pm

ISnoreBadly wrote:
kaiasgram wrote:Welcome to the forum. My first eight years were spent in Stuyvesant Town.
Manhattan? I'm out on the Island, about 60 miles east of there.
Yep. Every once in a while my mother will still reference her kawfee.
ISnoreBadly wrote:Since I'm an IT guy and love data I'm going to try to get a machine that could provide as much data as possible. When I meet with my doctor I'm sure we'll talk about some options and I'll see what he recommends.
Be aware -- sometimes doctors and DME's will assure you that a machine has data but what they mean is that the machine logs hours of use. That is "compliance only" data, not of any particular use to you. You can always get the model number of the machine they want to provide and check in here before you accept it if you're not sure.

I bet you'll have SleepyHead up and running in no time.

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Hensbili
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Re: Hey look! It's the new guy!

Post by Hensbili » Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:55 pm

With regards to whether you feel better because of coap or whether you just want tobe bettter,if it is anything like me, it probably is the former.i am not a morning person. Waking up before 8 am is early for me. When they woke me up at 5:30 on my titration study, i felt rested and dint feel grumpy.

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bwexler
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Re: Hey look! It's the new guy!

Post by bwexler » Sun Jun 21, 2015 9:24 pm

I can't stress enough how important it is to read and understand about the xPAP machines and DMEs, BEFORE you see your sleep doctor. They will often try to shuffle you through and give you a brick before you know what happened.
When I got my current machine, I knew exactly what I wanted and had my doc write the prescription in detail, with dispense as written.

When I walked into the room to get my machine, it was set up on the table and I could see from across the room it was NOT as I requested. The DME argued with me and tried to convince me it was correct. She finally went back to the warehouse and got the right machine. This took over half an hour.
If you do not know how to order and accurately identify your equipment and verify it is new equipment, you may get stuck with surprises you will have to live with for 5 years, before insurance will pay to replace it.

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M'ohms
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Re: Hey look! It's the new guy!

Post by M'ohms » Mon Jun 22, 2015 5:21 pm

This may seem like a gloom and doom scenario, but it really does happen all the time. You simply have to be your own best advocate and show up prepared with the knowledge of what will work best for you. Insurance pays the same whether you get a "brick" or a top-of-the-line machine, so of course, they want to give you a "brick" (larger profits for them). You can do lots of research on the Internet. Good luck!

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ISnoreBadly
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Re: Hey look! It's the new guy!

Post by ISnoreBadly » Tue Jun 23, 2015 6:08 am

Julie wrote:Little suggestion - if you're a back sleeper, do whatever you can to not do it (put something behind you, etc.) because it will not only provoke more apneas but many hypopneas and snoring. Let us know if it makes a difference if you can side sleep... it won't cure your apnea, but may well lessen it.
I used to love sleeping on my back but my wife always yelled at me (and elbowed me, and kicked me, lol) because I would snore more like that so now I'm a side sleeper. During both sleep tests the techs told me to try to stay on my back as much as possible. The results from the first test showed this: "Supine for 237 minutes with a supine RDI of 85.6/hour, non-supine for 143 minutes with a non-supine RDI of 28.1/hour."
bwexler wrote:I can't stress enough how important it is to read and understand about the xPAP machines and DMEs, BEFORE you see your sleep doctor. They will often try to shuffle you through and give you a brick before you know what happened.
When I got my current machine, I knew exactly what I wanted and had my doc write the prescription in detail, with dispense as written.
I would obviously want one that is fully data capable and I see a bunch like that, is there a big difference between them? Does the community here recommend a particular model or would it be different depending on what I need?

I can understand that the insurance company or DME would push me towards getting whatever makes them the most money but wouldn't the doctor want me to have what would work best for me?

BTW the titration study was Saturday night, Sunday I felt good but wasn't sure if it was in my mind or from sleeping with the CPAP. After sleeping at home Sunday without it I found I was back to being tired and foggy on Monday. So it definitely made a difference. I can't wait to get my own machine!

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Hey look! It's the new guy!

Post by chunkyfrog » Tue Jun 23, 2015 7:30 am

ISnoreBadly wrote:
. . . but wouldn't the doctor want me to have what would work best for me?
Of course the doc would, if only they knew; but most doctors concentrate on the person and the disorder, leaving the intricacies of ever-changing equipment to the suppliers--who have taken NO OATH to "do no harm", and may only be concerned with their profit margins. Therefore you MUST be informed, and assertive.

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BlackSpinner
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Re: Hey look! It's the new guy!

Post by BlackSpinner » Tue Jun 23, 2015 9:21 am

ISnoreBadly wrote:

I can understand that the insurance company or DME would push me towards getting whatever makes them the most money but wouldn't the doctor want me to have what would work best for me?
Some doctors do not believe in the data from machines. Some don't like the idea that a patient can see information and adjust their therapy - can you imagine telling that to a diabetic?

Both the resmed autoset S10 and the resperonics in my signature are excellent machines which work with the Sleepyhead software which was developed by one of our members (remember to make a donation so he can keep on developing it)

Buying from a DME is like buying a used car from the shadiest dealer in town, with the caveat that the used car sales person usually knows what he is selling and the DME sales staff doesn't have a clue.

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ISnoreBadly
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Re: Hey look! It's the new guy!

Post by ISnoreBadly » Wed Jun 24, 2015 1:23 pm

I just heard from my doctor's office, they said the doctor is going to write the prescription and send it over to the company that handles working with my insurance to figure out what machine I can get. I told them I'd very much like one that's fully data capable, they said that the doctor prefers those and normally recommends a Resmed unit (she didn't have specifics). I asked for them to ask the other company to contact me once they get the prescription so I can see what is available. I also asked for them to drop a copy of the 2nd test results in the mail so I should have that by early next week. They said it generally takes 7-10 days from the time they send the prescription over to the day they show up at my house with the machine.

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