Well - it seems I've managed to clock up 99 posts on here during my journey, so I might try to make the 100th a bit different!
It might be a bit of a long post - so here's the summary:
- I was terrified of CPAP;
- I read this forum daily for months;
- my AHI was pretty low at sleep study (less than 5), but I knew that was a one off;
- I felt rubbish - totally rubbish all the time;
- I was moody - I would try and find any excuse I could to have a day time nap;
- nights out were almost impossible for me, unless I could get an hour or so's nap before going out; and
- something needed to change!!
I did a one month trial of CPAP - and after my first night, my life changed!!
Here's the long bit!!
I think it's been pretty much five months since I've logged into the forum - lots and lots has been going on in my life, CPAP has become a 'non-event' for me.
Back tracking to when I first joined the forum about 3 years ago, pre-sleep study. I knew I had some form of sleep apnea (well, turned out I didn't technically have sleep apnea), but I had a strong feeling CPAP was about to become my closest bed partner!
And I wasn't wrong - I was the most scared, ridiculously out of thought proportioned person there has ever been with the thought of CPAP - I know why, I can trace it back to when I was at school and our local newspaper did a story about a guy in our class' father who had started being treated with cpap with a "very rare disease that causes him to stop breathing in his sleep" - stop breathing bold and underlined. I remember the headline well.
That was almost 30 years ago and I was about 12. Kinda amazing (and strange!) why I remember it so well! It stuck in my head. Did I ever think I'd have that "very rare" disease...!
I tried everything to avoid CPAP - but getting myself in the right frame of mind to just do a one month trial has been one of the best things I've ever done in my life - maybe the best thing. It quite literally changed my life overnight.
Maybe I was lucky - I took to it quite easily. Trying CPAP at the Drs room, I realised after about 10 seconds that, yes, I probably can sleep quite easily with this.
That was nearly a year and a half ago.
I now couldn't hardly imagine not sleeping with my CPAP machine !
I had some ups and downs along the way for sure - and I'm slightly reluctant to write this cause I don't want to 'jinx' my run of good luck!
18 months in - I don't even check my AHI any more - I know if I had a good sleep or not (very very rare that I don't have a good sleep now). If I do check, it sits at just under 1 (like 0.7/0.8 etc.).
I don't hardly think about it - yes, it's a bit of a pain (I do a lot of travel for work, so I am always having to pack and unpack my machine, take it through airports etc.) - but beyond that, I don't really think too much about it.
When I go to bed, I fall asleep within like 2 or 3 breaths - almost ridiculous! The machine seems to help me get to sleep now - how ironic is that!!
I don't use ramps - have my pressure setting differential down to like 1cm or something - never see Drs (it's not even on my health record that I use CPAP) - and, generally, CPAP is just the best thing that I have ever done in terms of changing my life.
I'm back to being me - fun, funny, hard working, life and soul of social events - sleep sound for like 6hrs a night - it's just awesome!!
So - purpose of my post. If even just one person who is reading the forum slightly worried about their journey reads this and if it pushes them into getting a sleep study and a CPAP trial - then I will feel most awesome!!! There were a few members on here that got me on track - I have never ever met, spoken to, or even know who Pugsy is - but waw you have done sooooooooo much for me and my family (perhaps without knowing) - you are truly just amazing! Someone else told me "man, you are really sick" - that stuck with me and forced me to really consider treatment - again - wow - I am sooooo grateful!!! Someone else told me I'd get to the stage where I'd even want a spare battery for my machine so I could sleep if ever there was a power-cut - of course, we had a power-cut a few weeks ago at night and wow, how much I wished I'd had a battery!! I really need to get two machines - one as a back up and for travel. That's the next thing on the list.
CPAP has quite simply being awesome for me - yes, I still think it's slightly ridiculous going to bed hooked to a hose, but hey - it works, I love it and I am never ever going to do without it!!!
Thank you everyone who helps on the forum - making huge differences to peoples lives. And I really hope this little post might go some way to helping someone in the same way I got some help!!
100th post - just for newbies
- reolhlains
- Posts: 105
- Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2015 7:05 pm
- Location: Australia
- chunkyfrog
- Posts: 34378
- Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2010 5:10 pm
- Location: Nebraska--I am sworn to keep the secret of this paradise.
Re: 100th post - just for newbies
Thank you, for your thoughtful contribution.
Before starting, most of us had no idea that this weird,
slightly kinky getup could make such an awesome difference in our lives.
Before starting, most of us had no idea that this weird,
slightly kinky getup could make such an awesome difference in our lives.
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Mask: AirFit™ P10 For Her Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear |
Additional Comments: Airsense 10 Autoset for Her |