Newbie would like to hear success stories, please.

[Tairania]

HI, I have been on a cpap for 2 months going on 3....and I noticed within the 1st week of using it...I had a smile on my face again.
My husband came back to our bed...we can now laugh and joke again. (I took everything so seriously!)
My husband isn't afraid to give his views on matters, for fear of me 'going off' at him.

It does take time and technique to use whilst sleeping...I suffer from 'rainout' a lot and its quite annoying. Now, hahaha I am suffering from 'leakage' from my mask of air. It is nigh on impossible to sleep when that air escapes!

I would not give it up for all the tea in China...as I enjoy laughing with my husband again.

[torontoCPAPguy]

A Success Story of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Other Complications from H1N1 by TorontoCPAPguy

It has been one heck of a year for us here in Toronto; am a transplanted Yankee and glad to be living in Ontario right now with its free medical care and Assistive Devices Programme. We'd be bankrupt otherwise methinks.

The whole family had H1N1 last March/April. Hard to tell because it was so very mild it wasn't even like a cold... just a mild fever and a few aches. Then gone. Finished. Except for me. In a percentage of H1N1 patients the 'flu' leaves behind a present in the form of bacterial pneumonia which can sit dorman for a while and play around with you. Mine did for weeks. Wheezing and by the time I got to the doctor... nothing. Clear as a bell. The last few days before the sledgehammer hit me the wheezing persisted. I had dinner with my family at 7 p.m. and at 7 a.m. I was Code Blue going down the front stairs of my home to the awaiting ambulance. Everything happened just right. The ambulance and paramedics were waiting two blocks away when the call came in; the dispatcher made immediate contact and they were here in under a minute or so I am told. They got me to the hospital in two minutes after taking a look at me. Guess they knew I was in serious trouble. That's the last thing I recall except for coming around on Day 3 for a few moments. I was in lala land for almost a month and on full life support for three weeks of that. Made a heck of a mess of my lungs and they are approaching 70% capacity only now, a year later. And this may be as good as it gets. I can't imagine those with 50% capacity. Pollen, humid air, you name it.... all hits me like a ton of bricks. But I am here and my wonderful wife hauled me around to every specialist in town when the hospital kicked me out after a month (and probably a few weeks too early - but beds are short).

The sleep doc's (respirologists) diagnosed me with mild sleep apnea and shallow breathing when I fell asleep that caused my blood oxygen to plummet and my blood pressure to skyrocket. I had not had a dream in 40 years (never REM sleep - go figure) so piling the shallow breathing thing on top made me a ticking time bomb. CPAP to the rescue! First machine was a ResMed Escape II with a mask that blistered my nose along with a bill for $1500 on top of the $800 that the government kicked in. MEDIGAS - big ripoff. I then bit the bullet after spending time on this forum and purchased a ResMed S8 Autoset II and eventually, after trying a couple of nosebags, settled on the Mirage Activa LT. I could follow my own progress with the data from the S8 Autoset II. The Activa was sensational at the time. Today I have upgraded yet again to a ResMed S9 Auto and am trying masks again, having just discovered the Mirage Quattro full face mask (which I was sure I would hate but have a mouth breathing issue). It is great for me! I love it I think. Still have some others to try out so we'll see. I sleep better than I have ever slept and have more energy - it's building slowly but surely. My blood oxygen and BP are under control and I expect to live a long and healthy and happy life.

Anyone who shies away from CPAP or APAP therapy if they are in need is a ticking time bomb to be sure. And top that with not really getting the most out of life and there is no reason to even think about not using what you have available to you. It makes all the difference in the world but don't expect it to happen overnight - although you will notice certain changes take place rapidly.

Whatever it takes! Just do it!

[chunkyfrog]

--just got my labs back: my doctor apparently thinks I'm on a low-fat diet.

[serene]

I do not use a CPAP but thought you might like to hear from the spouse of someone who does. The first time I slept with my now husband, I knew our relationship was going to be a challenge. He tried to suck the paint off the walls (truly) and I had to keep elbowing him to make hm breathe. I woke up the next day, and many more to follow, tired from having my sleep disrupted all through the night. It was particularly frustrating because he had no memory of any of my struggles on his behalf, and would laugh and say that he had been told by many people that he snored. I did not appreciate the humor but felt I should make light of it as everyone else did just so as not to hurt his feelings. I endured this for over four years. Then the most amazing thing happened. He was hired by a company that specialized in CPAP equipment. They sent him to a week long training on sleep apnea and equipment and he came back with a pap and all the fixings! I told him he could have been the poster child for the CPAP and could not believe my good fortune. He has used it every night since and is one of the best in the market at succeeding in having his clients comply with over 80% compliance. He says its because he uses one himself so that when the patient doesn't feel like anyone understands their struggles to wear the PAP, he is able to identify with them and they cannot use that excuse. He's been in the field for more than seven years now, and I have been getting a goodnight's sleep. It ma have saved our relationship. So, when one is struggling to adapt to the PAP, keep in mind that your condition affects those around you and it isn't just your own health to consider. You may the one to have to wear the machine now, but you weren't the one who had to listen, loose sleep and worry over your condition before. If someone hung in there with you before the CPAP, I feel it is owed to them to get a good night's sleep now. It's really the least you can do for their unconditional love.

[steamfan]

I'm not a success story yet, but I'm gonna be. Yes I am. I had gone to the Mayo Clinic because I have COPD and my life was becoming very, very limited. During the course of my evaluation there, my wonderful, new, genius pulmonologist said: "I think you need a sleep study". I was not amused. Nobody had ever told me I snored, blah, blah, blah.

So....Took the sleep study, they awakened me at 12:30 am and said, "Um....your doctor wants you on a CPAP NOW."

Six hours later, I awoke, and said, "Whooooooooo. What the heck just happened?" I hadn't felt that good in years. So now I'm home, have my machine, and discovered that I really needed to switch to a full face mask (which I love). Had a wonderful night last night. Hope to have many more.

[LARRYBOY56]

You WILL be a success story, Steamfan....

I have been a CPAP user for about 8 years. I absolutely will not try to go to sleep without my CPAP. I sleep better, have a better attitude, and my wife can rest better since I don't kick and flail.

I am on my second CPAP machine. Logged 10,000 hours on the first one. I have tried each type of mask and was using a nasal (ResMed Activa), but recently changed to the nasal pillow style since I had to have orthodontia work and the nasal mask didn't work with the braces. I am loving the new one and still sleeping like a baby.

Hang in there.... you will not want to go back to your old sleep patterns.

Larry

[usmccop]

My 4th night... I feel so much better. No problems with the mask at all!!

[snoreguy]

10 days in. I don't know that I feel that much different, but I didn't really feel bad before. That said, it really only took me a couple of nights to adapt to the mask and now I actually look forward to it. Strange. I don't even notice the air blowing up my nose any more. I've still got some mask issues, but I think things got better when I stopped worrying about leaks (turns out worrying didn't reduce them and they weren't that bad, anyway), and I've also stopped looking for signs that this is magically transforming my life. I figure the only way to really test that is to sleep a night or two without it and see how I feel then. Right now, I don't want to do that.

[T-in Maryland]

Hello,

Last night was my first night on a CPAP since the sleep study. Kinda scary and uncomfortable but I did sleep a bit more.
I am so looking forward to sleeping thru the night and lowering my blood pressure. Weight loss would be benificial and more energy would be nice too!

I would like to hear some success storeis. I am also seeing an ENT just in case there is something else going on. Took several doctors to finally decide there might be a sleep issues.

T- in Maryland

[snuginarug]

I just did my sleep lab and got my official diagnosis. I did a split sleep study... diagnosis confirmation half the night, trying out a CPAP the rest of the night. Quite truthfully, I am scared. My introduction to the mask was pretty bad. The person assisting me was sort of muddled and had me holding the unhosed mask over my nose for a very long time while she fumbled clumsily with the adjustable straps. I felt like I was suffocating during this part of the process, and I am afraid of repeating the experience at home. This is obviously a great site, especially to get help with problems, but I find all the problem posts sort of scary too. Is it common to have tons of problems when you start? I'd love to hear encouragement from folks who got into the swing of things easily...

[echo]

I just did my sleep lab and got my official diagnosis. I did a split sleep study... diagnosis confirmation half the night, trying out a CPAP the rest of the night. Quite truthfully, I am scared. My introduction to the mask was pretty bad. The person assisting me was sort of muddled and had me holding the unhosed mask over my nose for a very long time while she fumbled clumsily with the adjustable straps. I felt like I was suffocating during this part of the process, and I am afraid of repeating the experience at home. This is obviously a great site, especially to get help with problems, but I find all the problem posts sort of scary too. Is it common to have tons of problems when you start? I'd love to hear encouragement from folks who got into the swing of things easily...

Hi snuginarug, Welcome to the Forum! Believe me, it gets so much easier. Probably your pressure was too low and that's why you had problems breathing. Why don't you start a new post, you will get more responses that way. Click on "Post a New Topic" on the main page and ask away!

[liv2kite]

I do not use a CPAP but thought you might like to hear from the spouse of someone who does. The first time I slept with my now husband, I knew our relationship was going to be a challenge. He tried to suck the paint off the walls (truly) and I had to keep elbowing him to make hm breathe. I woke up the next day, and many more to follow, tired from having my sleep disrupted all through the night. It was particularly frustrating because he had no memory of any of my struggles on his behalf, and would laugh and say that he had been told by many people that he snored. I did not appreciate the humor but felt I should make light of it as everyone else did just so as not to hurt his feelings. I endured this for over four years. Then the most amazing thing happened. He was hired by a company that specialized in CPAP equipment. They sent him to a week long training on sleep apnea and equipment and he came back with a pap and all the fixings! I told him he could have been the poster child for the CPAP and could not believe my good fortune. He has used it every night since and is one of the best in the market at succeeding in having his clients comply with over 80% compliance. He says its because he uses one himself so that when the patient doesn't feel like anyone understands their struggles to wear the PAP, he is able to identify with them and they cannot use that excuse. He's been in the field for more than seven years now, and I have been getting a goodnight's sleep. It ma have saved our relationship. So, when one is struggling to adapt to the PAP, keep in mind that your condition affects those around you and it isn't just your own health to consider. You may the one to have to wear the machine now, but you weren't the one who had to listen, loose sleep and worry over your condition before. If someone hung in there with you before the CPAP, I feel it is owed to them to get a good night's sleep now. It's really the least you can do for their unconditional love.

Serene, yours is a great success story on several levels. Great to hear about CPAP from the partner's perspective (from the other side of the bed). Several other posters have also discussed how CPAP has helped their mood in the eyes of their loved ones (spouses and children). Thanks Serene and others much for sharing and for supporting and encouraging your CPAPer and us all.

I have been using about 4 years and don't ever sleep w/o my CPAP though I had a hard time getting started with it. CPAP helps me in waking up more rested, not awakening frequently during the night and never more awakening into a panicky, drowning, hypoxic brain fog.

[sdewster]

I thought that I would start here for my very first post.

What a forum, I have been using this site for the last few weeks now ever since I come out of hospital with my new CPAP machine, its great for those who really need help or advise from people commited to making this treatment work.

My first experience of using this treatment was in Hospital. i went to sleep with the full face mask at 10.30pm and woke up at 2.30am giggling to myself on the ward. A nurse came to see what the noise was and when I told her that I was just so overwealmed by the amount of sleep I just had she started to giggle with me. I really am so happy with this treatment, I almost feel reborn. Everyone I know have said how much I have changed since becoming a hosehead. Yes there have been some teething problems but I am sure they will work themselves out, this site is very good at reasuring you that your not alone with these tiny problems.

My Benefits:
More Energy
Increased concentration at work
Starting to lose weight
Less likely to fall asleep anytime during the day
Better mood

[Popi]

A simple a short success story: I slept through the night for the first time last night. Eight staight hours. It's been decades since I could make that claim.

[SleepytimeT]

I don't know if it is allowed or not to publicize a personal blog in this forum so if we are not ... I apologize in advance for breaking protocol.

I am blogging about my experiences with my CPAP therapy if anyone is interested in reading or commenting. I started 3 days ago and I just want a record of everything I am feeling so that I can look back and see if I have truly been "cured" and if I have I want to have written testimony to help other new CPAP users.

Check it out if you are interested.

http://pixietrixdust.blogspot.com