I do not believe in being born again, but...

Not sure how to title this message and expect to get a lot of skepticism about it but i really value the opinions of many of you folks. I signed up to this forum last Oct after a couple months of using a Resmed 11 and trying several masks. I am 77 and like to think I am quite active [not in a physical way] but love to work at a lot of things. I had open heart surgery 3 and a half months ago and have healed very well as far as I can determine. I stopped CPAP when in the hosp as it was way too much for the nursing staff and contacted my CPAP doctors assistant who handles me and explained that with cardiac rehab and healing that I thought suspending the sleep apnea treatment was the best at this time [she readily agreed]. I have gone as far as I feel I can with cardiac rehab and suspended that as well. I have been trying to get back into CPAP and have gotten to about the 'scores' that I had before the surgery but have fought a lot of leakage that I was not having problems with before and have never really gotten to a mask that was really close to comfortable. I have the Bleep masks [both] but have not been able to overcome the inflated cheeks issue. I have not really had bad reactions to CPAP- minor irritants but not actually serious. I had really improved days, mostly not tired and feeling much better. My test number was 59/hour by the way- so I was feeling pretty poorly before.

OK- here is my issue, my spouse wakes up a lot at night and we have been together for almost 30 years, and she bugged me about how turbulent my sleep was, gasping and all kinds of noises that humans should not be making during restful sleep. She sez that I sleep normally now, In her mind I am 'cured'. I have explained that is not possible but... what is happening? I feel good now [with a new aortic valve and two bypassed blockages] and do not have any of the sleep apnea issues that I remember.

I realize that this is not 'possible' but I am going to have to contact my sleep therapist at some point and deal with that issue [the Resmed was prescribed thru Medicare and a supplemental insurance]. In all honesty I have always been a take the easy path sort of old phart, and it has worked out so far. Thank you, Gene

Of course you don't have any sleep apnea issues, *while your sleeping* with your cpap. It's treating you, not curing you.

If you stop wearing it, you'll experience all the same symptoms again.

CPAPs are like eyeglasses, they treat your vision while wearing them. They don't fix your vision.

Things may have changed for the better (e.g. you probably lost some weight in the heart surgery and rehab process, underlying heart issues are taken care of, etc.) but you can't ASSUME your apnea is resolved without a test. You know what they say about assuming.

So ask for a new sleep test. See where things are. Don't get rid of your machine yet.

I stopped CPAP when in the hosp as it was way too much for the nursing staff

Isn't that terrifying that nurses can't put a mask on your face and press a button??? They literally have your life in their hands, they titrate complex medications, start IV's, they monitor you closely, perform complex treatments, and they can't put a mask on your face (or hand you the mask to put on your own face) and press a button??? YIKES!!!!

Janknitz wrote: ↑

Fri May 12, 2023 6:27 pm

....and they can't put a mask on your face (or hand you the mask to put on your own face) and press a button??? YIKES!!!!

if the machine is set to autostart, they don't even have to do THAT.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

To clarify, I have been sleeping without the cpap for several weeks. I understand that sleep apnea does not go away and I agree that I need to do another sleep test. I lived for 75 years without cpap and would say I was a high functioning adult until my world crashed and I spent a year struggling with the fatigue and constant tiredness, the dr found a couple things that helped [ vit D deficiency and prostrate issues] but I never kicked the tiredness until I took the sleep test and got a cpap setup. I used the cpap every night and adapted to it quite easily, it is an inconvenience of course, but the army cured me of thinking my inconvenience is anyone else's problem. I never got much below a AHI of 10 but that made me well enough to function as well as a human being needs to function. The nurses [and doctors actually] are not well acquainted with CPAP and beyond always telling you to bring your apparatus with you, they really do not know what to do with it. The first weeks after open heart surgery you do not think about much that does not have anything to do with OHS and healing as quick as possible. My heart is functioning much better than pre-op and I feel good.
I have tried the cpap a dozen times but have battled leaks and cannot honestly say I feel at all like I did pre-op. It was a very apparent, eyes wide open all day kind of feeling mostly, with a few days sprinkled in when my hips especially were so fatigued I would have to stop and sit down in a store. I am honestly mystified by how I feel now. Gene

I haven't looked back through your posts, but as far as I remember, the breathing pattern we saw in your OSCAR reports when you first posted made some of us wonder if you didn't have a heart problem -- it turns out you did, and it was fixed, surgically

The only way to figure out whether you need CPAP therapy now that your heart is functioning properly is to have another sleep study at a reliable, accredited sleep lab.

No use guessing about it, and no use asking us to guess about it. If it were me, I'd say that my health and quality of life in the future are much too serious an issue to base it on a guess or an assumption that I no longer need Continuous Positive Air Pressure to keep me breathing properly at night. And if it were me, I wouldn't base my understanding on research concerning what happens to the majority of people my age either. I would want to know what's true about me personally - I could be an outlier in either direction.

If you do have a sleep study, please tell us its results.

I have been using this forum and it's helpful members to try to arrange my thoughts into something coherent. I am confused and along with the tiredness have had trouble mentally.
I was trained as an electronics technician and my mind is accustomed to being able to figure things out, now [perhaps old age is not a good thing] I have short term memory issues and cannot remember common words when I need them [an hour later is not helpful]. I composed a message to my Sleep professional which I think expresses my current thoughts.

This is the message I sent to my sleep therapist...

I have mostly recovered from my heart surgery and am back at work and feeling quite good. I have been trying to get back in my former habits with the cpap, I am having a lot more trouble this time. I thought I adapted to the program quite easily the first time around and could notice a marked improvement as far as not being so crushingly tired all the time. I never achieved what is considered a good AHI score- average hovered around 10 [my initial diagnosis was 59/hr]. I am having constant leakage issues and have bought several masks looking for one that is comfortable for extended use. When I do get a good night in my AHI is about the same [10/hr] as before, but I do not experience the uplifting feeling that I had before.
There does not seem to be a lot of crossover knowledge between the Sleep Apnea specialists and Cardiac specialists [my observation only]. My life partner has been observing my sleep for 27 years and was constantly mentioning my apneas [gasping for air and going thru the semi-awakening that accompanies them]. She now sez that I sleep normally [she thinks I am cured- I assure her that this is not possible. Is it? I am wondering if another home sleep study is indicated? Thank you Gene

GeneMpls wrote: ↑

Sun May 14, 2023 8:58 am

She now sez that I sleep normally [she thinks I am cured- I assure her that this is not possible. Is it? I am wondering if another home sleep study is indicated? Thank you Gene

please see what ozij wrote just above your post-

ozij wrote: ↑

Sat May 13, 2023 7:48 pm

No use guessing about it, and no use asking us to guess about it. If it were me, I'd say that my health and quality of life in the future are much too serious an issue to base it on a guess or an assumption that I no longer need Continuous Positive Air Pressure to keep me breathing properly at night. And if it were me, I wouldn't base my understanding on research concerning what happens to the majority of people my age either. I would want to know what's true about me personally - I could be an outlier in either direction.

If you do have a sleep study, please tell us its results.