been diagnosed, need help til i can get treated

[needhelpbadnow]

HI GROUP, i am lookin for help thst i cannot find and i hope you all can help

im 54, male, 5ft8in 290, have severe osa and have been struggling very badly at night and sooooo tired, scared and out of patience.
i had a sleep study on 10/25 and the tech said i had sleep apnea and the results would be available in 10 days, my doctor called em left a vm and no response, since then i called them today directly and they were like oh, yeah....ok, yes we have your file here, (its been 18 days)....they said we need to get you back in here for a re sleep and fit u for a cpap or whatever, im like ok, the 1st available is dec 9th, i said omg, i cant wait that long, thats a month, is anyone else having horrible, gasping waking up scared and out of breath??
she told me that my results are i had 380 resporitory events in the study, can anyone shed some light on what i am facing? i need some ideas that help u not choke to death during this waiting time?
i wake up after between 20 and 40 minutes every nite continuously and its really beating me up
(also to complicate my trouble i am healing from knee surgery and have torn rotater cuffs both sides, so waking up violently is really difficult)
i do sleep on my side, sleep sittin up, even tried a chair, nothing works, please help!!!! thanks

[Pugsy]

You have already tried the sitting up in a chair thing...some people find that using one of those soft cervical collars will help keep the head/jaw/neck in a position to maybe help keep the airway open better and less chance of airway collapse.

Get a copy of that sleep study...you need to know what type of respiratory events you were having.

[grayghost4]

Ask to be put on the waiting list ... for cancellations... they may be able to get you in sooner that way.

[needhelpbadnow]

ok, thanks, where mite i get a neck collar? and thanks pugsy, please continue one and all, i am really in trouble here

[Pugsy]

Some pharmacies have those soft cervical collars...not sure but I think I saw one at my local WalMart.
Available online easily. I don't have any experience with one to advise on one type over another or one size over another but someone will be along shortly who can offer more specifics than I can.
If you can find one local and do the Amazon Prime thing...there are many offered on Amazon and with Prime you get the speedy delivery thing.

[ChicagoGranny]

ok, thanks, where mite i get a neck collar? and thanks pugsy, please continue one and all, i am really in trouble here

http://www.amazon.com/Carex-Health-Bran ... cal+collar

Locally, see if you can find a drugstore that carries things like walkers and crutches. Many of them will also carry the collars.

Also, make sure you don't sleep on your back until you get your CPAP. To prevent rolling onto your back, pile up pillows behind your back or sleep on a sofa against the back of the sofa.

[ChicagoGranny]

Ask to be put on the waiting list ... for cancellations... they may be able to get you in sooner that way.

Good, and if they don't keep a waiting list, call everyday and ask them if they have had any cancellations.

[Gasper62]

It is possible to accumulate all the parts needed for a pap system from sources like craigslist/ebay/Amazon/etc. Several forum members sell machines, too. I'd guess that within 1-5 days time you could be treating yourself while you're waiting for the new appointment & prescription stuff. Good luck.

[Mynah]

I'd guess that within 1-5 days time you could be treating yourself

I could do it. But it is a bad idea for a newbie.

[Gasper62]

Worse than apnea attacks in your sleep ? I'd say probably not. While you might not dial in your optimum settings, I think that any airway support might be better than none at all. If you can do a lot of reading on this forum's threads, you'll glean a fair idea of how it all works, and if you manage to obtain an auto setting machine, so much the better. Hopefully one of the resident pros will walk you through it. When you have a new machine, it's still good to have a back up one around so, it won't be a waste of money to get one now if you can. Good luck.

[Midnight Strangler]

I'd guess that within 1-5 days time you could be treating yourself

I could do it. But it is a bad idea for a newbie.

You are right. It can be done, but it would be setting most newbies up for frustration, stress and possible failure.

Much better to work on getting in for the titration study and escalating the whole schedule.