Some encouragement for the new folks...

[BigMoose]

Some encouragement for the new folks... particularly us ol'guys (tm)

I'm 55 insulin resistant diabetic and such, and have been on CPAP for about 4 months so far. I have made no other changes to my diet or activities. Got back from the Endocronologist today and my blood work has improved across the board: (saw a bit of this 3 months ago, but I didn't want to celebrate without confirming lab work)

Tryglycerides down 33%
Total cholesterol down 12%
LDL down 11%
HDL (the good stuff) up 8%
Total/HDL ratio sitting at 3.3 ... whooppee.

Everything is now in normal range, a first in 20 years, and I sincerely believe CPAP is the treatment that has gotten me back in line. I still have to figure out how to loose about 80 pounds though...

I methodically tracked down my leaks and such, and switched to APAP from CPAP at 10 cm H2O. I have had to ditch caffeine, but now dream every night, have a AHI of 1 or less, do not have to go to the bathroom with nocturia at all (was 5 to 7 times a night) and only wake about 3 or so times a night.

I hope this is some encouragement to anyone just starting and reading this board. There is tremendous wisdom here, the guru's here helped me more than my DME that's for sure! Keep the faith, and keep trying.

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP, DME, AHI, APAP

[sleepydoll]

This is in fact VERRRY incouraging! congratulations to you!

There is, of course, a correlation between OSA and wheight gain...simply because OSA = bad/no sleep = tired out of your wits = no mood/enregy for moving more than necessary ( exercise is banned from our vocabulary !)=
High cholesterol etc., etc.

I'm sure that the cycle is starting to crack up....look at those results!
You must be feeling soooooo much better!
Thanks for sharing these good news with us! Keep up the good work, and one pound at a time, those extra love handles will come off.
D,

[Gregg]

Wow. That's quite amazing. It's sad though that we all have these long time periods between when we notice sickness, and when we begin to find improvements.

I'm quickly losing my hope as well as patience. I dearly hope something changes soon. I've decided to scramble to a doctor and start taking every step I can to solve the ill feeling I'm having.

We're all so different. I'm athletic. I ride a bike 20 miles nearly every day. Lately I've started taking days off due to feeling like crap.

Oh well, better late than never.

I wish you all the best. And hope you find recovery beyond your wildest dreams. There's nothing like being healthy. It's everything.

[BigMoose]

Folks thanks much for the kind words and encouragement! Gregg, may you find the key to your recovery! Never stop searching, and don't give up. Don't ever give up trying to get back "in the groove."

This has been a long journey for me... but it would be boring to detail it. Suffice it to say that it is now apparent (in hindsight) that my diabetes was manifest around 1980, and it took until 1998 for a good endo to find and treat it... only 4 or 5 GP's missed the symptoms... How you miss "no feeling in my feet" is pretty profound! I "knew" something wasn't right, but those 5 GP's just said "stress"...

You will know when you get it right, but the trouble is sometimes it takes many months, to a few years to "heal" enough to know the difference after you find the solution. << Hope that makes sense! Hence never stop trying to be well and feel well, someday you just might wake up and know that you "found it."

Best wishes in your journey...

[Bodie]

Hi, I'm "Bodie." I've had sleep apnea for a long time (maybe all my life...I used to thing everyone woke up feeling terrible in the morning before I was diagnosed in 1997)

I'm getting a new sleep study at the end of August and am considering APAP because sometimes my cpap seems to help other nights it doesn't. I think its because my body changes during the night and my nasal spray wears off and I wake up when there's even a little congestion in one nostril.

I'm having problems keeping my blood pressure down and the doctor has wanted to keep changing / raising the dose of my meds...I want to get to the source of the problem.

My question is will I need to program the software? From these posts it sounds like I will. What do I need to know?

I'm happy to have found this forum where I can ask these questions

[Wulfman]

Hi, I'm "Bodie." I've had sleep apnea for a long time (maybe all my life...I used to thing everyone woke up feeling terrible in the morning before I was diagnosed in 1997)

I'm getting a new sleep study at the end of August and am considering APAP because sometimes my cpap seems to help other nights it doesn't. I think its because my body changes during the night and my nasal spray wears off and I wake up when there's even a little congestion in one nostril.

I'm having problems keeping my blood pressure down and the doctor has wanted to keep changing / raising the dose of my meds...I want to get to the source of the problem.

My question is will I need to program the software? From these posts it sounds like I will. What do I need to know?

I'm happy to have found this forum where I can ask these questions

Hi Bodie.

Welcome to the forum.

You might want to start a new thread.....it'll probably get more responses than it will here.....buried in another thread.

Please list what equipment (machine and mask) you now have and pressure setting. How old is your present machine and mask?

If you're looking for an APAP and software, the following listings would be the way to go. The price listed on the first one is NOT the price you would actually pay. If you click on the "Get our price" button/arrow, you can find out what the real price is. This situation has been caused by some of the manufacturers instituting "Minimum Advertised Pricing" policies...."MAP".

https://www.cpap.com/productpage-bundle ... undle.html

The next item would also be another good option.....and that company didn't mandate the minimum advertised pricing policies......the price you see is the price you'd pay.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage-bundle ... undle.html


Good luck.

Den

[goose]

Hey Moose-man -- that's a great bunch of numbers.
I'm kind of in the same boat as far as the diabetes goes. My numbers have become very stable since I've been on the xPAP!!! Blood Pressure is improving etc. and I'm down 30 lbs.....

No secret there -- I just stopped eating for 3 people and only eat for me (most of the time). Now I need to get off my dead A$$ and do some exercise.
The easy 30 is gone. Now I have to work on the hard 30+
To start getting rid of the 80, just try portion control. An unregulated male generally eats on average of 3300 calories a day. I cut myself down to 1800 and became a habitual label reader.
Drives me crazy, but I don't buy some of the stuff I used to eat just because of the calorie/carb counts.....I still eat Pizza....but instead of eating half the pizza (or more), I limit myself to two pieces (well. Sometimes 3 if they're small ).....
For me it's a matter of choices -- and it seems to work.

Gregg -- keep at it!!!!! It'll work for you -- ya just have to be persistent!!! Sometimes it seems like it's futile, but it's not!!!!

Bodie -- the Wulfman is right. Your stuff will get lost in this thread -- just fire up another thread and you'll be surprised at the responses you'll get...

Good luck
cheers
goose