How often do you think about your SA or equipment each day?

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
User avatar
mountainlvr
Posts: 62
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2009 7:30 am
Location: Knoxville, TN
Contact:

How often do you think about your SA or equipment each day?

Post by mountainlvr » Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:15 pm

I'm just curious. Ever since I was diagnosed with this it has kind of consumed my thoughts most days. Now, I'm a SAHM, so I might have a lot more time to dwell on it than others, but even still I find myself thinking either about all this equipment, the apnea itself, the insurance, the next steps, the "is it or isn't it working", all the confusing results and numbers, etc... many times every day. I visit this website more than any others, and the whole subject has changed my way of life.

So I'm curious how many others find themselves thinking about all this all the time now that they have been diagnosed and are on treatment.

You know what they say about men and how often they think about sex, well, I think for me (and I'm a woman) this tops even that obsession!!

User avatar
ChipsXJ
Posts: 68
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:10 am
Location: Broken Arrow, OK

Re: How often do you think about your SA or equipment each day?

Post by ChipsXJ » Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:19 pm

I have been thinking alot about it.............almost as much as you.

But since I am now going to stop 'worrying' about the little leaks.............I think I will 'think' about it alot less.

I like to hang out here on the boards all day when I have the time................not sure if that will change.
M Series Auto CPAP with A-Flex
Fisher & Paykel Flexifit 431
Remstar Integrated Passover Humidifier
M Series Smartcard Module
Encore Pro 1.8.49; Encore Pro Analyzer 0.8.9
Setting 10
Image

User avatar
sleeplessinaz
Posts: 1067
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:49 am
Location: Mesa, Arizona

Re: How often do you think about your SA or equipment each day?

Post by sleeplessinaz » Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:19 pm

Hello--SAHM --I think about it a couple of times a day. But then I work in an office 8 hours a day. Some of these people that I work with--i swear have sleep apnea but are in denial!! LOL!
Carrie

_________________
MachineMask
Additional Comments: new Airsense auto set 12/08/14. Cpap pressure is
Start Date 08/30/07
APAP setting is 6 to 12
HH 2.5
Side Sleeper
HypoThyroidism & Diabetes
New Airsense autoset 12/08/14

User avatar
Catnap
Posts: 321
Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 12:20 pm
Location: Michigan

Re: How often do you think about your SA or equipment each day?

Post by Catnap » Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:40 pm

Good question! I don't really think about it constantly, but it does come to mind several times throughout the day. For example, when I'm washing my face in the morning and "admiring" the bags under my eyes, I wonder how much the air pressure might be contributing to them. If my nose is irritated, I try to remember that I'll want to put some ointment on it before I go to bed and I ponder increasing the humidity on my machine. Mostly, it will come to mind when I'm in the middle of some chore or activity, and I think about how grateful I am to have regained the energy to do things!

_________________
Mask: TAP PAP Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Improved Stability Mouthpiece
Additional Comments: S8 Elite II, TAP PAP, HumidAireH4i Heated Humidifier

User avatar
mountainlvr
Posts: 62
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2009 7:30 am
Location: Knoxville, TN
Contact:

Re: How often do you think about your SA or equipment each day?

Post by mountainlvr » Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:41 pm

Some of these people that I work with--i swear have sleep apnea but are in denial!! LOL!
You know, I spend a lot of time thinking about how many times I have been misdiagnosed with all sorts of crazy things over the years (because of my complaining about the heavy duty fatigue), especially depression. And I see all these people I know being treated for stuff they feel like their doctors are guessing at, things I've had symptoms of in the past, and I feel like telling them all to go GET A SLEEP STUDY DONE!!! If I had been correctly diagnosed 20 years ago there's no telling how different my life would be today, or what I might have accomplished. Or all the money I would have saved and time, and pain with all the invasive tests and reactions to drugs I should have never been on.............

Ugh. Anyhow, just wanted say AMEN to that, sista!!!!!!

User avatar
tattooyu
Posts: 1618
Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2009 11:57 am
Location: Valley Village, CA

Re: How often do you think about your SA or equipment each day?

Post by tattooyu » Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:46 pm

Okay, take the amount digits after the decimal point in the number π...
Sleep well and live better!

User avatar
ladyjay
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:13 pm
Location: the mitten state

Re: How often do you think about your SA or equipment each day?

Post by ladyjay » Fri Mar 13, 2009 2:12 pm

i think about it everyday! first thing in the morning taking off my mask, disconnecting tubes from my humidfier, and washing the nasal pillow. anytime i feel tired, which is three or four times a day (started cpap therapy last year). then again at night reconnecting my equipment. i don't think i dream about it though!

oh... and a lot more now that i've found this board.

_________________
MachineMask
machine: evo remrest tier 3 :: pressure setting 7.0
humidifier: velocity heated passover humidifier
comfort: soft wraps for swift lt for her, ayr gel, hand knit tubing cover

began therapy 02/08

User avatar
dieselgal
Posts: 976
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:08 pm

Re: How often do you think about your SA or equipment each day?

Post by dieselgal » Fri Mar 13, 2009 2:21 pm

I would have to say that I don't think about it very often unless I am over tired because as long as I am sleeping its working for me. I admit that I am not an obsessive person (except with food). Once the new wore off for me I don't think about it all the time unless I have a mask problem etc.

_________________
Mask
I'm not anti-social; I'm just not user friendly

User avatar
Paul56
Posts: 1016
Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:38 pm
Location: Texas

Re: How often do you think about your SA or equipment each day?

Post by Paul56 » Fri Mar 13, 2009 2:26 pm

For me it has become similar to brushing my teeth... I just do it and don't give much thought to it.

_________________
Mask: Swift™ FX Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: AHI ~60 / Titrated @ 8 / Operating AutoSet in CPAP mode @ 12

Pineapple
Posts: 345
Joined: Fri Feb 29, 2008 11:20 am

Re: How often do you think about your SA or equipment each day?

Post by Pineapple » Fri Mar 13, 2009 2:48 pm

JimW203 wrote:The irony of CPAP...spending so many waking hours thinking about sleeping.

Jim Wingo
Mountian,

I don't want to trivialize what your feeling, as a long time undiagnosed sufferer, I really understand what your saying. When they called me with the results of my first sleep study, the nurse told me as soon as they saw my "symptom" questionaire, they knew I had sleep apnea. It was so obvious to them, why didn't any one else figure this out?

I'm guessing your fairly new to this, let me tell you that the fixation will get better as your therapy takes hold and you feel better. Of course, then you have a bad night and you spend the better part of the day wondering where your therapy went wrong

User avatar
N6CRV
Posts: 134
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2009 5:54 pm
Location: Hillsdale Co. Michigan

Re: How often do you think about your SA or equipment each day?

Post by N6CRV » Fri Mar 13, 2009 3:42 pm

Hello, I think about my "equipment" every time I see a good looking lady. Now if it would only get used as much as it is thought about
Don

User avatar
AmyE
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:53 am

Re: How often do you think about your SA or equipment each day?

Post by AmyE » Fri Mar 13, 2009 3:50 pm

I am thinking about it a lot, but then I've only had 2 nights on the machine! I went back today to get a small pillow for my mask because somehow I didn't make it home with a small. The XS was too small, the Medium was too big. (I feel like Goldilocks, lol!)

I'm hoping that as I work through all of the little details and problems, that I will think about it less throughout the day. It does seem to add more to my morning and nightly routines, however...
Amy

User avatar
wasColette
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:59 pm

Re: How often do you think about your SA or equipment each day?

Post by wasColette » Fri Mar 13, 2009 4:02 pm

I'm pretty new to all this (2 months) so I do think about it a lot. I come check out the forum off and on all day while at work. Matters really how busy I am. I think it's natural to think about it a lot when you are first diagnosed. It's a big deal. It's a big change in my life. But I'm sure as time goes on I won't think about it quite as often.

_________________
Mask: Mirage Quattro™ Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: (really Humidaire H4i)

User avatar
roster
Posts: 8162
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2006 8:02 pm
Location: Chapel Hill, NC

Re: How often do you think about your SA or equipment each day?

Post by roster » Fri Mar 13, 2009 4:09 pm

Once I got my therapy optimized and started the healing process, the thoughts of CPAP running around in my brain fell way off.

Immediately after I was diagnosed, the days were either a thousand CPAPs running around in my brain or one CPAP on a motorbike.

What happens too often now is looking at and talking to others and thinking they have several symptoms of sleep apnea. There seems to be dozens just in my circle of contacts.

I have already encouraged 24 to see sleep doctors in the three years since I was diagnosed. 22 are now using CPAP and the other two are just putzing around letting their health decline.

User avatar
Wulfman
Posts: 12317
Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2005 3:43 pm
Location: Nearest fishing spot

Re: How often do you think about your SA or equipment each day?

Post by Wulfman » Fri Mar 13, 2009 4:10 pm

mountainlvr wrote:I'm just curious. Ever since I was diagnosed with this it has kind of consumed my thoughts most days. Now, I'm a SAHM, so I might have a lot more time to dwell on it than others, but even still I find myself thinking either about all this equipment, the apnea itself, the insurance, the next steps, the "is it or isn't it working", all the confusing results and numbers, etc... many times every day. I visit this website more than any others, and the whole subject has changed my way of life.

So I'm curious how many others find themselves thinking about all this all the time now that they have been diagnosed and are on treatment.

You know what they say about men and how often they think about sex, well, I think for me (and I'm a woman) this tops even that obsession!!
Actually, many of us on the forum think about YOUR therapy all the time...... (sorry, couldn't resist)

Consequently, it's hard NOT to think about it in some manner. Sometimes it's articles in the news about somebody falling asleep at the wheel of a vehicle, maybe a co-worker commenting on how tired they are, other news stories linking other illnesses to sleep apnea, etc., etc., etc.

As far as my OWN therapy.......not so much anymore. I just try to get ENOUGH sleep because the "numbers" have been good for a long time, so I know it's working.


Den
(5) REMstar Autos w/C-Flex & (6) REMstar Pro 2 CPAPs w/C-Flex - Pressure Setting = 14 cm.
"Passover" Humidification - ResMed Ultra Mirage FF - Encore Pro w/Card Reader & MyEncore software - Chiroflow pillow
User since 05/14/05