Anyone glad they were diagnosed?

[roster]

Absolutely! It explained SO much... (and most of that has gone away now!!)

...

Ditto!

I jumped for joy.

Tenma, I could truthfully sign my name to your post.

My reaction reminded me of a one-panel cartoon I saw years ago when the aids virus was first rampant. A hippie is coming out of a government clinic with a piece of paper in his hand and a big smile on his face. He shouts to his waiting friend, "Yippee! I've got gonorrhea!"

It was exciting to know that I had something that could be treated!

When I awoke at 5:00 a.m. and the technician came in to unhook me, I asked her if I was having apneas. The conversation went like this:

Tech: Someone else will read your study and the doctor will call you in a few days to discuss the study.

Rooster: But I want to know from you was I having apneas last night?

Tech: Sir, I am not qualified to give you any information.

Rooster: But you know if I was having apneas. Now was I?

Tech: Sir, I am not allowed to tell you.

Rooster: Now listen one more time. You are going to tell me if I was having apneas or you are going to have to call the police to get me out of the building! Now was I have apneas last night?

Tech: Oh brother, were you! (And runs out of the room before I can shout, "Yippee".)

[BlackSpinner]

YES YES!
I have my life back! I don't feel I am waiting to die of old age anymore.

Compared with dealing with menopause, migraines and allergies and asthma, CPAP therapy is bloody easy and effective with no side effects.

[chennOR]

OH YEAH! I was. Same thoughts most of you had. There really is a reason I can only sit around in a fog waiting to die of old age.
I was put on cpap 3/2008, with some improvement. Moved to CA in 8/2008 and was still fatigued so checked out a new doc. She though my nighttime SATS were too low so she ordered another sleep study. On 12/2009 she put me on BiPap at a higher rate - I forgot what it is, but it's working and she added 2 LPM additonal O2 nightly a few months later. That seemed to kick me into awake status during the day. Since then my mental functioning has steadily improved. Loving it !

Glad you asked the question.

C

[Ruby Vee]

While I'm majorly ticked off to have sleep apnea, I'm glad I was diagnosed. I'm adjusting to CPAP and sleeping more, sleeping better and not waking up in a panic because I can't BREATHE! And now at least I know WHY I had some of the problems I had and am in the process of treating it. So yes, I guess I'm glad I was diagnosed.

[packitin]

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[mdintx]

I didn't have much of an emotional reaction to it. Working in a medical facility and knowing the symptoms, it was confirmation of what I already knew. What was frustrating was that it took such a long time get through the process.

[RipVW]

I was so glad to know what was causing me to stop breathing, wake up gasping for air (that happened twice in the middle of the night that I actually recalled the experience, and a third time that my wife happened to awake and witness--she thought I was dead! That prompted to visit to the doctor). The sad thing is all of the undiagnosed OSA, not the diagnosed OSA, in my view.

[ectx]

To quote the old GIJoe Cartoons..."Knowing is half the battle". Being diagnosed explained so many things and also gave me a concrete enemy to attack. You can't treat something if you don't know what it is. Now I know, and knowing really is half the battle.

[pastorj]

I'm glad I was diagnosed thought not especially elated over having OSA. I knew something was dreadfully wrong. I am definitely not completely adjusted to cpap yet but am well on the way thanks to many good folks on this forum. I feel better than I have in years so feel like I have had OSA for quite awhile.
And by the way, packitin I know what an Emmaus Walk is. I was on one down here in Texas a few years ago. I am fairly sure that I had unidagnosed OSA at that time and now understand why everyone else slept on the other side of the cabin.

[DyannaK]

I was sooo relieved to find out it all wasn't "just in my head" too... I had been asking my Dr for years why I was so danged tired all the time... My husband had been snoring very badly and stopping breathing during the night so when he went in for his VA yearly physical he asked about it and they scheduled a sleep study for him. I had never even heard of a sleep study before then. But when I went over his questionaire from the sleep center I realised I had almost ALL of the things they look for... After going thru many different blood tests, (which showed nothing) and finally tiring of falling asleep everytime I sat down for 5 minutes I asked her to send me in for a sleep study... I fully expected to be told there was nothing wrong with me but I found out all my tossing and turning and sleeplessness was from severe OSA. I have been on my machine since 1/2009 and I can honestly say I feel soooo much better now!

So while I am not happy to sleep with my machine every night, I AM happy to know that I can help myself BY sleeping with my machine every night

[mikee]

Yep!!!!!!! Not falling asleep at work any longer but still fatigued my PCP had me do a stress test and guess what!!! 85% blocked right coronary artery. So now i'm a hosehead and a card carrying stent implant kind of guy that's still fatigued

[JoJo79]

I was so relieved to know what was wrong with me, so I am a definite yes I was glad to be diagnosed. Once I had a name for the problem, I could find a solution. Sleep has greatly improved and I am thankful, no matter how much the mask irritates me.

[tattooyu]

I had been having panic attacks and over the years a handful of waking-up-heart-pounding-gasping-I'm-going-to-die episodes. All my research finally pointed me to sleep apnea. I convinced my doctor that I needed a sleep study. He was actually very agreeable to it.

I figured I probably had mild to moderate apnea. In my heightened state, when the diagnosis of "severe" came down the pike, I freaked. I started crying. The way they explained it to me, and the fact they wanted to rush a machine to me, didn't help. I'm glad they put the rush on it. My O2 dropped to 73% at one point.

Luckily, I had found this site and new exactly what machine I wanted. I also have a GREAT guy at my DME that really takes care of me. He's even coming to my office tomorrow to switch out a mask that is too big for me.

As for adjusting, I think I adjusted quickly. About 4-5 weeks into it I almost gave up because of high leak rates. A good chin strap solved that problem and I get AHIs under 5 (usually under 3) every night. ZERO leaks.

Do I hate sleeping with a machine? Eh... not really. Would I rather not have to do that? Sure, but so what? It's saving my life--literally--so it's not so bad. I can't believe how much better I've felt since getting my numbers down.

I'm GLAD for the diagnosis (which led to healing)--NOT GLAD that I actually have OSA.

[ectx]

From reading through this thread it seems that a lot of you had problems with physicians who tried everything else before looking at OSA or just didn't think of it as an option. Is this actually common? My doctor immediately sent me to an ENT who specialized in OSA and sleep disorders to have me tested. This was after a physical on my first consultation. He is fairly young and on top of things, but I still didn't expect him to move so quickly.

[sagesteve]

A B S O L U T E L Y !!!!!! You'll live longer