Two weeks w/CPAP and seeing improvements!

[KellyR]

It has been close to 2 weeks since I started w/my CPAP and I am beginning to see some improvements, much to my delight. I have a chronic bladder disease called interstitial cystitis (IC) that causes intense pain at times, and heart disease, and for a long time I thought the crippling fatigue I experienced was the result of chronic pain, the pain & heart meds and the after effects of angina. When I began to have fibromyalgia-like symptoms, I saw my dr and he sent me for a sleep study which showed sleep apnea, 15/hr. Moderate, but combined w/the other factors, enough to knock me off of my feet on a daily basis and require a daily nap.

Thankfully, after a few nights of little sleep while getting used to the CPAP machine, I am now comfortable with it and doing well. I wore it for naps as well as at night, and adjusted quite quickly. I am renting a APAP machine for a month or two to confirm my pressure amount, and then I will be purchasing a machine that will be set for my pressure as established by the rented APAP. I have to pay for it myself, and money is an issue. I am being monitored weekly by a sleep specialist at our local CLSC, which is a part of our medical services here in Quebec.

I find that I wake up in the morning and after naps w/less misery, less exhausted, resentful fatigue that makes getting out of bed such a chore. On one hand, it is vacation time and I am not getting up at 6 am with my daughter, so I can sleep in until 8 or more. But on the other hand, it is the holiday season and I have been going to bed later, even hitting the hay @ 2 am on New year's eve, which resulted in a tired New year's day but left me feeling fine on Jan.2, which would have been unheard of before the CPAP. It used to take me days to recover from a late night. And I have been busier during the day, preparing for celebrations and cleaning up afterwards, etc.

Someone gave me a bunch of lavender satchels for Christmas, and I put one on my bedside table by my CPAP intake, by accident. Happy accident! That night, my CPAP filled my night w/gentle, lovely lavender and I slept wonderfully. I am becoming quite attached to my CPAP, and am anticipating continuing improvement as my body heals from possibly years of inadequate sleep. I have also discovered that being better rested helps me deal w/chronic pain in a healthier, more hopeful and upbeat way.

I also have to say that I am glad to have stumbled upon this forum. I have found much helpful info here, and encouragement, especially in the first few days when I was wondering if I was ever going to be able to adjust to this odd contraption.

I am so glad to meet you all and hope to be able to get to know you better as time goes by.
Happy New Year!

[KatieW]

Welcome to the forum. Glad to hear that cpap is making a difference, in a good way.

[tschultz]

Welcome to the forum. I am so glad to hear that your CPAP treatment is working and you are seeing benefits already.


In my case I beginning to think that "CPAP treatment" stands for; Canadian Patient Awaits Proper treatment. I am not so anxiously awaiting my final data analysis and prescription for CPAP after being diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. I am starting to push harder and harder to try and get things expedited.

How long did you wait in Quebec between your first sleep study and then the follow-up visit for diagnosis?
How long did you wait between the diagnosis and actually getting the CPAP prescription and equipment?

[DoriC]

Welcome Kelly, glad you're seeing some improvement with cpap therapy. It may well help with some of your other medical issues as well, that's something to look forward to. Good luck and keep us updated.

[KellyR]

Welcome to the forum. I am so glad to hear that your CPAP treatment is working and you are seeing benefits already.


In my case I beginning to think that "CPAP treatment" stands for; Canadian Patient Awaits Proper treatment. I am not so anxiously awaiting my final data analysis and prescription for CPAP after being diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. I am starting to push harder and harder to try and get things expedited.

How long did you wait in Quebec between your first sleep study and then the follow-up visit for diagnosis?
How long did you wait between the diagnosis and actually getting the CPAP prescription and equipment?

Thanks, everyone. Tshultz, I did a home study last Spring, which was negative for sleep apnea, but it is standard, esp. for someone w/heart disease, to do an in-hospital study anyway. Which is obviously a good thing for me. There was a mix up w/the paper work, so my sleep study in Mtl wasn't until early November, my follow up was a month later in early Dec. and the CPAP rep came w/the machine 2 weeks later. I live in a small town about an hour outside of Mtl, and the sleep dr comes to our local hospital once a month to see patients from our area. My cardiologist & urologist do the same. The longest wait was for the sleep study in Mtl.

I do hope things speed up for you. It must be very frustrating, knowing that you have severe sleep apnea and having to wait for treatment.

[dtsm]

I am renting a APAP machine for a month or two to confirm my pressure amount, and then I will be purchasing a machine that will be set for my pressure as established by the rented APAP. I have to pay for it myself, and money is an issue. I am being monitored weekly by a sleep specialist at our local CLSC, which is a part of our medical services here in Quebec.

Strongly recommend getting a unit that has full data capability, and also preferable apap rather than straight cpap.
You can check cpap.com for complete list of brands/models. The two more popular brands are ResMed and Respironics.

secondwindcpap.com is a reliable on-line supplier; often their 'new open box' specials are extremely competitively priced.

Good luck and keep us posted