How old were you when you got your CPAP?

[SueKZ]

I am interested to know how old you were when you first got a CPAP. My husband got his first at age 62... two months ago. He is on his 3rd mask and still tired. He was deathly tired before. His AHI is routinely low now. Now he is just plain ole tired. I hope he will eventually be able to say he feels rested.

[MaxDarkside]

I was 54. I sound a lot like your husband... I suppose a lot of us do... deathly tired before, low AHI now and just tired (not physically tired, but groggy / brain fog is how I describe it).

[cosmo]

.

[JeffL]

I was told I needed it when I was 53, but I didn't give in until I was 63. That's when I started waking up gasping for breath.

[SueKZ]

Jeff, do you feel more rested since getting it?

[kteague]

I was 54 when diagnosed, but was symptomatic at least 10 years before. Multiple sleep studies over the years were unable to pick it up as my limb movements kept me from sleeping enough for the OSA to manifest. Only during a period of reasonably controlled limb movements did it show up during testing. Originally diagnosed as mild, later test said moderate to severe.

[SueKZ]

I am PO'ed that hubby did not get diagnosed till age 62 with all the complaining he has done about sleep issues to his Fr. Grrr

[MaxDarkside]

I am PO'ed that hubby did not get diagnosed till age 62 with all the complaining he has done about sleep issues to his Fr. Grrr

It's good he's getting treatment. That's something to be celebrated. "If only" is a hard thing to deal with. I try to avoid "if only" and look to the future. It took me dying in a parking lot in order to finally get a sleep study. Thank God I survived so I can be with my wife and boys. Hug your husband and smile, because you can.

[SueKZ]

I am thanking God he doesn't have heart damage from having the apnea so long, for sure. We just have had a lot of neglect...doctor wise around here. I have severe sinus issues and after 25 yrs have just found a dr who is thinking outside the box and is helping me. bit I digress. Haha.
I am glad YOU are still around, too!!!

[MaxDarkside]

Medicine is still an art, a lot of doctors are still scribbling, most have little time to "draw" more than a sketch (treat symptoms). We are our own best advocates and must often take up our own quest, pushing, almost aggressively to get what we need, whether that be tests, knowledge, equipment, treatment, ... And most of us are not "medical artists" and have few places to turn and this forums is a God send in the area of sleep disorders.

[cosmo]

I am PO'ed that hubby did not get diagnosed till age 62 with all the complaining he has done about sleep issues to his Fr. Grrr

Can't hold a grudge. Everyone here has probably suffered for years until being diagnosed. What is done is done. I always try to live stress free as much as possible

[morrigan]

I was 43, suffering from severe migraines several times a week. Pretty much brain dead most days but never considered i might have sleep apnea... I am not overweight and am very active (cyclist).

Neurologist put me on apap a little over two years ago. Migraines went (mostly) away. I don't go on overnight trips with my cycling club, though, as its a pain to lug that machine around. Maybe someday...

[zoocrewphoto]

I got mine last April at age 39. I had known for at least 10 years that I had sleep apnea, but I never mentioned it to my doctor. Until last year, I thought it was just another form of sleep deprivation. I knew that it caused you to wake up a lot and not sleep well. It never occurred to me that it was actually oxygen deprivation, and that many of my symptoms other than snoring and being tired were actually related. So, I suffered with a long time, but I blame mostly myself. I do wish my doctor had asked me about it. She is also my mom's primary doctor and my mom has used a cpap machine for about 20 years. If she had asked me about my sleep, snoring, etc, I would have answered truthfully. I just wasn't volunteering the info since I thought it was sleep deprivation, and I didn't think it was worth fighting with a machine. Had I known had bad it was or how much I would improve, I would have been using it in a heartbeat. I feel so much better.

[DreamStalker]

I was told I snored like a buzz saw when I was in my early 20's. I had never heard of sleep apnea until I was diagnosed in my mid 40's and I was already feeling fairly dead and certain I would never make it to my 50th.

Now I feel like I'm in my late 20's ... CPAP is the fountain of youth I tell ya.

[chunkyfrog]

I got my first at 62, nearly three years ago.
It's true I felt much older then, and younger than that now. (guitar riff)
I suspect I have had OSA since before cpap, but treatment has never been better than it is now.
What is in the past must remain there, or it will poison the future.