How has CPAP changed you?

[martinsr00]

It made me feel 10 years younger within 2 months. I felt wonderful after 2 days. Slept 8 hours straight after sleeping only 4 for decades. My doctor told me "untreated, your sleep apnea is fatal". I feel like I have a new lease on life.

[Chikorita]

I don't wake every morning feeling like a have a hangover. Amazing!!!

[oak]

bump

[surf_rower]

I am still too new a user to swear by this, but I have three positive benefits so far:
1. Snoring completely stopped, Husband can return to sleeping in our room. We had slept apart for years.
2. Easier to fall asleep, most nights. The mask seems to signal "sleep time" to my pea brain, and the freer airway is more relaxing.
3. Not really more energy yet, but less edgy. I think that before, I had anxiety all the time, probably keeping myself awake. Rarely felt "sleepy", not even driving, but was often edgy. Now I am more relaxed during the day.

[oak]

well I am 6 weeks in, hardly able to say for sure on things, but what I have noticed so far...

1. WAY more awake. Not afraid to drive anymore. no naps needed.
2. people say I look less "strained and drawn" in the face and look more relaxed (I am)
3. my mood has improved to the extent that i am going to try to taper off one of my antidepressants (if doc willing)
4. my skin, hair, and fingernails are healthier looking. i am actually growing nails for the first time in many years!
5. have more energy for living
6. i am not afraid to go to sleep anymore-i believe i unconsciously was afraid to sleep due to breathing problems
7. am only waking up once per night to use the bathroom-previously was 3-4 times per night
8. my color is better-before I looked so pale..

Hope to see more improvements in the coming months...and I hope more people post here because it is really encouraging to a newbie to hear what the "veterans" have experienced.

[caffeinatedcfo]

1. No more snoring.
2. No more morning headaches.
3. No more afternoon lethargy.
4. No more fight-or-flight dreams (nightmares).
5. Greater focus and productivity at work.
6. Body recovers from exercising normally allowing me to resume my regimen - and weight loss goals.
7. Neck stiffness/soreness has been eliminated.
8. Much calmer demeanor - not irritated by little issues.
9. I'm back to being ME.

[Dive Apnea]

I now wake up and my wife is still in our bed, and not in the spare room. I suppose I feel better, I don't feel that groggy feeling in the afternoon, where I am about the fall asleep. (Didn't feel that way every day w/o CPAP) I like waking up, and not having severe cotton mouth from snoring. I can no longer sleep without CPAP, I snore myself awake now. I will probably live longer.

On the Cons: sucks wearing a mask with a tube, miss that feeling of just plopping in bed, and going to sleep. Camping, and overnight boating trips suck for me, they are managaeble, but as stated I cant sleep w/o CPAP, so I have to lug a deep cycle battery, and inverter.

Probably more, but that is off the top of my head.

[steve_b]

This is my first post on this forum, so here goes...

After only six nights:

1: I don't snore any more and make loud gasping noises as I wake up trying to catch my breath (the wife is sleeping so much better now since she doesn't have to worry if I'm breathing or not, and the room is much, much quieter).
2: I actually went the last two nights without getting up to go to the bathroom at all instead of the one to three times a night.
3: Last night I left my water glass untouched all night long.
4: I now get up wide awake in the morning instead of feeling worse than I did before I went to bed.
5: I have a lot more energy and feel a lot more alert all day long. No mid-morning naps because I'm falling asleep at the wheel.
6: No more naps after I get home from work in the afternoon. No more afternoon falling asleep at the wheel either.
7: I just generally feel so much better.
8: Co-workers noticed a difference in my appearance and demeanor at work.
9: My AHI went from 70 to less than one.

All I can say is "WOW"!

I'm anxious to see if I can now lose some of my excess weight and see if my high BP that I take five pills a day for will come down.

Pretty life-changing stuff for me here and I've learned a lot from the fine folks on this forum over the eight weeks that I had to wait for my sleep study and report from the sleep Dr.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your knowlege!

Steve

[rd1978]

After a couple month's of usage I have not had the results I had hoped for. However, that's because of the Central Apnea I've developed as a result of CPAP. I'm hoping the new ASV machine I'm supposed to get next month will be the solution. In the meantime, I continue to use CPAP every night because, even though it has done nothing to help me get a good night sleep, it has completely eliminated all my snoring -- and that makes my wife very happy.

[HoseCrusher]

I haven't noticed much of a change but my wife is happy that I don't snore and stop breathing at night and my doctor is happy that my oxygen levels don't drop below 90% at night anymore.

Better oxygen saturation is good so I must feel great...

The biggest difference I can see is that on long drives (over 10 hours) I don't get sleepy. However I do try to stop frequently and exercise a little when on these long trips and that may play a part.

[Todzo]

Near October 31 you can do another series on "How has OSA Changed You"!

[oak]

Near October 31 you can do another series on "How has OSA Changed You"!

Why Oct 31 and why how OSA has changed you instead of how CPAP has changed you/your life? Sorry I don't understand what you are trying to say.

[Todzo]

Near October 31 you can do another series on "How has OSA Changed You"!

Why Oct 31 and why how OSA has changed you instead of how CPAP has changed you/your life? Sorry I don't understand what you are trying to say.

"How OSA has Changed You" would be a scary topic indeed! Hence the October 31 date.

I am simply being silly and giving you a bump.

[oak]

Ohhh Guess I need to get that CPAP on, the brain is going fuzzy again...........

[sleep4me]

Funny Story. I diagnosed my hubby with OSA, sent him to the sleep lab and they confirmed. 3-4 years and many masks and machines later, he still struggles and blames my restless legs for his sleep interruptions. Out of sheer frustration and to prove I do not have RLS I went to have a sleep study. I was convinced my exhaustion was related to being on call some nights but mainly due to my husbands "alligator death roll", the subsequent slinging of the C-Pap mask across the room, along with sleep walking while attached to C-Pap or some nightly variation of the previous scenarios. My husbands sleep issues coupled a sleepwalking/ bed-hogging kid and an on-call pager made nighttime at our house quite an adventure! The results of my sleep study? I have restless legs and OSA. How did C-Pap change my life? Easy I now sleep through the chaos that occurs around me:) I have had my new C-Pap for a month and have had some of the best sleep ever!
Sorry about the long post, as a new member I am excited to be in this online community.