just diagnosed with sleep apnea, need some feedback

[cuteangel]

I went for a sleep study and yesterday saw the sleep doc. he said that I have sleep apnea. I am having sypmptoms of exhaustion, depression, feeling very moody. can this be from the sleep apnea? I also have bipolar but am being treated for that. well anyways the doc said I need to do a new sleep study with the mask on all night. I am like having high anxiety about having to go and use the mask. I don't know if I can do this. someone mentioned a noise pillow but I don't know if that would be avaviable at the sleep study. any suggestions?

[Catlizg]

I get the anxiety - I hated the idea of ANY strap on the top of my head. Most sleep study centers carry a very large variety if masks and are well-equipped to deal with people's anxiety; they see it all the time. I recommend that you look over the variety of masks offered by our hosts. I found a nasal pillow mask called the Swift FX Bella for Her. It was held on by ear loops, was lightweight, let me wear glasses and did not obstruct my vision in any way. Prior to the study I called the office and spoke with one of the techs. The night if my titration, they had the mask I wanted along with a few others and left them all with me so I could look them over, try them and decide which one I wanted to try first. On went the Bella and I found I was able to ignore my new facial feature within 10 minutes. In fact, it worked so well I was able to be 100% compliant once I started treatment. In fact, I am now able to tolerate a light strap on my head so I found the Airfit P10 and switch back and forth.

I found once I started CPAP that the depression and "off" feeling completely disappeared. I am so grateful I found what I needed right away. The more familiar you are with the equipment, the terminology and the fact that we are not alone in this, I think you'll find the less the anxiety.

Good luck. You are in the right place. This forum is a treasure trove of information and makes the adaptation to being a hose head so much easier.

[cuteangel]

hi, thanks for all the info. is the noise pillow the same as you mentioned the swift fx bella? I will call the hospital ahead of time and find out what they offer. you have been a great help. I will keep you posted thanks

[49er]

I went for a sleep study and yesterday saw the sleep doc. he said that I have sleep apnea. I am having sypmptoms of exhaustion, depression, feeling very moody. can this be from the sleep apnea? I also have bipolar but am being treated for that. well anyways the doc said I need to do a new sleep study with the mask on all night. I am like having high anxiety about having to go and use the mask. I don't know if I can do this. someone mentioned a noise pillow but I don't know if that would be avaviable at the sleep study. any suggestions?

Hi cuteangel,

Welcome to the forum.

You might want to read the link I just posted about many kids being misdiagnosed with psych disorders who have sleep apnea. So yes, it is possible your symptoms are due to the sleep apnea. Of course, I am not a doctor so obviously, you have to take my opinion for what it is worth.

Your anxiety regarding the mask is totally understandable. I would ask him if they have mask desensitization programs that you could go through before undergoing the sleep study. If not, then I would ask specifically how your issues would be accommodated during the titration. Most sleep techs are used to dealing with people with these issues and have specific strategies. Still, it would be nice for you to know ahead of time.

Once you undergo your titration and start your therapy, please don't hesitate to post on this board about all the issues you are having. There are many wonderful helpful people.

Best of luck.

49er

[tortoisegirl]

Welcome! Yes those symptoms could be caused by apnea, or apnea could at least be exacerbating them. You won't really know until you've been on CPAP for awhile and its been ensured the therapy is optimized. Its apparently pretty rare to have a miraculous reaction to CPAP and wake up feeling awesome and have all the symptoms gone. It can take days, weeks, or months. Some folks find that the apnea wasn't the cause of their symptoms, or at least not all. But even if someone wasn't getting much symptom improvement, there are many good health reasons to continue CPAP.

Good luck with the titration study! I'd let your tech know about the anxiety. Agreed they are likely to have a range of mask types to try, at least a couple of each major type (full face mask, nasal mask, and nasal pillows). Nasal pillows are the least obtrusive, and typically just have a couple simple straps and the pillows which sit just under the nose. The Swift FX is one type of nasal pillow (there are multiple brands & models). They should spend some time showing you the options and fitting the masks before hooking you up to go to sleep. And if you had any problems during the night with it they could adjust it or try something different. Agreed to call and see if a sleep tech can spend some time with you prior to going in for the study to put your mind more at ease about the masks, and double check they have one there that is suitable for you at least for the study.

Did you have any trouble falling asleep during your diagnostic study? If so, I'd ask your doctor about having a sleeping pill available. Ambien is often used and shouldn't interfere with the results. But keep in mind its not necessary nor expected to put the mask on and go straight to sleep and not wake up the entire night. Its expected that there will be a learning curve, and at first CPAP can disrupt your sleep. Its not the end of the world to not get much data at the sleep study. Having even a few hours of data will help them have a starting point for machine settings.

I'd try to pinpoint if there is something specific causing your anxiety, and work specifically to lessen it. You say its about having to go to the sleep study and use the mask? What about that? Lean on this forum, the doctor, the sleep tech, or whomever for help. Good luck! Best wishes.

[cuteangel]

I cant seem to find the thread on misdiagnosed physc disorders? I will call the sleep lab for sure and talk to them.

[purple]

Were you also tested for Diabetes? A lot of us have Diabetes as well, which has with it, a tendency to be depressed. It is my hunch, that treating Diabetes just by itself, will not rid one of Depression.

[cuteangel]

I was wondering someone mentioned to me about some apnea device implant which is fairly new. I cant seem to find much on it. do you know much about this? thanks

[Julie]

There are a couple of implants which are very new - one is at the back of your tongue and from what I've seen I'll wear 10 masks before ever thinking about that. The other is much more interesting, but unfortunately is not really available to the public yet. Settle down for now, don't worry so much about masks, etc. at the moment - most of the sleep study is done without a mask on, only electrodes taped to you in various places. If the titration is done the same night (very often isn't) they'll supply the mask(s) and I'd wait to see if you have problems before setting yourself up with anxiety now... won't achieve anything.

[49er]

I cant seem to find the thread on misdiagnosed physc disorders? I will call the sleep lab for sure and talk to them.

Here you go:

http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2 ... a-solution

[jwerley]

hi, thanks for all the info. is the noise pillow the same as you mentioned the swift fx bella? I will call the hospital ahead of time and find out what they offer. you have been a great help. I will keep you posted thanks

I think you misheard "noise pillow", It is nasal pillow. Nasal pillows area type of mask, as opposed to full face masks, or nasal masks. It can all be very confusing at first. Just keep asking questions and eventually everything will fall into place.

Welcome to the forum!
Janice

[cuteangel]

I cant seem to find the thread on misdiagnosed physc disorders? I will call the sleep lab for sure and talk to them.

Here you go:

http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2 ... a-solution

thanks again for all the info, I will try in relax lol have a good day!!!

[Pugsy]

It's called a nasal pillow mask....little "pillows" that just barely go into the nose and seal at the nostrils.
Most sleep labs will have some model of a nasal pillow mask available.

The Swift FX Bella...the Swift FX is a nasal pillow mask and the Bella part of it is from the headgear only being little loops that go around the ears to hold the nasal pillows in place. There is also the traditional headgear that can be worn. I wouldn't advise the Bella Loops for a titration study. While not impossible to get a good fit the very first night ever using this sort of mask...those loops are finicky and if not just perfect the ears suffer and hurt and that doesn't promote good sleeping and sleeping all wired up in a titration study doesn't help either.

Here's information on the Swift FX nasal pillow mask with the Bella Loops and you can see what I mean about the traditional headgear. The Swift FX nasal pillow mask would be a good choice for the titration study but I would suggest saving the Bella Loops for home use if you want to try them. I have used them...like them but even with my experience with nasal pillow masks it took me a few night to get the adjustment just right.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... -cpap.html

This mask is relatively new and one I would also recommend for use by a newbie either at the titration study or at home.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... r-her.html

There are some other nasal pillow masks out there and what the sleep lab offers as a choice may vary a bit depending on who (which company Resmed or Respironics) gives them the most samples to try.

I have been on the machine now for a little over 5 years...and only really ever used some sort of nasal pillow mask so if you have questions about those...I probably have tried it.
I am using the AirFit P10 right now...great little mask. I used the Swift FX for well over 2 years...it's a great little mask also.
There are others that would also work well. It all depends on which one the sleep lab offers.

[cuteangel]

does the insurance companies pay for the machines? do they only pay for certain ones?

[Pugsy]

does the insurance companies pay for the machines? do they only pay for certain ones?

Explained better than I can here
http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/what-y ... me-part-i/
http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/

There are some insurance plans that don't pay for cpap equipment or have limited benefits so you need to check with your insurance company but don't rely on what a cpap equipment supplier (we call them DMEs here) to always tell the truth. You have to do your homework and contact your insurance company yourself to find out what they do or don't do.

99.9% of the insurance companies that do cover cpap equipment may by HCPCS billing codes and not specific brand model of machine. They pay the same for a full data E0601 cpap/apap machine as they do for a brick but DMEs will tell you that your insurance company "only pays for the basic brick" so that they can make the most profit because the basic bricks cost them less. Don't fall for that excuse.

Do your homework...do the math...have a high deductible? and insurance doing a rent to own could run into next year's deductible....figure out which way costs you less out of pocket. It might be more cost effective to just purchase a machine online from cpap.com or even privately. You can still use a DME for masks even if you don't buy a machine from them...that's what I have done for 5 years now.

You have time to educate yourself so that you can avoid a lot of potential headaches ...use it and start reading.
Here's another good blog from another forum member
http://adventures-in-hosehead-land.blog ... -with.html