Some background:
1. I was super borderline/mild case that was discovered when I opted to get tested at the time as my spouse b/c of her intense snoring and fairly obviously signs of apnea. Turned out that I had it and to be completely honest I was initially surprised (and in denial) until I understood more about OSA.
2. My AHI was between 6-8. Hardly bad and I could've probably done without CPAP but since insurance covered most of the costs that I really had nothing to lose.
3. I was often quite tired and struggled getting through anything that required a high degree of concentration. School, work, social and family life felt was very taxing on me but I kept plowing through it all because I'm a "get er' done" type of person. I always attributed my exhaustion to working too much (which I did) but it got a lot worse in my 30's.
4. I had some wicked night sweats that started maybe about 3 years ago where it was SO bad that I felt I had wet the bed. I was drenched in sweat and I'd have to change the blankets and sheets. The room temps had to be insanely cold to curb any signs of sweating. My wife blames a 900+ fill down blanket that I sleep with year round but years prior to the night sweats I had ZERO problems sleeping in warm rooms or with a billion blankets.
5. Frequent nighttime urination breaks. I'd try to drink less water each evening to the point where my mouth was super dry and I'd still have to go to the bathroom at least 2-4 times a night and I only slept 6.5 hours a night.
6. My weight would yo-yo up and down. I couldn't lose weight unless I drastically cut my caloric intake and upped my exercise significantly to get any real results. I do overeat at times but nothing that would be considered health impacting. In other words I eat reasonable amounts of food and mostly choose healthy choices.
7. I'd be super moody and be outright bitchy at people. My poor kids (young ones) and sometimes even my work colleagues would see my wrath - Not good as a parent and detrimental professionally.
8. I'd go for quarterly vitamin B12 injections even though my B vitamins levels were within normal range. Not sure why I felt better on B12 injections but it was one of the ways I'd boost my energy. It did work and my coworkers that knew me well could tell when I'd have to get my injection based on the energy levels I had in work meetings. It was THAT apparent to those close to me.
9. I'd drink tremendous amounts of coffee and would augment that with Ephedrine supplements (before it became a banned substance) just so I could concentrate (and stay awake) on what I had to get done and to keep me going. I honestly probably hit burnout in my mid 20's because I was pushing myself so hard in my studies and career that I would stop at nothing to achieve my goal.
10. I've double checked with my doctor to make sure I wasn't suffering from other underlying conditions like bi-polar or depression that could be causing the above mentioned issues. Thankful to say that my health is in good order (aside from the mild apnea).
In the past 2 months I've noticed:
1. After the first week of papping I no longer have night sweats - ZERO, ZIP, NADA!
2. I feel more rested MOST days. We all have bad days but considering that I used to have more bad days than good that I'd say there is significant improvement.
3. I have WAY more energy to keep going at things. I wake up doing a billion things at home and still have enough energy to talk and play with my kids and watch the evening news. In fact I have trouble falling asleep because I feel like I have extra energy to do more.
4. I can't speak to the weight yo-yoing because it is too early to say but if energy levels and lowered appetite is any indication of what I may likely expect that I will probably struggle less with my weight going forward.
5. Moodiness has dropped from a 9 to probably to a 2-3. I'm certainly way less stressed now than I was just 3 months ago but even little things like traffic or waiting in line for things used to set me off like a firecracker.
6. I thought my feelings of energy or improvement was a result of the placebo effect. I suspect that it isn't b/c when I suggested to my spouse the idea of stopping treatment after 3 months to see what happens and she says "absolutely not". I guess the improvements are noticeable enough to her that she will WAKE me to make me mask up.
7. The creator of SleepyHead is brilliant. I've got plenty to learn still on interpreting the data but wow! What an amazing program
Lessons learned so far:
1. CPAP can seem daunting at first. It wasn't glamorous to be hooked up to hospital looking breathing apparatus. I still don't like the look of all the junk on my face but it is a necessity to my health and who looks at me anyways other than my spouse, kids and occasional travel partner? What once was a claustrophobic feeling octopus on my face brings me comfort in bed knowing that I'm probably going to have another great day when I wake.
2. Mask fit is so important! There are many options out there and I'm not sure if I've found the perfect mask yet. It will probably be years before I find my fav. Right now I'm mostly using the ResMed AirTouch 20 but some of the generous folks here have provided me with alternatives to try out. Thanks to those that have graciously shared their hand me downs. I can't imagine buying (or even affording) all sorts of different masks. I'm committed to handing down whatever I can't use to others. I've got some family and friends that are on CPAP therapy that could probably use some better fitting gear but had no means (or knew how) to source masks other than from the local sleep clinic.
3. Sores and air leaks that I experienced with my mask (AirTouch 20 and Airfit20) were mostly resolved through proper strap tightening and mask liners and good mask/face/liner hygiene. Liners are a godsend. Strongly recommend using them.
4. Taking an active role in my treatment was paramount to quickly getting adapted to CPAP. When I first started treatment the pressures were very low and the pressure changes were waking me when they got higher and higher. I can tolerate higher pressures now and my AHIs are consistently below 1.5 with most days under 1.0.
5. Support resources here are super useful! Grateful for folks like Pugsy and those like her that are extremely helpful in knowledge sharing - thank you EVERYONE for supporting the community.
