C-Pap effectiveness

ReedRichards · Post by **ReedRichards** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 5:34 pm

For someone like myself that has moderate sleep apnea. How successful is Cpap treatment? I'm new to this and want to know. I want completely embrace this new thing that is now affecting my life.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:03 pm

ReedRichards wrote:For someone like myself that has moderate sleep apnea. How successful is Cpap treatment? I'm new to this and want to know.

Very successful for most people who stick with it. The biggest hurdle is the mask...finding a mask that you can sleep comfortably in is crucial to being able to "do" this kind of treatment.

ReedRichards wrote: I want completely embrace this new thing that is now affecting my life.

That's the right attitude. You're going to do fine, Reed.

Here are some links to get you started:

LINK to Mile High Sleeper's great information resource for cpap users.
http://www.smart-sleep-apnea.blogspot.com

"Whats the differences in BIPAP, XPAP, APAP, CFLEX" Link to topic describing types of machines.
viewtopic.php?p=56836

"Learning lexicon of cpap terms" Link to topic listing common abbreviations and definitions.
viewtopic.php?t=14902

ReedRichards · Post by **ReedRichards** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:08 pm

Rested Gal,

How long have you been with Sleep Apnea? How serious is your Sleep Apnea? How long did it take you to get use to the right mask? Do you have suggestions?

Panhandler · Post by **Panhandler** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:20 pm

I don't exactly know how to quantify "success", but I could not do without my CPAP. Prior to being diagnosed and getting it, I didn't sleep well, had major trouble staying awake, and had a number of other medical issues, some of them minor, but the most annoying and debilitating was atrial fibrillation, where one of the upper chambers of the heart doesn't contract in rhythm with the rest of the heart, it just kind of quivers. That was really annoying. It was bad enough that it felt like there was a squirrel living in my chest.

I'd gotten attention for that, and had tried cardioversion (a controlled electric shock to get the heart to reset) a couple of times without success. Then I had the sleep study and got on CPAP, as well as a bunch of cardiac drugs. The third cardioversion was successful for a long time. Between that and the CPAP, I got a lot of my energy back.

My daughter had an outdoor wedding last year, and we ended up doing a lot of work ourselves. I simply would not have survived without CPAP. I've missed one night since I started (travelling, arrived late and didn't take time to set up the machine). I was so miserable and grumpy the next day I swear I'll never do it again.

I used to be a real night owl. I'd do almost anything to stay up. Now, I look forward to "plugging in" my nose and getting a good night's sleep.

I can give you numbers.... My AHI is almost always less than 2, and I recently had a night in which the machine reported 0 AHI. My pressure is at 9.5. That's all well and good, but the main thing is that I feel better, and I've got the "fooling around" with the machine down to a pretty simple level. Now that I've got it figured out, I won't be without it.

It took me a few weeks to get used to it, and then a while longer to find a mask I really like (still looking for the perfect mask).

You'll no doubt hear a number of similar stories. Everyone is a little different, so you've got to take responsibility for yourself. Even a well-motivated RT or DME can't get inside your skin, so the best they can do is coach, and as you'll learn here, some aren't very good at it, so stick around, learn from your peers and you'll find you can get along very well with CPAP. Welcome aboard!

Rastaman · Post by **Rastaman** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:48 pm

I was diagnosed 2 years ago. My number of events per hour was 124 during my 1-night sleep study. My oxygen level was dropping to 70%!! I would fall asleep everytime I tilted my head back even slightly...at work, in the car, in a chair, etc. I couldn't stay awake but was never getting into REM sleep. My memory was starting to fade. I couldn't remember anything!!

Lucky for me my wife noticed I was stopping breathing for several seconds and then gasping for breath trying to restart my breathing. It would happen over and over and she noticed it so I talked to my doctor about it and he recommended a particular sleep doc. The rest is history.

I'm a "through the hoop" kind of guy. I keep a positive attitude as much as possible and just have a "i'm going to make this work" attitude. My wife has helped out quite a bit by being very supportive. I was diagnosed at age 36. I have no idea how long I have had sleep apnea but a roommate remembers me snoring so loud back in 1999 - 2000 that he could hear me through both of our shut doors!! So, I'm guessing I had it back then or it was just starting then. (The severe symptoms I described above only materialized a couple of years prior to being diagnosed, at least as far as I can remember

My memory came back! Occasional panic attacks went away. I had no idea but all of the sudden my muscle tone in my whole body changed! I suddenly felt stronger. Apparently, my muscles need that oxygen!
I will use the cpap for life now. It essentially cures me but I'll probably always have this. Now I have 2 machines (1 for back-up and travel) and several masks.

ReedRichards · Post by **ReedRichards** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 11:54 pm

Thanks Rasta,

I'm just new to this and trying to not deal with this. But I want to be positive. I have not had a good night of sleep in a long time. I have bradycardia I believe as a result of this but had a heart ultrasound and the test came back fine and my lungs checked ok.

gasparama · Post by **gasparama** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 4:35 am

My life began to change for the better after my 2nd night on the hose. I can remember getting up that morning and going to the sofa to fall back asleep as I always did on Sunday mornings. But instead, I actually stayed awake. My experience was much like Rasta's: sleeping at work, sleeping through vacations, falling asleep at the wheel, memory failing, uncontrollable nerve pain and on and on. I don't think you'll ever regret this treatment.

Follow rested gal's advice and read the links she provided. And stay with this message board because you will learn things that you will never get anywhere else. You'll learn how to monitor your own treatment which is something my RT nor my doctor never brought up.

Welcome aboard!

MrRandom · Post by **MrRandom** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 6:42 am

Well it's been a slower process for me. It's a steep learning curve of trial and error. I'd say on average I'm less sleepy than I was, but nowhere near optimal. I can tell it's MUCH better sleep, though, so I stay with it. The mask is really important. I still haven't found one that's ideal for me. Maybe you'll get lucky and get the best one right away

ReedRichards · Post by **ReedRichards** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 8:29 am

Here is the thing though is that I don't feel any of those things. I feel just two things. Bouts of shortness of breath from time to time and sleepiness at work but after a 6:00am medium light workout with about 5 hours sleep the night before.

I keep thinking that my condition was mild sleep apnea but the my ahi was 18.1 per hr and rdi of 19.21 which tell fall in the moderate range. Does anyone know what the normal average are for AHI and RDI??

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:28 am

Less than 5.

O.

ReedRichards · Post by **ReedRichards** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:35 am

Less than 5 is considered to be mild sleep apnea? So no apnea is what 0 per hour? Please clarify?

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:47 am

AHI less than 5, is considered to be normal, like your heart missing a beat every now and again, but not causing you any trouble. The body is a chemical computer, it's not as procise as a computer, it not like a flip flop circuit, the timing of what goes on isn't precise, thank goodness it doesn't have to be.

With treatment our goal is AHI 0.0, I consider anything under AHI 2.0 to be good, but worry it I go over AHI 1.0.

I Don't like the terms, Low, High or Moderate Apnea, Apnea means we arent getting the O2 we need, the rate means nothing, what matters is we aren't breathing and that stresses our bodies, sometimes to the point of failure. Jim

GumbyCT · Post by **GumbyCT** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:52 am

less than 5 (<5) is considered 'normal' or "acceptable" and will not be cause for CPAP therapy.

To learn more Start at the Yellow Lite bulb - Our Collective Wisdom found at the top of the page at cpaptalk.com
viewtopic/t14303/New-To-CPAPtalkcom-Cli ... tbulb.html
cpaptalk-articles.php

READ cpaptalk.com FAQ
cpaptalk-faq.php

For Acronyms & Definitions
http://www.sleepnet.com/definition.html

Good Luck,
GumbyCT

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 10:01 am

ReedRichards wrote:For someone like myself that has moderate sleep apnea. How successful is Cpap treatment? I'm new to this and want to know. I want completely embrace this new thing that is now affecting my life.

XPAP treatment is as effective as we make it. The first thing you need to do is fill in your profile. (text form is best not ICONIC) For the best results you need a machine that collects data and the software and interface to read the card. This allows you to take a active part in your treatment, instead of having the medical system guess what works for you, for the most part they don't care as long as you keep the "Green" flowing.

Going to the collective wisdom at the top of the page helps too, you can't learn too much. We all are a little different and respond differently. By having this large base of experiences to draw from we can gain ideas of what we need to make this treatment work.

The odds are stacked against the new user, they know nothing and are given the poorest machine and the cheapest nasal mask, few instructions that make sense, and sent home with a "Make it work, and come back next time I need a car payment, and I'll bill you some more."

By taking charge of your care, you can get better treatment, and on the road to success. Jim

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 10:10 am

This site in particular and the Internet in general is full of information about sleep apnea.

cpaptalk-articles.php?articlegroup=ALL

cpaptalk-articles/evaluating-sleep-apnea-symptoms.html

From:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_apnea

AHI - Rating
<5 - Normal
5-15 - Mild
15-30 - Moderate
>30 - Severe

C-Pap effectiveness