How do you guys keep it all straight?

[Bearcat42]

As I keep reading posts and following links provided by members over the years I have come to the realization that I cant possibly retain this much information in my head! How do y'all do it?LOL
I guess whenever I do get my 2nd sleep study and go on the ole hose I will start having to deal with issues I read about as they pop up. I suppose that is one way to retain some of this, by doing it. But being awakened in the middle of the night by a problem and not having an immediate solution seems like a real hassle. In my job we travel around a 3-state area, living out of motels and if something goes wrong I cant go to my trusty laptop to find an answer.
So does anyone ever write all of this stuff down? I thought about creating a Works document in a categorized format that I could take with me, in case I forget something.haha. It would be so much nicer if I had a stay closer to home kind of job, but these days I am just happy to have a job. Does anyone besides me feel completely overwhelmed?

[rested gal]

I know the feeling, Bearcat!! All of this stuff was like Greek to me when I was getting started. "WHAT are they talking about???? Is this EVER going to make sense????" It was months before I knew what "DME" stood for, although I was kinda' getting an inkling that the way that acronym was being used on message boards probably was referring to the home health care stores where people got their machines.

Remember all this stuff??? Not me! LOL!!! I have to copy to a notepad file (well, more than one notepad file by now...LOL) the URLs to posts or websites that I've come across over the years that I think I might want to "remember" or look at again.

Here's one of my favorite links for the newly diagnosed:
LINK to Mile High Sleeper's great information resource for cpap users.
http://www.smart-sleep-apnea.blogspot.com

And, well, this link can be handy at times... ...
ALL LINKS by rested gal
viewtopic.php?t=17435

[Bearcat42]

RestedGal,
Thanks a lot for the words of wisdom and thanks for giving me mileHighSleeperGals' blog addy. There is a lot of stuff there, and it is definitely getting bookmarked! Bearcat42

[Billy6]

You keep it straight by keeping it simple. I have a basic machine with no software or card readers. I throw the mask on at night and slide it off in the morning and that's it. If you have great insurance and want to make it some sort of an existential experience, that is certainly another way to go, its just not for me.

[plr66]

You keep it straight by keeping it simple. I have a basic machine with no software or card readers. I throw the mask on at night and slide it off in the morning and that's it. If you have great insurance and want to make it some sort of an existential experience, that is certainly another way to go, its just not for me.

Hmm~~Funny you should use the word "existential" in this context. Yes, I would say that this particular condition and treatment might be very close to just that. And might therefore warrant just a little care and attention to the details...
But then, that's just me!

[SharkBait]

You keep it straight by keeping it simple. I have a basic machine with no software or card readers. I throw the mask on at night and slide it off in the morning and that's it. If you have great insurance and want to make it some sort of an existential experience, that is certainly another way to go, its just not for me.

Hmm~~Funny you should use the word "existential" in this context. Yes, I would say that this particular condition and treatment might be very close to just that. And might therefore warrant just a little care and attention to the details...
But then, that's just me!

And me.

LOL at the surly comments lately directed at folks doing what they can to maximize the effectiveness of their therapy. If someone wants to just blindly follow the rote act and hope for the best, then that's their business. I just don't approach things like that...

[SharkBait]

You keep it straight by keeping it simple. I have a basic machine with no software or card readers. I throw the mask on at night and slide it off in the morning and that's it. If you have great insurance and want to make it some sort of an existential experience, that is certainly another way to go, its just not for me.

And good luck with that.

I'd put on about 15 pounds (between son's baseball practices and raquetball I'm working that back down...) in the first 6 weeks of therapy. And due to mouth breathing I've tried going to a full face mask. This combination resulted in about a 15 to 18 AHI with 75% of those being full apnea events. The added weight and mask resulted in a need for a bit more pressure so I went from 10 CPAP to 10-14 APAP. Result? ~1.5 AHI. And as I'm dropping the weight (and moving back to nasal pillows) I'm seeing the pressure needed dropping little by little.

So my "existential" mindset has resulted in a 1.5 AHI vs 15-18 AHI. I sincerely hope you don't run into a similar circumstance compromising your therapy and health while you plod along in your self righteous simplicity.

[plr66]

So my "existential" mindset has resulted in a 1.5 AHI vs 15-18 AHI. I sincerely hope you don't run into a similar circumstance compromising your therapy and health while you plod along in your self righteous simplicity.

Nice going, SharkBait!
Yup---All things considered, I think I prefer an existential experience with some concerted effort, than a non-existential experience to keep things "simple."

[Guest]

If keeping it 'simple' works and one feels fine that's OK, too.

[jnk]

If keeping it 'simple' works and one feels fine that's OK, too.

Friends, we are gathered here today to give our respects to Bobby Guest--a simple man who liked to keep his life simple. Although he was fighting a condition that so-often leads to diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and a host of other silent-killer complications, Bob was the kind of guy who couldn't be bothered with thoughts of that sort of thing. So he kept his therapy simple by just going about his business and judging his PAP therapy's success by how he thought he felt. We all loved Bob, and will miss him. But at least we can take comfort in the fact that he kept his life simple. Let us now all join in a moment of prayerful silence. For Bob, bless his little non-beating heart. Amen.

[SharkBait]

If keeping it 'simple' works and one feels fine that's OK, too.

Friends, we are gathered here today to give our respects to Bobby Guest--a simple man who liked to keep his life simple. Although he was fighting a condition that so-often leads to diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and a host of other silent-killer complications, Bob was the kind of guy who couldn't be bothered with thoughts of that sort of thing. So he kept his therapy simple by just going about his business and judging his PAP therapy's success by how he thought he felt. We all loved Bob, and will miss him. But at least we can take comfort in the fact that he kept his life simple. Let us now all join in a moment of prayerful silence. For Bob, bless his little non-beating heart. Amen.

Good point. I never felt like I had OSA. This past Christmas I had two different people from two different homes I was visiting tell me "you sound like you're not breathing right. you need to get that checked out". Fortunately one of them said this in front of my son who began inquiring and when he learned about the dangers of OSA, was asking me the next morning (a Sunday) if I had made an appointment with my doctor yet. That monday when he got out of school and asked me again, I was able to tell him I had an appointment the day after next.

My doctor was has been asking me every year for the last 10 years, "How are you sleeping". My answer... "fine". An AHI of 74 -- fighting to breathe all night long and stopping breathing about once a minute, for someone who didn't know any different, was "fine".

I would dream at night. I would get up in the morning, drink a 1/2 pot of coffee and go about my day. I had no idea what was going on. With the gradual onset I just figured forgetfulness and frequent afternoon naps (since I work at home) was part of aging.

So while not catching that my pressure needs had changed in a short period of time, an AHI of 15-18 would be such an improvement over 74 that I would consider myself "being treated". And compared to before I'm sure I'd categorize my cpap therapy as "fine".

Feeling okay doesn't cut it.

[Bearcat42]

Wow Sharkbait, that sounds so much like me its scary. As long as I am sleeping by myself I think I am "fine", sort of. Way too much coffee just to function throughout the day, tired, irritable, forgetful, etc.......
I was first diagnosed while I was in Iraq. Couldnt do much about it then.LoL. But my roomate would freak out at night because I stopped breathing so often. But after I returned home I blew it off, mostly blaming my weight on my poor sleep. I never realized that is completely false until I came here by the way. But I went since 2004 knowing I may have OSA and didnt do anything about it. That was a stupid mistake on my part.
I do plan on taking a very proactive approach to this, learn as much as I can, and be as prepared as I can be when I have those "bad" days, or nights. I am still waiting on my full night of titration and I wish they(the VA) would hurry up. That sounds like an oxymoron.
Anyway, I thank all of you for your support. It is comforting knowing I have somewhere to go for help and support outside of my brother and a friend who suffers from OSA. Bearcat42

[LoQ]

Why isn't there room in this tent for both those who can keep it simple and those who need a little more?

[Wulfman]

Why isn't there room in this tent for both those who can keep it simple and those who need a little more?

There is......as long as they KNOW they want it that way. It's the folks who get stuck with a non-data-capable machine from the get-go and don't know there are other options until they read the forums. It's those who we try to steer into getting data-capable machines. Because, invariably, at some point, the majority WILL wonder why they don't have it.

Now, if the machine "Billy6" has listed in his profile is correct, he DOES have data-capability. It's just his discretion as to whether he wants to use that information.

Edit: Re-reading his post, it doesn't sound like the machine in his profile is correct when he says "I have a basic machine with no software or card readers". The machine in his profile links to a "M Series Auto CPAP Machine with C-Flex".
What machine do you REALLY have, Billy?


Den

[plr66]

Why isn't there room in this tent for both those who can keep it simple and those who need a little more?

Well, LoQ--check that post again by Billy6: "I throw the mask on at night and slide it off in the morning and that's it. If you have great insurance and want to make it some sort of an existential experience, that is certainly another way to go, its just not for me."

The sarcasm or disdain toward any care given to cpap therapy beyond putting the mask on and taking it off, is simply what I was responding to. My therapy has become more "simple" ONLY because I have spent hours and hours of time on this forum learning to get the mask and machine settings right in order to optimize the therapy.