Diary of a new Sleep Apnean

[okitoki]

Hi all, I suffer from Sleep Apnea.

For a few years now, maybe more than 10 years, I have always been very tired, and lack energy from morning till night. I would go to sleep and wake up feeling tired, and look forward to the next chance I have to nap. Im 37 this year, am overweight (5ft8, and 116kg) I used to smoke, but quit since May-09, and dont drink regularly

Symptoms I had are:
- I snore very loud... my partner has to wear ear plugs everynight she goes to bed... its begining to affect her now too.
- Falling asleep when watching TV... I remember falling asleep the first time I invited my current GF to come over my place to watch a movie... and I ended up snoring next to her.... surprisingly she stayed on with me
- Very Low energy
- I would feel like sleeping by 9-10am in the morning, and sometimes during the afternoon it would feel like torture just to keep my eyes open
- I have had micro sleep while waiting for traffic lights to change... waking up with a jerk when the car behind me would horn angrily
- Mood swings... BAD mood swings... I would be happy with my partner one minute, but then get very moody and angry at her for small little things... and I feel very guilty about it.
- I have low sex drive and suffer from ED, which may have contributed to my failed marriage a few years ago
- Depression. I remember seeing a doctor about my low sex drive during my first marriage, and she suggested that I may have anxiety issues and depression... I got very angry with that, denied I have an issue, and never went back to see that doctor anymore... over the years, I have gone up and down with it, but somehow i managed to cope without medications.

Additional symptoms I recalled this morning:
- Night time gastro reflux... GERD i believe
- Night time leg cramps
- Occasional chest pain and/or difficulty breathing (possible anxiety attacks)
- Muscle fatique

Last year, I went to see another doctor about my lack of energy, and he has advised me to see a sleep specialist... which I did and had a take home sleep test done... the result came back saying I had a mild case of sleep apnea and had a choice if I were to take a CPAC or not... at that time I chose not to as I wasnt sure if it would help me.

Last week, I was at a family gathering, and found out one my uncle had a bad case of sleep apnea before, and have started using a CPAC for his treatment.... and he has assured me that the treatment helped him alot with his sleep, and he doesnt have issues with falling asleep and having no energy. This has inspired me to recheck my options again

After reading everyone's feedback and positive outlook of life, I have made an appointment tomorrow to a sleep technitian who will rent me a CPAP for 4 weeks... during the 4 weeks it suppose to monitor my progression, and suppose to automatically adjust the pressure required for me to sleep. at the end of the 4 weeks, they would then review and suggest either a fixed pressure or variable pressure CPAP for me? Im not sure... guess I will find out tomorrow.

Wish me luck, and hopefully tonight is my last night of bad sleep for the rest of my life

[pdean44]

I have been on cpap for about 4 months now. Without a doubt i feel like i have more energy. It took some work to get where I needed to be. Getting used to the equipment. Learning to use it properly. Without a doubt getting the study done and sticking with the program to make it work has been a life altering experience for me. I had the same energy issues. I woke up wondering how i could make it through the day. Once you get you gear you need to focus on making it work for you finding the right mask etc. You also need to pay attention to sleeping habits. It takes some time to undo years of poor sleep. I know i am making progress and am sure you will as well.

Welcome aboard and good luck.

[okitoki]

Thanks for the word of encouragement
I am getting excited and anxious about it.... Will I get used to it? Will my partner be ok with it? I have spend sometime talking to my partner trying to get her to understand the reason for the treatment.

Also, I have concern with me being a mouth breather all my life and if I should use a nasal or full face mask?

I guess by seeing the equipments in person and talking to the techs tomorrow

[jazzer4]

Do yourself a favor and let the excitement consume you and let go of the anxiety. My Dr. said the more you need c-pap the easier it is to accept and adjust to it. Tell your GF that you will be a new person soon. It's a small thing to put up with for all the benifits. Hang in there and gool luck.

[pdean44]

I have also been a mouth breather. I have to use a chinstrap in order not to lose the pressure through my mouth. The machine i have with a humidifier helps me to be able to breathe. I also make sure i keep my sinuses clear through using some prescribed meds for allergies and using the netti pot at least once a day. My wife prefers the machine over the extremely loud snoring she was subjected to.

[cobra4x4]

Thanks for the word of encouragement
...Will my partner be ok with it? I have spend sometime talking to my partner trying to get her to understand the reason for the treatment.

Believe me after a night or 2 your partner will be extremely supportive especially when you don't snore and she can finally get a peaceful nights sleep.

Mine is so happy and more full of energy also because she is able to get quality sleep although she does have to get used to the occasional leak.

[Janknitz]

One of the main reasons I agreed to try CPAP is that my poor husband was sleeping on the couch most nights because my snoring was so bad that industrial ear plugs were not enough. My goal was for him to be able to sleep with me--accomplished the second night with CPAP!

There are many other benefits, but that was HUGE for me.

Hang in there. We'd be lying if we say those first few weeks are easy--it can be really tough to adjust to the mask and equipment, but oh, so worth it!!!!!!!!!!!

[DreamOn]

You've had some excellent responses already, so I don't have much to add except to say "Welcome, okitoki"! And thank you for sharing your story with us. The problems you mentioned are common with sleep apnea. I think that you'll see amazing results from your CPAP therapy. I know that I have!

You are in the right place to learn about sleep apnea and the various equipment options. A good place to start is the "CPAP Wiki" at the top of your screen.

Getting a properly-fitted mask is of utmost importance. And when it's time to get your own machine, we would advise that you get one that's fully data capable, meaning that it can report therapy results such as AHI (average apnea-hypopnea index) and the leak rate (which can tell you if you're losing excessive air from a leaking mask seal or through mouth-breathing). Here's a good place to start learning about the various machines: viewtopic.php?p=307168#p307168.

There are many people here to support you and answer any questions you may have. There are usually a few things to work out, but it's worth it! I hope you'll let us know how you're doing.

[okitoki]

Day 0.
Just picked up my trial unit. It's a Respironics REMstar auto A-flex


and using the fisher & paykel Opus nasal pillows mask.

The initial setting starts at 4cm and suppose to auto adjust during an episode and would increase pressure till I start breathing and revert back to 4

however. During the fitting, the opus fit very well but I found myself breathing hard like I out of breath. So he bump it u to 5 as a starting point. Humidifier set to 2 or 3.

I must admid it's weird having air coming out from the back of my throuad when I open my mouth....

Here's to a good night sleep... Wish me luck.

[Janknitz]

I have the same machine. It works very well. If you look on the CPAP Choice channel on YouTube, you will find a series of videos that explain how the whole thing works, and the menus.

It's good they turned up the low pressure. Very few of us are comfortable at only 4 cm's. My bottom pressure is set so that the machine turns on at 9!

Here's a hint: If you didn't already throw it away, take that paper circle off from around the humidifier hose hook up and fold it in half, Tuck it under the big button on the machine to cover the &^^%$ humidifier light that stays on all night. You can turn off the numbers lights in the setup menu, but that little humidifier symbol stays lit all night and it's bright. With the cardstock thingy bent in half, it covers the light, but not the ramp button or the screen.

[okitoki]

Day 1.
Last night I was pretty excited with the CPAP and my mask.
I followed the suggestion of the RT, and put it on before sleeping to get used to the air flow. I found that I had difficulty breathing out at 5cm, so I was breathing in and out really hard... sounded like I was about to hyperventilate... but after awhile, I got used to it. The fitting of the air pillow was pretty good... I used the small, and slid right onto my head without further adjustment needed since the original fitting by the RT. I tried having it hanging down off the side of the bed, but it was getting in the way... So i strapped it over my forehead, and hanged it over my bed rest. Doesnt get tangled, easy for me to move my head and change sleeping position from side to side. and with minimal leak as well. Some times I have to open my mouth just to feel the air coming out from the back of my throat, so that I will know the air flow is still there.

Sleep wise, it was easy for me to fall asleep. I did wake up a few times during the night, with 1 time for the toilet, and the rest was because of my cats. Woke up this morning, but sadly, I'm not one of thouse that wakes up and feels FANTASTIC on the first night. Because I woke up too early (5am) I decided to go "snooze" again but this time without my CPAP on. My gf said I was not snoring the whole night, and as soon as I took it off and feel asleep, my snoring started again like a chain saw...

Maybe the second sleep without the CPAP undid the whole night of good sleep? its 9:30am right now, and Im yawning

During the night, I had the humidifier at 2, but it didnt seem to have used any of the water in the tray? One time when I woke up, i noticed some nasal congestion, so I turned it up to 3.... I did sneeze a few times, and it was a disgusting thought if I had to sneeze into my nose pillow... *yuck*

Had a look at my info this morning... looked like the 90% reading was at 9.5cm... dont have access to the AHI reading, so cant tell....

biggest positive.... the machine was REALLY silent... I was afraid that it will keep me or my GF awake, but all I can hear is the sound from my nose, and my GF cant hear anything...

Hopefully, tonight will be a better night

thanks Janknitz for the idea... as this is a rental machine, I decided not to rip anything off yet plus the little light act as a night light for me

[bilnap]

Thanks for the word of encouragement
I am getting excited and anxious about it.... Will I get used to it? Will my partner be ok with it? I have spend sometime talking to my partner trying to get her to understand the reason for the treatment.

Also, I have concern with me being a mouth breather all my life and if I should use a nasal or full face mask?

I guess by seeing the equipments in person and talking to the techs tomorrow

Try the new Liberty full face mask with nasal pillows. Very good compromise when you are a mouth breather like me.

[okitoki]

Try the new Liberty full face mask with nasal pillows. Very good compromise when you are a mouth breather like me.

Surprisingly, with just the nasal pillow, I actually stop breathing through my mouth... I breathed through my nose the whole night (well, I think i did ) but I think I will need to get a second mask later on when I have blocked nose from cold/flu

[sleepmba]

Interesting point Okitoki. That is one thing I have to overcome in the sleep lab too. I just wrote a short blog about mouth breathing at:
http://www.sleepandcpap.blogspot.com check it out!

The symptoms you mentioned earlier are common among people with sleep apnea. I know it is no fun to find out that you have it, but it is actually good so you can do something about it. As you experienced, the fix is pretty simple, easy to use, and instantaneous. Good luck with your new life!

[fisamo]

Try the new Liberty full face mask with nasal pillows. Very good compromise when you are a mouth breather like me.

Surprisingly, with just the nasal pillow, I actually stop breathing through my mouth... I breathed through my nose the whole night (well, I think i did ) but I think I will need to get a second mask later on when I have blocked nose from cold/flu

That seems to be common. I'm sure I was as mouth breather as I snored (before cpap), but when I put on the nasal pillows and fired up the machine, I found that I wanted to keep my mouth closed. You may find that you don't need to add anything like a chinstrap to keep your mouth closed... But only time will tell there.

One thing about the humidity - having the setting too high can cause the congestion you were mentioning. You might consider turning the setting down a little bit.

There's no question to me - some nights are better than others. But so far, I can honestly say that all nights on the box with are better than any recent night without cpap!