New to the forum - Hello

[Shack]

Hello All,

I just want to say Hi, I am new to the forum and was just diagnosed with severe sleep apnea.

I had started getting very bad headaches, and wasn't sure what it was. Dr ordered an MRI (came back negative for any issues). I had noticed at times when falling asleep that I would awake suddenly and gasp... so I asked about a sleep study. Looking back, and looking into sleep apnea, I should have known.

Symptoms I had:
Headaches
Tired ALWAYS
Never felt rested (even after being in bed 10 hours)
Toss and turn all night long
I have always had issues with snoring
VERY dry mouth in the morning
NEVER EVER EVER dream (used to)

So, all that to say that I am very excited (strange) to be receiving my machine on this coming Monday (from CPAP.com). I told my wife this morning that it's not like the machine can make my sleep any worse than it is. I used to love to sleep, but now I have more apprehension because my sleep is so poor. I just really want to feel rested. I am so tired of being tired.

The forum has been loads of help and I already feel that the support helps. Luckily, I have a coworker who was also diagnosed with SSA, and he says he sleeps better than ever before with his CPAP. I will give an update, but am looking forward with a positive attitude to this treatment.

James

[Emilia]

Welcome Shack! What a good newbie you are.... you have read well, gotten yourself a great machine, and added the details to your profile. Now we await your progress reports and questions as they arise!! Best of luck on Monday night!! I hope you have a good a beginning as I have had. I am 3 weeks into my therapy with great results so far!

[mars]

Hi Shack

Welcome to participation in the Forum.

I hope you get good results right away, but for many of us it is a journey that can take some time.

Take care with choosing your mask, and be prepared to try a number of masks until you get what suits you.

Do not start on a low ramp setting, as most of us cannot breathe well at anything under 6 or 7 (this can vary with individuals).

Consider what other medical problems you have to take into consideration ( acid reflux, restless legs etc)

And ask for any help you might need, but always be as specific as possible.

cheers

Mars

[Shack]

Hi Shack

Welcome to participation in the Forum.

I hope you get good results right away, but for many of us it is a journey that can take some time.

I also hope you are getting a data capable machine, preferably an auto.

Take care with choosing your mask, and be prepared to try a number of masks until you get what suits you.

Do not start on a low ramp setting, as most of us cannot breathe well at anything under 6 or 7 (this can vary with individuals).

Consider what other medical problems you have to take into consideration ( acid reflux, restless legs etc)

And ask for any help you might need, but always be as specific as possible.

cheers

Mars

Hey Mars,

I requested a copy of my sleep study from my DR. and went over it thoroughly...

Luckily, they didn't see any restless leg issues. As far as other medical issues, other then that I could loose 20-30 lbs.... I am healthy.

I did "discover" the resmed 3.11 software online, since they won't sell it to the consumer any longer. Which, BTW, I find stupid as I would have gladly paid for it. I want to be very involve in this process and prefer to keep track of my therapy...

James

[jabman]

Welcome James,

It sounds like you are on the right track and I like your positave attude. I hope you have alot of success with this treatment but if you end up struggling don't loose the attude but come here and ask, ask, ask. There ar alot of wounderful people here that are glad to help.
It is nice to see you here especially with your positive attude.

[Julie]

If you are still tired and have a dry mouth, you are probably sleeping with your mouth open and losing all the cpap air that way. You need to look into a full face mask.

[lbw]

Welcome! I have been on CPAP now for 4 months and have not missed a night. Took a few attempts to find the right mask. You could find a link to the software on this site.

Good luck

[dave21]

Welcome to the forum James!

Don't be put off if you don't take to it like a duck to water. Some of us do and some have a really hard time to acclimatise to using a machine. The S9 is very quiet and it's air management system does not hit you like hitting a wall of air at 100mph so hopefully you can get used to it with very little problems.

Good luck!

Thanks
Dave