Thank you

[Sleepy Tiger]

Hi everyone. This whole thing started for me back in 2009 when I saw may internist complaining about fatigue. After telling me that my bloodwork was "normal" and that I was fine, I pitched a fit in the office, insisting that something was not right. At the time I was 36 and not overweight. I eventually had a sleep study -- I remember it was the same night that Michael Jackson passed away since that was all that was on TV in the hospital. Eventually, I wound up on CPAP.

I've been in denial about it for a while. Psychologically, it was difficult to think that I have to wear this thing every night indefinitely. But I still committed to using my CPAP every night and felt a little better. I'm thankful that my wife is supportive. Nonetheless, I've been going through the motions with my therapy since the beginning. I think everyone here knows how frustrating it can be to deal with your:

1. Primary care physician
2. Sleep center
3. Insurance company
4. Sleep doctor
5. DME, and
6. Third party DME billing company.

Dealing with said parties alone is a big enough deterrent to sticking with your CPAP therapy before you ever strap on a mask. The difficulty of getting set up with my therapy left a bitter taste in my dry, dry mouth. The worst was when I went back to my DME asking them if they had some sort of mouthpiece available to stop any air leak through an open mouth at night. Why hadn't they told me that chinstraps even existed from the beginning?! Ug.

Over a year ago, my S8 AutoSet II broke (in warranty) and my DME gave me an S8 Escape as a loaner. Several weeks went by and I forgot about it. Evidently, my DME forgot about it, too.

Over the last month or so, I've been feeling more fatigued. I was tired. I was angry that I had to wear this thing. I hated that I have to deal with the DME and insurance company.

I should have been angry with myself.

So, today I went to see my sleep doctor, had my old DME exchange my Escape for an AutoSet, and got a new mask, tube and reservoir from my new DME. I've chosen to be in charge of my own therapy.

But I wouldn't have known up from down if it weren't for all of you here who have learned and shared here on this forum. So, thank you. I've been voraciously reading all I can here in an effort to move out of "Basic Treatment" to (hopefully) "Mental Zest" (from Perry Holzman's "What is Feeling Good?"). Two weeks ago I didn't even want to think about wearing my mask at night. Now I'm looking for an ACR-38 card reader. One day soon, I hope I can be the one sharing what I've learned here.

With much gratitude, I wish you all a good night.

[DoriC]

Welcome, Sleepy Tiger! Good for you for sticking with it and getting educated here. Keep us posted on your progress and any problems you're having and someone will be along to help you.