I can't wait.....

[Heemaan]

to start getting some good night's sleep! Had second sleep study with mask last night and felt great all day!
Very glad to see this support forum in which I've used as a research tool and no longer have any questions!!
I will introduce myself: 43yrs old. Male. Health/PE instructor. 6'1 250 (told I'm the stereotypical type to have sleep apnea)
Sought to have the sleep study done as my Dr. has become stingy with the ambien and I have heard nothing but success stories from CPAP users that I have trained over the course of 11 years as an exercise physiologist at a local wellness center.

I now find myself teaching HE/PE at a high school 26mi out in the boonies. The ride in isn't bad, I'm coffee'd up, but after a few miles of up and down and side to side on the ride home, I feel like I'm being rocked to sleep and then resort to the ususal slapping, sticking head out the window....etc.....time to get my sleep fixed....sleep studies.

I have to choose a mask and machine yet, I suppose I have to wait for my Dr. to get the results, which I was told this morning. Anyway, I'm glad to see all the nice and helpful people here and can't wait to get that nose piece on and start sleeping throughout the night, or at least a few hours.
Oh, my pressure is to be set at 12, seemed hard to breathe out, but I managed and took an 81% O saturation to 91% in the study. Thanks for listening, I'll be around.
Rich

[mgaggie]

Welcome Rich. I hope you continue to feel better when you start cpaping.

[star444]

Welcome, Rich! You are wise to do some research before purchasing your equipment. I only wish I had found this forum before purchasing my CPAP! Do yourself a favor and read this article titled "What you need to know before you meet your DME":

http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/what-y ... me-part-i/

Insist on getting a machine that shows data about the efficacy of your treatment. (What is your AHI with your current xPAP settings? What type of events are you having? Are you experiencing leaks? etc.) If not, you'll get stuck with a "brick" (a machine that only gives compliance data) because that is what gives the DME the highest profit margin.

[Julie]

There's a feature on machines called EPR or C=flex that helps take pressure off exhalation... you should make sure your machine has that.

[Oddprofessor]

Welcome Rich! I'm a relative newbie; I have had my machine since Nov. 13, and have been using it 8 hours a night every night except one. (Tummy problems; wanted to be able to make a quick exit from the bed if need be.) I'm still waiting for the "feel great all day!" to happen, but I have a couple of other influences on my mood that interact with the sleep issues. I hope your experience once you get your machine home is as positive as your study was!

Vicki

[SeekSleep]

Rich,

Welcome to the club. If you're like me, you'll find positive side affects you never expected when you get the apnea taken care of. At 54, now that I'm rested and feeling good I started working out pretty seriously. The ASV machine started me feeling better and the exercise just boosts that feeling. I find I can keep up with the grandkids all day now etc. What's really noticeable is that after heavy weight workouts my recovery time has dropped by down similar to what it was in my 20's, and like in my younger days my weight is dropping slowly back down to about what it should be without my having to focus on diet. These machines can be quite beneficial in my opinion.

[digitalepiphany]

There's really no "typical" person that gets sleep apnea. A lot of the docs will tell you that overweight causes sleep apnea. My doc tells me the same thing, but I was first diagnosed at 180lbs at 6'2". I'm now 275lbs, so they just assume that I have sleep apnea because I'm overweight. My point is that correlation does not equal causation, meaning that just because people are diagnosed with OSA when they're overweight does not mean that's what caused it. You could've had it before you ever gained the weight, meaning that the OSA could be what caused your weight gain. That's what happened to me.

[Thingy Jig]

Hello!
Thanks for your forum, it has been great help in helping 'nother newbie.
I'm a 35y/o female with a BMI of 21, not the 'typical profile' - had all kinds of health problems this year (including atrial fibrillation) culminating in several ED visits and a few days in CCU and cardiac ward to sort out my mysterious orthopnea and nocturnal facial edema. After my heart checked out fine, and they ruled out any obstruction to my vena cava (!!!) they brought in the sleep consult, I think of him as an angel that has given me my life back! I should have suspected apnea, having worked as a sleep technician as a new graduate, but no, I thought it couldn't possibly be! Denial, denial! That eternal tiredness is due to stress / work / young children etc etc. That irritability is due to um....too much chocolate. That constant fantasising about naps and scheduling the least number of things in my day before I can get to that nap is....laziness. That fear about actually going to bed when I eventually get the opportunity is...anxiety. That waking up in the middle of the night with a wildly erratic heartbeat is...family history of afib. Getting constantly elbowed about "snoring" by my other half is....him being a ridiculously light sleeper. Waking up feeling my throat actually closing over and gasping for air is...just a bad dream. Backing into other cars 3 times in as many months is...my blonde hair.

!!!

I'm still waiting on PSG results to confirm if I do actually have apnea - but my sleep dr prescribed autopap trial based on physical exam alone (before the sleep study) and it seems a pressure of 8.6cm is working well for me, after 2 weeks on the machine. I haven't had any problems adapting and felt so good after just one night - it's like when your newborn finally sleeps throught the night and you go "Ohhhh!!! Yeh!! This is what life feels like in full technicolour!" You get so used to living in black and white it becomes the new norm. Swallowing air isn't much fun, but hopefully that will be alleviated by being on CPAP now the pressure has been worked out. Oh and the sexy chin strap helps too. Why not throw in an eyemask and completely cover your face (had a few conjunctivitis issues)??

I'm still in a bit of denial. Maybe I don't have it, right?! But if that were the case, the minimum pressure on the autoset would have been sufficient, is that correct? The P95 is only 8.6cm, not much more than the minimum (range was 8-13cm). Could it just be a giant placebo effect that I feel so good on CPAP? Would I be a freak to actually ENJOY CPAP (I like going to bed with my subconscious no longer screaming NO! YOU WILL NOT BREATHE IF YOU SLEEP!) and turn out NOT to have apnea ?!?! Will be interested to get the results of the PSG.

BTW - nasal pillows - no THANK YOU! I like the full nasal mask! Yes, I'm a freak. No claustrophobia here. In fact, I think I associate it with the soothing comfort of an oxygen mask bringing me back around from a couple of particularly nasty afib collapses.

In 2 weeks of CPAP, I've had enough energy to play tennis for the first time in 6 months, I'm still in good spirits come "feral o'clock" (5pm for those with young kids), I no longer snooze-button for up to 1 hour each and every morning, and I reckon I look 5 years younger in the face. I'd call that a success!

Breathing happily, and Happy New Year to all!
XX