Panic at thought of CPAP.

[grayghost4]

You folks sure are suckered in by the troll AGAIN!


Just wanted to bump this to the top ... to keep it going

[Sir NoddinOff]

You folks sure are suckered in by the troll AGAIN!

Just wanted to bump this to the top ... to keep it going

After about the twentieth "I can't", I'm all can'ted out. That's my limit before my head explodes.

[Lucyhere]

Hey Snoopchic!

Glad to see you registered and you are giving this a try. That is a big step towards feeling better!

So, I really have had some problems with closed in feelings and the air at first bothered me too. Full face masks and I were not friends. Still aren't really goood friends if you know what I mean, but I have gotten to a mutual respect with my full face mask. Took trying about a dozen different full face masks, but one just came out in the last 6 months that fits my face and doesn't set me off. So I wanted to let you know it *is* possible to get to the point where you can handle more mask and different pressures.

I also have GAD and have had a lot of panic attacks in the past. And I work with my therapist. But I know you are saying money is tight, which I totally get. I had gotten my sleep study when I was between jobs, and still living with mom and dad right after graduating...they were able to help with a place to stay and since it was the same price to insure my brother as it was to insure him and me they helped me with that, but I had to pay all the copays and deductibles and stuff myself for my medical stuff. This is a book my therapist and I have been using when she gives me therapy homework.

https://www.newharbinger.com/anxiety-an ... workbook-0

I have seen older editions at my public library, take a look and see if it is there. A free way to get going could really help, I think, and that workbook has been pretty helpful for trying to tame those jerky brain loops that get all panicked and freaked out and then you start panicking and...yeah. That book helped me identify the loops and help me see when I was getting caught in one way sooner. And my therapist helped me come up with non-medication ways to get back out of them too. One thing that helps me is visualization. For me? A beach is my grounding calming happy place. Yours might be a room by the fire in snow. Or a bouncy house....whatever floats your boat. So then the idea is to focus on recreating the scene in your mind. The sights, the feel, the smell, the sounds...focus on that, and it can distract your brain enough to get the loop stopped. One of those quick round phone games like bejeweled blitz helped too in that regard, or a round of Tetris.

If you like the beach? Well, your cpap with a mask is now snorkel gear. That flip in mindset and thinking of going to some really cool beach in Australia or the Caribbean and the mask is allowing me to go underwater and see some cool fish is a nice way to fall asleep. It took a lot of tries. I will be honest.

Another thing is maybe on the website here the Pur-sleep aromatherapy. Instead of smelling the plasticy hose smell, you can smell oranges or bubble gum or strawberries or whatever you like. That helped me get used to it too...my own personal strawberry field smell to sleep in, Another nice visualization idea. Or an orange grove. A hose cosy so you feel less plastic and more fuzzy helps too. These are things not required by any means but they do help the transition be easier.

Are you ok with glasses around your ears? The Swift FX with Bella Loops might be a nice mask for you. No headgear on the top of your head, the little prongs don't go in your nose much at all, I put my glasses back on after masking up and then I can watch tv with the mask on to have a thing to fall asleep to...and That has been my primary mask since i got started. It also doesn't mess up your hair. A nice bonus to not have headgear hair with curly hair

Just gonna toss a few ideas out that have helped me, and I hope the book or something helps you too!

And feel free to PM me My inbox is open and I have email alerts set up.

Hi SleepyStar... just want to say thank you on behalf of Snoopchic! A helpful post like yours goes a long way in helping someone who is struggling so much. Brilliant and well thought out suggestions. We need more people like you here!

[nanwilson]

When I took a look on here earlier this am, there was a post by Julie, after the one by Lucy. Who deleted that post, someone did not like it, I wish there was away to detect who is deleting and what was posted. By the way it was not me, I have been here for almost 6 years and have NEVER deleted a post. That is rude and childish behavior, just because you don't like what a person has said is not doing anyone but yourself a favour.

[robysue]

When I took a look on here earlier this am, there was a post by Julie, after the one by Lucy. Who deleted that post, someone did not like it, I wish there was away to detect who is deleting and what was posted. By the way it was not me, I have been here for almost 6 years and have NEVER deleted a post. That is rude and childish behavior, just because you don't like what a person has said is not doing anyone but yourself a favour.

nanwilson, I agree with you 100%.

I've been here over 5.5 years and the only posts I've ever deleted were real SPAM advertising something totally unrelated sleep apnea and CPAP.

Randomly deleting others posts just because you disagree with them or you dislike the poster is very rude and mean spiritited.

[Julie]

Uh... I deleted it myself (sorry!) .

[Eddy]

One suggestion. See if there is a psychologist in your area that uses hypnosis. Hypnosis might be a way to overcome the anxiety that is keeping you from getting the treatment you need. I had somewhat similar experience years ago when I was in flight training as a Naval Aviator. Before each training flight, I would get a headache, sweat profusely and felt sick to my stomack. I could control the panic until I put on the full face oxygen mask. Then I would hyperventilate and I would use oxygen very rapidly. Military psychologist using hypnosis was very successful in treating my underlying, but unrecognized, anxiety (not claustrophobic) reaction to the oxygen mask. I was not afraid to fly, I actually enjoyed it but the mask was the unrecognized problem. Give it a try. Good luck. And keep trying. Do not give up the ultimate goal is way too important to you and your family.

[IDontSnoreISwear]

I don't know if that makes sense to anyone :/

Frankly, no. It doesn't make sense. And maybe you can't help it, but you are not making sense AT ALL.

I'm not going to coddle you and there-there you because you are a grown woman and this is serious.

You've described having a sleep study (which can be uncomfortable, and the mask can sometimes even make you a little sore at first) as if you were being waterboarded at Guantanamo.

And I really hope you weren't screaming for two hours during your sleep study, because other people were probably trying to have their sleep studies at the same time. Screaming? Really?

Is it any wonder some people are not taking you seriously on here?

Do you understand that millions of people sleep with CPAP every night? That apnea is fairly easy to diagnose and CPAP is the gold standard of treatment? It's not a Halloween house of horrors, it's a pretty straightforward, minimally invasive, INEXPENSIVE medical treatment for a serious, chronic, LIFE-THREATENING medical condition. Apnea is real, CPAP treatment is not a scam, and no one is trying to rip you off by writing you a prescription for a machine.

(Also, your doctor probably didn't know how much the machine would cost, because in the U.S., the cost of medical care from appointments to blood tests to CPAP machines is set by YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY, not the doctor's office. Doesn't make sense, but until we get a dirty hippie Socialist in the White House and a Democratic Congress to work with him, single payer is just a dream and your insurance company will continue to call the shots.)

But I digress.

Now, I get that the sleep study felt horrible for you, and based on the way you describe the experience and your endless barrage of "I can't"s and "It's impossible for me to"s, it appears that you have some emotional problems that MUST be addressed before you can get any benefit from CPAP therapy. SO START THERE. One foot in front of the other...

A wise friend of mine who was addicted to heroin, alcohol and cigarettes continued to drink and smoke while recovering from heroin abuse. Then he quit drinking, and once that was done, he finally quit smoking. He said, "Our addictions are removed in the order in which they are killing us." I think this might just apply to your various conditions as well. Not that phobias in and of themselves will kill you. But if they are keeping you from undergoing life-saving treatment, you need to treat them that seriously.

Your doctor has offered you a CBT program that costs only fifty bucks. Lucky you! Because if that helps you at all, you will have gotten off cheaper than anyone with a psychiatric problem in the history of medicine. Fifty bucks is not a lot of money. You can find it IF YOU ARE WILLING. Sell something you own. Eat beans and rice for a couple weeks. Walk instead of taking the bus.

Because here are your options:

1) FIND A WAY TO MAKE YOUR HEALTH A PRIORITY; or
2) DIE EARLY

It's as simple as that.

Now I am going to really challenge you.

Look at your condition this way. Your doctors have given you a diagnosis of sleep apnea. If they are right, your condition is serious and if left untreated, could shorten your life significantly. But in spite of all that, you are in luck! As lifetime chronic conditions go, sleep apnea is simple to treat (no drugs!), does not involve invasive surgeries, and is relatively inexpensive. Once you get your machine, you (or your insurance) will pay maybe $50 a month in supplies (masks, filters, hoses etc.). AND YOU GET TO LIVE YEARS LONGER THAN YOU WOULD WITHOUT THERAPY!

Wow! You are LUCKY to have sleep apnea! Be glad it's not cancer or epilepsy or MS or Crohn's Disease, or rheumatoid arthritis, or any number of other horrific conditions that can make your life a living hell day in and day out.

All you have to do is breathe through a little machine at night, and you can FORGET ABOUT YOUR CONDITION ALL DAY LONG! AND LIVE YOUR LIFE!

It. Is. Awesome.

[palerider]

I don't know if that makes sense to anyone :/

I'm not going to coddle you and there-there you because you are a grown woman and this is serious.

*allegedly*

[Lucyhere]

I don't know if that makes sense to anyone :/

I'm not going to coddle you and there-there you because you are a grown woman and this is serious.

*allegedly*

Wow! Now that is what I call a very necessary and important comment.

[motherhen3]

Had sleep study last night. Took clonazepan at hospital. Tech came in at 1:00am to say I qualified for CPap. Whips it out and instructs me to lay back and breathe. Man, I had a panic attack and said (I can't do this) Do what? what her reply. Slapping on a mask in the middle of night while all strapped in and wired up isn't an explanation enough? Anyway, she acted pissed. Left the room and then when 6:00am came she came in and ripped the electrodes off of my head not saying a word. I felt like such a failure. She did comment that a few people need a second try but right now I say never again. Glad to hear I'm not alone on this, man anxiety is a killer.

[Krelvin]

She did comment that a few people need a second try but right now I say never again.

Sure their are two sides of that story.

Just like you didn't bother to register you only get out of life what you put into it.

You should have known up front what the process would entail and the steps... You failed to inform yourself before the process.

Surprising how many people actually make it hard on the techs with their attitudes and then blame the techs for the failures. Tests are many times not comfortable or easy to do, you just go with the flow, be pleasant and get through it.

[Julie]

Wow Krelvin, what the hell?

She may just not have been told anything much and had no idea what questions to ask! If you don't understand either panic or an appallingly rude and incompetent tech then maybe answer other notes, but why do you assume she was at fault?

[Sylvia54]

Whips it out and instructs me to lay back and breathe. Man, I had a panic attack and said (I can't do this) Do what? what her reply. Anyway, she acted pissed.

Left the room and then when 6:00am came she came in and ripped the electrodes off of my head not saying a word.

If that were me I would have complained to whoever the sleep tech works for, she didn't approach you right. Sounds like she's in the wrong line of work. Didn't they give you an evaluation to complete? She should have told you up front that the second part of the study may involve using a mask for titration. At the sleep clinic where I went (outside a hospital) sleep tech told me upfront that I would NOT be trying out a mask that night. I think it's more common to have 2 separate sleep studies.
On my second study, the sleep tech brought in three types of masks, let me try them out and choose which one I wanted to use.

[chunkyfrog]

It should be SOP for referring physicians to give potential sleep study subjects encouragement to watch
one or more of the sleep study videos that are online--or if they lack internet access, then in the office or library.
No-brainer!