Hope for All Newbies

[suzpigott]

I was diagnosed 13 months ago with Severe S.A. and charting at 73 events per minute. I have not the words to tell you how bad I had been feeling (for years) and it was only through suggestion of my doctor after years of getting perfect blood work, etc. to get tested for Sleep Apnea.
Long story short. It has taken a FULL YEAR to get to the place where I was once again feeling great, getting good sleep and down to .02 events per hour! I felt better immediately after starting on the Dreamwear equipment - down from 73 events to averaging about 7....but still not completely refreshed as I had hoped to be. After 6 months, I was thinking, well this is as good as it's going to get - down to about 3 events per hour, but still liking naps in the afternoon. Now, after one full year, I'm at .02 events, getting a solid 7+ hours of sleep every night, no naps and finally can say I feel great.
So the point of this -- all you newbies hang in there for the long haul. It really can take a while to return to where you understand your CPAP is a miracle. I believe I had Sleep Apnea for many many years (i was always told I snored) and it took one year to recoup. If my house was on fire, the first thing I would grab would be my CPAP. It has truly changed/saved my life.

[kteague]

Thanks for posting your encouraging story. There is a thread at the top of the page with success stories. It would be nice to see it there too so that it stays in the line of sight rather than fall down on the list in a few days. Congrats on your accomplishments!

[melikou1]

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I have only been using my APAP about 3 weeks, and have dropped my AHI from 38 in the sleep study down to around 9-12 the past few days. I'm just looking forward to when I might not be feeling narcoleptic in the afternoon. I know it doesn't happen overnight, and I still have a few other issues that play into the mix at this point that need to be resolved. One variable at a time.

But sometime I just feel like the buzzard in the famous poster "Patience my ass, I'm going to kill something today".

Thanks again!

[suzpigott]

Melikou 1 - you're welcome. You have a ways to go but please don't give up. When someone told me early on that it could take a while (a year!) I didn't actually hear them. Now I understand. Also, the only other "secret" I can tell you is that it helps to walk every day for 30 minutes at a good pace. I had gained some weight and my diagnosis and my doctor really got me on track. I promise you after this year, I am literally springing out of bed every morning and tap dancing out the door ready to meet the day.

[chunkyfrog]

Tap dancing?
I did clogging for a while, but it hurt my knees.
It is fun to just skip around in the shoes.

[zonker]

congrats! yes, it's important to emphasize for the "newbies" that this can take a very long time. every now and then, someone will post how they took to it immediately and their ahi dropped like a rock.

these are few and far between. most of us have to go through the long haul.

again, congrats!!

[Sheriff Buford]

Thanks for encouraging thread! Made my day!

Sheriff

[melikou1]

Melikou 1 - you're welcome. You have a ways to go but please don't give up. When someone told me early on that it could take a while (a year!) I didn't actually hear them. Now I understand. Also, the only other "secret" I can tell you is that it helps to walk every day for 30 minutes at a good pace. I had gained some weight and my diagnosis and my doctor really got me on track. I promise you after this year, I am literally springing out of bed every morning and tap dancing out the door ready to meet the day.

Thanks again, and no I won't give up. I had my best night yet...got down to 7 AHI. I had been putting off making one change that I knew could affect my number...shaving my goatee. I've always kept it short, but yesterday shaved it off completely. Will be interesting to see how the next week of numbers fall out.

[Doug_Nightmare]

Melikou 1 - you're welcome. You have a ways to go but please don't give up. When someone told me early on that it could take a while (a year!) I didn't actually hear them. Now I understand. Also, the only other "secret" I can tell you is that it helps to walk every day for 30 minutes at a good pace. I had gained some weight and my diagnosis and my doctor really got me on track. I promise you after this year, I am literally springing out of bed every morning and tap dancing out the door ready to meet the day.

Exercise is essential for many, so many, aspects to good health, physical, mental and emotional - and social.

My routine is to ride Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, vigorously 25 miles in two hours. My estimated calorie burn is >1500, with HRavg ~120 BPM and HRmax as high as I can get it, 150 bpm early in the season and 140 now. A month ago, Milady Wife, 79 y.o. and I rode five 40 mile days to friends 200 miles distant. We ride recumbent tricycles, hers a Greenspeed and mine by Inspired Cycle Engineering.