A survey for you to comment on your CPAP experience.

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 7:46 pm

Hi Everyone I have been wanting to post this for a few days.
Am not sure if this has been done before but Here goes ...
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Here are some changes that I am experiencing since going on CPAP.
I can't state for certain they are all directly related to CPAP
but am aware that these changes have occurred. I know it is still
early days for me but I am very interested to hear about your own
perceptions of changes to yourselves and your lives.

Please have a think and add at least 5 noticable changes you can
think of or others have mentioned to you (add as many as you are
willing).

###ADDED: Pls feel free to use the edit facility to update your list (I have)

1 ) Need much less sleep.
2 ) Daytime tiredness has disappeared.
3 ) Am very much more energetic and alert.
4 ) Weight seems to be staying constant, but...
5 ) am wanting to (and do) eat more.
6 ) Am much more friendly (lot less grumpy).
7 ) Am feeling a great deal more confident & feel have more purpose.
8 ) Prior to CPAP, there were times my balance was 'wonky', ie stand on 1 leg to tie shoelace & fall over
9 ) Believe I am a lot less anxious about things than I have been.
10) Believe people are seeing me differently & reacting to me in kind (getting a lot more smiles back).
11) Feel very much more confident about taking on challenges of various types (would avoid them before).
12) My wife is much happier.
13) Excessive flatulence (thus far)
14) Dramatically increased burping (thus far)

Cheers

DSM

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP

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SLEEPYCD · Post by **SLEEPYCD** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:42 pm

DSM, here's my short list

1. I don't want to fall asleep on my morning commute.
2. My mind seems clearer, more focused.
3. Haven't had any night sweats, since started using CPAP!!!
4. I seem to be less irritable and restless.
5. Getting some energy back, even though I keep pretty busy.
6. THE LONGER I USE CPAP, THE MORE CALM AND CONTENT I FEEL!!!

THANKS TO ALL YOU FELLOW HOSEHEADS!!!!

Simply Sue · Post by **Simply Sue** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:54 pm

My list is short but significant..at least to me and my husband.

1. Off Antidepressants!!!!
2. Gained weight...eating larger portions.
3. No sleepy feelings when driving.
4. Can talk to people before 9am.
5. Clearer headed.
6. Can not spontaneously cuddle in the middle of the night.

Susan

sir_cumference · Post by **sir_cumference** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 2:53 am

Ok, my 5 would be ...

1) I lie still at night whereas before I would never be able to lie still for more than a few mins
2) My wife has taken to talking to me just when I've put the machine on so that I can't answer back !!!!!
3) I always end up doing the washing up in the morning when I've finished washing my mask out!! And for some reason there now seems to be more washing up in the morning to do than there ever was before!
4) Because I've got more energy I'm expected to do more house work!
5) My bank balance is shot to pieces because the NHS won't supply a machine that actually works!

But apart from that it's both saved my life and given me my life back ... so there is an up-side!!
sir_cumference (<- the names a pun - a knight of the ROUND table ??? - nevermind)

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 2:56 am

sir_cumference wrote:Ok, my 5 would be ...

ROTFOLMAO
(or more politely),
LOL

DSM

littlebaddow · Post by **littlebaddow** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 5:56 am

Great idea dsm

1. I no longer feel like curling up in a corner all day and ignoring the world
2. I can concentrate again
3. I am eating more but my weight is constant (though still too high )
4. I am much less irritable
5. I am much more disciplined about my sleep pattern, getting to bed earlier for 7 hours a night and not 'making do' with 4 or 5 hours a night
6. Spend far longer on the computer talking to friends at cpaptalk.com but get more grief from teenage daughters who need their daily fix of msn messenger

Flower51 · Post by **Flower51** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 6:17 am

1. I'm snoring little, or not at all since dh no longer is woken up by my formerly wall shaking trumpet. I no longer have symptoms of asthma, like feeling like I'm struggling to breathe during the day.

2. My memory, concentration and ability to have a conversation w/out reaching for words has improved dramatically.

3. I look forward to mornings because I feel so good when I wake up now.

4.When I stay in bed a decent amount of hours I don't get tired during the day I feel energetic instead of exhausted from the time my feet hit the floor in the morning!!!! This is a challenge because I like to stay up until dh gets home from work after 11pm, usually stay up w/him till about 1am or even 2 and then get up at 6am to take the dogs out (our "granny dog" is 18 and can't hold it longer than that) and don't always get back to bed. So this week I'm starting to feel the need to change this pattern!

5. I'm feeling more confident and feel like I'm accomplishing a lot more during the day.

6. Its easier to make good healthy food choices because I feel so good and want to continue feeling good and I'm loosing weight in the process as I'm committed to make this change a way of life, not a diet.

7. I'm addicted to the cpaptalk board and the online friends I've made here!

Terry

Marie · Post by **Marie** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 6:18 am

1.I don't drift off momentarily while talking to people.I mean my brain shutting down from no sleep,and falling asleep for a second.I was talking to my sis in her living room and sitting, holding a glass of diet coke, when I dropped the glass. She reminded me just the other day that that was at 10:00A.M in the morning.
2. I don't fall asleep at the wheel of my car, this would only happen in the afternoons.
3. Was told I look fresher and more rested.This really made me feel great.
4. I don't get the feeling anymore that my body used to get of "shutting down".I could always tell when I would be susceptible to "dropping off".
5.I don't wake up tired every morning. Thought it was just a condition of getting older.
6 Found this website, which is truly great,and informed me of all things about sleep apnea.

HisServ · Post by **HisServ** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 7:56 am

I am just beginning to start CPAP and am having trouble even falling asleep and I just want to say that this list gives me hope that I will see SOME kind of benefit. Thank you!

DrainedDad · Post by **DrainedDad** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 10:16 am

My list would be similar to everyone else
1) More energy on less sleep - I used to "sleep" all the time. 6 to 7 hours at night, naps at lunch time, and naps when I got home from work, not counting all the unplanned naps! I haven't taken a nap in almost a month and am averaging 5 to 6 hours of sleep per night but I don't feel exhausted like I used to.
2) Much more alert - my head always used to feel muddy and I walked around like I was in a fog. I haven't had that sensation in weeks!
3) I don't try to hide away from the world and am much less grumpy - I would head for my office as soon as I got to work and only come out when I had to. I would walk by my co-workers without acknowledging them; they all thought that I was anti-social. Know people are actually starting to enjoy having me around, even my kids! I have found my smile and my laugh again!
4) Desire to be active and the energy to do things. I WANT to be active, I like to run and bike and play with the kids. I am biking, walking, or doing some other form of exercise every night.
5) I am losing weight! I have taken off over 10 pounds in a month. I don't have the desire to eat just to get that rush of energy. No snacking on sweets, no midnight snacks, my appetite has become much healthier.
6) I have a sense of well-being that has been gone for a long time. I have been so depressed and feeling worthless for so long. What kind of man sleeps his life away? What father refuses to play with his kids so that he can take a nap. Now that I have the energy to reconnect with life, much of my depression has gone away.

I can't imagine my life without my cpap. I wish I had found out about it sooner.

ufo13 · Post by **ufo13** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 11:55 am

dsm.....many of the same comments everyone else is making!
but MOST important is NO SNORING - My wife is not poking me all
night etc!

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 6:12 pm

HisServ wrote:I am just beginning to start CPAP and am having trouble even falling asleep and I just want to say that this list gives me hope that I will see SOME kind of benefit. Thank you!

Exactly why the list was created. The more people who tell their stories as a simple set of points the more compelling the whole therapy becomes for new comers. I know that even for me I kept wondering if CPAP was just another fad or medical fund raiser to keep doctors/suppliers bank accounts fat etc:. BUT, as I have posted in my list, the experience is changing my life and so much for the better and in so many ways. CPAP works!.

I am really enjoying reading what other individuals are finding - real results. I would hope that people who have problems will also post their comments.

I hope that eventually this list may be come permanent and a testimony to the value of CPAP and a way that newcomers can be inspired to persevere.

Cheers

DSM

lindas88 · Post by **lindas88** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 8:18 pm

My list is...

1) I am able to drive my car and not have my eyes rolling from being so tired. I don't ever feel like I really shouldn't be driving like I used to feel.
2) I sleep much deeper and now I don't even hear my husband snoring.
3) I have more energy but some days still feel sleepy if sitting relaxing.
4) I haven't worked for a few months and now I am getting ready to go back...because of having more energy.
5) People say my eyes look clearer.

NeurosurgeryNP · Post by **NeurosurgeryNP** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 8:25 pm

I Like to drive now! I used to hate it so much! Now, I know why. No more passing my exit on the parkway because although my eyes are open, my brain's asleep!

I gained weight - I think because I actually go out more now and eat with my fiance- whereas I used to get home from work and just curl up in bed.

I am off anti-depressants completely - started to be tapered off only after 2 weeks on CPAP! Go figure - the main symptom I was having was I was tired and sleeping all of the time - and they put me on Paxil.

No more daily 2 1/2 hour naps!

I am so happy - people at work tell me this too!

7 PM is no longer my bedtime - even napless! 7 -8 PM used to be my bedtime wven with a 2 hour nap after work!

I am so fortunate to have been diagnosed with SA. I thought I was nuts. I only wish I had been diagnosed much earlier - like 10 years ago! I am 31 and I feel like I've lost 15 years of my life with these symptoms before treatment.

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m_l · Post by **m_l** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 11:15 pm

Is good to hear about the success stories. I will be starting my treatment soon. This thread gives me hope also.

Thanks
Mike

A survey for you to comment on your CPAP experience.

A survey for you to comment on your CPAP experience.

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dsm....MY benifits!!!

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