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[secret agent girl]

.

[Gerryk]

No symptoms then why did you go in for the test? Either you or your doctor noticed that the things you are complaining about that can possibly be explained away by something else alone, but when you combine them they suggest OSA. Someone made the right call, because the tests showed you had problems. Now when you start treatment you may show improvement right away or it may take a few days weeks or months.

Gerry

[yasulh]

Keep in mind, you may not have the traditional symptoms now, but you have a great opportunity to prevent them. Over time, untreated sleep apnea will create many problems for you. If your sleep study shows that you have severe apnea, I would not wait to start treatment until you have symptoms. Head them off now and save yourself a lot of frustrtation.

[KatieW]

Here is a link to The 7 stages of CPAP. I recognize myself in all of the stages, and maybe you will too.

wiki/index.php/Seven_Stages_of_CPAP

No lectures from me...it's your decision. I wish you health and happiness.

[Goofproof]

What Gerryk said, you took the sleep test for a reason. And you also left out a main symptom, "De-Nile", wither you get treatment to make you future life better, is only up to you. If you do use the treatment there are two ways to make it work, the hard way (don't embrace it) or the easier way. (make XPAP a important part of staying alive). The choice is only up to you, either way you will be the one that lives with you decision, along with your friends and famlies, and maybe others if you drive. jim

[sleepycarol]

If you don't have any of the symptoms why do a sleep study?

If you don't have symptoms, I can almost guarantee you will have at some point in the future. Your body can only take a lack of oxygen so long before it starts to take its toll.

It is your call. BUT if you truly want us to tell you it is okay not to use your machine, your wrong as we won't. Maybe that is what you are wanting anyway since you made the effort to post -- an affirmation that you need to use your machine.

[montana]

cpap IS the "cats meow". I feel grrrrreat!

[JohnBFisher]

Really? If you don't think you need it, then you need to answer a few questions:

• If you understand the increased risks, are you willing to gamble that you won't encounter them?
• If you are willing to bet, you just lost. Untreated sleep apnea WILL impact your health. It's just when and how much that we do not know.
• If you are willing to bet and loose, does anyone depend on you? If so, remember that your choices will impact them as well.

I know. My grandfather died early due to heart complications. He died in his sleep. This was long before CPAP treatment was an option.

I know. I am overweight, have type 2 diabetes, have high blood pressure, because I did not push hard enough or early enough to have some of my sleep problems properly treated (partially due to issues with an insurance company, which I no longer have).

But hey! If you live on your own, then it's your decision.

[kteague]

I don't find your questioning what you are willing to do at all unusual. I think everyone who gets a surprise diagnosis sorts thru the spectrum of their options, right down to even if they will pursue treatment. Sounds like you're doing your homework, and will make a fully informed decision you are prepared to live with.

As for me, when applying for disability at age 54, I found little comfort in remembering how well I functioned for so long without treatment.

Kathy

[DreamOn]

Welcome to the forum, secret agent girl! This is a great place for information and support.

I am very happy to hear that you do intend to give CPAP treatment a trial. Your sleep study results clearly indicate the need for it, and as others have pointed out, there must have been a good reason that the test was even ordered in the first place. You have done a lot of research already, so I know that you're aware of how much damage oxygen deprivation can do to our bodies and our minds.

I've probably had sleep apnea for at least 15 years. I just started CPAP therapy a little over a month ago. Do I wish I had started treatment sooner? Heck yes!!! It would've prevented some health problems that have developed over the last 15 years, some of which may be impossible to reverse now.

Other than extremely high blood pressure, my main symptom was lack of energy and great difficulty in concentration. And I didn't sleep well. I tossed and turned all night. I didn't seem to dream anymore, my sleep was so fractured. Now I realize it was because my body was fighting to breathe all night long. When I started CPAP I wasn't thinking clearly at all. Since beginning, the fog has lifted! My energy level is through the roof! My sleep is restful and renewing. So give it a try -- you may like it! It's a bother sometimes, but I really am enjoying the results. And, hopefully, it will add a few years to my life.

Best wishes,

DreamOn
(meow)

[MoneyGal]

Yes. Me. My untreated AHI was 91. But I did not have any of the "traditional" symptoms of sleep apnea -- as in, I passed the Epworth Sleepiness Test easily. It was a fluke that I even got a sleep study. I didn't feel sleepy and I wasn't napping or falling asleep anywhere.

Now, I have no idea what YOU mean when YOU say you have no symptoms. I know for me, there were many things -- feels like too many to list -- that have changed for me with treatment: everything from GERD to not getting up 6x per night to pee to my ability to focus to not getting EVERY cold that walks by me.

I urge you to try it. Only then will you be able to make an informed decision about whether your quality of life will improve with treatment. I realize it seems like the tradeoff may not be worth it -- but I invite you to give it a chance without ruling it right out.

[yasulh]

As for me, when applying for disability at age 54, I found little comfort in remembering how well I functioned for so long without treatment.

Kathy

I can identify with Kathy here. I recently started CPAP treatment (a little over 2 months now), and I am in a mourning stage over what I could have done the last couple of years if I had not had the symptoms that I had developed or had gotten treatment earlier. I still managed to do a lot (finish a Ph.D.), but I wonder how much more I could have done if I had been fully functioning. I hope that you don't get to that point secret agent girl!

[secret agent girl]

.

[JohnBFisher]

... To the others (and you know who you are as well) sorry my post triggered your Stuff so much that you felt you justified in disregarding my request. My wish for y'all is finding a way to more peace. I know it's hard because what I'm actually typing here wasn't my first response... lol! ...

secret agent girl, please understand that without the rest of your last reply, my concern (and others here) was for you. Your health and possible denial, which we have all seen - IN OURSELVES. We've all seen times when we deny there is a problem, only to have it get worse because we did not address it. We worry your might head down the same path of pain.

But you added much more detail in this reply. If you don't mind, I will address that ...

... I had the study some time ago because over a 4-5 month period I woke up 3 times, very abruptly and panicked-feeling. That occurred about 18 months ago and there haven't been any remotely similar events since. ...

This was the missing part of the puzzle. Sometimes, things change with us (stress, heavier than normal alcohol consumption, etc) that causes our bodies to react negatively. When those conditions pass, then your body and and usually does return to normal.

... Missing symptoms:
• My concentration/attention, thinking, or ability to remember are all very good.
• Unless I drink a lot of liquids late in the evening, I get up at most once a night, towards morning, to pee.
• Secret agent boy reports no pauses or labored-sounded breathing, and only occasional light snoring (usually if I've had some wine).
• I can and do drive for hours without feeling sleepy.
• When I wake up in the morning I feel refreshed and alert.
• No daytime sleepiness/fatigue.
• No personality changes, like Ousier in Steel Magnolias, I've just been in a bad mood for many years.
• Almost never have headaches. (in fact the worst headache of my life was after the 2nd half of the study, where they tried to titrate)
• No heartburn or a sour taste in the mouth at night.
...

Two key points I would like to make. First of all with secret agent boy there, you have a reliable other witness who can help you monitor your progress. That really is important. I have problems with central apneas. My wife was the first who noted it years ago. Unfortunately, my doctors at the time tended to dismiss it. And due to issues with an insurance company, I did not address it as soon as I should.

However, it appears you had some incidents and secret agent boy is helping monitor if you have further problems. THAT will make all the difference in the world. (With one caution: secret agent boy also gets some sleep, so might miss major events. Not a slight on him, since none of us do a terribly good job of reporting events when we are asleep!)

Second, as you note, you have more problems when you drink right before bed. That is actually very normal. It could mean you are "right on the edge" of needing therapy. A little bit of central nervous sytem depressant and you will snore more. And it's sometimes surprising where you will find a central nervous system depressant - wine, beer, liquor, cold medicine, benedryll (or anything that has it, such as Tylenol PM or Advil PM).

So, it is possible you won't need it for a while.

... Nevertheless, as I stated, I will try this for a time and see if I notice any improvement. Thanks again so much for the supportive statements. There are some really nice, really helpful people here. I'm grateful to have found this wonderful resource ...

I would like to make two suggestions.

First, push for an APAP unit (and automatic CPAP unit). It will adjust the pressure based on how you are doing. It should also track data and see how you are doing on it. You can reasonably justify it with what you describe above. The amount you snore varies based on time (several months ago it was worse) and any wine you may drink.

Second, you might be able to rent it for a few months and see what the data says.

As you can see. Having the data is very important. Then it's not just how you feel, but what is really happening.

Best of luck to you and secret agent boy as you start on this journey. And remember, life is a very imperfect process. The most important thing is to enjoy the journey together.

[rested gal]

Excellent suggestions by JohnBFisher.

Welcome to the board, secret agent girl.

Before CPAP, if asked if I had any symptoms of sleep apnea, I'd have said "no." No trouble going about the day's activities and well on up into the evening. Not more than one nocturnal bathroom trip, and more often none. No cognitive problems. Very active physically (show dog handler for about thirty years.) Normal weight.

The snoring I did...well, annoying to others -- "Sorry 'bout that, wish I didn't; but hey, a lot of people snore, don't they."

The drowsiness I'd feel when driving on long trips, seemed normal to me. "Up late packing, didn't go to bed early enough, boring interstate highway", etc.

Wanting to hit the snooze button several times in the morning...again, I thought that was normal. "Well, I went to bed late. I'm just not a morning person." etc.

You don't the symptoms I did, secret agent girl, but mild as my OSA is, CPAP has completely eliminated all those things that I thought were "normal." It's worth a try, imho, to see if it might make you feel even better than you already do.

My only caution: When starting CPAP and trying to get used to mask/machine and this crazy new way of trying to "sleep", the sleep disruptions caused by the equipment issues themselves (the mask, especially) can be as disruptive to sleep, or even more so, than when we weren't using CPAP. Can make us feel more tired than without CPAP. It's hard to believe "CPAP is helping me" if a person has been feeling fine before, and is now having their sleep disturbed by an uncomfortable mask.

So... until a person gets all the comfort issues worked out and can sleep comfortably with a mask on, any good that CPAP is doing can be difficult to recognize.

"Feeling fine" can be relative. Sometimes we get used to the way we feel and that feels "normal" to us, even though it could be better.

Check out Perry's stages of recovery post...I think of it as the "Mental Zest" post:
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