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lmorchard · Post by **lmorchard** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 1:32 am

jmelby wrote:I'm a gadget-geek and the APAP machine is like a fun new gadget for me... especially when you find the hidden clinical menu and get the software and card reader.

I should probably look into getting the reader. I'm not even sure what data is still on my card, but it would be nice to see if I still have 5 years' worth of usage data to make charts from. Is there a lot of benefit to seeing the data for oneself in terms of... what, would you do with the data besides just nerd out on it? Can it hint that you need more pressure / new mask / etc? I should do some searches around here to see.

jmelby · Post by **jmelby** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 6:49 am

lmorchard wrote: Is there a lot of benefit to seeing the data for oneself in terms of... what, would you do with the data besides just nerd out on it? Can it hint that you need more pressure / new mask / etc? I should do some searches around here to see.

Isn't nerding out on graphs and data enough reason?? Heh... actually, yes the data can be very useful for determining if your pressure is right and if your mask is leaking. There are a lot of threads on this forum that discuss the data and how to interpret it.

roster · Post by **roster** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:26 am

lmorchard wrote:I should probably look into getting the reader. I'm not even sure what data is still on my card, but it would be nice to see if I still have 5 years' worth of usage data to make charts from. Is there a lot of benefit to seeing the data for oneself in terms of... what, would you do with the data besides just nerd out on it? Can it hint that you need more pressure / new mask / etc? I should do some searches around here to see.

Let's put it this way, I procrastinated on getting the card reader and software for a long time. After I had it for one day, I would never do without it again.

I am a numbers guy, but I think anyone sitting around looking at statistics from their therapy is mostly wasting time.

However, there is one report in the Encore software that is invaluable. It is a one-page "daily details" showing graphs of the night's activities: pressure, leak, snores, flow limitations, hypopneas and apneas. You can see what is happening at what point in time. It takes, at most, five minutes to review this report and determine whether your therapy was effective for the night.

I used this report to help get mask leak under control and to titrate to an optimum pressure. Indispensable.

I believe, based on my own experience and anecdotes of others, that sleep labs rarely titrate to the optimum pressure. One night in a strange environment, unlike your bedroom at home, cannot compete with titrating in your own bedroom over several nights or even weeks.

TheDuke · Post by **TheDuke** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:37 am

I have had such an improvement in my condition since I began CPap treatment over 21 years ago that I am just grateful that the machines exist. Here's a heartfelt toast to Dr. Colin Sullivan for inventing CPap and to Dr. Devin Zimmerman for officially diagnosing my condition many years ago.

I have progressed to BiPap and enjoy the machine refinements, but I will never forget the betterment I experienced with a simple CPap.

TheDuke

SnoozyWoozyCat · Post by **SnoozyWoozyCat** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 12:03 pm

jnk wrote:
Muse-Inc wrote:
DreamOn wrote:...made me feel less ridiculous when I looked in the mirror...
You look at yourself masked up I haven't the guts!
That's funny, 'cause it is my gut that keeps me from looking in the mirror unless I'm wearing a mask.

I'm reading this at work and you both made me laugh out loud! My co-worker asked what was so funny and I said -- Oh, just something between me and my fellow hose-heads!

lmorchard · Post by **lmorchard** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 12:11 pm

SnoozyWoozyCat wrote:Oh, just something between me and my fellow hose-heads!

Take off, you hoser!

SnoozyWoozyCat · Post by **SnoozyWoozyCat** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 12:28 pm

lmorchard wrote:
SnoozyWoozyCat wrote:Oh, just something between me and my fellow hose-heads!
Take off, you hoser!

There I go laughing again! Better sign off before I get fired!

Snorebert · Post by **Snorebert** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 3:36 pm

When I awoke the morning after the sleep study, I was momentarily devistated. I really thought that the OSA of which I had been diagnosed some fourteen years earlier was the reason for my year-long drift into a constant dizzying fatigue. Yeah sure, I had tried the CPAP and gave it up. It leaked, it hurt and it made me feel old and ugly. I went for the surgery and I guess it helped. A bit. But I kept moving. Caffeine, nicotine, always on the move so as not to let anything catch up with me.

Then I dumped the cigarettes and shortly went into a terrible decline. No energy. No motivation. No concentration. When I convinced my PCP that it might be OSA, he got me into the sleep study. I knew at last I was about to turn the corner on getting life back. They told me as I was being wired up that I was in for a split study. If they saw AHI high enough to satisfy my insurance company, they would wake me to slap on a mask. I was ready!

It was a terrible night of tossing and turning. Hot and cold. Finally I must have slept because the tech had to wake me up. And I realized, they never put a mask on me. It wasn't OSA afterall. Terribly depressing. And then the tech said those wonderful words (and he probably wasn't really allowed to): "Well, you definately have sleep apnea but we didn't have enough sleep time to try the mask. You'll have to come back for the titration." Yahoo! I get a CPAP and a mask to use!

It was never magic. The magic came from this forum and my taking control with knowledge, perseverance and a great deal of patience. I am in a far better place now. It is still a fight from time to time, but it is so much better!

-Clark

PranaHuffer · Post by **PranaHuffer** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 7:13 pm

Diagnoses predating this one:
Fibromyalgia (often attributed to lack of sleep)
Chronic Fatigue (speaks for itself)
Asthma ...
OK, Asthma is unrelated but ...related... if you get my drift. If you have a hard time with airway inflammation, it's going to make OSA issues worse. When you can't breathe AND you can't breathe... ugh.

Add to that - I almost drowned once as a kid - slapped and rolled into the ocean floor by a bad undertow and eating enough sand to make a lovely window (good times) before finally getting cut loose to find my own way to the surface. As a result I have just the WORST anxiety and even flashbacks when I find myself unable to breathe. What's that called?
Oh yeah... Pnigophobia - Fear of suffocating.
Or you could go with Thanatophobia - fear of dying... but that's just the end result.
Or just being a human, who needs air in lungs to survive. Yeah, that.

Anyhow, final diagnosis before this one... Anxiety attacks. Yep! Right up in the middle of the night I would wake from a deep sleep positive I was suffocating (oh yeah! cuz I actually was, huh? imagine that) That was LOADS of fun, hmm? Especially when morning came with only a couple hours of sleep. My question was... is my asthma really that bad? Do I need to leave L.A.? (well, duh) Will I spend the rest of my life sleeping with Valium? & Why does that still not help me wake more refreshed?

This CPAP dealio has been a transformative change for me. Yeah, ok, I was sorta resistant to the whole tubage thing at first... I mean, I thought, "How is THAT ever gonna look sexy?" and "That's it, now I will NEVER get LAID again". But in the end I felt SO much better, and saw my numbers dropping on the cute little screen as my fatigue dropped and now... No Anxiety Attacks and what's more - nights are for SLEEPING! (well, they would still be good for getting laid, but I'll get to that later)

Finally, I have fully embraced The Machine. I bought it special toys and props like a cute blankie (prevents rain outs) for the new 10ft hose I bought, some aromatherapy stuff and super awesome filters that make even L.A. air breathable. I even got a special coat hook for on the wall above the headboard (in the decorative shape of a crown) for angling the Queen's Hose ...I have even joined CPAPTALK.COM, where I can interact with men who think that whole tubage thing actually IS sexy

How's that for a new dominant story?

-Maeve

afterthought... I wonder what other fun could be had with the hook above the headboard

SnoozyWoozyCat · Post by **SnoozyWoozyCat** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:37 pm

PranaHuffer wrote: This CPAP dealio has been a transformative change for me. Yeah, ok, I was sorta resistant to the whole tubage thing at first... I mean, I thought, "How is THAT ever gonna look sexy?" and "That's it, now I will NEVER get LAID again".

Hey, this is the internet age -- I don't have the nerve to google it, but I'm sure there's some mask and hose fetish website out there somewhere!
But seriously, I have to say I've had the same thoughts myself, however, the positive benefits I'm seeing from CPAP treatment at this point far exceed the embarrassment I feel about the mask and hose.

jnk · Post by **jnk** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:22 pm

Anyone in LA not taking valium should leave there just for the principle of the thing.

I'm not sure "hook above the headboard" was what secret agent girl had in mind when she asked for a "dominant story," but hey I guess it all fits.

BlackSpinner · Post by **BlackSpinner** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:23 pm

SnoozyWoozyCat wrote:
PranaHuffer wrote: This CPAP dealio has been a transformative change for me. Yeah, ok, I was sorta resistant to the whole tubage thing at first... I mean, I thought, "How is THAT ever gonna look sexy?" and "That's it, now I will NEVER get LAID again".
Hey, this is the internet age -- I don't have the nerve to google it, but I'm sure there's some mask and hose fetish website out there somewhere!
.

I will speak to my friend who does fetish web sites about creating a cpap hoser video. Would you like males or females or both? Do you want blood with that or some cuffs and a whip?

lmorchard · Post by **lmorchard** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:20 pm

SnoozyWoozyCat wrote:Hey, this is the internet age -- I don't have the nerve to google it, but I'm sure there's some mask and hose fetish website out there somewhere!

Rule 34: If it exists, there is porn of it. No exceptions.

(That link may lead to some NSFW language, for what it's worth. And, if that doesn't stop you, it's also likely to suck you in for hours.)

PranaHuffer · Post by **PranaHuffer** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 12:16 am

lmorchard wrote:(That link may lead to some NSFW language, for what it's worth. And, if that doesn't stop you, it's also likely to suck you in for hours.)

Since I was surfing at work (what? I was waiting on my carpool buddy...) it was a sure no-go with the proxy server there ... but that's OK - I'm a geek by trade and all that talk up above about "nerding out on graphs and data" got me all kinds-a worked up.

I think I'll mix that bourbon vanilla "Creme" aromatherapy togetherwith the "Spice" and make my own CPAP "Seduction" Blend If that doesn't make the tubage "hot", nothing will. Then I'm gonna check my stats, and dream of graphs and data.

-M

roster · Post by **roster** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 6:54 am

PranaHuffer wrote: ............
Asthma ...
OK, Asthma is unrelated .........

Huffer, What do you think about this? ->

(Due to untreated sleep apnea) Intense vacuum forces created in the throat can literally suction up normal stomach juices into the throat. It’s not only acid that comes up, but also includes bile, digestive enzymes, and bacteria. This can lead to the classic throat reflux symptoms, which include throat clearing, throat pain, post-nasal drip, chronic cough, hoarseness, lump sensation, or even difficulty swallowing. These materials can then migrate into the lungs, causing or aggravating asthma, bronchitis, and chronic cough.

Entire article: http://doctorstevenpark.com/index.php?s=asthma

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