Newby question

[Jim Laetare]

I have had problems with snoring, daytime fatigue and hypertension for a few years but until recently refused to have a sleep study done. Part of the problem was that I was vain about wearing CPAP and tended to stereotype the people who needed CPAP as older and fairly large. I am slightly overweight but didn't think that I fit the profile. On my initial consult, my doctor told me that there are marathon runners with OSA. I would like to hear other people's stories that might have some similarities.

[NEW YORKER]

I am 47 and was diagnosed with S.O.S.A. in 2002. I am over weight but also have obstruction in my nose and throat. There are quite a few memebers on this site that are not overweight but have O.S.A.. Not everyone who has O.S.A. is overweight. From what I understand, weight contributes to it and for people who have untreated O.S.A. tend gain more weight. I have gained and lost weight since 2002 but with the machine I have, I think I would be able to lose more and keep it off if I was able to moniter my sleep with a full data machine. I thought wearing this mask sterotypically like you, but the benifits out weighted the negatives. After you use it and start seeing the benifits, you will wonder how you ever slept without it.I am no expert, just my thoughts. There are alot of good people on this site, with more and good advice. Best of luck on your new journey!

[RLAUREN]

Oh my gosh Jim, have you not heard all the other rumors about people with Sleep Apnea and using xPAP. Common to all users (both male and female) is that we make better lovers. xPAP users make better workers. xPAP users, as a group, are better looking. Lots of xPAP users have learned to keep thir mouths shut. For sure they make better bed partners. As far as the women are concerned, they have less headaches, better blood flow, and great endurance. The men, again know how to keep thir mouths shut, breath better, and have great endurance. They also leave thir machines on all night.

I'm trying to add a little humor to my anger over the stereotyping of Sleep Apnea. It is not the persons fault. We make up a full cross section of the population. Give the fix a try! Nobody but your bed mate needs to know (if that is what you want), but if you are a lucky as I am, a whole bunch of people will be commenting about "how much happier you seem to be" and "how much more full of life you are."

Good luck and join us. There is a great group of people here.

[ghoundgirl]

I use cpap, and I'm not overweight!

And I'm at least average looking! Of course, when you add the gear, it's kind of hard to tell...

[Nord]

I don't think there is a "one size fits all"

I'm older, reasonably thin, reasonably athletic, never smoked and don't even snore except on occasion...
but have hypertension and of course CPAP to live with...

We all have our "bad" points. Hopefully the mask is the biggest one we have to deal with. I'm "over it" now.

Nord

[PST]

I have had problems with snoring, daytime fatigue and hypertension for a few years but until recently refused to have a sleep study done. Part of the problem was that I was vain about wearing CPAP and tended to stereotype the people who needed CPAP as older and fairly large. I am slightly overweight but didn't think that I fit the profile. On my initial consult, my doctor told me that there are marathon runners with OSA. I would like to hear other people's stories that might have some similarities.

Get the sleep study. If you don't have OSA, then you can put the issue behind you. If you do, then you'll have proof that people of your age and weight sometimes have OSA. There are plenty of young and thin people here in this forum, although I will confess that I am neither. Who cares about averages? Statistically, diabetics skew to the older and heavier, but it would be the height of foolishness for a young, thin person with symptoms of diabetes to forgo testing as a result. Ditto OSA.

Snoring, daytime fatigue, and hypertension are frequent symptoms of OSA that all of us in this forum recognize, even if we didn't all have each one. Just out of curiosity, do you get up frequently during the night to urinate? Many of us guys dismiss it as a prostate issue, but it is also a symptom highly characteristic of OSA and often disappears the first night with CPAP. Morning headaches? Is that daytime fatigue sleepiness? An almost irresistible desire to close your eyes and catch 40 winks? Any trouble keeping awake while driving expressways? Put a few of these symptoms together, and the chances of OSA are substantial enough to justify a sleep study for anyone not in deep denial.

As for vanity, I hope you're kidding, but it is worth pointing out that the newest ResMed machines look like clock radios. I consider myself one of the least alarmist people who posts here. I haven't missed a night of CPAP since week 1, but I don't worry about sudden death if I ever doze off in a lawn chair or the power goes out some night. Instead, I worry about the cumulative insult to the heart and brain that OSA causes month after month. The correlation between OSA and hypertension is well documented, and no doubt you already know the dangers hypertension poses: atherosclerosis, stroke, kidney failure, etc. CPAP treatment is a small price to pay for longer life expectancy and a greatly enhanced sense of well-being.

[Jersey Girl]

RLauren - - We are better, aren't we!

Jim -

Snoring, hypertension, daytime fatigue all point to possible OSA. Before I was diagnosed, I too, though of it as kind of an "old people" problem - because my dad had it and he wasn't diagnosed until he was 66 years old. But, who knows how many years he had it before finally going in for a sleep study? I have since learned that OSA affects many different people of many different ages - from the young to the old from the thin to the obese - OSA affects a diverse population. I am only 47 and believe that I have had OSA for about 7 years - been really fatigued for a very long time. Now, with my machine, my fatigue is gone and I'm back to being me again!

Please, go for the sleep study. Take it one step at a time. If you do find out you have OSA, register fully here at the forum and we will do our best to help you along the way.

Best wishes,

Jersey Girl

[Jim Laetare]

Thanks for all of the feedback. Yes PST I do get up frequently to urinated during the night or at least I did before I started the CPAP -- almost two weeks ago. I definitely feel better and hope that I continue to have more energy during the day. I'm in healthcare and working nights this week so it's hard to determine the effects of the CPAP -- nights does not agree with me! I'm back to days next week so I hope to take advantage of the Spring weather.

[PST]

Thanks for all of the feedback. Yes PST I do get up frequently to urinated during the night or at least I did before I started the CPAP -- almost two weeks ago. I definitely feel better and hope that I continue to have more energy during the day. I'm in healthcare and working nights this week so it's hard to determine the effects of the CPAP -- nights does not agree with me! I'm back to days next week so I hope to take advantage of the Spring weather.

Jim, I misread your first post and didn't realize you'd already taken the big step. I was preaching to the choir. Maybe some lurking stranger will take my advice. Sorry to hear about the night shift; I imagine that must make the adjustment more difficult.

[kevincoop]

I have set up children as young as 1 and several athletes and people in very good shape. Its not always how big a person is (although extra weight adds fatty tissue in the airway) or how old a person is (although when you get older the muscle tone starts to go so your airway closes easier). For many people it is just their tongue falling back over the airway or just excess tissue back there making it close down easier. Those in the categories that you describe go to the doctor more so they are diagnosed more, they have other health issues, and they fit the stereotype that you described. I guess most doctors think like this or more younger and in shape people would be on cpap.

[pdean44]

I am 52 a bit over weight but not by a real lot. I definitely don't look like I did when I was 25.
My wife is pretty supportive of me using the equipment. I really don't care what anyone thinks.
I just know when you need help you get it.
By being here in this group I take the support i get from the medical field and up that a few hundred fold by the sound advice of those using the equipment.
I have had a snoring problem for years that finally got so bad my wife and I were avoiding sleeping in the same room for the last 3 months. I had enough of that and thought i would go see my primary doctor to see what he could do about the snoring thing. I had no idea I had apnea. I had no idea the fatigue i felt every way was tied into the snoring. I have to say I was a bit delighted to find out that I would kill two birds with one stone on this diagnosis.
I so wanted this to work out I fretted for the month i had to wait to get my sleep study done. I was hoping i would not be denied the treatment and it would provide me with a life altering experience.

We are back in the same room. Victory number one. I find that my energy is improving. Not quite a victory yet as i am new and due to go back for an evaluation soon on how i am doing. I think they will need to raise the pressure some on the machine. Everyone has their own story on where they are with their treatment how they got here. It makes for an interesting read. We all have one thing in common. A desire for a healthier life. A desire to feel rested to be able to live life to the fullest. I love coming in here and reading how some folks have come across a problem and to follow them until they reach a happy conclusion to it. I am a one month cpap noob. I use it when i am sleeping no exceptions. I hope to get where I need to be. It has been an interesting adventure. Great folks here have made it easier for me.