I think I am going to die

[cosmo]

You need to learn how to relax and not let anxiety or stress get the better of you. The dental office I go to always compliments me on how relaxed I am after procedures. I close my eyes and think about nothing, trying to block everything out. Even while there are drills, water blocking my throat, scraping, bill amount, etc are going on You don't need candles, a mat, videos, etc. Just the state of mind.

I can go to bed within minutes so long as I don't have too much sugar, caffeine or other meds that might ruin my sleep time/cycles. Having a deviated septum probably doesn't mean you can't use the nasal pillows. You'll probably need a chinstrap or taping of the mouth. I can breath better in a nasal pillow than a full face mask. The machine is doing all of the work of getting air through my nose instead of me trying to do so

Your pressure of 10cm is easy also. Test the pressure at 16cm on cpap mode and you'll see how lucky you are not having higher settings that most people on here do.

[DavidCarolina]

I have to say i dont know why anyone gets a nasal system. What if you get a severe cold and cant use it? What if you start mouth breathing?

The full face means you can alternate back and forth, as most people probably do.

To the OP, most sleep apnea is caused by a collapsing tongue, a narrow airway, heredity anatomy, etc. Losing weight is brilliant, but most likely
wont get rid of your apnea. Perhaps a dental appliance may help.

If youre feeling "suffocated" with the mask on, try this. COOL the room off significantly. Consider turning off the heated humidity and do the
blow over with the humidifier off.

COOL air gives the mipression of breathing much better, the air feels less dense and hot. It does wonders for me. I despise breathing hot humid
air.

When you put the mask on at night, remember you can pull it away from your face at the bottom and breathe normally until you adjust. The titraton is
also essential. Most people also want exhalation relief through auto or cflex. I couldnt use cpap without it.

Fnally, sleep on your side or stomach. Prone sleeping magnifies apnea 20 fold.

[zoocrewphoto]

Somebody mentioned being calm at the dentist office, and that reminded me of a recent issue where I had a lot of anxiety. It is long, but it explains my anxiety, and the relief when I mastered it.

I have been avoiding the dentist for many years. About 10 years ago, I broke a wisdom tooth, and went in, I assumed to get it removed. The did xrays and told me I would need 4 specialized cleanings before they could pull my wisdom teeth (all of them). I went in for the first cleaning. The ripped me lip which took 3 months to heal, and I couldn't eat normal food for 3 days. It did not improve my fear of the dentist. My tooth didn't hurt much unless i got something stuck in it, so I just didn't go back.

Two years ago, another wisdom tooth broke. This one had a piece break off, but it was still attached to my gums. Being great at avoiding medical stuff, I actually waited 2 weeks for the piece to fall out. It didn't. So, I tried a new dentist and went in. They did xrays, numbed my mouth, and had the whole tooth out in less time than it took to numb it. It healed great, and I was able to eat later that day. No biggie. I went back for a full exam, and cleaning. They took my blood pressure. Back then, I had not been diagnosed with sleep apnea (though I knew I had it, but didn't truly understand the damage it was doing). My blood pressure was very high, and they would not do the cleaning. They were concerned that the numbing medication would take it too high. I think it was it in the 190s. They were very concerned and told me to go the doctor. I knew I had somewhat high blood pressure, but this was before I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and put on medications. I was still avoiding medical issues, so I didn't do anything about it.

In September of 2011, I got serious about the blood pressure, and have 3 medications now. It is somewhat better with medication, but even better with cpap treatment. With everything together, it is normal, but a bad night or missed medication, and it goes back up. I am still a work in progress.

So, fast forward to November 2012. I get a reminder that I have up to $2500 per year in dental coverage, and the year is almost over. I know I need to get my wisdom teeth out, plus I know I have bunch of small cavities. I had learned that teeth problems can lead to heart problems. And this was the year to get serious about my health. So, I made an appointment to get an exam and detailed cleaning, and another appointment to get the remaining 3 wisdom teeth out. I went in for the exam, and my cavities were all still there of course, but all were shallow, so only fillings for those. The only bad teeth were the wisdom teeth. My blood pressure was high, though not nearly as high as 2 years earlier. I believe it was in the 160s. They were concerned and hooked me up to the machine and set it to check every 10 minutes. The cleaning went as well as it could, and I had no problem eating normal food afterward. Definitely a better experience than the dentist 10 years ago.

So, I was actually looking forward to finally getting rid of the wisdom teeth. The dentist also asked if I wanted to get some fillings done in the same visit and use up as much of my $2500 as possible. That sounded good. I knew I would have to get the rest done after the new year as the total was above $2500. The day before the appointment, I asked if it would be okay to take a muscle relaxer the night before. They said yes, but let me know that if my blood pressure was still high, they would only do the fillings. I had been doing my best all week to make sure I took all 3 meds on time every day, and use my cpap machine as much as possible, even going to bed early. But now I was stressed. If they couldn't do my wisdom teeth during that appointment, I would have to wait until January because of my work schedule. That would mean waiting until 2014 to get everything finished. And what if my blood pressure was high again. I would have to prepare and go through the anxiety again and again until it was finally done. I just wanted them out! So, there I was at work, stressing myself out even more. I knew I was making myself worse, but I was stuck in a mental panic. I work in a grocery store, and there is an elderly customer who comes in every day, and is a real sweetheart. I told him about the dentist issue, and he said the funniest thing to me. "Only YOU can prevent forest fires." It was so funny and yet so true. I don't know how that just came to him. I haven't seen one of those commercials in years. And his Smokey the bear imitation was pretty good too. But he was right, I was the only one who could calm myself down. I could hear him saying that over and over, and I finished the rest of my shift laughing at it. I also felt better and more relaxed.

The next day, as I was sitting in the dentist chair, I was hearing my friend say, "Only YOU can prevent forest fires." And I was laughing again. They took my blood pressure, and it was 143 over 80 something. They were happy so far. They wanted to do the fillings first since it woud be best before having blood/guaze from the extractions. They did 11 fillings, all on the top teeth, and that took an hour and a half. I had a bathroom break, and they took my blood pressure again. I was still nervous as I really wanted those teeth out. But I could still hear my friend, "Only YOU can prevent forest fires. "

150 over 99. She told me they had a couple options as she was also concerned about my gag reflex and all the work in the back. So, we would do the top one, and see how I did with that. After that, we might do the other 2, or we might call it a day. If it was too hard on me, then she would refer me to an oral surgeon who could knock me out. I didn't want to go to an oral surgeon as my insurance won't cover that fully. But the upper tooth was the old broken tooth, the one I really wanted out. So, I figured, if that is the only one that comes out, I am still good. That is the one that bothers me. I was relieved that my blood pressure was still okay enough to at least get the bad one out. What a relief. It practically jumped out, less than 2 minutes, so my dentist asked if I wanted to proceed with the other 2. I said yes, let's do it. They took my blood pressure again, and it was 137 over 80 something. Can you believe that? It went down!

I had managed to overcome my anxiety for the appointment, keeping it at the high range of normal and a little higher. But once I knew the bad one was out, and I had gotten the worst part of my fear done, I was relaxed and happy, and my blood pressure went down. I got the other two teeth out (one did take a lot longer), and other than a sore jaw and some tenderness on one side (the last tooth that was difficult), I really didn't have much pain. My right side had 2 teeth pulled, and it didn't hurt at all. I was able to eat real food the next day. I just had to be careful not to get anything stuck in the holes.

I went back for lower fillings this past week. I had 5 fillings on the bottom. My dentist said they were very shallow, and often there is no sensitivity. Would I like to try it without numbing? If it hurt, they could stop and numb it. I figured out would be faster and no shots without numbing, so we did it. They did not check my blood pressure since they weren't using medication that could make it go up. And they knew this was easier than all the previous work. I got done in less than an hour. The vibrations were a little weird, but no pain, and I was able to eat a normal lunch when I got home. And I am NOT afraid of the dentist anymore!

Sorry that this was so long. But it is the closest thing I have experienced to the anxiety that many have with the cpap machine. I let the fear control me for years, putting up with a broken tooth that sometimes hurt, for 10 years. I brought the tooth home, and it looks hideous. The whole top is gone and you can see the nerve. They were amazed it wasn't bothering me more. I was fortunate that my gums covered it up after a few years and protected it.

I can truly understand your fear and the anxiety that makes it so hard to conquer. But try to remember, you have the power to overcome it. Only YOU can prevent forest fires