One month down .... a few more to go ...

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 5:00 pm

Well, I just completed my first month on the “gold standard” OSA treatment (aka xPAP). I must say it is certainly a steep learning curve and I feel saddened for those who do not have the great people of this forum to help them get through it all.

Two months ago I had never heard of OSA and felt as though growing old was just going to be a rough ride for me. According to my sleep study, I discovered that my oxygen levels were dipping down to as low as 60 percent which made me feel as though I had chronic flu symptoms without the congestion (severe head aches and muscle aches). Consequently, with 99.7 apneas per hour (some lasting as long as 63 seconds -- never even new I could hold my breath that long) … my body’s starvation for oxygen was stressing my heart and arteries to near cardiac arrest and stroke levels every night. I feel very lucky to be alive as my debilitating symptoms have been ongoing for the past five years and some degree of OSA for perhaps the past 25 years.

During the past month my chronic flu symptoms have gone away and my apnea index has consistently been below 0.2 per hour. Although I wake up after 6 to 7 hours of sleep, I no longer feel as though I have some type of fatigue syndrome. I have accepted my new xPAP lifestyle, going to sleep all hosed up every night like people in the Matrix or like some space traveler on a trip to a new dream world light-years away. I also enjoy the challenge of making the xPAP experience as comfortable and efficient as possible … fiddling, modifying, or lab ratting (as some call it here on the forum) the equipment.

Anyway, I don’t wish to bore you with a full biography but I did want to say … THANKS … for being so kind and helpful.

- roberto

NyNurse33 · Post by **NyNurse33** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 5:11 pm

AWWWW...that's so positive. Even though my OSA is not as critical as yours was/is, I can sympathize with your chronic fatigue like feeling. I came down with mono 3 yrs ago and I swear I never got better. That's when ironically I think this all started. I am so happy to hear that your health is better. I put off the 2nd sleep study (cpap fitting) b/c I was in such denial and didn't want to succumb to wearing this darth vadar thing, that I suffered another 8 months, before I scheduled that appt. I could kick myself in the u know where for putting it off that long. I was miserable to my family..sometimes falling asleep driving (yikes!) always falling asleep as a passenger, taking naps everyday after work and waking up feeling worse. Talk about no motivation! Hopefully we will all continue to improve and to all the other non-osa people out there...you are becoming obsolete...stop picking on us!!!

JCraig · Post by **JCraig** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 5:39 pm

NyNurse33 wrote:I came down with mono 3 yrs ago and I swear I never got better.

You might not have! Isn't mono related to/a cause of ... some ... disease I can't remember the name of that makes people tired/depressed all the time?!?!

kavanaugh1950 · Post by **kavanaugh1950** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:46 pm

JCRAIG, THE WORD YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME, OR EPSTEIN BARR VIRUS.

tooly125 · Post by **tooly125** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 8:29 pm

NyNurse33 wrote: and to all the other non-osa people out there...you are becoming obsolete...stop picking on us!!!

I agree the nerve of some people sleeping their with there bare faces!
Don't worry they will be assimilated,resistance is futile

NyNurse33 · Post by **NyNurse33** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:27 pm

I have had several blood tests after my mono to rule out an elevated epstein barr virus which in it's acute stage causes mono and chronically...chronic fatigue and I'm fine. I think it is just coincidental or exaggerated my OSA symptoms. I may have had OSA for longer than that, just the symptoms have become more evident in the past few years.