New here - So thankful for this chat group!

I am a newbie to this chat group--I live in Northern California--Female, 33 years old, married with 2 boys (8yr & 5 yr). Since I had my second son I thought that I was going "crazy". But I always explained it away because I just had a baby, then I had two kids, blah, blah, blah!! Come to find out it was a tad more serious!
I have recently been diagnosed with "moderate" OSA (like that really matters-it all causes the same brain fog).
No one understands what I am going through, except you guys! I have been reading the posts and I am so happy to hear others speak of brain fog. We are intelligent people so others wonder what our problem is....
Anyway, thank you all!
I have been trying to sleep for 3 nights now with remstar cflex (I think?) with heated humidifier and full face mask. (I'll get the proper verbage soon enough). It has been OK. At this point, I will do ANYTHING (within reason) for a good night's sleep. I am trying to LOVE it right away! Fake it 'til you make it, right?
Thank you for your input and stories. I also love the new encyclopedia feature..when I first joined I had a lot of trouble following posts due to abbreviations, so thank you for that.

Danielle,

Welcome to our forum!

When I joined as a forum member, I felt the same way, that noone understood what I was going through, except the kind folks here on the forum.

I have met people in my regular world who are very knowlegable and seem to understand this condition very well. But even those people don't have sleep apnea and don't fully understand, as much as they try, bless their hearts. My parents, who live far from me now, understand somewhat, but I've actually copied some of the comments here and mailed them to my folks just to get them to see what we're all about. You probably also felt so utterly alone in this when you were diagnosed.

Just a few days ago I submitted a letter from me and a formal letter of explanation from my doctor, to my employer, because my job was in jeapardy due to how I was before treatment. After that, I admitted it to a co-worker. I told her that it was embarrassing to admit this, not unlike admitting to having clinical depression. And it did feel that way. I've also felt foolish, thinking that it may seem silly to be so upset over something as normal as sleeping, must seem that way to others. Afterall, there are far more serious illnesses and conditions out there, I would think. But as my co-worker friend said so sweetly, we all have something we suffer from. We are human.

So welcome to our forum, and keep in touch.

Linda

Two things about your post I wanted to respond to:

First, I agree whole-heartedly, I was SO happy to find out what was causing the fog, spending at least a day a week in my office getting nothing done because I couldn't concentrate. Fortunately for me, I'm quite good at my job, and so I could get enough done on the non-foggy days so as not to be seen as "slacking".

Secondly, if you can get your husband to read through a few days of this list, and get him actively on board helping to support you through the time it takes to get used to the treatment, you'll have a HUGE head start. My own wife, Janet, actually found the board for me while doing some research on my newly diagnosed illness, and has kept up with it. She knows what I'm going through, and she's there for me.

My thoughts, this morning, in a cold-and-fever addled brain...