Family reactions / stigma

I had the "but you're so young to have sleep apnea" when I was diagnosed back in 2015 at the age of 33 turning 34. Mostly though my friends and family were accepting. I have a friend in England who I used to talk to regularly who accepts using her own machine. I have a roommate who has a cpap machine but won't use it because he refuses to try to get used to it. It's been sitting in his closet for at least 2.5 years.

A very rich thread! I don't exactly evangelize, but once I stopped feeling PAP use was a deep dark secret, I learned there were lots of people I knew who used PAP too. Two neighbors on my one-block street; a woman who has been a friend since fourth grade; two co-workers; a good friend of a good friend. Plus all the people I see in airports with the same blue and gray ResMed bag that I schlep.

KittyMom22, it sounds as though you understand your mother very well. I hope she can extend that same kind of understanding to you. With luck she just needs some time to take in the information. Fingers crossed for you. And what good news it is that you've had some restful nights!

Ya can’t fix stupid

Fed1 wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 11, 2022 10:53 pm

Ya can’t fix stupid

Maybe not.

But you CAN use kindness, compassion and patience to educate someone who may not understand something.

You might want to try it, like everyone here is suggesting kittymom should do.