I'm afraid my girlfriend has sleep apnea

Hi Jeff, I'm so glad she is willing to try it. That's about the pressure range I would use. What mask are you setting her up with?

I've tried to get my son to use mine for one night, but he's seldom here and then all we want to do is fish. . But I'll clamp a mask onto him one of these days.

And I wouldn't blame you is you need to "bypass" some of the costly preliminaries if she tests positive for apnea. Obviously, if you get a cpap for her via cpap.com -- you both need to monitor her very closely.

My son totally can't afford a sleep test or a machine. He might have to end up with my old one someday. But hey, it's better than going untreated.

Tell her I said "good going and good luck".

[quote="Linda3032"]Hi Jeff, I'm so glad she is willing to try it. That's about the pressure range I would use. What mask are you setting her up with?

JeffH wrote:Well, she's agreed to try it this weekend.

I'm thinking set the APAP to 6 / 12 and see what the card says. Anybody got any better ideas?

JeffH

Sounds like a very good idea.

leaveye wrote:(I'm sorry if I ruffle any feathers by saying this, I know most people don't advocate loopholes etc.)

Your post sure didn't ruffle mine.

JeffH wrote:Well, she's agreed to try it this weekend.

I'm thinking set the APAP to 6 / 12 and see what the card says. Anybody got any better ideas?

JeffH

If she can tolerate the APAP, then you'll probably know for sure.

If there's a problem using the APAP, then I'd recommend an oximeter rather than waiting a couple of years for Medicare to pick up the tab. Just clip it on her finger for the night. The cost for using an oximeter is minimal or nothing.

Regards,
Bill

Make sure she understands that masks are very 'personal' and that yours may not be either comfortable (even for someone willing), or effective (if it leaks at all, which she may not be able to detect), but that there are loads of others out there of all kinds and if she gets fitted properly, even if it takes a few tries, it'll be worth it.

my poor husband of 17 years has told me since day one that i needed to have a sleep study, and we're in ontario, canada, so medical coverage wasn't even an excuse...i just didn't want to travel 4 hours away, which at the time was the closest sleep clinic...luckily for me my friend and neighbour shared his struggles with me and his symptoms were identical to mine, so i finally went last fall (locally) because my health has deteriorated so much in the last 10 years that i was desperate for some answers......i've only been on cpap for 5 weeks, and so far i'm still waiting for any discernible results, but i think it's early days yet and i'm feeling hopeful for the first time in a decade! i wish i'd listened to my darling hubby sooner... so, i guess what i'm trying to say is she's lucky to have you since you seem genuinely concerned and you have your own experiences to share with her...best of luck to you both!

In addition to the suggested "ten years younger" tactic, I would really stress to her the health concerns of having UNTREATED apnea. You want her around for as long as possible. I can go along with your procuring an additional cpap machine for her.

Good luck, and let us know how your efforts turn out!