New to discussing this

After a severe struggle with undiagnosed Sleep Apnea which ocurred for about 9 months at high altitude in Colorado, I was fed up with my doctor saying "lets try this antidepressant now" So I pushed on the insurance provider to allow a sleep study by a doctor they normally didn't cover......they agreed and allowed this. I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea which I was informed occurred 90 x per hr. in the worst position and was drastically reduced.....but not eliminated by CPAP. At times I wake and feel like nothing in the world matters for about half an hour, things seem sort of euphoric. My wife at my request is patiently persistant with me and gets me to moving. At times I feel a sort of distorted perception or slowed down mental ability........ like a computer that is so overloaded it lags terribly. I can fight it off of several seconds, but it rushes back in and I am growing more and more frustrated. I become irrationally irritable for what seem to be the most mundane reasons. I thought that I might be doing this to myself in my own mind, in the past. I feel as if people I know think I'm just giving in to this thing and not trying. I use the CPAP and it improved things, I moved home to Oregon on the coast for the air quality, I've tried the herbal cure alls, vitamin supplements, Coffee, Tea, etc. to improve my waking hours, however it seems as if my memory continues to degrade. (they ran every test under the sun for causes when first diagnosed...so I know its not an underlying ailment, i.e. tumor, diabetes, and the like) I just read about Provigil and am wondering if anyone reading this has tried this treatment with successful results. Also, has anyone ever seen a recovery from sleep apnea? Thank you for taking the time to read this......Wayne

Hi, Wayne and welcome to the perverse world of OSA.

I think just about everyone here can relate to what you're going through, especially the fuzzy mental state and the short temper. At least I can! For several months, I was a downright terrible person to live with....lost my temper over trivial issues, no energy, falling asleep at work, unable to concentrate worth a darn, etc.

I've been on APAP (420E) for about 2 months now and the improvement is incredible!!! I feel like I'm alive again......and living life instead of merely enduring. Hang in there and it WILL get better.

You might consider trying a different XPAP unit.........straight CPAP is good, but there are better options out there which seem to be more effective, such as my 420E (it's an autotitrating PAP which starts at 4cm and goes to a high of 20, although it mostly stays below 11 cm. I was titrated at 16, which darn near blew my brains out with a straight CPAP.). restedgal is a big fan of the Cflex machine by Remstar, which helps on exhalation.

Welcome to the board. It's a great place for helpful information (thanks, Johnny!!) and a good place to vent frustrations. Keep at it.....things should get better for ya!

Thank you for that info, I've been getting more aggressive with respect to finding a solution that actually improves my opinion of life. My wife has been more patient and supportive than I think I deserve at times. It's hard to hear her suggest things and either know that it'll be a dead end ....with a large pricetag, or not feel the drive to pursue it. It doesn't help being an auto tech, either. I keep running into problems that I know are simple and I could have solved easily before all this, and there are times I don't feel conscious enough to drive my own car, much less, a customers. I'm hoping that this Provigil will be the solution. I've tried to address this problem alone for almost 4 years now and this drug ....and these forums are the first hope I've felt good about............. Wayne

Hang in there, Wayne. And keep posting.......the good stuff along with the bad stuff. (Believe it or not, chances are there WILL be good stuff for you to post before too long.) That's what the board is for........and for support.

Again, welcome to our world. It ain't all gloom and doom. Read some of the success stories! Hopefully you'll be writing your own in a few months.

One thing to remember, this isn't a condition that has come on all of a sudden. There's a thing called "sleep debt" that lingers even after therapy starts. It may take up to 6 months or so before you begin to feel really better. But, it may only take a few weeks, like it did me and a few others here. The main thing is to NOT GIVE UP! And remember, this therapy WORKS! But only if you keep the mask on and the machine running...and everybody connected (Liam, I almost left off the last part of this line, but figured you'd have something to say if I didn't put it in! )