Newby says thanks

I'm new to the forum; been lurking a week or more, and just wanted to say thanks for all the information here. I loved the files under the lighbulb - all that information was a tremendous help.

I have severe sleep apnea and probably have had for many years. I began snoring as a kid. I have a Remstar Auto APAP with a heater and humidifier and Optilife nasal pillows. Everything fits well with no leakage.

The first night I used the machine for about four hours with very restless slepp and then tore it off my face. But each night is getting better. Now I'm sleeping well with little disruption for about 7 hours.

I can't say I'm feeling a whole lot better yet but after reading the files in the collective wisdom, I realize I have a whole lot of sleep deprivation to overcome.

No, no complaints - just lots of thank yous for the furm and for the sharing of information!

Liz

Welcome and congratulations on getting off to a good start. Might want to pull up a chair - many who visit here end up staying longer than they planned.
Kathy

kteague wrote:Welcome and congratulations on getting off to a good start. Might want to pull up a chair - many who visit here end up staying longer than they planned.
Kathy

You can say that again Kathy. I was in Liz's position just about 4 years ago!
Welcome, Liz.

O.

Welcome to the board, Liz!

Liz Palika wrote:But each night is getting better. Now I'm sleeping well with little disruption for about 7 hours.

Wooo...you're doing well! That's good to hear.

Thanks for the welcomes.

I have also read many people are upset with their doctors and the medical care they've received. I have no idea if company/organizational names are permitted so I won't mention mine, but they offered classes on sleep apnea, classes on the equipment and it's use, and have a respiratory therapist who can be contacted by phone or email. I have been very happy with the support. And of course, took all the classes offered! smile...

Liz

Dittos:
I too have just joined this forum after having been lurking for quite a number of weeks and must give a huge Thank You to the members here.
I was diagnosed with OSA some 16 years ago. I underwent UPPP ( a surgery I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy) with marginal success and tried CPAP then but could not tolerate it - so I ignored it. Fast forward to 15 months ago when I quit smoking but started feeling increasingly fatigued and dizzy. Doc figured it was elevated blood pressure and put me on meds. No improvement so he put me on more. I finally asked him if it could be OSA and he said it might so sent me to the sleep lab.
After 4 attempts, I finally slept long enough to be titrated. My insurance sprung for a pretty low-end machine with no data capability. I worked with it for three months- mostly struggling to keep the mask on for more than a few hours.
I discovered this forum and found not only a wealth of information (far more than my doc knows) but tips and tricks and, most importantly, stories from many wonderful people that have inspired me to continue to work with CPAP.
Last week, my new data-capable APAP machine arrived that I paid for out of pocket. It is so great to be able to actually see what my sleep looked like from last night and relate it to how I feel. I am trying to resist fiddling with my settings too much so that I can take a scientific approach to managing my sleep. It does, however, look like the prescribed pressure setting from the sleep study was way low.
Anyway, I have quite a ways to go - AHI is at 17.2, down from over 22 a week ago and I see now that leaks are taking their toll so I may need to start using some of those McGuyver-style fixes that have been suggested by some of the more inventive folks on this forum.
Once again - thanks to you all! With your help I think I can make it. Without it - I would have given up a month ago.

-Clark

Welcome to you, too, Clark! I enjoyed reading your introductory post. Very interesting.

Glad you made it to this board, and happy to see you've equipped yourself well for proactive monitoring of your treatment.

I'm also new to this wonderful forum. Like others, I've been lurking, reading, and soaking up the knowledge. It has certainly helped me to understand what to expect and not be thrown for a loop by little problems.

I've been on the hose for three days now with few problems. Fortunately, my sleep doc prescribed a fully data capable APAP machine, which I obtained from the very helpful CPAP-only DME located in the same facility. I hope to get the Encore software soon, but the display will have to suffice in the interim.

Wow. Another warm welcome is in order... hi there, Robespierre!

What a good start you're off to:

Robespierre wrote:I've been on the hose for three days now with few problems. Fortunately, my sleep doc prescribed a fully data capable APAP machine, which I obtained from the very helpful CPAP-only DME located in the same facility. I hope to get the Encore software soon, but the display will have to suffice in the interim.

You may have already found this info.... but just in case you haven't, and want to look at "just last night's data" instead of weekly/monthly averages in your Respironic machine's display window:

How to reset the M series machine "weekly"/"monthly" details back to zero, in order to view just last night's results the next day:

viewtopic.php?p=239127#239127

viewtopic/t29141/Resetting-the-data-on-Respironics.html

ResMed machine users don't have to jump through those hoops to see "last night's data" (if their machine records more than just hours of use data.) ResMed machines can show "nightly/weekly/monthly" results in the window.

Thanks, Rested Gal. I had seen that, but you saved me from having to hunt it down again!

kteague wrote:Welcome and congratulations on getting off to a good start. Might want to pull up a chair - many who visit here end up staying longer than they planned.
Kathy

This forum is so addictive I'm going to get myself a recliner!