New and interested to be on CPAP

Good day to everyone!

Hope you all had a good night's sleep!

I am new here and this is my intro.

well, as for me, I have been to a sleep lab. but i've got the signs/symptoms of being an apnea sufferer.

i'm 31 years old, i'm 5'4", 90kgs, of asian decent, and i wake up in the morning feeling tired. I snore loud, and

my wife says that i sound like that i'm drowning (gasping for air) from time to time. And I easily get sleepy

during the day.

I don't know if it's a reflex but my jaw tends to go to one side when i'm starting to doze off.

I want to sleep!

I'm sternly deciding on buying a CPAP machine but I've got questions which I was hoping, be answered in this forum.

1st question is : do I need to go to a sleep lab before I but my machine?
2nd question : if not, i'm confused on which machine to buy and I don't know if there are machine available here locally (i'm in the middle east, United Arab Emirates to be exact.)

and I if I am to buy a machine, which type of mask should i use?

these are just some of the preliminary inquiries that I have...i'm sure that they are common to first timers. I do hope you guys can help. thanks a lot!

Hi pongerts
I assume you wanted to write "I have not been to a sleep lab".
It is good to go a sleep lab to find out if you happen to have other problems that may disrupt your sleep.
It is also good to go to a sleep lab because sometimes the process of finidng the right cpap pressure - which is called titration - can give an indication of which machine would serve you better - e.g. a fixed single pressure machine or a bi level machine.

Having said all that, I will also say that frequently people can handle simple obstructive sleep apnea problem on the own, with the help of a data tracking machine.

Do read the first post on this thread viewtopic/t35702/Where-A-CPAP-Newbie-Should-Start.html and click on its links. That will give you a good overview of how to think about the whole issue.

As for "which mask is better?" that's a tough one. I love my Headrest nasal pillows mask - it seals well - the way I modified it (based on suggestions by "rested gal") makes it a very comfortable mask --for my face. Others prefer other masks and other maks styles.

O.

get your wife to tape record when you seem to be drowning, also record any long gaps with no breathing, although with apnea there are sometimes no gaps without breathing

dont expect doctors to know much about sleep apnea, the recordings may help to convince them that you arent just lazy or depressed

In the US, a prescription is required to purchase a CPAP. The prescription does not have to be from a sleep specialist, and you do not have to have a sleep study, however.

I don't know the law in the UAE, but you may need to involve a doctor at some leve.