5 Months is right around the corner...

and it's time for an update ...

I haven't posted in awhile, but most of the issues I have previously posted about are under control. I do read the board though everyday, and I thank goodness I found this site. So on November 4th I will have been using CPAP for 5 months... The changes are GREAT! I started off on a rocky road of high AHI's, and discomfort in my lungs... I switched back and fourth from my Nasal mask to a FF mask. Now I prefer the Nasal mask, and only use the FF mask when I have a cold. My AHI's have also been ranging between 1.5-3.0. I changed my BED pillows (don't want to confuse anyone with the pillows mask) lol... From soft to more firm and my AHI went down dramatically. My usual AI is 0.0 which is great. I have lost 22lbs, and my blood pressure has been pretty steady at 134 over 82. Which is a huge change compared to what it used to be...

I wanted to post a little encouragement to any new CPAP users that may be getting discouraged with their progress... It does work, and I wish I did this 15 yrs ago, when I was a teen. I wasted sooo many years being exhausted. Now I can't sleep past 8am on the weekends... 8am is sleeping in for me now lol. It's great!

Hope everyone else is having good experiences...
Thanks again for all the help along the way

That's so encouraging to hear for those of us just starting out. I get a little freaked out at the prospect of having to wear a mask and hose to bed possibly for the rest of my life. Your post and others like it make me more excited to start treatment and less apprehensive about the diagnosis of sleep apnea. Hope your progress continues!

SnoozyWoozyCat wrote:That's so encouraging to hear for those of us just starting out. I get a little freaked out at the prospect of having to wear a mask and hose to bed possibly for the rest of my life. Your post and others like it make me more excited to start treatment and less apprehensive about the diagnosis of sleep apnea. Hope your progress continues!

Have you had a sleep study yet?... It can be a lot to take in all at once. I was scared to death of sleep apnea, I avoided anything to do with it at all costs... but I was tired of hearing "You sound like a freight train" or waking up in the morning at a new persons house and everyone talking about how loud you snore, and how you're scary to watch sleep... Not to mention I was feeling horrible everyday, and I was scared I was on the verge of a heart attack... doesn't mean it still can't happen, but I am atleast on a better path now to avoiding that.

You'll be ok, and once you feel the difference you won't even notice you have a mask on. I sleep through the night, sometimes I dont even wake up to turn over... its amazing lol.

If you have any questions at all when you start treatment, this is the best place to ask them... besides your Dr. of course lol.

Good Luck!

LaurieJ31981 wrote:I wanted to post a little encouragement to any new CPAP users that may be getting discouraged with their progress... It does work, and I wish I did this 15 yrs ago, when I was a teen. I wasted sooo many years being exhausted.

Laurie,

That is pretty much my story, too. I remember asking my HMO doctor about a sleep study back in the late 1990s. He told me that I shouldn't bother because if I really did have a problem, I'd probably be dead by the time I got a referral and got in for an appointment. In retrospect, that probably set me back 10 years, and I pretty much let it happen to me.

-john-

[/quote]

Laurie,

That is pretty much my story, too. I remember asking my HMO doctor about a sleep study back in the late 1990s. He told me that I shouldn't bother because if I really did have a problem, I'd probably be dead by the time I got a referral and got in for an appointment. In retrospect, that probably set me back 10 years, and I pretty much let it happen to me.

-john-[/quote]

wow really? I was told by my dr way back when that I was to young to have sleep apnea and I probably snored because of my large tonsils, that she still did nothing about... so I just dealt with it. As soon as I seen my Sleep Dr. she had me scheduled for my sleep study that very same night... she already knew I had a severe case of it, so she wanted me in there asap. I'm glad she did...