Younger Persons Guide to OSA and CPAP

One of the things I notice in this site is that most of the information and observations are from older people. Some of which go into more medical problems and the such that I am not familiar with. No disrespect, but at first I looked for someone to post what I am posting. Take it with a grain of salt, and no disrespect to the elders! If it were not for them and the experiences they provided on here I would do not be wearing my machine right now!

A younger persons guide to what to do with OSA and the need for CPAP. I am 33 with sleep apnea. These are my recommendations after four weeks of treatment - this is an opinion, and we all know about those:
1. First, READ THIS SITE.
2. Realize that the DME’s spoken of on here are the norm, and not the exception.
3. Try to find a DME that will let you try several items beforehand. Most in my experience will not go for this.
4. Let them know that you are informed and an active part of you're treatment. That if they do rip you off that you will not return for their service. Also, most of these guys really want to be recommended by your doctor. Let them know that you are letting him and ALL of his staff know how they are treating you. This may seem a bit over the top, but trust me.
5. Get the most machine you can. Read up on and be aware of older models that are discontinued and what the new one’s do and if they are available to you. Software is not required but can become an excellent aid in being pro-active in your treatment. It can let you know it is working. It’s like that Eddie Murphy joke about throwing a starving man in the desert a cracker, he thinks it’s the best cracker ever. But, later on realizes it is no Ritz and all he has is a bedful of old saltines. If you have not slept in years, and fell better after a night’s sleep you will feel better, but what are you comparing against? The software tells you.
6. Try as many masks as you can for free. Masks are an individual kind of thing, and all the reading doesn’t compare to trying it. Some sleep labs have post sleep study sessions where you can come in and try all the masks you want at pressure in one of their beds. These office visits usually cost $ out of your pocket, and insurance does not cover them.
7. When you bring a new mask home, even though it was presented to you at the DME or the sleep lab, WASH IT before you were it. This will help the seal. A lot of people give up on masks that they did not clean because they assume it came to them clean. It is “clean”, but for the seals sake, just wash it again before you give up on it.
8. Give CPAP time to work, and most of all don’t freak out if you can’t keep your mask on at first.
9. Don’t go bankrupt trying to find a mask. I suggest to you to first find a good “regular” mask, then get a Comfort Curve or Swift Nasal Pillows system (or any of the other similar ones that you have read up no and think you would like.) Hopefully that will get you buy until month 3 where you can make a better decision on what to get with your insurance paying the bill.
10. Shop all the DME’s in your town for mask availability. Just because you use one primary DME, if they do not have what you want, go wherever you need to get it.
11. As far as the online versus local debate, my jury is still out on that, as I had to train my DME on my new machine when I picked it up. Not sure about the local support, but they do get freebie masks, and they might hook you up if you ask.
12. One more thing. A lot of folks on here are using APAP. I am by no means a doctor, but when I discussed this with him, he felt that I should try CPAP therapy and then if that does not work think about APAP.

Great post!

You forgot

13. Old people are cool







***** SPRINTS AWAY *****

13. Older people are cool.

Like I said, No offense was intended. Also, I should have stated that I hav eno other medical conditions except for being overweight. That's really all I was meaning....

Dont worry your post was very good!! I was just trying to stir the OLD(er) people up. I am 35 so you are not tooo much younger than me

re: number 12. Ask you Doc if you can try a which doctor first and if that doesn't work you'll come back to him. LOL

I believe I'm old in your opinion, 52....but I thought that's what all of our posts were saying?

Guess there have been a couple of posts on diabetes, but that's all I remember. And hey...if you are overweight enough to get OSA, then diabetes most likely is not far behind. And that has nothing to do with age.

But your post was a really nice synopsis of all the advice given by this forum. Nice to have it all in one place.

JMO
Jan in Colo.

Another bump for the new arrivals

PHILINOK,

You are one smart young man!!! I'm 48 years young (with CPAP) and just feel like I needed a 50,000 mile tune up!!! Now I'm gearing up for the next 50,000 miles!!!! Welcome Aboard!!!

CD (Carolyn)

Phil,

Great post! I am 48, too. May I make an observation? A lot of people here are victims of other disorders that came from untreated OSA. I am speaking from personal experience. Migraines, elevated BP, those types of things that can develop if your OSA AT ANY AGE goes without treatment. I don't think you can make a distinction based on age when it comes to those ailments.

Now, if you want to talk about arthritis and other "older" people ailments, okay. But I think most of the ones discussed do come from our having OSA. Maybe not all of them, but a lot of them. And I wish it weren't so, but 33 is not too young to have a lot of those ailments for the same reason.

I thought your post was fanstastic. You make incredibly astute observations and you write very well. Why don't you find a category to create on CPAP FAQ and post it for other younger sufferers to refer to when they find the site? It was definitely a keeper.

Hope you are doing well on your therapy. Nice to have you with us old folks (LOL). If you're like most of us, the older you get, the younger each nearing decade of age seems to us. When I was 33, 48 was ancient. Now as I near 50, 60 isn't even THAT old...and I think you're only as old as you feel, or as young. Think young and you'll stay young (or at least your mind will). Thanks for the great post!