An ADD and work related post

Ok so here goes. ( sorry in advance for the ADD).

I have to go back to work Thursday and my problem with that is that my fiancee works till 11:00 pm and she doesn't drive so I go and help her finish up and take her home. We usually get there between 11:15 & 12:00. I get up at 5 am every work day. Problem is that leaves me 4-5 hrs sleep time. While I will be compliant, but I won't have eight hrs. Will this hinder my therapy or should I nap for four hrs get up get her and sleep rest of night ( no don't think it will affect my sleep ability, because I usually can fall asleep at a drop off a hat).

Also, is there a mask that better conforms to a chubby cheek person? My Quattro Air does a decent job but this morning I woke up with mask and machine off. (Again I don't know how). Looked at the numbers not sleepyhead, as of yet). .8 ahi but had a terrible frowny face at the mask fit window. I ordered a chin strap to help keep my big mouth shut ( too bad it wouldn't work at work, my co-workers would appreciate if it did) . So I am asking is there a better fitting mask for a person w with puffy cheeks as they really aren't chubby. I adjusted the mask according to someone on here's instructions, but I ripped it off the other night and forgot to lay down while I was adjusting it and it was to tight last night. I would like to thank the person for the instructions because the mask sits on my face on a pillow. Not too tight not too loose.

I need this to work because I lost a $200 tool last yr because of the apnea and ADD combo. It must work because my fiancee is finally sleeping through the night.

Sorry so long but ADD kicked in and I kept posting

That may work. Our ancestors slept in spurts, and here we are.

how did apnea cause a lost tool? Did you get distracted due to lack of sleep?

MitzyG wrote:how did apnea cause a lost tool? Did you get distracted due to lack of sleep?

As I have both apnea and Add ( attention deficit disorder) I am extremely forgetful and I thought I put the tool up so I left it out and out ease on side of the road so it was gone. I install traffic signals and red light cameras, which is why it was on the side of the road, between apnea and Add I forget to make sure I picked it up so I lost it. It was mine not companies. What upsets mgr the most is it belonged to my dad before he pissed earlier this yr so it was a little sentimental, but it is my fault I forgot to put it up.

You must find a way to get more hours of sleep in some kind of ongoing routine... 5 hrs is not enough and will affect you long term both mentally and physically. I don't know how well you personally do sleeping a few hrs, then waking and sleeping again later on - it's not for everyone and I strongly suggest your girlfriend find some other way to manage... what if you were in bed, or jail, or ?? It's enough that you have apnea, never mind ADD, but your situation is not a good one and you don't want (apart from anything else) to have a driving accident as well because all it would take is a second of inattention with the combo of not enough sleep and ADD to change your life and anyone else's who might be involved.

All this I understand, but I am taking medicine for the ADD, which helps with most everything but putting things down in writing. I focus on driving but I was trending to feel sleepy so I slap myself shake my head, stick my head out the window. I focussed this with my doctor and he did the ADD test which is on the severe side and referred me to my extremely busy sleep doctor where I was diagnosed with severe apnea and mild periodic leg movements and excessive daytime sleepiness (ii had a day study the morning after my sleep study,). it was a terrible day, but my doctor seems to think the osa is the cause of the eds. I am hoping broken sleep is better than not enough sleep, but I was never getting any quality sleep before, so anything is better than never getting to deep sleep. Yea, maybe I am making excuses but she doesn't drive and out financial situation prevents us from being able to afford her license right now out a vehicle for her to use because mine is inherited from my dad and no one will mess it up But me. The doctor knows about me having to pick her up and he said nothing as to for me to figure something else out. If I need to I will discuss this with my doctor at my follow up in a month.

I wonder if the ADD meds (which are normally stimulants, even if they help you focus) are affecting things... I would talk to your MD about those.

That's one of the first things we discussed and we discussed the possibility of an even stronger stimulant to treat the eds, if need be.
Still working on getting used to and comfortable to the cpap machine. Even though I am getting frustrated to the machine. I must press on to keep the little lady happy, she had never been so happy ( Sherri wise) add she has been the last two weeks I have been on the machine. I know it is with it, but I have never struggled so hard to get used to anything in my life and yes it is worth it ( I hope) . I have my apnea under control but apparently I am not sleeping through the night yet. Leaks the mask is uncomfortable so it takes time. Then I have this fifteen year old sleep debt I owe to my body. Hmm I owe everybody in this planet and now I find out I have a debt to my body. Hmmmm who doo I rob to pay that debt. The power company? Hmm this debt is a type of power.

But do you understand that the meds may be conflicting with Cpap? And the mask should not be uncomfortable... different yes, but if fitted properly in your size to your face, should be quite do-able, not too tight because that can encourage micro-leaks in new places. If it doesn't fit no matter how you play with it, get another mask. But don't get hung up on a sleep debt - it's an expression but honestly many people don't necessarily agree that it even exists, certainly not in all apnea patients, certainly not after a fair trial of cpap. There are many things going on in your body though at any time, and in your brain, so it may take a bit longer for you to find just the right combination of things to make cpap work for you... shouldn't be a matter of you working for cpap!

In the ADD brain stimulants have a contrary effect. They calm things down.

The problem then switches from a lack of attention to one of being anxious. Anxiety is harder to deal with.

Yes I understand that stimulants may affect some people, just don't think they are bothering me because I take them at 5:30am the simulation affect Is long gone by bedtime. It's only 30mg not much really. If my sleep doctor and neurologist (they are one person as most sleep docs are neurologists,) is considering something much stronger than adderall then I don't think he's concerned about meds being counterproductive to my sleep.

The meds may calm things down under normal awake circumstances, but sleeping is different - your brain doesn't react the same as it would while awake... I'm AdHD and no longer take anything (and only ever took a couple of things for short intervals) because I don't like the side effects, including what happens at night - found myself looking for Melatonin to sleep properly, and that wasn't ideal either.

Yes I am add, but have never had any of the hyperactivity that is common in most. My first diagnosis of add was nearly 40 yrs ago, but noSign of adhd just add. I am sympathetic to you plight, but understand I take my adderall, drink 3 cups of coffee and a ton of Pepsi, but I still fall asleep on my hour trek home after work. I have been off for nearly 8 work DAYS and was hoping to have this thing figured out, but oh no not happening. It's the fact of an unnatural appendage attached too my face.
I don't want to take an upper to keep me up for my drive home and a downer to help me sleep. I pray that the cpap helps maybe even ends my excessive daytime sleepiness. Do you know anything about plm? I have that and was wondering the correlation between plm and apnea.

They often go together, but the person you want to ask about that is Kathy Teague (KTeague).