What benefits have you got from CPAP?

yaconsult wrote:Gee, this site is "the-site-which-cannot-be-named" there as we are "associated with a commercial site". Any attempt to mention the name of the board or the url is removed.

so? I think they'd enjoy enchanter, he'd be enchanting for them.

Tatooed Lady wrote: Questions are only worthy of being answered if the answer is listened to. Otherwise...WTF is the point?

For every question someone asks there are usually 10 people waiting for the answer but afraid to ask.

BlackSpinner wrote:

Tatooed Lady wrote: Questions are only worthy of being answered if the answer is listened to. Otherwise...WTF is the point?

For every question someone asks there are usually 10 people waiting for the answer but afraid to ask.

BlackSpinner makes an important point here.

While Enchanter seems determined to not listen to our answers, he has asked some questions that are on the minds of many newbies and are frequently asked, albeit usually in less zany language.

We need to think of our own reputation: If other new lurkers see the long time members doing nothing but berating an irritating new member who is chock full of questions, are we going to turn them off even before they are brave enough to post their first question?

palerider wrote:

yaconsult wrote:Gee, this site is "the-site-which-cannot-be-named" there as we are "associated with a commercial site". Any attempt to mention the name of the board or the url is removed.

so? I think they'd enjoy enchanter, he'd be enchanting for them.

No, actually he would not be welcome over there either. He's not someone who is comfortable with the idea that docs can do no wrong and that we absolutely must have our doc's explicit permission to do anything at all with respect to our own health care.

My guess is he would get banned over there pretty quickly---for not listening to those who say, "You can't self diagnose this. Wait to talk to your doctor. Then do exactly what your doctor says to do."

Improvements I have felt from using cpap:


Sleeping 4+ hours straight, sometimes 7+
I don't toss and turn all night
I fall asleep with 5-10 minutes now
I sleep solid when traveling now (used to have major insomnia in hotel rooms)
No getting yelled at when sharing a room at night
Gasping choking fits gone (sometimes to the point of vomiting)
Nightmares of being chased gone
Excessive bathroom trips gone

Morning Headaches gone
More cheerful
"Tired" is no longer my standard answer to "how are you"
Energy drinks only when traveling and having to get up early
Much better blood pressure

zoocrewphoto wrote:Improvements I have felt from using cpap:


Sleeping 4+ hours straight, sometimes 7+
I don't toss and turn all night
I fall asleep with 5-10 minutes now
I sleep solid when traveling now (used to have major insomnia in hotel rooms)
No getting yelled at when sharing a room at night
Gasping choking fits gone (sometimes to the point of vomiting)
Nightmares of being chased gone
Excessive bathroom trips gone

Morning Headaches gone
More cheerful
"Tired" is no longer my standard answer to "how are you"
Energy drinks only when traveling and having to get up early
Much better blood pressure

Nice, it worked for you. How long did it take to notice most of these benefits?

Enchanter wrote:

zoocrewphoto wrote:Improvements I have felt from using cpap:


Sleeping 4+ hours straight, sometimes 7+
I don't toss and turn all night
I fall asleep with 5-10 minutes now
I sleep solid when traveling now (used to have major insomnia in hotel rooms)
No getting yelled at when sharing a room at night
Gasping choking fits gone (sometimes to the point of vomiting)
Nightmares of being chased gone
Excessive bathroom trips gone

Morning Headaches gone
More cheerful
"Tired" is no longer my standard answer to "how are you"
Energy drinks only when traveling and having to get up early
Much better blood pressure

Nice, it worked for you. How long did it take to notice most of these benefits?

Some things were right away for me. I was lucky at the sleep study and actually slept over 5 hours straight with the cpap. I can't remember sleeping that well in at least 10 years. It was shocking to feel good the next day. Then, the next night, I slept like crap, even dreamed about being angry I had to wait for a machine, and realized that even my asleep brain knew it wanted a machine as quickly as possible.

Some of the bad things stopped right away, but I didn't notice for awhile that they had disappeared. The headaches seemed random before, so it was a few weeks before I realized it had been so long since I had one. The fewer bathroom trips was noticeable the first week. The choking fits used to be 2-3 times a week, so I noticed those fairly quickly. I'm not sure when the "tired" answer stopped but within 3 weeks. I just realized one day that my new answer was good. Even a bad night now, and I still say good. I have to be sick to go back to "tired". The bad nightmares used to be once every month or so. So, it took awhile to notice that they were gone. On the rare night I don't use my machine, any of these things can come back to remind me I need to be using my machine.

I noticed the better sleeping hotels the very first time. I used to have really bad insomnia in hotels. Awake part of every hour, bathroom trip almost every hour. I would lay there listening to music. It was horrible. Now, in a hotel, I put on the cpap, roll over, and wake up when the alarm goes off. Awesome. And my sister, the primary yeller and complainer when sharing a hotel room was amazed the first time she visited me at home when I was taking a nap. The machine is so quiet, and I wasn't snoring. She was thrilled. I am no longer embarrassed to share a hotel room with a friend. My machine is so much quieter than my snoring ever was.

The blood pressure started improving a month or so after I started cpap. It was kind of a hit and miss thing for awhile as my nights were good and bad as I learned to master my mask. If I have consistent full nights with my cpap, my blood pressure is awesome. If I have a short night and take the mask off, the blood pressure goes back up. If I have a mix of good and bad nights, the blood pressure can seem pretty random. For several months, I made a chart with my hours of sleep, my impression of my sleep, and a few blood pressure readings during the day. It was interesting to see the improvement over time.

BlackSpinner wrote:

Tatooed Lady wrote: Questions are only worthy of being answered if the answer is listened to. Otherwise...WTF is the point?

For every question someone asks there are usually 10 people waiting for the answer but afraid to ask.

Be that as it may, the question can be asked a couple times, maybe with different angles, then MOVE ON. the newbies lurking can usually grasp an idea fairly quickly, and can benefit only so much from one question answered a hundred times.

Enchanter wrote:
Well it seems to have done something for you. So you do have more energy after CPAP then before CPAP?

Oodles!

zoocrewphoto wrote:

Some things were right away for me. I was lucky at the sleep study and actually slept over 5 hours straight with the cpap. I can't remember sleeping that well in at least 10 years. It was shocking to feel good the next day. Then, the next night, I slept like crap, even dreamed about being angry I had to wait for a machine, and realized that even my asleep brain knew it wanted a machine as quickly as possible.

Some of the bad things stopped right away, but I didn't notice for awhile that they had disappeared. The headaches seemed random before, so it was a few weeks before I realized it had been so long since I had one. The fewer bathroom trips was noticeable the first week. The choking fits used to be 2-3 times a week, so I noticed those fairly quickly. I'm not sure when the "tired" answer stopped but within 3 weeks. I just realized one day that my new answer was good. Even a bad night now, and I still say good. I have to be sick to go back to "tired". The bad nightmares used to be once every month or so. So, it took awhile to notice that they were gone. On the rare night I don't use my machine, any of these things can come back to remind me I need to be using my machine.

I noticed the better sleeping hotels the very first time. I used to have really bad insomnia in hotels. Awake part of every hour, bathroom trip almost every hour. I would lay there listening to music. It was horrible. Now, in a hotel, I put on the cpap, roll over, and wake up when the alarm goes off. Awesome. And my sister, the primary yeller and complainer when sharing a hotel room was amazed the first time she visited me at home when I was taking a nap. The machine is so quiet, and I wasn't snoring. She was thrilled. I am no longer embarrassed to share a hotel room with a friend. My machine is so much quieter than my snoring ever was.

The blood pressure started improving a month or so after I started cpap. It was kind of a hit and miss thing for awhile as my nights were good and bad as I learned to master my mask. If I have consistent full nights with my cpap, my blood pressure is awesome. If I have a short night and take the mask off, the blood pressure goes back up. If I have a mix of good and bad nights, the blood pressure can seem pretty random. For several months, I made a chart with my hours of sleep, my impression of my sleep, and a few blood pressure readings during the day. It was interesting to see the improvement over time.

Well, that's very good. I'm glad you've done well.

My story is a little different.

I had no symptoms normally associated with sleep apnea. I did develop a case of atrial fibrillation some years back. I have been able to pretty much control that with diet. It seems my diet, or my ability to absorb the minerals from my diet, was lacking in magnesium. Adding magnesium rich foods and taking a magnesium supplement has done wonders for keeping my heart rhythm normal.

During an office visit with my cardiologist a few years back I was asked how well I slept. My wife immediately jumped in saying that I seem to stop breathing for periods of time while I am sleeping. I was unaware of this but it scared her each time it happened. She would gently nudge me and I would wake up slightly, gasp a little, then fall back to sleep and not remember anything about it.

It was recommended that I go in for a sleep study.

I did some research on sleep apnea and discovered that many times when you stop breathing your oxygen levels drop. This kicks your heart into high gear. This can be observed using an oximeter.

I found the price of the oximeter was within my reach and purchased one. While I was waiting for my sleep study I wore my oximeter while sleeping and collected data. Sure enough I saw a pattern of desaturations along with a spike in pulse.

I went in for my sleep study and wore my own oximeter along with all the other instrumentation they attached to me. I wanted to compare what I saw with what they saw. That night I only had one significant desaturation. The sleep lab also noted the desaturation but also observed that my brain activity indicated several arousal's during the night.

Prior to xPAP therapy I had a Basal SpO2 in the 92-93% range. After dialing in my therapy I now have a Basal SpO2 of 96%+.

I accept that as a measurable benefit even though I don't feel any different.