I was first told I might require apnea treatment back in 2001. I ignored it. Wrote it off as wacky. Come 2007 I am continuously waking up in the morning totally exhausted and a pillow literally dripping with sweat. (gross)
I finally hit a sleep study and....
"whoa."
I had severe apnea. They set me up with a machine, set it to 10, which I guess was the max back then. Result? I slept so much better that first night my wife thought I had died in my sleep. I woke up to her standing over me in shock. "You looked so peaceful. So quiet."
![Shocked :shock:](./../../images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
I used to shake the house with my gasping and snoring. Now I was quiet and I could get as little as 5-hours of sleep and wake up ready to attack the planet!
All these years later I have learned and adjusted to self managed therapy. If you have the means, getting out of reliance on the insurance companies or sleep clinic techs will make life much easier. Puts the control back in your hands. Frankly, and I know this is a bit political/opinion, the requirement for no-option mandatory prescription and certified tech only adjustments is designed to fuel and feed a market. With only a little bit of knowledge you can manage your own therapy. Buy equipment, setup, maintain, etc. Of course no getting around that initial prescription. So get it! Then start learning. Buy the gear YOU want. (or for a friend,
shhhhh)
Again this is personal opinion, don't get too wrapped up in all the cleaning products or replacing parts. I have been doing this since 2007. I have owned three machines in that time. Only the third after I dropped the second from my balcony while moving. You don't need all the anti-bacterial add-ons or to toss your hose or tanks every 6-months. Just clean them. Heck, you'd be surprised at the amount of yuck a body can take.
(again, my opinion, not medical advice)
In closing I do love how far the tech has come. Portable machines the size of a phone. Machines with built in LTE and app support. Just so cool!