Help a noob? Need pressure for my airway..

Hello folks, any help is much appreciated!

I definitely have Sleep Apnea, no insurance, no prescription, some money, bedridden for months due to motorcycle injury, and hating life as sudden weight gain kicked my Apnea into high gear in the typical middle aged male condition.

I've been reading everything here and it seems I need an APAP with datalogging and software (Sleepyhead? I have the links to TNET) so I can tune (with your help I hope) for results. I will keep reading (not asking for a free ride) but welcome any advice from those who know.

In the short term I hope to quickly get a used machine online (from any trustworthy person or place) so I can keep working (freelance software developer) from my bed. My ability to understand my work is at 70% and dropping, not to mention headaches, depression, etc. And no brain = no income

I would LOVE to be able to order gear from secondwind but have no script and no friendly doc (I am otherwise healthy! Also no other upper respiratory problems, ever).
I would pay the various amounts I've seen online for a home sleep study prescription (or whatever, any prescription) but those I saw (and trusted, please let me know of any options) seem to be tied to the gear seller, if I pay hundreds for a prescription I want to be able to buy whatever I need from anyone, especially the cheaper gear at secondwind (or anywhere like that if you recommend).

I have PayPal and understand there is at least one trustworthy member who might have some used gear, I will PM them soon after posting this, if I don't fall asleep!
I should be able to assemble a mask from a kit, so hopefully I could do without a prescription for now if I got the machine used from an individual.

If the machine works for my situation I don't care if it sounds like a 747 jet, weighs 40 pounds, or is 5 feet wide.
I should be able to tolerate a large or less than comfortable mask, I SCUBA and skydive and motorcycle, lots of strange gear on my head

I am a side sleeper who does not move much (except to turn to my stomach sometimes now that I can't &*^# breathe!), with a short goatee beard, and a mouth breather. Without the beard I'm so ugly I scare people, but I will shave it in a minute if needed.
I should be able to stick anything in my nose or ear or whatever with a chin strap, moderate discomfort isn't a problem if it fixes my current situation.
Also my head and nose are oversized, not a supermodel as I mentioned

Craigslist won't work since I am in bed (with a wound-vac humming along, and lots of new titanium parts) 2hours from a city large enough to have several machines listed.

I will shut up now, but I'm happy to provide more details (like how I know I have sleep apnea, etc) I'm not going anywhere.

Any advice on machine, prescription, mask, pillow, life, or anything else would be the best. Many thanks, and Blue Skies!

you can buy on craigslist with paypal, using the invoiced, buyer protection service.

https://www.paypal.com/myaccount/transfer/

you use: pay for goods or services
they use: create an invoice

you ask the seller to paypal invoice you and you pay on that. similar to ebay

EasySundayAM wrote:In the short term I hope to quickly get a used machine online (from any trustworthy person or place)... Craigslist won't work since I am in bed (with a wound-vac humming along, and lots of new titanium parts) 2hours from a city large enough to have several machines listed.

PM Greyghost4. He's often got some machines available, and will treat you fairly.

I have several that might work for you :

https://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/hab/ ... 71570.html

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/hab/d/ ... 69530.html

https://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/hab/ ... 55614.html

You will also need a Mask

grayghost4 wrote:I have several that might work for you :

https://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/hab/ ... 71570.html

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/hab/d/ ... 69530.html

https://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/hab/ ... 55614.html

You will also need a Mask

Thanks grayghost4, I am looking now and will PM you ASAP!

xxyzx wrote: how do you know you have OA

My ex is a Physicians Assistant and her dad has it. Back then when I got hurt skydiving and gained weight in bed (just like this) she observed the increase from just snoring with no obvious events to serious apnea. I was younger and my injuries allowed some exercise so I lost weight quickly and didn't worry about it. This time I'm fatter and deep in my 40s and can't move much, zero exercise (no exercise is already killing me). My current girlfriend's dad and grandmother had sleep apnea so she is familiar, and she says I'm driving her crazy, that it sounds like I'm going to die once per minute.

xxyzx wrote: do you have a family doc

No, I've moved a lot and I'm lucky that I only need to go to the doc when I break a lot of bones I haven't even had a bad cold in ten years.

xxyzx wrote: you can get an IHT that will be definitive for OA online cheaper than my copay was and faster too

Very good, and hopefully it will just be to get a prescription for something I already have figured out with used gear from a friendly ghost so I can buy new equipment in the future.
As a freelancer my insurance sucks when I have it...

xxyzx wrote: an Rx should not cost a lot
IHT plus a regular visit to the family doc total ~300

Now that I can live with! When I am out of bed and back home I'll get off my lazy butt and get a family doc, get a physical, get the IHT.

xxyzx wrote: your hearing may be shot from the motorcycle riding but most people care about noise
and most are very quiet anywa y

True! But my GF and I both like a loud fan, and she said anything is better than my choking sounds.

xxyzx wrote: mouth breather then you will likely need a FFM
although a small mask with a strap could work

Thanks, I'm definitely leaning towards the FFM, whatever is most likely to work!
Maybe a FFM and a small mask with a chin strap to cover my bases? I'd like to get this show on the road, I really hit a brick wall with the apnea, constant headaches now, sleeping 10+ hours instead of 7, can't do my job..


Any Full Face Masks that are considered best for side sleeping guys with small goatee beards and big melon heads?

That's a heckuva price on the last one shown. I also do not have insurance and just bought the Aircurve Vauto like in the last link for $1300 cash price. Normal cash price was $1,550 but my local DME matched an online place I found for $1,299.

Any mask can be worn successfully in any sleeping position. Some might present more challenges than others.
Adding a little facial hair could also increase the challenges but they can all be met.

You might look at this full face mask
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/respir ... -mask.html

It's the only full face mask I have ever been able to even sleep with (I prefer nasal pillow masks) and I am primarily a side sleeper.

When it comes to masks we have a saying around here....One man's treasure is another man's trash.
Just because one person loves a mask doesn't mean the next person will....and just because someone hates a mask doesn't mean that the next person will.
You are just going to have to try the mask to see which list it ends being on....trash or treasure.

grayghost4 wrote:I have several that might work for you :

You will also need a Mask

Many Thanks Mr Ghost! I could not be happier with your time, all your help and beyond fair price!

Also thanks to PaleRider for your time and advice. Soon I hope to have charts and graphs and pressures to post, and many more questions!

Pugsy wrote: You might look at this full face mask
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/respir ... -mask.html
It's the only full face mask I have ever been able to even sleep with (I prefer nasal pillow masks) and I am primarily a side sleeper.

Soon I will know how the Respironics Amara View mask works for me, one is on the way
I also have a AirFit P10 Nasal Pillow inbound.

To be powered by a Resmed Airsense 10 Auto courtesy of the friendly grayghost4!

Plus a CPAP pillow, chinstrap, and the usual filters and cleaning juice.

SleepyHead is installed and standing by.

I am ready for relief! I'll take anything I can get, and work my way down.

Pugsy wrote: When it comes to masks we have a saying around here....One man's treasure is another man's trash.

I kept that in mind as I watched youtube and read online.
I really hope to get some results from one of the two, but I expect in time to have a collection like the rest of you.
Thanks for your advice Pugsy, I am listening for sure!

Wow!! WOW! Thank you so much! Seriously, I can't thank everyone enough.

This forum and the APAP have changed my life. Brainpower increased by 50%, memory works again, I can concentrate!
I'd completely forgotten that I really enjoy software development (computer programming)!

My nonstop headaches are GONE. I've lost 10 pounds! A fog has lifted, the light at the end of the tunnel was not the headlight of an oncoming train!

I didn't post much, but I read half the darn posts on the forum before I got my gear, and plenty more since. I'm no expert, but the APAP just worked well for me from the first night, and SleepyHead showed me the mask leak info I needed so I could tweak my sleeping position and try various mouth-breathing solutions.

Maybe I'm crazy but I honestly look forward to putting my mask on each night! Maybe it's the amount of time I spend in helmets (motorcycle, skydiving, climbing, etc) and/or the boatload of scuba gear I'm used to, but I feel comforted by my mask with the warm air. (I always preheat, it's a treat.)

Too bad I waited until my condition was intolerable before I got help. And sure, the APAP has been very easy for me compared to many people. But I encourage everyone who thinks they have a problem to seek treatment, and stick with it until it pays off. Wow!

So cool!

I love reading posts like this EasySundayam!

Congratulations on your success and I anticipate that you will continue to see improvements.
"Deep in to your 40's" is really just when things start to get good~~~

Thanks for sharing today.

Congratulations. It's always god to hear success stories for a change. Most people that have made a success of their XPAP treatment usually don't their successes. We hear much more about the problems people are having than their successes.

Way to go, that's what we like to see. Enjoy a Good Life, Jim

Pugsy wrote:Any mask can be worn successfully in any sleeping position.

Say what?