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Wistful wrote:

I am very curious about how long it takes for secondary symptoms to go away as well.

Keep'em coming
W

Secondary symptoms such as?

dan

i think she is referring to heartburn, headaches, weight struggles, excessive bathroom trips, fatigue, muscle pain and weakness etc, brain fog, word retrieval difficulty, memory loss, etc...then again, i can only speak for myself and this list partially describes me, in all my glory!

sharon

WOW Sharon! That's quite a list! I guess I was lucky. I only suffered from extreme morning pain and falling asleep while on the phone or at the dinner table. All that went away after the first night.

yeah,that is very lucky, dan..i literally felt like i was falling apart, though my family doc certainly pushed me in that direction, making me feel like i was a hypochondriac, prescribing me anti depressants and being pissed when i refused to take them

ah well, on the road to recovery now, right? i only lost 12 years of my life to feeling like hell...

glad to hear your therapy does what it's supposed to dan, keep up the good work!

You are right Sharon, I meant all those things you mentioned, as well as some of the more serious complications like chronic headaches, depression and heart issues. Whenever one reads up on OSA, they are told how it can cause all sorts of nasty conditions, so I am wondering how quickly those conditions are improved by treatment.

Fatigue and forgetfulness. Those were my only symptoms. Of course, I'm getting "long in the tooth", so those could easily be attributed to that!

I share all of sharon's symptoms along with a few more... I wonder what it will feel like not to feel so "spacey."

W

I'm finishing month 3. I still have many days that I'm really tired. Still nap. But I'm noticing some other improvements. For example:
- I dream
- I don't toss and turn all night
- I'm warmer (not sure if that's related...)
- I don't wake up with every little noise the animals or kid makes all night
- I'm gradually starting to feel more alive - not so chronically exhausted
- I don't take as much migraine medicine
- I feel like I'm handling life's stress a little better

It's getting there...
Donna

yayy, donna!

sounds like you are on the right track...and focusing on all the things that are improving seems like a good way to stay committed...

sharon1965

I have over 5000 hours logged on CPAP, and about 50 on APAP...I wish I had the optimism you all did, however I am still tired. I am so very tired...I am irritible, emotional, depressed...and confused. I am trying though...I try soo hard, but there are things that I cannot control. But the things I can, I am doing my best with.

I get 8 hours sleep a night, but never feel rested. My AHI's with my new machine have been running from as low as 4 to 9. Of course, I am going to keep playing with my machine, till I get dialed in, but ultimately its the surgery I am waiting on...in about 2 months time.

My latest pressure setting was 12-20cm APAP, after seeing the 4.0 AHI at 13cm, which was my best...but last night I had all I could do to keep the mask on, as it felt like it was going to blow me away!!

josh

have you been checked for other issues, ie sleep disorders? as i posted earlier, when i wasn't feeling better at my first check up, my sleep doc sent me for bloodwork which showed my ferritin level was extremely low meaning i'm anemic, and also we decided to treat the severe periodic limb movement disorder which showed up on my 2nd sleep study while i was being titrated...apparently plmd can cause extreme tiredness even though the apneas are controlled, plus i had a severely deviated septum which meant roughly half of the air being delivered was being deflected right back out!

just a thought, josh, you could check into other causes (forgive me if you've done so and just didn't mention it in your post)

sharon1965

Sharon

I have been checked for everything under the sun over the last 8 years, including RLS, had multiple full bloodworks done which showed up nothing...been on almost every medication known to the insurance company, tried exercising, changing eating habits (including quiting caffeine all together), but to no avail.

I am heading in for an MMA in two months...but now I am worried that won't help me, even though there is a 70% chance to cure...but I figure what do I have to lose? Another restless night?

Josh

oh, josh, i'm so sorry to hear that...it's so frustrating when you just know there is something wrong and no one can tell you what that is...i've struggled for so long with this disorder and so many challenges related to it, sometimes it's hard not to just lay down and say uncle, isn't it?

pardon my ignorance, but what is MMA?

thanks

sharon1965

MMA is a dual jaw advancement...I have already had the UPPP which made my apnea worse, the MMA is the next step for me...the last being punching a hole in the throat...

Its okay...I am just frustrated, and I don't have many outlets...between doctors, insurance, my wife, the dentist...no one seems to understand at the end of the day what its like to not be able to sleep.

I am, however, happy to all those out there that therapy works for them.

Josh,
Have you had a subsequent sleep study after the titration study and while using your cpap? If so, what did it show about why you still feel so bad?
Kathy