why me?

magpie · Post by **magpie** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 10:06 am

Sadly my honest age was about the only thing I was able to out run the last 5 years or so. I really want to stop feeling like cr_p!

Sleepdeprived · Post by **Sleepdeprived** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 10:20 am

magpie wrote:
One can focus on the negatives or one can choose to focus on the positive but it is so much easier and ultimately satisfying focusing on the positives
Absolutly right on that! And thanks for getting this thread back on topic!!!

You are quite welcome. I hope you are overcoming/will overcome the health problems incurred when without cpap.

Sleepdeprived

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP

track · Post by **track** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 11:08 am

Magpie....no offense intended. I just saw an opportunity and couldn't resist...it wasn't personal. I was just having some fun.
I see you are renovating a 100 year old house....that must be a chore. I have trouble keeping up with my 20 year old house.

gasp · Post by **gasp** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 11:27 am

[quote="Anonymous"]It sounds alittle obnoxious but I work hard all of my life as far as doing the right thing like eating right and exercising the whole bit and I find out I have to wear a mask on my face to breath for the rest of my life. I know I should just suck it up and deal with it but its just hard to accept I can't sleep like a normal person anymore. I find myself enving people who can get a restful nights sleep without this huge contraption on there face. I realize some people are dying of cancer and other horrible things and I thank God I am healthy but no one can tell me this isn't something you will just get used to and one day just sleep like a baby and not notice theres this uncomrortable contraption on your face, how can you really get a normal restful sleep when every time you shift postin you wake up because the hose gets tangled and you have to straighten it out. I just need to vent but really do people ever really get used to sleeping this way. I have kids and the only time I get a chance to talk to my wife is at night when we are lying in bed just before we fall asleep, its funny because as soon as I put my mask on I find a millon things to talk about with my wife and I can't because of this stupid antisocial breathing appartious.I realize I am being melodramatic but how do you deal with this, sleeping is such a natural thing and I was always a type of person who would look forward to going to sleep at night after a hard day at work, sometimes I regret having a sleep study . As you all know its just hard too accept. Sorry but I think its gonna be a long time before I just say to myself just put the dam thing on and go to sleep.

goose · Post by **goose** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 3:30 pm

There's really not much else I can add that someone else hasn't already said.

Personally, I am so tired of being tired that I welcomed the machine. I embrace my treatment because, I know it will have positive affects on my overall health.
I've got high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol among other afflictions -- a lot of which can be attributed to OSA....
If this machine will lower my blood pressure a few points and reduce my blood glucose a few points, allow me to lose the 30 more lbs. I need to lose (I'm 25 down already) plus help me not fall asleep at my desk -- I will be sooooooo happy....

Don't go away. Register and stick around. You have a lot to offer to the rest of us, just as we have a lot to offer to you. The importance of information and support cannot be underestimated!!!!! Just knowing that you're not in the boat alone and that your feelings, frustrations and fears are shared.....

I would guess that your wife is totally supportive of your efforts - and as others have said......Turn off the machine, take off the mask - do whatever you need to do to make conversation. When you're done, put it back on.
I don't put my mask on until I turn out the light and turn off the tube...

Hang in there!!!! It does get better!!!!

cheers
goose

Sal_In_Ga · Post by **Sal_In_Ga** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 3:49 pm

"It sounds a little obnoxious but I work hard all of my life as far as doing the right thing like eating right and exercising the whole bit and I find out I have to wear a mask on my face to breath for the rest of my life.........."

I've been researching sleep apnea and reading this forum since May 8th when my primary care Dr. suspected sleep apnea and referred me to the pulmonary Dr to order the sleep study. The members of this forum are so generous to share their encouragement and experiences - good and bad. The more I read, the more excited I became. I had discovered why I was always exhausted , so stressed that I was treated for anxiety, always forgetting to do things in spite of lists, falling asleep when I got still, never really wanting to do anything, etc., etc....... Then I was really frustrated because it took so long to get things going. I couldn't get my machine until June 29th.!! Imagine that!

I wear glasses so I can see - not really convenient. So why not cpap to have great quality of life when I am awake? Life is to short not to do all you can to have it be the BEST. It's a matter of priorities.

Thanks to all on this forum for helping me!

Shirley in GA

echo · Post by **echo** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 6:35 pm

I love the glasses analogy, very fitting.

Now why can't we come up with "contacts" for CPAP, so much more convenient when you're doing a full court press !

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 7:59 pm

Amen! CPAP "contacts" are just exactly what we need!!!

Catnapper · Post by **Catnapper** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 6:34 am

I say you are the lucky one. I say why not me? I wish I had known about OSA 20 years ago. I would gladly have taken the "air" cure to prevent the health issues I now have that could have been prevented. You say you have lived a healthy lifestyle so far, why not continue?

Does all that say I love the prospect of CPAP therapy every night forever? Not at all. I do welcome it in preference to having a stroke that makes me sit in a corner and drool for what is left of my life. I much prefer it to the idea of open heart surgery, blindness from diabetes, the terrors or dementia or any of the other grim prospects of not treating OSA. Heck, it is only air. Side effects are minimal compared to what the drugs to treat all those other health issues have.

I have felt like whining about this for a long time. Thanks for the opportunity. Consider yourself lucky to be able to add CPAP to your health regimen. It is better than exercise, good diet, and innocence all put together. You are one lucky person and I congratulate you. I have confidence that you will soon embrace (at least mentally) the good fortune you have in knowing how to deal with OSA. I hope it is very soon as a good attitude makes success with CPAP much more certain.

Sweet dreams!
Catnapper

Sal_In_Ga · Post by **Sal_In_Ga** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 1:39 pm

Wish I could wear contacts, but then I'd need a third eye!! Trifocals? You betcha! I love the world we live in. CPAP isn't really so bad. It sure beats the alternative (Permanent apnea)!

Shirley

sharon1965 · Post by **sharon1965** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:14 am

i'm so grateful for the support my hubby and kids have given me around xpap...my son even had to put my last interface together for me while we watched the video on-line since the customer service person just handed me the box and said 'good luck, call if you need anything'--typical...anyway, there we sat, the two of us while he worked out the parts along with the dude on the video..i think it made him feel good to be helping mom out (plus i suck at this kind of thing! )

as for bedtime, my husband has always worked mids more than days, so luckily for him he's not around much at night, but the big change has been that when he is on days, he gets some sleep! gone are the days when he told me in the morning, "Sharon, i got NO sleep last night!!!"...i always felt bad about it but didn't know what the problem was...also, i use nasal pillows and i have no trouble talking with my interface on; we still chat before going to sleep just like we always did...

as for the mask itself, i remember one time, before starting cpap, asking him to take a picture or video of me sleeping since everyone made such a big deal about how bad i looked, like i was some kind of gargoyle...he said, "Sharon, it's not pretty"...when i picked up my newest interface recently and tried it on i jokingly said, 'honey, how do i look?' and he said, "honestly Sharon...you're like an angel sleeping with that thing on, so peaceful and relaxed"...WOW, an angel...that's one i've never heard before

i'm not saying it's been easy, and certainly not something i relish doing for the rest of my life, but, i guess for me, the fact that my therapy is affecting the people i love most in a positive way, instead of my disorder affecting them negatively, makes it all worthwhile

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): video, CPAP, Nasal Pillows

SisterShotgun · Post by **SisterShotgun** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:54 am

No, it is not easy at first. I only wish I had a doctor diagnose me with apnea a few years ago then I might not have had a minor stroke The way I deal with it is like this: My life depends on CPAP therapy, I have a chronically ill child who depends on me and may depend on me after he has grown up. I need to be here for him. I have a husband who is head over heels in love with me and doesn't want to lose me, I have a step-son who makes sure every night I put my mask on and turn the machine on because he says he doesn't want me to die. So, for them as well as myself I strap a mask to my face whenever I need to sleep and turn on the mini-hurricane machine.

why me?

Re: why me?

Why not me?

Mask	Humidifier

Additional Comments: Pursleep, Padacheek, Regenesis™ Pillow, Neti Pot, Travel Buddy hose hanger

Mask

Additional Comments: Strictly a side sleeper