cpap sophistication

I'm really impressed by how knowledgable and sophisticated about sleep everyone is on this forum. I'm new to the forum and have been muddling through trying to figure things out with my doctor. My doctor seems to be pushing me toward surgery because he said i have unusually large tonsils which he said if removed would help the sleep apnea. But I've had such good results on CPAP so far, and have heard that surgery isn't very effective, so I'm wary of going to the ENT surgeon. Two questions: first, are most people on this forum tech-savvy so they know how to tinker with their machines to optimize results (i'm clueless myself) and second, do you guys think the surgery he's proposing is a good idea?

Well, surgery is certainly a personal decision. Personally, I'd never elect to have surgery if I could address the health issue through non-surgical measures. RE tweaking your machine, that, too, is your decision. You've got the DREAM MACHINE, and it is data capable. If you don't already have them, you need to acquire a data card, a card reader, and the software for your machine so you can monitor your numbers. Based on what readings you get, you might decide to make some adjustments on your machine, and there are folks here who can give you information about what you might try.

Welcome, miggity.

Well, we all THINK that we're mighty smart and sophisticated. And folks like you just swell our heads. Many of us THINK that we have all the answers and know all the angles.

Keep in mind that you don't know who we are, or what we know. If you hear anything that sounds kooky, run for the hills! But if what you hear seems to make sense, then take it for what it's worth. And where you should take it is BACK TO YOUR DOCTOR!

Anyone here who thinks they can give you medical advice is downright dangerous! No responsible physician will do long-distance text-only diagnosis or treatment. And most of us here are not physicians.

The best way to use what you read here, if it makes sense to you, is to talk things over with your doctor. If you trust your physician, and if your physician respects you, that is the ideal way to proceed. If not, then you need to think about finding another doctor.

You will get a great education here. Some facts, many ideas, many opinions; some worthless, many valuable. Sometimes hard to tell which is which. Learn and enjoy! We're glad for your company!

miggity wrote:Two questions: first, are most people on this forum tech-savvy so they know how to tinker with their machines to optimize results (i'm clueless myself) and second, do you guys think the surgery he's proposing is a good idea?

I'm not especially tech savvy. I did tinker with a borrowed cpap that had no display at all about what pressure it was blowing... you turned the pressure "up" and "down" with a little screw on the back. I didn't have a manometer. I just "guessed" at when it felt ok, and when I felt ok.

Help from message board posters, particularly the poster nicknamed -SWS is how I learned to use my first autopap with software. Reading, reading, reading the message board helps immensely. Ask questions and people will try to help. You have to sift through what sounds right, wrong, maybe, hmmmm.... but we have to do that in just about anything in life, too.

If what a person has is plain garden variety Obstructive Sleep Apnea, even "severe" OSA, the treatment isn't rocket science. It's room air with enough force behind it to push the soft tissues of the throat aside so you can breathe. And a mask to direct the air where it's needed rather than all over the bedroom. The mask is usually the most difficult piece of the treatment puzzle to put in place....a mask that's not leaky on you and is comfortable enough to actually let you sleep.

You'll have to make the decision about whether to have your tonsils removed or not. If I were getting good treatment with cpap and was comfortable with the pressure I needed, I'd probably not opt for a tonsillectomy. I'd figure all that removing them would do might be to let a person use less cpap pressure. Maybe. But that might be a "wrong" answer right there!!! LOL!