cpap hoax

Think about your options:

1. Learning to properly use cpap and sleeping all night.
2. Heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression, constant fatigue, brain damage, early death.

That is the hand you were dealt and it is your choice.

If you chose 1, welcome to the team.

If 2, go elsewhere.

Remember back when you felt rested, didnt doze off watching tv or driving, had more energy. Isn't it worth some effort and trial and error to get back there again ??? Some people are successful right away, some people it takes time, myself, I am abuot 6 weeks in and finally starting to feel better daily. Without this board, I may have given up by now, register, fill out your profile, and post your problems and ask your questions, it can be better.

Hoax my ass!

One month today and my life is completely changed. I was so skeptical, and then I woke up after 7 plus hours of sleep. The only downside, I can't lay down on the couch and fall asleep watching _____ anymore.

Man, thanks for clearing the whole hoax thing up for me, because I drank the Motherhumpin' kool aid.

I think the initial post was a hoax since they have not come back for more

No, I think he's real. This is a very typical behavior by a young male (not quite middle-aged). He's on a search for "Absolution". If 999 people say, "You really need to do this", and one person says, "No it's OK, you don't have to do this", he's gonna make a desk sign out of the latter and club his wife over the head with it before he takes it to work with him.

OK ettilvry, here's your absolution:

"It's OK, you don't have to do this."

SAG

PS: Hey Mrs. ettilvry, you seem like a very caring person. Wanna bail on that guy? You could get a term life insurance on ol' knucklehead up there, but statistically, he probably won't simply drop dead (relatively cheap), he'll end up with a catastrophic event and survive with a debilitating illness (very expensive). A diet high in fat and salt could be the deal-maker tho, try bacon-cheeseburgers 5 times a week. Make the cheese part from Cream of Cheddar Cheese Soup.

PPS: Do you have a good job? I have a friend...

For the weekends, try serving two of my favorite sandwich: spam-and-cheese-wizz-on-wonder-bread. Grill on both sides with lots of butter, then add mayonaise. Goes well with beer.

... and don't forget the cheese cake ala mode with fried ice cream smothered in powdered sugar

ettilvry@aol.com wrote:CPAP...What a hoax...CAN SOMEONE RATIONAL EXPLAIN THIS????????

.....hey, ettilvry, can you feel the love .....

I sure can.....

feels like a 2X4 upside my head.

Of course the ice cream has to be Ben n Jerrys, death by chocolate or clog your arteries caramel with lots of gooey marshmallows (my fave by the way is Phish Food mmmmmmm).

Anyone ever have twinkies stuffed with hot dogs? I forgot what we used to call them. (there was no i'm-about-to-vomit icon )

By the way, ettilvry, I hope you don't give up. Maybe you have given up on yourself, maybe your doctors have, but (besides coming at you with a 2x4 to help you out of DeNile) we won't give up on you!! You CAN make the therapy work for you. Just take a deep breath, focus, and tell us what equipment you're using, what part of it makes you uncomfortable .... it's just about the right kind of troubleshooting, that's all!

ettilvry@aol.com wrote:CPAP...What a hoax...Invented by people who cannot tolerate snoring..I find the headgear to be intolerable at best, I can only sleep on my back,which I have never done.
I wear the STUPID headgear and lie awake until1:30 2:00 in the morning until my wife falls asleep,Then I take the STUPID THING off. She proclaims the "WONDERS" of the machine...that my snoring is "CURED" now go figure that>? I now get LESS sleep than I have had in years.... CAN SOMEONE RATIONAL EXPLAIN THIS???????? I am TIRED in more ways than one!!!!!! The Doctor says to "GIVE IT A CHANCE" But 5 Months in..... I HAVE MY DOUBTS!!!!!

ettilvry, if the only reason you are doing CPAP is that you snore, then you're right you don't need to do it. CPAP isn't just to reduce snoring. If, like most of us, you actually had a sleep study, then had a CPAP titration, and received a prescription for a CPAP machine, then this is about more than snoring. You have a significant problem with ceasing to breath several times a night.

In reality you aren't really getting less sleep now than you have in years, because you weren't really sleeping before. You were waking up every few minutes all night long.

So the question is, what are you gonna do about it? If you don't like your headgear, there are other options. There are many types of masks. There are even a few masks with only one strap. It depends on what your pressures are.

The costs of doing nothing are potentially very high. The price of XPAP are mostly the hassle factor.

I hope for you and your familys sake you make the right choice.

ettilvry@aol.com wrote:CPAP...What a hoax...Invented by people who cannot tolerate snoring..I find the headgear to be intolerable at best, I can only sleep on my back,which I have never done.
I wear the STUPID headgear and lie awake until1:30 2:00 in the morning until my wife falls asleep,Then I take the STUPID THING off. She proclaims the "WONDERS" of the machine...that my snoring is "CURED" now go figure that>? I now get LESS sleep than I have had in years.... CAN SOMEONE RATIONAL EXPLAIN THIS???????? I am TIRED in more ways than one!!!!!! The Doctor says to "GIVE IT A CHANCE" But 5 Months in..... I HAVE MY DOUBTS!!!!!

Man, I feel your frustration. I've been at it for 9 months now, and only the last 3 have been effective, so I had 6 months of mostly ineffective treatment. I sometimes don't want to go to bed because I get so tired of all the stuff I have to do to prepare. It's like having a second job. But I always do it, because the next day would be miserable if I didn't. For me it's like a prison sentence that I serve at night, but hey, I'm willing to do it.

I would recommend 2 things to you. The first is to ban all negative thoughts about this therapy. When you feel a negative thought coming on, say to yourself, "this is the thing that will return me to a normal life" or whatever works for you.

The second is to accept that you have to work at this to make it succeed. The people who aren't willing to tackle problems and solve them are the least likely to succeed. I am a problem solver by nature, so that was a huge help to me. I have inventoried all of my strengths and weaknesses, so I know which things help me succeed and which ones I have to work harder to overcome. It sounds like you are not a problem-solver. You will have to find a way to overcome that. What strengths do you have that you can leverage against the problem?

Here's an example of strength and weakness in my own inventory and how I deal with it. One of my weaknesses is that I am a very picky sleeper; another is that I have to sleep on my side.

I use my problem-solving skills to overcome the pickiness. I determine what it is that is making it hard for me to sleep, and I find ways to fix those things. I have to work pretty hard at getting the whole sleep environment right.

I have to sleep on my side--weakness. But my strength is that I do not turn over at all night most nights. So how do I use that strength? I can choose masks that are great for side-sleeping but might not stay put so well if I was tossing and turning.

I'm sure you feel like you were already down and received both barrels from the forum. But let me just point out that while many of us feel your frustration, you devalued our own experiences with your comments. You are not alone in what you are trying to endure, but you make it sound like none of the rest of us have had any problem with CPAP therapy. I would suggest that you come back, register, and issue an apology. I think you'll find lots of help here, and it could just be the thing that restores you to restful sleep. Isn't that what you want?

Prison sentence? .... now that's encouragement!

To me, it is like being addicted to the most powerful drug ever used, oxygen!! Don't live with out it! ... cuz you amigula will not stand for it.

BTW - eating, drinking, sleeping, and having sex are all tied for second place ... so I enjoy which ever is most available

DreamStalker wrote:Prison sentence? .... now that's encouragement!

Yeah, I thought about that when I wrote it, but try as I might, I still don't like using CPAP, I only like the results.

To me, it is like being addicted to the most powerful drug ever used, oxygen!! Don't live with out it!

Yes, I have experienced some addict-like behavior. The first night I taped I felt so good the next day that I absolutely refused to wear my pulse-oximeter for weeks. I didn't want anything that wasn't absolutely required for therapy to interfere with my enjoyment of my little addiction.

Oxygen is positively addicting.

DreamStalker wrote:Prison sentence? .... now that's encouragement!

To me, it is like being addicted to the most powerful drug ever used, oxygen!! Don't live with out it! ... cuz you amigula will not stand for it.

BTW - eating, drinking, sleeping, and having sex are all tied for second place ... so I enjoy which ever is most available

Am I the only one that can't get the song "Love Is Like Oxygen" out of my head now?

Thanks A LOT, DreamStalker!

I have not seen any love in this thread Jeff ... but feel free to write us a song about Oxygen if you wish.

btw - I went to an ELO concert way back in the late 70's