hi i'm new :)

Hey Danibm,

I wish you luck, and hope you will find answers to all your questions here at cpaptalk. I know I have gotten a lot of support! I also have UARS, so I would warn you that a lot of discussion takes place that is more relevant to OSA. (Wear your mask or you'll die! does not apply to all sleep-breathing disorders) But I agree with the folks who say the quality of life change is worth it - or will be worth it, because I am still working out the details, too.

One thing to remember with UARS is that your previous life history of sleep-disordered breathing has trained you to have insomnia and in many people's cases,(It seems) to be downright anxious. I have had to remind myself that the fidgety, easily upset person with poor concentration that I currently am is really suffering from the fragmented sleep. It's not the real me. There is a calm and capable me who is trying to break out into the light and bloom.

So, I am trying to take it one step at a time, which seems to be helping me get through my fears. Another thing that is also helping me is having really good sleep hygiene and using cognitive behavior therapy techniques. (These are on the internet in various places) I never thought that I would do yoga, but I have found that the yoga breathing is REALLY helpful. I know you said you are a mouth breather, but yoga breathing works best if you can breathe through your nose.

Have you read Dr. Park's web site about UARS? He has a good article at http://www.westsideent.stirsite.com/page/page.cfm/uars

Stay in touch.

thanks so much that is a great post - yes UARS is not going to kill me but it is worth it i hope to feel better & live better & i love the way you said it - that this sleep deprived person is not me. i love that!
i have read Dr. Park's info & i do do yoga. not the breathing stuff so much, i have tried it but haven't gotten the hang of it. i do more yoga for pain.
wow i am just really blown away by this site, you are such caring & understanding & intelligent people! i honestly felt at that other site that the people who have a hard time sleeping must just all be mean.
i am so glad to have found a place where i can get some real support!
i am sorry i hope i didn't offend anyone who may visit other sites but i haven't come close to having people in a CPAP forum get me or understand the way you guys have.

I have struggled with insomnia using CPAP, (acutally 30+ years of insomnia) and I have found that yoga breathing really helps. There's some research that shows that experienced practitioners doing yoga actually raise the levels of a neurotransmitter called GABA, which inhibits excessive transmission - in other words, helping you be more relaxed.

(Note to Danibm- by yoga breathing, I just meant the simple stuff, not the whole complicated use-your-fingers-to-block-your-nostrils thing. I couldn't get the hang of that either!)

Here is what I do (this is from a guide book)

"Sit cross-legged. Place one hand on the rib cage, the other on the abdomen. Keep your back straight and shoulders relaxed.

Make sure that you breathe through your nose with your mouth closed. Inhale slowly, feeling the abdomen expanding first, then the rib cage and finally feel the air filling the entire chest area.

As you exhale, the air will leave the lower lungs first, then the rib cage area, and lastly the chest. CHeck that you fill your entire lungs with air and that your breathing is slow, rhythmic and deep."

I think of it as a quest to make each breath better than the last one, so I can get the exact optimum amount of air that my body needs. It's as if I am listening, through the act of controlling my breathing, to my body's needs. I keep thinking about all the steps every single time I do this, and stay focused on my body. Originally, I thought it was supposed to become automatic and my mind would drift away, or something. Now I see the whole point is actually to stay focused on your body. I am pretty sure this is what is also called "mindfulness." The neat thing about this is, that while you are focused on your body and using each set of muscles to do the breathing correctly, it helps you relax about the CPAP mask and air flow.

Welcome to our group, These people on this site are great, Good luck to you.

Danibm, I was very clueless in the beginning. I did not sleep a wink in my sleepstudy, no one cared a jot at the sleep centre. I told them the mask leaked, got shrugs.

I consequently found this forum, learnt a lot, and began to take ownership of my therapy. You learn step by step and as you need to - some can take it all at once, others more gently. You don't have to spout all the correct technobabble & be able to diagnose everything all at once (actually, I probably never will!) - you only need to understand enough to begin to change your circumstances. And then take another step.....

It sounds from your fatigue like you really do need to get some quality sleep, and CPAP could be one /the answer.

I have taken a long time to get to sleep well - 2 years in September on CPAP, and I'm sleeping well and through the night more often than not for only the last month or two. And a lot more years prior to that of very restless sleep. But I've always maintained that awake all night - or what feels like all night - on the hose is far better than out like a log without it.

Good luck, and try not to be too spooked, the folks here can definitely help if you let them.