Newly diagnosed....yippee!!!

Hi All,
My name is Cathy. I'm happy to see this site! I just called my DME and I'm getting my CPAP today. I ordered a DeVillbiss Intellipap since it was the only one Aetna had on their list that had monitoring software. I hope I made a good choice. The DME rep said I had 95.2 AHI's.....whatever that means. I'll scout around and find out. He did say that it qualified as severe OSA.
I have been going to doctors since I was 16 (I'm now 42) to find out why I am soooo tired. They usually put me on an antidepressant and told me to lose weight. I do get very depressed because I'm so tired and have no diagnosis why. I have had to take jobs where fear of deadlines and extreme job stress could override my desire to sleep in my car during work. This disorder has taken many years of my life and I often wished that I would just die. What compounded the problem is that no doctors really tried to help me.
5 years ago a doctor sent me for a sleep study and I was SO thrilled that I might have an answer to my problem that I COULDN'T FALL ASLEEP ALL NIGHT! They insisted that I had slept and that I had very mild sleep apnea and didn't qualify for a CPAP. 2 years later we had Kaiser and they sent me home with a machine. They concluded no OSA.
I went to Stanford to take one last stab at it. It's expensive on my insurance so I told them they need to give me an Ambien. When they woke me up and put me on the CPAP in the night I cried. I have high expectations that my life will be perfect now! I can live in this fairy tale for a few days right??!! Did anyone lose weight after getting a CPAP? Thanks!

Cathy

Hi Cathy. Welcome to the forum. You found a great place for information and help. Keep your positive attitude -- and don't let difficulties discourage you. This is a journey -- getting the equipment -- and finding a mask that fits and works right for you.
And I agree with our feeling -- I thought every known malady of man was because of sleep apnea. I even was waiting for my gray hair to turn black again.
Actually you will find a great difference and improvement. Sometimes it comes quickly -- other times it takes a while. Stick with it. You are on the right road.

welcome cathy, sadly sleep apnea often takes a long time to be diagnosed and yes depression is a common misdiagnosis

I was told by a former friend that I was just lazy when I told of the severe fatigue

stay with us

arthur

CPAP and therefore sleeping can make it possible to get the exercise and follow a sensible diet needed to lose weight. Slow and steady. (But you still need to exercise and watch food. Sorry.)
GOOD LUCK and welcome.

Welcome.

Welcome Cathy! A little CPAP treatment and you'll no longer be comfortably numb you won't have brain damage. You'll be able to breathe. Hopefully without spending much money. No more sorrow. Before long you might even be on the run learning to fly and lost for words.

A man after my own heart!

I'd love to Have a Cigar with you but that isn't recommended. I'm just looking forward to walking the Dogs since I won't have to count Sheep anymore. Tomorrow I get my Welcome to the Machine and if it's any problem then I'll definitely Wish You Were Here! Oh well, it's Us and Them and One of These Days we'll have more Time!

I love it! I don't know how I missed welcome to the machine.

Welcome. There is a current thread about others who are glad they were diagnosed. It is a relief to have some answers and a treatment. You have every right to be optimistic about your future. You may face challenges, but your eagerness to succeed will help you on your journey. Weight loss is so individual. If there are other health issues contributing to the weight such as hypothyroid, some meds, or inability to engage in physical activity, cpap won't fix them. What it may do is better balance the appetite hormones so that cravings are decreased, reduce stress hormones that signal the body to hoard energy (fat), and give you the energy to increase activity. In short, therapeutic cpap treatment can provide a better atmosphere for successful weight loss endeavors. We get reports on here of those who both do and don't lose weight. Hope you are one who does.
Kathy

Hi Cathy! I just sent you a long PM with my story...thought I would look around for your story, and here it is.

I wanted to respond specifically to the weight question. I was diagnosed almost exactly 5 months ago. I have not lost weight since that time. However, I practice martial arts (and did pre-diagnosis too, although I really have no idea how) and what I have noticed since treatment is dramatic gains in my overall fitness. My resting heart rate is now down to 60 and I am feeling and seeing muscles pop up on my calves, thighs and arms. (I am getting some definition on my lower arms, which, as a woman, is really nice.)

I know for me my weight went up gradually year after year. When I look back, though, I was doing a lot of eating just to stay awake, I think. My cravings were *enormous.* I would steal food from my kids' plates! I don't experience that now -- now I am able to eat much more normally and avoid the sugary treats I couldn't seem to avoid before.

After a lot of agonizing about this, I have decided that *for me* I am going to focus on the other components of fitness other than weight. Would I like to lose weight? Absolutely. (And although the numbers on the scale have not changed, I know I must be losing fat, because I'm certainly adding muscle.) But I'm not going to focus on that. Instead, I'm going to focus on continuing to develop really healthy habits. My poor body has been through SO MUCH in the last decade -- I know you can relate -- and I really just want to build fantastic supportive habits before I ask it to shed this protective layer of fat.

BTW I am 5'7" and weigh about 225.