Darn it. This has GOT to stop.

I'm sitting here at work, and I just fell asleep. I cannot keep doing this; I'm not going to have a job if I do this.

As I mentioned in another thread, I'm new to the whole SA world. So, I don't have a machine, yet. I just did the 2nd half of my study this past weekend.

But, I'm convinced that this has got to stop. I can't live like this - falling asleep anytime I sit down for longer than 10 minutes. I'm terrified it's going to happen behind the wheel of a car at some point.

I wish I could go ahead and get this process moving along more quickly. I'm ready to feel better now.

when i first got diagnosed with OSA, my friend (who had been diagnosed and on cpap for a couple years already) told me to forget the whole process, get on craigslist and buy a machine, hook it up and don't look back. Probably advice I should have taken given a lot of the wait time horror stories I read on here. But for me the wait wasn't too bad. Total time between my sleep study and getting my machine was just over a week.

It WILL stop, Dotty. You've just got to hang in there a little bit longer! When is your follow-up appointment? While you're waiting, use the time to educate yourself as much as possible. You've come to the right place for that. There's an incredible amount of knowledge on this board and incredibly kind folks who willingly share what they know. They will make your CPAP experience infinitely easier.

WELCOME!

LOL! Patience isn't, exactly, my forte', I'm afraid!

DottyG wrote:LOL! Patience isn't, exactly, my forte', I'm afraid!

... well.... you are going to need all the patience that you have and then some more.... ... Osa treatment is not a magic bullet that happens in one day... lot to read.., lot to learn... lot to experience.... but you will not be alone.... we, the hose heads here will be try to walk with you in the process.... just don't whine too much

Miko

Do you have any idea on when to expect the results of your report. You might try calling your sleep lab and see if they have the results--then they might be able to fax it to your dr. or get it to the dr. that runs the sleep lab?? so you can get your RX before seeing your dr depending on when they can schedule you for your dr. visit. I know with my sleep study--they got the reports of the titration study and faxed it along with the RX to my DME and I got the machine the next day. If I'd had to wait to see the sleep dr. I still wouldn't have my machine as I don't go until Oct. 15. but they like that because you can be on the machine already and they can see how you're doing after so long. i don't know what your situation is so I can't say how it applies to you.

Once you do get it just remember to stick with it. You may not see much improvement right away. I didn't really get noticeable benefits from it (in terms of alertness) until I was several months into using it all night every night. I still have some issues with daytime sleepiness, but have improved dramatically. So just stick with it, it is worth it. You may want to find someone else to drive you or take public transportation of some kind until you get it straightened out.

DottyG wrote:I'm sitting here at work, and I just fell asleep. I cannot keep doing this; I'm not going to have a job if I do this.

As I mentioned in another thread, I'm new to the whole SA world. So, I don't have a machine, yet. I just did the 2nd half of my study this past weekend.

But, I'm convinced that this has got to stop. I can't live like this - falling asleep anytime I sit down for longer than 10 minutes. I'm terrified it's going to happen behind the wheel of a car at some point.

I wish I could go ahead and get this process moving along more quickly. I'm ready to feel better now.

It is a coin toss - I saw instant results - within days and I was as bad as you - falling asleep while I was writing code, literally almost fell off my chair.
Mind you I was used to taking charge of my therapy after 15 years of migraines, allergies and such. I was mentally prepared to take no prisoners. I practiced affirmations ahead of time so I could get my mind wrapped around sleeping with a mask. I couldn't do much in the way of meditations because as soon as I got halfway through my preliminary relaxation routine I would fall asleep. I am slowly getting back to meditation.

DottyG wrote:I'm sitting here at work, and I just fell asleep. I cannot keep doing this; I'm not going to have a job if I do this.

Dotty,

Been there, done that. In fact, I feel pretty stupid that I let it go 15 years until it go so bad that I couldn't work any more. I got pretty good at covering up and avoiding.

I do computer work, such as programming, testing, and system configuration. I used to fall asleep at the keyboard. My hands would rest on the keys. After a bit, the keyboard buffer would fill up and the computer would start beeping. That would wake me up. I'd be awake just long enough to stop the beeping and fix up the file that I was working on. Then, before I could do anything useful, I'd fall asleep again and repeat the cycle. That would sometimes go on for an hour before I'd get up and go for a walk or get yet another cold diet coke.

For me, CPAP was almost a miracle cure. I can get up at 6AM and not so much as even yawn until after 9PM at night. I have spent as much as 12 hours in a car in one day and wasn't the least bit groggy. Before treatment, I worried if I would even be able to work again. It is funny how wanting a paycheck can be so motivating when it comes to using CPAP...this simply has to work for me, and I will do whatever it takes to make it work. I am also lucky by having a fantastic sleep doc and a great RT to work with.

You have taken the first step by getting tested and diagnosed, so you are on your way. And you have the greatest support group one could hope for with the folks in this forum. There were times when I was having problems and fearful that it wasn't going to be able to continue, and they talked me off the ledge more than once.

-john-

Dotty, I was like you are at the beginning of my therapy. I asked the Sleep Doc for help. She gave me a three month supply of Provigil. I could only tolerate 1/2 the dose. It helped immensely, and I managed to keep my job through a really rough initial transition to therapy.

I forgot I was running out, and ended up going off it cold turkey after 3 months. No side effects. Been smooth sailing ever since.

Well, okay, don't let me mislead you. We all have bad days. But it's so much better than it USED to be.

Good luck!
Barbara

Mikosiko wrote: just don't whine too much
Miko

I didn't mean for my post to sound like I was whining; it's not I intended it to come across on the screen. I'm sorry.

DottyG wrote:

Mikosiko wrote: just don't whine too much
Miko

I didn't mean for my post to sound like I was whining; it's not I intended it to come across on the screen. I'm sorry.

Dottyg, You didn't and I don't think that he meant it that way. You've done nothing or haven't felt how many of us have back when we first started.

David

Dotty, Miko was making a joke. Sometimes we can be a bit harsh on newbies who whine too much.

You haven't whined too much, yet.

It's a very subjective thing when someone decides you've exceeded your Whine Quotient on this forum. Like all human interactions, one person's nerves can be more tender than the next person's.

Since you don't have a machine yet, you get alot of slack from me.

Once you get your machine, and we've told you how to fix it up, and how to fix all the myriad stupid little tiny things you have to fix, and you still come back with "but I feel like crap" and then it turns out you didn't follow our GOLDEN WONDERFUL ADVICE, then we deem you to have "whined too much".

We're human, after all. And many of us are still pretty sleep deprived. Which you most definitely are. And you just keep telling people around you that that is your excuse. I'm still using it, two years into therapy.

I'm thinking of tatooing it on my forehead, in fact....

Hugs,
Babs

DottyG wrote:I'm sitting here at work, and I just fell asleep. I cannot keep doing this; I'm not going to have a job if I do this.

As I mentioned in another thread, I'm new to the whole SA world. So, I don't have a machine, yet. I just did the 2nd half of my study this past weekend.

But, I'm convinced that this has got to stop. I can't live like this - falling asleep anytime I sit down for longer than 10 minutes. I'm terrified it's going to happen behind the wheel of a car at some point.

I wish I could go ahead and get this process moving along more quickly. I'm ready to feel better now.

I lucked out that my supervisor is also a hosehead, so knows the game.
If your bosses start giving you gried, check this out:
http://www.apneasupport.org/post-52782.html

ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!

Still no machine, yet.

But, I'm sitting here at work trying not to dose again!!! Darn it all! This is horrible! I NEED SLEEP!!!