Especially for newly diagnosed - Dealing with Change

People don't need an imaginary god to cope with change. If god is real, caring, and powerful than why do we need our cpaps and doctors?

Lavahurts...You are kidding right??? Oh I don't know, maybe because God gave us the intellect and fortitude to deal with problems and issues that are harmful to us. Pretty much in the same way we think up ways to improve ourselves and our lives.

You did a good job on that writing. I particularly liked the head versus heart acceptance. I don't know how many times I've said, my head understands but my heart doesn't about various issues. Having said that, I'm not sure I struggled very much with the diagnosis which happened around 8 years ago. Maybe I was too complacent because I generally worry about everything.. I had already been through it with my brother and sister and both did so much better after the diagnosis and using the machine that I really went into the whole thing with a positive view of it all. I think the biggest head/heart thing for me was that I pretty much figured that I did have sleep apnea but when they sat down with me and gave me the inadequate explanation, I had to wait a few days for my machine. I felt very panicky then whereas even though I figured I did have sleep apnea, I wasn't panicky. Afterwards, it was oh no, I'm not breathing all the time. I need that machine. It really kind of freaked me when I realized I really did stop breathing during the night. That can never be a good thing.
I think I had a more difficult time when I had the sleep study this past November. I figured my apnea was worse but I just had no clue how much worse. My oxygen sats on my normal cpap setting was 80% and remained that way up to 10 (old settings 7) and even at 10, I would drop to 80% when I was on my back. That really scared me. Because my old but working machine didn't have the sd card, I had to get a new cpap. Dr. Runnels said that at the point when he talked to me, that my results were inconclusive because they hadn't been able to titrate me up to a point where all my symptoms were at acceptable levels. He prescribed 12 but said until he could see the results on the sd card, he wouldn't know whether I needed another sleep study to retitrate to a higher level or not. Thank heavens, as it turned out, not!
I went to the place where I'd previously gotten my machine and they wouldn't have any new machines in for almost a week. They did say they could reset mine for the new settings while I waited for a new machine but I just felt that I needed the full meal deal I guess. I wanted to be sure Dr. Runnels had the results he needed to determine what I needed. I ended up going to their competitor for a machine and had one that day. Praise the Lord!!! I am having to adjust to more pressure which thankfully hasn't been too hard as long as I ramp and of course the dreaded chin strap. That may be the part I'm in denial over. Me????!!!! A mouth breather???? Certainly not! Let's face it, sleeping with your mouth wide open cannot paint a very pretty picture.

idamtnboy wrote:In response to the discussion in the thread about an unsupportive spouse I felt prompted to revise a write up I have concerning dealing with change. We encounter changes of all sorts through life, including the one when we received the diagnosis of sleep apnea. How we respond is almost always the same, albeit in different degrees and intensity. The emotional phases we go through are shock, denial, depression, and acceptance.

The information I share is derived from a work seminar on the subject and my own experiences of life. I trust it will be of benefit to some.

Coping with Change for CPAP Patients

Apparently I am going to die.

I am 52 and I have been diagnosed with "severe" sleep apnea. I have had my CPAP machine for over a year. I have used it partially about 10 times.

I cannot sleep at all with it strapped to my face. I have claustrophobia, and about 1 minute or less after strapping this mask to my face I go into full blown panic. I can't get that thing off my face fast enough. I practically rip it off my face. I really mean it, I am in full hyperventilating panic.

I've tried everything from ambien to different anxiety medications to stop this. Some of it helps initially but I cannot stay in that mask for more than 30 minutes. Even with the ambien I am wide awake for most of the rest of the night.

Then, even worse. After the panic attack I can't get to sleep even without the mask on. So now, I am even afraid to try to get used to it for fear of lack of sleep.

Anyway, other than just forgetting about the whole damn thing is there another option? I am not obese but about 20 lbs over ideal weight, and my sleep doctor says my weight isn't the problem.

What other recourses do I have besides dying in the morning?

TIMM00 wrote:Apparently I am going to die.
.........
What other recourses do I have besides dying in the morning?

Do a search on the forum for claustrophobia, anxiety, and cannot sleep. You're not the first one to face this challenge. See what others have done. It's not easy to overcome, but then a possible heart attack isn't easy either. You will find tremendous support on this forum, and an occasional strong disagreement, but you will receive very little, if any, outright condemnation for whatever action you take.

TIMM00 wrote:Apparently I am going to die.

I am 52 and I have been diagnosed with "severe" sleep apnea. I have had my CPAP machine for over a year. I have used it partially about 10 times.

I cannot sleep at all with it strapped to my face. I have claustrophobia, and about 1 minute or less after strapping this mask to my face I go into full blown panic. I can't get that thing off my face fast enough. I practically rip it off my face. I really mean it, I am in full hyperventilating panic.

I've tried everything from ambien to different anxiety medications to stop this. Some of it helps initially but I cannot stay in that mask for more than 30 minutes. Even with the ambien I am wide awake for most of the rest of the night.

Then, even worse. After the panic attack I can't get to sleep even without the mask on. So now, I am even afraid to try to get used to it for fear of lack of sleep.

Anyway, other than just forgetting about the whole damn thing is there another option? I am not obese but about 20 lbs over ideal weight, and my sleep doctor says my weight isn't the problem.

What other recourses do I have besides dying in the morning?

Welcome to our board. Sorry you're having such a problem.

Sign up for the board, fill in what equipment you have in your profile. There's a link in my signature below.

Start a new thread and discuss it. Lots of people have worked through their panic and other problems.

I have just been diagnosed with sleep apnea after 2 sleep studies. I haven't had my Dr. appointment yet to go over my results, but I am anxious to know what I can expect from my cpap machine. I read the article about the stages we can expect to experience from changes in our lives, and I'd have to agree. I had a really big change last year when I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to have a mastectomy. I am a Christian and I know that my life is in my Creator's hands, so I pulled myself together, did what I needed to do, and gave God the glory. He answered my prayers by making this ordeal as painless as possible. I did not have to have radiation or chemo, so I was able to go back to work right away and tell my collegues how good my God is. Sleep apena is a piece of cake next to cancer. My biggest fear is that my husband will not want to sleep in the same bed with "hose woman" or that his sleep will be disturbed by the noise from the machine. Once again, I will do what I have to do and let God take care of the rest.

Hello, SraGata. First of all, do not get upset so easily! If you’ve tried Denim Pine CPAP and self-help tips and your sleep apnea persists, you may benefit from a dental device or surgical treatment. But before that you should not give up on trying and hoping for the best!

Thank you very much for sharing this. I just went through my second sleep apnea test with the mask. My first test came back with a resume for moderate sleep apnea, The second one with mask , i had no episodes. Just waiting for the machine now.

That article was exactly what I needed. Well done and thank you! Thank you so very much.

Change is difficult from going from a normal sleeping arrangement to one with machines noises, hoses, masks and honest to goodness uncomfortability. I got diagnosed five years ago with severe OSA with over a hundred episodes an hour. I am even on oxygen combined with the CPAP. I hated the darn thing but every morning I woke up a little more refreshed and energized and amazingly I started to have energy thoroughout the day. It is a hard change but I have worn it everyday besides overnight business trips for the last five years. The alternative which I am sure in my diagnosis was heart disease and death sounded alot worse than dealing with the hoses CPAP and the change of sleeping habits. Good Luck!
Resmed Escape 2
Mirage Quattro Mask
Heated Humidifier
Oxygen Bleed in
http://www.disordersofsleepapnea.com

I have been using CPAP for 10 days and have not made it past 2 hrs yet! I keep taking it off and rolling over to sleep. Aerophagia.......dry mouth/nose......itchy spot on nose or lip.........it's something new every night. I am reading books, reading manufacturer literature, reading equipment provider literature and researching Internet because I WILL SUCCEED AT THIS!!!!! I'm nervous about the SD card collecting "use data" because I do not want insurance to refuse payment due to inability to make it to 4 hours.

THank you for this info. I was recently diagnosed and I thought I was coping quite well. My partner is very supportive and has no issues with it at all, however after reading this I have identified some issues I have, now know I am normal t have these and will reassess them again. Thanks again .

Wow, what a great eye-opening experience! I loved hearing your story and it has inspired me to pay attention to bargaining I do. I hope you are doing well and my thoughts are with you.

This forum is amazing in that it contains so much useful information! I'm happy to have found it! It came as quite a surprise to me that I had SA but it certainly explained the unbearable exhaustion, cognitive blankness, crankiness and excruciating headaches I awoke with almost every day. That there could be relief from these symptoms made me literally cry with joy! I haven't gotten my equipment yet, hopefully next week, but already know from the titration part of the study that wearing a full face mask isn't going to be a problem for me and I actually enjoyed the sensation of air blowing in my face. It seemed natural to imagine myself as a kid again with my head stuck out of the car window, eyes closed, wind buffeting my face. I've lost many beloved family members, pets, strength, agility, cognitive skills that are normal (or so I've been told) for a person my age so I am choosing to look at this therapy as a gift I have been given rather than believe I have lost something else. I'm excited to begin and grateful that this forum is available for the support and conversation that will be needed.