CPAP still not working so did an experiment

Just curious what non-drug therapies do you use for depression?

herefishy wrote:Just curious what non-drug therapies do you use for depression?

It depends on what my needs are.

Sometimes, there are situations where I feel I need to cry and I allow myself to do that. Other times, when I feel that I am in danger of going down a path I don't want to go down, I will simply tell myself to "cut the tape"

I have also found walking in bright sunlight to be helpful. Unfortunately, I haven't done much of it recently but hopefully, I can get back on track with that.

Chocolate is a great remedy for depression, particularly Godiva:)

49er

PS - Many people find CBT to be very useful for depression. I think I have used forms of it at times.

Are you saying that someone with bipolar disorder, or even schizophrenia, is not in need of medication?

I'm not saying that CBT shouldn't be used also. CBT is great. But if you think someone who is experiencing mania doesn't need medical intervention I think you might need to do some research.

sleepstar wrote:Are you saying that someone with bipolar disorder, or even schizophrenia, is not in need of medication?

I'm not saying that CBT shouldn't be used also. CBT is great. But if you think someone who is experiencing mania doesn't need medical intervention I think you might need to do some research.

It depends.

Many people with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia do quite well without medication. Other people need it.

But sadly, medical professionals like yourself think that this is a one size fits all type of deal with meds. It isn't, particularly since meds don't work for everyone. And no, there is not a med for everyone if they just keep trying. That is another old wive's tale.

You're the one who needs to do research and get out of the dark ages of medicating people to the gills.

Google the "Open Dialogue" program used in Finland that treats 80 percent of people successfully without meds who have schizophrenia.

You also might want to read an Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker, a healthcare journalist who initially believed that meds were effective for people with schizophrenia until he looked at psychiatry's own statistics and found he was wrong.

You might want to visit his site at http://www.madinamerica.com.

Oh and by the way, the president of the NAMI board of directors, Keris Myrick, has schizophrenia and is med free.

And speaking of bipolar, many people are falsely diagnosed with the condition due to adverse reactions from antidepressants. From the statistics I have seen, only a very miniscule amount of people have what is truly bipolar disorder.

You're the one who has alot to learn sleepstar, not me.

49er

49er,

By trotting out the old cliche of 'drug company conspiracy' makes you just as bad as those who say that drugs are the only solution. You've been off meds since 2010 - good for you. For me, anxiety affected my daily life since childhood and anti-depressants effectively turned my life around. Each to their own. Just because it didn't work for you doesn't a comspiracy make. Oh, and by the way, the old 'just suck it up and get on with it' or getting more sunshine or whatever rubbish you mentioned didn't work for me - i tried all that. Ok, back to the topic at hand.....

lullaby wrote:49er,

By trotting out the old cliche of 'drug company conspiracy' makes you just as bad as those who say that drugs are the only solution. You've been off meds since 2010 - good for you. For me, anxiety affected my daily life since childhood and anti-depressants effectively turned my life around. Each to their own. Just because it didn't work for you doesn't a comspiracy make. Oh, and by the way, the old 'just suck it up and get on with it' or getting more sunshine or whatever rubbish you mentioned didn't work for me - i tried all that. Ok, back to the topic at hand.....

My experience was similar to yours, lullaby. I tried APAP and even did a lot of tweaking: changed the pressure range, tried straight CPAP mode, tried different masks...
Like you I was able to get a low AHI, almost always under 5, often under 3. But despite the good results and no leaking problem, the CPAP made me much more tired.
Before using CPAP, I was tired and lethargic, but after CPAP I was down right exhausted, not able to do pretty much anything. Not only did CPAP not give me more energy, it actually made things much worse.

This is why I eventually quit CPAP. I did not use it for a year and a half like you did, I could not go THAT long with something that made me exhausted.
Now that I no longer use CPAP I'm still tired but at least I can function on most days. I can completely relate with you when you said that you have more energy
WITHOUT Cpap. Better to be a bit tired than to be completely exhausted.

You see, I think some people are just not made for CPAP therapy. There are certainly many people who benefit from it, I don't deny that. But there are also
many, many people who get no benefit or feel worse. There are some people for whom CPAP is simply not the right answer. I think you and me are part of that
group. You've been on CPAP for nearly 2 years and still feel exhausted, so obviously it's not a patience or "sleep debt" problem.

Maybe you will have better success treating your apnea through other means: dental device, weight loss, sleeping on side, avoiding alcohol, etc. Surgery is not a good
long term solution. There will be some who will warn you that its dangerous to stop using your CPAP. In some ways that's true, yes, but when using a CPAP makes you totally exhausted, what's the point? Yes you risk getting a heart attack but being totally exhausted all the time is hardly "living" anyway. So yes I can relate. I put in a good try, made some changes, tried new masks, tweaked things, read A LOT, but I'm convinced CPAP is not for me and I'm dealing with my apnea through other means.

Before anyone buys what Mozart22 is selling they should read his lengthy posts from last December and judge for themselves if he gave APAP a fair test:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=84905&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... 22#p771226

Sir NoddinOff wrote:Before anyone buys what Mozart22 is selling they should read his lengthy posts from last December and judge for themselves if he gave APAP a fair test:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=84905&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... 22#p771226

I'm not selling anything, I just felt much worse with CPAP just like the OP. I was simply agreeing with the OP who says after nearly 2 years they
are still exhausted and feel better without CPAP. A lot of people have that problem. There are several threads on this forum of people who felt
worse with CPAP. Rarely do they keep at it as long as the OP. After nearly 2 years the OP still feels exhausted, but much less so without CPAP
so he should continue to not use CPAP. It's up to him anyway

Mozart22 wrote:

Sir NoddinOff wrote:Before anyone buys what Mozart22 is selling they should read his lengthy posts from last December and judge for themselves if he gave APAP a fair test:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=84905&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... 22#p771226

I'm not selling anything, I just felt much worse with CPAP just like the OP. I was simply agreeing with the OP who says after nearly 2 years they
are still exhausted and feel better without CPAP. A lot of people have that problem. There are several threads on this forum of people who felt
worse with CPAP. Rarely do they keep at it as long as the OP. After nearly 2 years the OP still feels exhausted, but much less so without CPAP
so he should continue to not use CPAP. It's up to him anyway

Mozart22, I'm not accusing you of anything... I'm sure you truly believe what you say you believe. What I'm doing is simply directing people to your own literal testimony, involving an extremely brief exposure to CPAP therapy and then asking them to evaluate if your negative CPAP conclusions are valid, given the facts. It's simple really, I think I have the same rights here as you do to quote past threads, especially those penned by your own hand.

I can't pull rabbits out of hats at this hour to show you stats and labs and articles, but it's not an old wives' tale that chemical imbalance (along with other things) IS responsible for clinical depression as far as knowledge goes today, and most of the time SSRI's (if not others) do help more people than not to deal with it. Adding CBT or other modalities is very good for many people, but not all and some will not get a lot better on meds, some will have side effects they can't deal with, but they're still the best all around fix for so many - it would be cutting off your nose to spite your face not to at least try them if you needed help and hadn't found it.

It didn't work for me either. Felt worse on pap than off. I chose to listen to my body over some poorly manufactured machine. I don't use the cpap. haven't in some time. I still have uars but I manage OK - eat healthy, practice sleep hygiene, exercise, all keys to having energy during the day.

Mozart, have you thought about trying CPAP again? You do have moderate OSA so treating it might not only make you feel better, but improve your health.

Now that you have given it a go for a few days, it may actually be easier and much less daunting this time around.

Julie wrote:I can't pull rabbits out of hats at this hour to show you stats and labs and articles, but it's not an old wives' tale that chemical imbalance (along with other things) IS responsible for clinical depression as far as knowledge goes today, and most of the time SSRI's (if not others) do help more people than not to deal with it. Adding CBT or other modalities is very good for many people, but not all and some will not get a lot better on meds, some will have side effects they can't deal with, but they're still the best all around fix for so many - it would be cutting off your nose to spite your face not to at least try them if you needed help and hadn't found it.

+1

Isn't all brain activity electrochemical?

I guess I don't understand why a few of the folks who gave up CPAP keep coming back to CPAPtalk and then get all evangelical about how and why they gave it up. I mean this site is called CPAPtalk I personally think that it would be painful for these few individuals to read about the other 98% who embrace CPAP and claim it saved their lives. Well, it's obvious you've made up your minds, so all I can do is wish you luck in finding an alternative that works. Of course, IMO you're always welcome here... a few dissenters just add flavor to the mix!