Cpap and women

[newnelly33]

Hi,
I am female with sleep apnea. I am just curious about how many "women" have sleep apnea and use a cpap machine like me? Most folks think it strange for a female to have sleep apnea, being as it associated with men.

Thanks,
Nellie

[sally45]

Hi newnelly I am female and have been useing cpap for 3 months now. I am finding it very hard to get use to it.some nights are better than others.how long have you been useing it do you find it easy.I am getting pressure soars on my face which puts me off useing it.I would love to hear from you from Sally

[jamie 80]

[quote="sally45"]Hi newnelly I am female and have been useing cpap for 3 months now. I am finding it very hard to get use to it.some nights are better than others.how long have you been useing it do you find it easy.I am getting pressure soars on my face which puts me off useing it.I would love to hear from you from Sally

Hi.
I have been using my cpap for about a year now. I got used to it immediately. And Sally, try some different masks. There is one I had that goes over your head, called the Breeze. I sleep on my side, and this is a much better choice than one with straps that hit your face if you sleep on your side. I liked it a lot...until my dog chewed it. <sigh> I haven't gotten around to ordering another one yet...back to using the old one.
Keep with it!
Jamie

[Slinky]

Oh goshes, there are LOTS of women on xPAP! Forget those stereotypes. I'm female, 5'4", 110 LBS, 13" neck, 52 yo when Dx'd w/OSA. The only thing about me close to fitting the stereotype was my age.

Welcome to the forum. We'll get you doing better w/your xPAP. Give us some ideas of the problem(s) you are having adjusting to xPAP. What brand and model xPAP do you have? Add it to your profile and then you won't have to keep repeating yourself and we won't have to keep asking. Do you have the integrated, heated humidifier w/your xPAP? What is your pressure setting?

Have you noticed any improvement at all since starting xPAP? My first 30+ nights on CPAP were the worst sleep of my life. But things started improving from then on. Slowly but definitely. Have you been back to see your sleep doctor since starting xPAP? Your doctor can't help if he doesn't know you're having a problem or problems. And most want to see you back for a consultation at either one month or 3 months after starting xPAP therapy. At least if they are any good at all.

How about your local DME supplier's RT? Has he/she been any help to you at all w/the problems you've been having? Have you asked for that help? I would assume that you have.

[BoomersRock]

Sept 11 Update: I just had my second sleep study last night. I have gained back weight since my first study that was done when I was at goal weight. My pressure changed fro 8 to 11 during that time! No wonder I have been walking around like Dead Woman Walking for months!


I have been using a CPAP for 3 yr 8 mo. My husband had one first-he had been talking to some of his friend that experience with them so he spoke to his doctor and had the study done. I didn't know I needed one till I went to a women's retreat and my roommates told me about my snoring and holding my breath. I was at my goal weight when I had my study and although mine wasn't as bad as my husband's, it certainly qualified. I was motivated so by the second night (at another women's retreat!) I had my mask on all night long. I sleep mostly on my side although I was a dyed in the wool belly sleeper for years.

I find the info on this forum very valuable; I can't believe it took me so long to find it! Good luck and keep coming.

[KMP50]

I have one and it does take some getting used to, because the CPAP manufacturers have been making things sized for big men for years and don't seem to notice that a lot of humans- even some men, I presume - have noses, chins and faces smaller than the "average" man....
Yeah, I'm mad. My nose gets all stretched out by the Swift pillows at night, but the other masks are too big to get a good seal. I'm working on it with my DME though. There's always hope....

[JayC]

*raises hand*

Masked just short of a month. I am grateful that my adjustment has been very smooth compared to many of the life stories.

I too qualified just barely by the Medicare standard-----but insomnia(s) since 8 years old, and quite disordered sleep since puberty. Quite fragmented from high school on. I have been blown off for 20 years, which was when I first went to a doc for sleep/tiredness alone. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "for whatever reason, you are not getting restorative sleep." PERIOD. No sleep hygiene suggestions, NOTHING. Even 6 years ago I was marginalized. Not sure if I had an oximeter on my finger back then. If I did, I am pretty sure, based on how I generally feel and function, that my stats dropped then as they did on my recent study. Given my improved feeling and slowly increasing functioning --- even after a bad APAP night --- I know I have found a MAJOR factor, and proper treatment for it. Finally at age 47. Overweight according to BMI, and according to the belly rolls I never had until the last few years. Life-long, I had stable weight in normal range, and decent fitness overall (although no athlete...just a big walker in times past.) Never measured my neck, but body weight/fat can't be blamed for the life-long sleep issues.

Neuro wrote in reports -- as did the reviewing docs for the sleep study --- that apnea is probably a contributing factor, but certainly not enough to explain the majority of my "complaints"!! I saw that neuro the other day and told him they grossly underestimate the effect of a few decades of disordered/nonrestorative sleep. In fairness, he is a good doc, and has referred me out to all sorts of test and specialists to rule out or address any other issues. I told him I am grateful that he does that even as he and others are writing that "it is not enough to explain..." More to the story, but you get the idea...!

A related question for us women: do you find a worsening in your numbers and how you feel related to stages of your monthly cycle? I have always had a few days of major "tireds" during a certain phase, and had them (to a lesser extent) on APAP. My numbers shot up even with zero leak on those same nights. It was curious, and strangely validating. I attribute certain things to hormonal fluctuations, and get the eye roll from others when I do. Seems I was more in touch with reality on that issue than those around me. (Docs included....)

Curious to hear your experiences on this. (I intended this as related, and not a hijack.)

J

[Lilluanu]

I'm a 27yo female, ~5'7", 215lbs. I was diagnosed with OSA about 2.5 months ago though I suspect I've had it close to a decade. I was sick of being tired constantly so I pushed through all the insurance red tape and testing fairly quickly to get my machine, and adjusted to it almost overnight. My sleep study techs, sleep specialist, and DME supplier's RT were all very helpful in getting me started, and offered sound advice on choosing and caring for my machine and humidifier, fitting my mask, etc. My dad, my twin sister, 2 of my closest friends, and the CEO of my company were all diagnosed within a couple months of me, and I've passed along the advice I gained from the RT and also from independent online research I began conducting when my husband finally mentioned that I not only snore but stop breathing periodically. I think the reason that apnea is more commonly associated with men is that women tend to consider most of the symptoms of apnea a fact of life, so they don't get it checked out.

To sally45 - if you are getting pressure sores the straps on your mask may be too tight: try different types and sizes of masks and also try loosening the straps. Your mask should seal properly without being cinched so tight (the straps are too tight if there are marks on your face from the mask more than a few minutes after removing it). There are many different types of masks out there so don't let a pushy DME supplier try to make you choose from only one or two different types and sizes.

I use a ResMed S8 Compact with humidifier and a Mirage Swift II mask (planning to get a Mirage Swift LT, as I sleep on my side a lot)

[sleepydoll]

Welcome to "The Family"!
There are tons of women with OSA....just on this forum !
I'm on cpap since june of this year, but been ignoring my situation for nearly 10 .
I thought it "wasn't as bad a it seems"....until the foggy, unable to concentrate, and endless tired
feeling just was too much to deal with!

My mind kept saying: snoring and apnea is for guys....I had to admit that I was ashamed of my diagnosis...go figure!
I was distressed by it; the pain was not due to the OSA itself, but to my estimate of it; until I saw that I
had the power to revoke my view and simply chose to aknowledge it...

As someone has already stated: When one door closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see
the one which has been opened for us.

So I made my appointment with my doctor....that's when my pulmologist welcomed me back in his office and simply said " Ready now?"
I never looked back since! I'm not saying that it's all a garden of roses...the thorns sometimes stick out too...but it's my life, and
the greatest part of my happiness depends on my dispositions, not my circumstances.
I just keep trying to do the best I can every day, and coming to this forum is surely a very good way to start my day!

So, welcome !
D.

[carolyngoodman]

Hi,
I am female with sleep apnea. I am just curious about how many "women" have sleep apnea and use a cpap machine like me? Most folks think it strange for a female to have sleep apnea, being as it associated with men.

From the National Institute of Health - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Dis ... tRisk.html
"Sleep apnea is more common in men. One out of 25 middle-aged men and 1 out of 50 middle-aged women have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea becomes more common as you get older. At least 1 out of 10 people over the age of 65 has sleep apnea. Women are much more likely to develop sleep apnea after menopause. African Americans, Hispanics, and Pacific Islanders are more likely to develop sleep apnea than Caucasians."

So more common in men, but with the rate of 1 in 50 - there is no shortage of women with the condition.

[skjansen]

I read recently that it is almost a 50/50 split between males and females now. The whole problem with females getting diagnosed properly is that we do not fit the stereotype. This must change!

[roster]

From the National Institute of Health - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Dis ... tRisk.html
"Sleep apnea is more common in men. One out of 25 middle-aged men and 1 out of 50 middle-aged women have sleep apnea. ...........

Since the medical profession, by their own admission, has failed to diagnose 90% of cases, how do they know how many people have osa?

Carolyn, I bet in time we will know the numbers are much higher in both sexes than the ones quoted.

[purple butterfly]

I am a 58 year old female using CPaP for a year and a half and i don't have to get up 10-13 times a night. I would wake up with bad headaches before using the CPAP and would feel like i hadn't slept. When I would go to work in the morning I'd feel like sleeping at the stoplight. I don't feel that way anymore. My only complaint is that I wish the nasal mask was a little more confortable.

[echo]

I'm female, 31 yr, slightly overweight.

I'm sure I've had it all my life, or at least since adolescence (and I was at a good weight then). Sleep doc said it was due to my facial features (small receding chin, upper palate narrow, etc).

I'm sure those stats are also wrong!! How many undiagnosed are there...?

[Babette]

Oh goshes, there are LOTS of women on xPAP! Forget those stereotypes. I'm female, 5'4", 110 LBS, 13" neck, 52 yo when Dx'd w/OSA. The only thing about me close to fitting the stereotype was my age.

AH HA!

Okay, quit confusing the newbies with your gender icon, then!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL,
Babs