Newbie would like to hear success stories, please.

[murphri1]

Apologies in advance for the length of this but I just had to get this out of me...catharsis.

I've been on CPAP for the last three weeks or so and have noticed some remarkable changes almost immediately, and one or two small challenges. My AHI at my Sleep Study was 98 (that's not a misprint, I've got the results in front of me). I am now averaging with CPAP an AHI of around 2 +/- each night. Incidentally I recognize that many of the changes I've listed below may be only indirectly related to CPAP, but nonetheless change is change and OSA treatment is undoubtedly the proximate cause.

Noted Changes:

-Wake up refreshed and awake after about 7 hours of sleep.
This is as opposed to sleeping for close to 10 hours each night and waking up feeling like I’ve been run over by a truck. Adding 3 hours (productive hours at that) to my day has enabled me to go to the gym each morning and workout for upwards of an hour. Previously, if I had to get up at 5:00AM or 5:30AM it would literally make me sick to my stomach to be up that early. Now, it’s just natural to wake up at that time and start the day. I also was not able to motivate myself to go to the gym previously and if I did exercise it just didn’t feel good, it felt like I was just hurting myself. It feels somehow different and good now to exercise. Recovery time is remarkably shorter now as well, literally measured in hours and not days.

-Appetite and food cravings have changed noticeably, presumably for the better.
I have noticed that the foods that I want to eat seem to have spontaneously changed. As an example I haven’t had a piece of pizza in over a week whereas I used to eat it all the time. Same thing goes for fried food. I now have cravings for tuna (of all things), steak, chicken and vegetables. This has not been a deliberate shift either, it just seems spontaneous. Similarly, I seem to be getting by on slightly smaller portions, again not a deliberate choice, it just seems to be happening naturally.

-Blood pressure falling, mild edema seems to be disappearing.
Have had high blood pressure for last ten years or so, treating it for last five relatively unsuccessfully. Was never able to really get below 140/90 with any treatment. Cholesterol is also high although not high enough to warrant medication (yet). Last year or so some edema has set in on ankles, feet, hands, and wrist areas. All of this (except cholesterol as I would need to be checked for that) have dissipated almost over night. Blood pressure (w/ medication) is now down to 116/78, edema almost completely gone. I was able to put on a wrist watch for the first time comfortably in about a year just the other day. These collective changes are probably the most dramatic empirically and medically but honestly are more trivia to me than anything else. Not that I don’t think these are important good changes but feeling better in the mornings is just more noticeable and invigorating to be honest.

-Sexual function improved
Enough said.

-Improved Bowel Function
Wasn’t expecting this but not complaining. Have suffered from IBS for most of my life and it had gotten to the point the last few months where I would avoid doing things because I was concerned about it (i.e. didn’t want to be stuck out in public or in the car and become ill) . It had really hit an inflection point in terms of severity in the months leading up to my diagnosis and the start of treatment. Getting on CPAP and probably combined with some of the changes in my diet as noted above have had a really pronounced and noticeable change to this. I am much more regular and as a consequence this has led me to become more active.

-Improved Cognition and ability to Focus
Pronounced improvement in the ability to do something of an intellectual nature for than five minutes at a time. (For example write a ridiculously long forum posting). Just feel a bit more clear headed like a fog is starting to lift.

-Headaches, Chest Pain and Tooth Pain
It hasn’t been all roses. As part of the adjustment process to the CPAP I have noticed a few negative effects which I would have to classify as more annoyances than anything else. The first and most noticeable are some mild headaches. I tend to get them when I have the mask on and the machine going. They mostly go away afterwards and frankly I’m asleep most of the time I have the mask on anyway so it’s not much of an issue.

The chest pain is a bit more disconcerting however. It’s pretty noticeable although not very acute. To be honest I was little concerned when I first started to notice it. I thought it might be a heart issue. After checking my pulse, BP and doing some research it became clear that it was just my lungs, trachea etc...getting used to the machine. I certainly hope it goes away soon though as it’s mildly annoying.

I use a nasal mask (Mirage Activa LT) and have not quite cracked the code to a perfect fit yet. Maybe there isn’t one. At first I got marks on the bridge of my nose. I corrected that with an adjustment to the mask and that led to pressure on my top lip and then indirectly my front teeth and gums. This in turn led to tooth pain which necessitated further adjustment which led to leaks which led to further adjustments.....Bottom-line, getting a good fitting comfortable fit for a mask, nasal pillow or whatever seems to be a bit of a challenge.

-Conclusion
I could probably go on but this all sums up to a remarkably positive and life altering experience. It's only now, in the rear view mirror, that I can see how bad things had really gotten. On the verge of a diabetes diagnosis, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, morbidly obese and getting worse every day. At 35 and trending how I was it's clear to me that I probably wouldn't have made it past 50.

Lastly, I've known that I had some kind of OSA for probably 10+ years. I always viewed it as another symptom (high BP, weight gain etc...) of my failing health and never thought it could be the cause. I was convinced I had some sort of undetectable thyroid condition and when my doctor suggested a sleep study I rolled my eyes. I now kick myself for not doing something about this earlier. My doctor and CPAP have literally saved my life.

[dothework]

This is so helpful. Getting ready for my first night, good experience today with equipment folks. Was well armed and educated though from this forum on what I wanted and needed. Dr is sending my multi-page sleep study report to me - very underwhelmed by Dr. and nurses - a factory experience at best. Must solve this snoring/apnea - for me and my wife and kids. One thing I keep seeing is folks saying they are looking at their data. Can I just pull the little SD card from the S9 and read it? if so, is there a good post in this forum for interpreting the data?

[sleepingoodinhawaii]

Stared using my CPAP about two years ago, when I first got the new machine I thought there is noway I will be able to sleep with this wind blowing up my nose! I started using it a little at a time, maybe 1 to 2 hours at a time, sometimes I would not use it at all, but after about a month I was able to sleep thru the night for the first time, I also noticed that I did not have the need to get up several times a night for the bathroom either, I think that when you stop breathing your organs, ie kindneys and bladder start to relax and start to shut down, ( I am not a DR.), thats the only reason I can think that would make the difference, anyway back to my experiance , I first had a mask that fit over my mouth and nose everytime I would put it on the next thing I know was my nose would itch and I would need to scratch it so the need to remove and replace the mask was my next problem. I fixed that problem with the "nose Pillow type" headgear and have been happy ever since. I now sleep with my CPAP every night and always take it with me when I travel, I also don't get sleepy in the middle of the day as I use to. So to sum up HANG IN THERE, you will be glad you did.

[MississippiGirl]

I was just diagnosed with severe OSA a little over 2 months ago........I'm only 27 years old and thought I was too young for this........my boyfriend and mother both complained about my snoring and b/c my Stepdad suffers from OSA my Mom kept pushing me to go in for testing. My results showed that I stopped breathing on average 60 times per night!!!!!!!!!!! The sleep studies were a nightmare and the first couple of weeks with the machine were horrible. I kept thinking........this is CRAZY who can sleep like this forever. But now over a month later me and my unborn son LOVE this machine!!!! I feel better during the day and don't fall asleep at work anymore ( and embarass myself with my loud snoring). My unborn son loves the machine so much when I fall asleep sometimes without it on he'll kick until I put it on lollllllllllll but to any newbies I say keep fighting it's worth it in the end!!!! I am 2 months end and I never want to imagine life again without my machine!!! My boyfriend can actually sleep now!!!!

[oldnslow]

Well, I have been attached to the machine, now for almost 6 years. I can hardly remember the adjustment process. All I can say is that I adjusted, and now, cannot sleep well without the breeze up the nose. I am one of the fortunate ones who likes the airflow, without ramp, and without any letoff upon exhalation. This may be because all I was offered was a remstar plus, with manual altitude adjustment, and ramp feature. I really was totally separated from any clinical information....denial? I think I was moderate in my apneaic events, and have NO idea what my sats were. All I can say is that I sleep like a log, wake up refreshed, and would not change anything about using the machine. I have just become a member of the forum because my girlfriend has just been diagnosed with apnea, and in my research, have decided that I am woefully missing information. I am also concerned that my machine, being 6 years old, is ready for retirement to the backup machine. As a result, I am much more interested in becoming proactive in my treatment.

Hoseheads unite!

John

[melissainfo]

I have had my c-pap machine since January and after 2 weeks I was able to sleep with it on for about 4 hours. But for the first 2 weeks I barely slept at all. If my insurance didn't make me wear it for 4 hour I probably would of gave up on it. But now I SLEEP WITH IT MOST OF THE NIGHT. Thank goodness because it has made me feel like a more revived person. This does not change over night but you will notice a change after a month or so well at least I did.The daytime sleepiness diminishes and your was not as grumpy as I use to be. (not that I wanted to let anyone know this). It really help if you also have a great support system in place. I have a great S.O. that is a sound sleeper.

[SleepyHound]

I have been using my CPAP for 8 weeks now. The first few weeks I was averaging 4-5 hours with it (I'd somehow just rip the mask off after 2-3 hours). Now I am wearing the mask and using CPAP the entire night (though I'm working on increasing my sleep time to 6.5 or 7 hours...) and have only missed maybe 3 nights in the past 8 weeks.

I do feel better in the morning. Overall, I don't have that feeling of fog in the morning. That dull ache in my head, and the feeling of being a walking zombie is gone. I am able to fully wake UP when I get out of bed in the morning. My only issue is that I still have excessive daily sleepiness that lasts from approximately one hour after I wake up until about 3-6 hours later (um...I work an 8 hour day...you do the math on how productive I was). I started Nuvigil a few weeks ago, and so far, the EDS is decreased in intensity and length of time that I am sleepy during the day, but it's still there. But I am feeling waaaay better than I was without any of the interventions. Do not despair, do not give up. I'm at a point where I'm excited for bedtime because that means I get to wear my CPAP and fall fast asleep. I know that I will get rest at night.

I don't constantly think about sleep anymore, or go home, skip dinner and hanging out with hubby, and go straight to bed hoping to get some deep sleep (and then be mad in the morning that I slept 12 hours yet I still felt like poo). My caffeine consumption isn't excessive and overall I feel less cranky.

The biggest thing I learned is that nothing that I am doing now can possibly make me feel worse than my worse day before the official diagnosis of OSA (I always knew I had it, but I was in denial). But after feeling so horrible for so long, I was really desperate for anything to help my drowsiness. I was determined to be successful with this therapy because what do I have to lose? I've already had a miserable life being sleep deprived...

Don't give up. There were a few days I'd actually wear my CPAP during waking hours to get some time in, as well as get used to breathing thru my nose only, and also getting used to the mask in general. I know that the few days I forgot to wear my mask (or I wore it only an hour or so before ripping it off), I could tell a difference in how rested I wasn't compared to my CPAP nights.

[wolewyck]

I. Feel. Awesome.

I've been on xPAP since September-- so, going on a year. First was straight CPAP. It wasn't too bad to get used to, and I felt better within weeks-- most of the time. But my numbers weren't perfect, and there were consistently a few days, or maybe a week per month, when I just didn't feel as good as I now knew I could feel. My residual events were all centrals-- it seems that being on CPAP induced some, whereas on my own, I had only obstructive events. My doctor was responsive, and even though my AHI numbers on CPAP were only sometimes above the 5 "threshold', she signed me up for a sleep titration with an ASV. The titration suggested it would be effective... After, there were some logistical headaches in getting the machine I wanted, to be sure. But I've got it now and have been on it for over a month, and it is definitely, definitely a substantial improvement, even over CPAP. I'm suddenly taking on projects that I hadn't the get-up-and-go for, for ages. Mood is considerably improved! Challenges don't seem nearly so daunting. It is WONDERFUL. Somewhat surprisingly, I seem to be sleeping less overall (usu. 6-7 hours/night, instead of 7-8), but I'm not having trouble sleeping, and I am not tired. So I wonder if I'm just getting extra high-quality Zs, reducing my need for sleep? I even wonder if I am now sleeping better than a typical "normal" person would, thanks to the magic of ASV...? I don't know but in the meantime am just enjoying it. Good luck to everyone.

[#1 Jets Fan]

I've been on CPAP since May 5, and my AHI now averages 3.4!!!

Blood pressure has come down considerably. Overall, I feel better and my colleagues tell me I look "refreshed"!

A friend just started on CPAP and she complains that she cannot spend all night on it. I'm begging her to hang in there, because I think that it absolutely cannot hurt you, and it just may change your life if you comply.

I'm thrilled with my experience!
Good Luck to everyone!!!!

[hugho]

Have been on CPAP for one week now. Huge difference in energy level. It really works well.However, I seem to wake up coughing from dry throat in morning Have humidity at 80% not sure if need more or less to fix this.

[apneawho]

Hi Hugho,
I have been on CPAP for about 1 1/2 weeks now. I have same machine you do. I have humidity set at 86%, wear nasal pillows and chin strap, and have not awakened with dry mouth.

[hugho]

Good to hear that - I guess I'm going to have to figure out how to change the humidity setting. So far I've been changing the temp setting of the heated hose.

[EO_123]

Week One on CPAP. I only hope the rest of my life feels this good. I feel like I've been dragging an elephant behind me for 10 years and didn't realize it - and now it's gone. Do normal people feel this good? My mood has improved significantly, the persistent ache in my body is gone, and while I might feel sleepy, I don't have the feeling I used to call "tired" and I was "tired" all of the time. I also had a persistent ache in my chest I wasn't telling anyone about. I just hit my 40th birthday, I'm really trying not to feel "old" yet.

The most amazing thing happened today, I don't think I fully realized how the changes in me were affecting the rest of my family. I came home from work early, with groceries to cook a nice meal for my family. I listened supportively as my husband told me about some concerns over family members. I told him "it's all going to be okay" He became very nervous and began to act strangely. I had to pry it out of him - but he was afraid something was really wrong - like I was planning to serve him with divorce papers because I was cooking AND being nice. (was I that much of a grump?) He really didn't know how to handle it. Hopefully I really did manage to convince him that the difference is I feel GOOD. I don't come home from work "tired" and life is not as up hill as it used to be. I wish everyone could have this experience, I just pray every day that I'll wake up feeling the same way.

Incidentally, my diagnosis was for mild apnea - when my doctor gave me the results she said "your case is mild, but mild is treatable, so we are going to treat you" For a "mild" case this treatment has made a huge difference in my quality of life - so if there is someone out there that thinks that treatment wouldn't help because 'it's not that bad' don't pass up on the chance that you might be saving your own life. (the ache in my chest is now gone) Like I said, I didn't know how bad I felt, until I woke up on the other side.

[BKCK2k3]

I've been on my CPAP since June of this year. I first noticed the improvement the morning after my sleep study, having spent a good 6 hours on the machine. The following week of waiting for the prescribing of my machine was excruciating.

I initially struggled with my machine. Finding the right sized mask was the real ticket. Once I got comfortable with the mask, it was pretty smooth sailing from there. I still wrestle the occasional leak, but I've gotten good enough that I can usually readjust the mask without fully waking up and be back out in no time. The benefits of this device are incredible. I no longer feel like I've got sand in my eyes all day long, no longer fall asleep at the keyboard or at stop lights, and I haven't had a migraine since I started on the machine (used to average 2 a week!)

The best advice I can give you is to persevere and stick with it.

[BCZF]

Hello

Been on my Bi Pap for 2 weeks now, and it really has changed my life (for one thing I can drive without falling asleep!) as you can see by my sig I am a ffm user due to my severe apnea.

Been having neck aches (probably due to to the straps being too tight) and lower back aches (probably due to the weight gain that caused the apnea)..

This was by far the best thing I could have done for myself.. I'm glad to have found a forum and read others experiences..

John