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Re: Especially for newly diagnosed - Dealing with Change

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 7:17 pm
by rachelp
I was diagnosed in early July and I'm going on almost a month with apap. I resisted getting tested for so long because I didn't want to deal with the machine. It's a hard thing to accept. Once I realized my health WAS being affected and it's not just a little snoring or sleepiness I changed my attitude. I honestly couldn't be happier with apap therapy. I don't even dread going to bed. My nasal pillows are great, I love my machine, and with the aromatherapy I find it to actually be pleasant. I regained my life back, and because of that you couldn't pry the machine away from me.

Re: Especially for newly diagnosed - Dealing with Change

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 8:45 pm
by idamtnboy
The positive attitudes that are being shared are absolutely great. A positive attitude makes everything easier, not necessarily easy, but easier to handle. Keep it up!

Re: Especially for newly diagnosed - Dealing with Change

Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 4:26 am
by stepyou
mattymcmatt wrote:
Both my folks have sleep problems, too... guess maybe it actually is genetic, I don't know. I'm not overweight (too much) but I do have a noticeable 'double chin' that may be impacting my sleep. Having said that, per my wife I had the issue long before I gained the weight I'm currently carrying... so heck, I don't know.
I've slept badly for years (thought it was related to depression!) even when I was nearly underweight. Even now my BMI is around 22 which is in the 'healthy weight' range but I still need CPAP. I have also always had a small double chin caused by an underdeveloped jaw which causes a very small airway. Have your doctors looked at your jaw? I'm not sure the normal way of going about this as my orthodonist was the one who noticed it and then referred me to the sleep clinic. I'm kind of lucky in that CPAP is just temporary until my jaws are broken as this will make my airway bigger. May be worth bringing it up with your sleep doctors?

Re: Especially for newly diagnosed - Dealing with Change

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 10:57 am
by urn357
Thanks for this. Just found this forum, I think yesterday, and that helps me relate and be even more happy that I found it. Thanks again!

Re: Especially for newly diagnosed - Dealing with Change

Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 9:59 am
by Mr Nifty
New to forum. Been using a BiPap since Wednesday.

Re: Especially for newly diagnosed - Dealing with Change

Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2016 2:51 pm
by KimDave
Mr Nifty wrote:New to forum. Been using a BiPap since Wednesday.

How are you adjusting? I don't have my machine yet. I am 49 tiny female who is a fitness instructor but have been told my mouth etc are too small and that is what is causing my issues. (Nobody can tell me I have a big mouth I have doctors who can prove I don't haha) Anyway I go next Tuesday for my first night at the clinic with the machine. I am not sure what happens after that - receptionist said it will take another 2-3 weeks for results to be read and my follow up done. So I don't know how long I have to wait till I get a machine. Doctor said he will write a script for one but not sure when he will do that - after consult in a few weeks probably. I am excited to feel better during the day - so tired - hard to work somedays I just drag by evening. or sleep during day as much as I can. I hope this helps as I have felt this way for years but never thought I could have apnea till my boyfriend told me I struggle to breathe at night. Had my first test in early January and just got results yesterday (takes so long it seems here in Ontario Canada) So I am looking forward to the test on Tuesday now to see how it goes.

Re: Especially for newly diagnosed - Dealing with Change

Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2016 2:21 am
by I Walk With You
I found out today I have severe sleep apnea and will have to go on the machine for the rest of my life. Actually reading through the forum made me feel a little worse. I am sleep walking through life, can't hold a job, suffering from PTSD from a shooting I was injured in 2 years ago. I am never rested and have insomnia. I went from an athletic 220 pounds to my present weight of 258. I put on 8 pounds in the last two weeks. Never have energy. Not really much of a life. I've decided tonight--not asleep of course after taking two sleeping pills-to give myself a year. I can't stand the mask, have restless legs, PTSD and feel claustrophobic with the mask. I have to wear the full face one.
I'm going to give it a year and if my quality of life hasn't improved I'm going to opt out. Guess I wanted to write it down to reaffirm it.

Re: Especially for newly diagnosed - Dealing with Change

Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2016 6:33 am
by AuctionGuy
Dear I Walk With You,

Do NOT give up.

There are many more Positive things in these forums than Negative.

I'm no expert on this CPAP stuff, I just started a couple of weeks ago. There are tons of people that have been at it for a long time, and will help you thru things. I've found many things in these forums to keep my hopeful that CPAP can someday become a useful, normal way of life for me.

Please, Please start a new forum (rather than stuck at the bottom of this older one), and ask your questions, or say what your problems (like feel claustrophobic) are, and you WILL get responses.

Also update your profile with your machine, mask, pressures - the stuff the gurus want/need to know to help.

- Jeff

Re: Especially for newly diagnosed - Dealing with Change

Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 1:23 am
by cancun
I Walk With You wrote:I found out today I have severe sleep apnea and will have to go on the machine for the rest of my life. Actually reading through the forum made me feel a little worse. I am sleep walking through life, can't hold a job, suffering from PTSD from a shooting I was injured in 2 years ago. I am never rested and have insomnia. I went from an athletic 220 pounds to my present weight of 258. I put on 8 pounds in the last two weeks. Never have energy. Not really much of a life. I've decided tonight--not asleep of course after taking two sleeping pills-to give myself a year. I can't stand the mask, have restless legs, PTSD and feel claustrophobic with the mask. I have to wear the full face one.
I'm going to give it a year and if my quality of life hasn't improved I'm going to opt out. Guess I wanted to write it down to reaffirm it.
You have come to the right place to find support, pretty much all of us will be on the CPAP for the rest of our lives, sorry that reading made you feel worse, try reading the success stories to give you a little more positive feed back. It can take some time once you get your machine but you can feel rested and there are a lot of people on this forum that can help you thru it and have a lot of knowledge as they are going thru the same thing and have for a long time. Is there a specific reason you have to wear the full face mask? Some of the full face masks really aren't as claustrophobic as you might think. You might have to thru a few masks before you find the one that is right for you.

If you could re post this under Post a New Topic at the top of the forum you will get a lot more responses as this area is more informative than interactive.
Hang in there, the help is here.

Re: Especially for newly diagnosed - Dealing with Change

Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2016 10:55 am
by Becky at RemZzzs
Hey everyone, I work at RemZzzs and we offer a totally FREE sample of our CPAP Mask Liners. The liners help with irritation, pressure marks and leaking. Just pm and I can send you a free sample!

Re: Especially for newly diagnosed - Dealing with Change

Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2016 11:10 am
by K5MOW
Becky at RemZzzs wrote:Hey everyone, I work at RemZzzs and we offer a totally FREE sample of our CPAP Mask Liners. The liners help with irritation, pressure marks and leaking. Just pm and I can send you a free sample!
I sent you a PM

Roger

Re: Especially for newly diagnosed - Dealing with Change

Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2016 2:42 pm
by Snoopchic
I have tried several times to open this, but it won't open? How do I read it!?!

Re: Especially for newly diagnosed - Dealing with Change

Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2016 8:28 pm
by idamtnboy
Snoopchic wrote:I have tried several times to open this, but it won't open? How do I read it!?!
It works when I checked it just now. What kind of error are you getting? It's an ordinary PDF file. When you click on the link it gives you the option to download. When you click on that it should download and open up in Adobe Reader.

Re: Especially for newly diagnosed - Dealing with Change

Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2016 12:50 am
by nvanderhoeven
My story is a little different, because I don't have sleep apnea. My husband does. However I'm finding it really hard to deal with, whereas my husband seems pretty matter-of-fact about it and is more relieved at the prospect of better sleep.

The reason I'm finding this so difficult to digest is that my father died a few years ago from complications caused by sleep apnea. We had known for decades that he had sleep apnea, but none of us really realised how dangerous it could be. I lost a younger brother to a car accident that happened when my father fell asleep at the wheel despite having had 7 hours of sleep the night before. I'm putting this, and little things like seeing him fall asleep over dinner while growing up, together, and realising just how much of our entire family's lives have been negatively affected by sleep apnea.

When Dad died a few years ago, I became hypervigilant and told my husband I had seen him stop breathing in his sleep, too. He said that I was just imagining things because of my dad, and I believed him because I WAS extremely emotional at the time. Four years and a confirmed diagnosis of sleep apnea later and I'm kicking myself for not pushing to get my husband checked earlier. I'm afraid that I'll lose a third family member to this disease, and I can't help but think about the damage that has already been caused. Who knows how long he has been suffering from sleep apnea? It could have been decades, too.

I'm also frustrated because while I'm devouring all the information I can find, I have to push and prod my husband to do anything. He says he is committed to making the CPAP work, and to be fair to him I think he's doing what he can, but every time he removes the mask now because it's uncomfortable, I lie awake listening to him breathe. My quality of sleep has never been worse. I lie next to him thinking of settings I could tweak that might allow him to wear the mask longer, and there are a LOT of settings. I feel like I have sleep apnea too from how little I sleep.

Thanks for listening.

Re: Especially for newly diagnosed - Dealing with Change

Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 3:05 pm
by peridotjude
nvanderhoeven wrote:My story is a little different, because I don't have sleep apnea. My husband does............ I lie awake listening to him breathe. My quality of sleep has never been worse. I lie next to him thinking of settings I could tweak that might allow him to wear the mask longer, and there are a LOT of settings. I feel like I have sleep apnea too from how little I sleep. Thanks for listening.

My advice is only from a long-married and 60-something perspective; I am in no way a medical person. IMO you need to take care of yourself and let your husband be a grown up and take care of HIMself. I'm not telling you that you're wrong for caring about him, only that you need to be careful not to go down the tubes with him! This is true for all caregivers everywhere; they have to take care of themselves first, otherwise they'll have nothing to give to the ones they are trying to care for. So. I guess I'd start in two places-- first, I'd find a talk therapist I could be honest with, someone to listen and act as a sounding board. And second (and maybe this should be #1, actually), separate bedrooms; that lying awake listening to him not breathe is for the birds!! And serves nothing useful. Good luck.