Can a CPAP machine truly revolutionize life?

Fatigued from waking up feeling utterly drained, akin to being struck by a bus. Will embracing this device truly transform my existence? Anticipation mounts for my upcoming appointment with a sleep specialist next month. Yearning to reclaim the vitality I once knew, I eagerly await the prospect of renewal.

LillianFelly wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 12, 2024 1:23 am

Will embracing this device truly transform my existence?

Only if you got what it's designed to fix.

I believe the most important thing is to obtain and wear a recording O2 monitor... I use the O2Ring. If your oxygen levels are good all night CPAP is not going to help you... if you are indeed having O2 desaturations then CPAP has a chance. The O2Ring costs about 160USD right now I believe... lasts for 2-3 years before the rechargeable battery gives up. You can get one and pass it around to family members to see whether they're having problems as well.

vandownbytheriver wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 12, 2024 9:43 am

If your oxygen levels are good all night CPAP is not going to help you.

I don't believe this is true. O2 levels can remain comfortably above the 90 threshold and yet repeated obstructive events can disrupt sleep architecture and subject the body to repeated bursts of adrenaline. Both of these conditions can be quite harmful.

Lillian, have you had a sleep test yet?

vandownbytheriver wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 12, 2024 9:43 am

I believe the most important thing is to obtain and wear a recording O2 monitor... I use the O2Ring. If your oxygen levels are good all night CPAP is not going to help you... if you are indeed having O2 desaturations then CPAP has a chance. The O2Ring costs about 160USD right now I believe... lasts for 2-3 years before the rechargeable battery gives up. You can get one and pass it around to family members to see whether they're having problems as well.

CPAP may help against sleep disruptions caused by breathing problems. For some people, O2 desaturations don't happen, and they nevertheless suffer from disrupted sleep as a result of not breathing properly when they're asleep. Desaturations are not the be all and end all of Sleep Disordered Breathing.

Furthermore, the consumer O2 rings may be far less sensitive than the brain that wakes a person up when their breathing is disrupted.

If it's your breathing that becomes disordered by your sleep - CPAP therapy may help you.

LillianFelly wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 12, 2024 1:23 am

Fatigued ...

Pro Tip: If you expect anything to be done at the sleep specialist, do not use that word. You need to say "sleepy".

Or perhaps that's a groundhog that needs to be dug up beforehand.

What's your Epworth Sleepiness Score?

What's your age?

Rubicon wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 12, 2024 1:27 pm

. . .
Epworth Sleepiness Score?
. . .

You can find this quiz online; or your doctor might have hard copies.
It can't hurt to ask.

Usually by the time one gets to a sleep study there have already been efforts to rule out other possible cause for the symptoms. There can be more than one thing contributing to how you feel. That was the case for me. But resolving the sleep apnea was a good starting point. Once one has adjusted to the treatment and optimized its usage consistently for a while, it will be revealed if there are any residual symptoms to be addressed. Disrupted sleep and low oxygen are an assault to nearly every aspect of our being. If you indeed have sleep apnea, I'm betting you're going to find yourself feeling much better as you begin to get better sleep. Give yourself time to heal and recover and it is very reasonable to expect life to get better.

Everybody responds differently. In my case, CPAP treatment (actually ASV):

- Stopped me falling asleep in the car on my way to work
- Stopped me falling asleep during work meetings
- Completely cured my heart palpitations.

And a STOPBANG Questionnaire wouldn't hurt either.

CPAP saved my life. But I'm happiest about how my being on CPAP has made life better for my wife and for everyone else around me.

I wonder how many of my relatives might still be alive if CPAP had been available to them back in those days.

LillianFelly wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 12, 2024 1:23 am

Fatigued from waking up feeling utterly drained, akin to being struck by a bus. Will embracing this device truly transform my existence? Anticipation mounts for my upcoming appointment with a sleep specialist next month. Yearning to reclaim the vitality I once knew, I eagerly await the prospect of renewal.

I am going to respond to your question with total encouragement.

If the tests report you need CPAP sleep therapy...go for it, embrace it and most of all...give it time & tolerance for you and the device to become friends. In my case about 8-9 weeks

The results were immediate from night one and have improved steadily to now plateau at a level considered "normal" after 7 months.

I can report it has changed my life , I feel good...and beforehand (pre diagnosis)..I had no idea that my life needed changing in this way.

None of us wanted to be in this situation but thankfully...it works!

lazarus wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 13, 2024 8:38 am

I wonder how many of my relatives might still be alive if CPAP had been available to them back in those days.

one can only imagine how much fun this forum would be if the whole fam damily were here. Really