New here and newly diagnosed with OSA - need some APAP guidance please!

[James @ Intus]

Hi Dan, how have things progressed this past week? Did you manage to increase mask-time at all?

[DanJayUK]

Hi James.

Thanks for asking. Had my first "success" last night.

I have been putting the mask on in bed and having it on for half an hour to an hour to try and get myself more used to wearing it and whilst I am in bed. Taking it off before I get too tired as I haven't been able to sleep with it so far. I was very tired last night and put it on as usual and "by accident" must've dozed off. I only slept for at most 45 minutes, maybe an hour, but I slept with the mask on so was very pleased about that. The unit had logged an AHI of 2.0 as well which suggests it reacted to a couple of events during that time.

Just need to keep persevering!

Dan

[James @ Intus]

That's what I meant with going for small wins. Celebrate it, feel good about it indeed and use it as proof that you can do it. Some have all the luck and take to it immediately, others need to grind it out a bit, but will get there. The rewards are worth the efforts!

[DanJayUK]

Bit of an update - mainly for anyone else in the same boat as I hope it is words of encouragement...

I gave up completely on the CPAP for a while as I simply wasn't getting on with it and was getting even less sleep spending the first half of the night trying. I really didn't think it was going to work out at all for me and kept my fingers crossed that I'd be able to look at alternative treatments.

I had my first consultant appointment at the London Chest Hospital (what a nightmare it was sorting that out but that's another story) in the middle of September. The main thing I was told was "You have OSA and it needs treating". Well thanks for that, I could've told you the same thing! The main thing I did get at this visit was my AHI number from my sleep test which wasn't passed on my the local consultant I saw - 30 and so I am told the bottom level of "severe". I was a bit shocked at that and had no idea how bad the situation was. I was also told that given how bad my OSA is there was no other effective option other than CPAP (mouth splints etc are an option for mild to moderate so I was told but apparently only reduce SAs by around 50% - so if you're "severe" then you'll still have bad OSA).

So... I came home a bit upset that it was as bad as it was but resigned to getting this CPAP working for me one way or another.

I don't get off to sleep well at night through an overactive mind and probably general life stresses. In times gone by I'd have happily drunk a bottle of wine before bed but I can now see that significantly exacerbates my OSA so that wasn't really an option. Out of desperataion I discussed the situation with my family GP and asked for sleeping tablets which he flatly (and rightly) refused. He said this was not where I wanted to be as they very quickly become addictive and your body becomes dependant upon them so they are very much a last resort. What he did prescribe and what has worked marvellously well is very mild anti-depressants. At the low strength I have them they are great for winding your brain down to allow you to get off to sleep. The radio on quietly also helped for the first few nights. At first I woke up usually around 3-4am and when I did took the mask off. After a week of that I tried simply going back to sleep again and succeeded after a couple more nights (I had last week off on holiday which helped massively when the pressure to be up at some ungodly hour isn't there). Bar Monday night this week I have been managing 6 to 7 hours sleep or so per night and even had a 9 hour job last week on holiday!

My SleepCube reports my AHI between 3.0 and 5.0 but tending to be the lower end of that scale. Not bad coming down from 30.0!

I (like someone else here also said) haven't had some "Eureka" moment and don't feel completely different when I wake up which I was a little disappointed about at first. What I have noticed though is that the chronic fatigue I was suffering from (notably in the afternoon) has vanished. I am not forgetting things at work and have substantially more energy. It's great - and a night off the CPAP on Monday has made me realise what an impact both the OSA and the subsequent treatment have had/are having on me.

Monday night incidentally was a "fail" because the mask (F&P432) was making so much damn noise it was driving me and my wife mad. One of the valves (just above where the pipe joins the mask, there are two - I believe to protect you in case of power failure/hose pressure loss) has been getting noisier and noisier. A square of electric tape over that one last night and peace (and a good night of sleep) were restored.

It still isn't easy though and I'm still taking the tablets so I get off to sleep at night. I also have a bad nose sore which is vaguely being covered up by me keeping my glasses on - I hope that will pass! I hope not to be taking the pills to help me get off long term but if it is the case then so be it. What I do hope is that this adds on to the other success stories and makes those who are having a lot of difficulty at first persevere. Taking a little time off work combined with some light medical "assistance" helped me massively - you just have to find what works for you.

I actually get to pick up my NHS machine next week as well! I think I will employ this as a spare/back up/travel machine as I like the way my APAP SleepCube works. I'm more interested in alternative masks they have so I'll report back if anything interesting crops up.

In the meantime, to anyone reading this who is at their wits end - please keep trying. I never thought it'd work for me and it's a huge change to get used to - but it's worth it. I won't forget in a hurry how difficult it's been for me to crack it...

[symmit]

Congratulations on the perseverance, it pays off in the end. You may find trying other masks will be the end of your comfort issues, and as soon as you're relaxed with it you soon wonder why it was so hard int he first place!