The Big CPAP Success Thread - Must Read for Newbies!

[martin]

Its sort of odd when stuff that we know is good for us is so hard to stick to. Never smoked but drink over the recommended level and def eat too much carbs/sugars and not enough greens/fibre. I'm an educated sensible chap (no sniggering from the cheap seats) but i haven't been able to cut the rubbish out in approx 20 years of trying. Short of removing all temptation from the nibble vicinity and attempting to persuade licensed premises that I should have a monitor on (3 drinks and out - apologies to an american baseball euphemism) I cant seem to sort myself out. I'm 3-4 stone overweight , can still walk up (med) hills and manage a fairly energetic bop on the dance floor but I cant seem to make myself hit my own targets. I can analyse my own behaviour but cant stop the old habits sneaking back. I suspect laziness so i dont want to change habits of a lifetime but i do find my own attitudes strange sometimes, heck i got used to sticking an alien baby thing blowing air over my face every night so how come ignoring a toasted bit of soda bread is beyond me.

Ps in my defence its home baked bread....sigh

[Tigers Fan]

Do you permit yourself to be happy, Martin? The only thing "wrong" I can see from what you say in your post is that you don't seem to accept and love yourself as you are. Your attempts to change yourself have failed so why not try something new? "This is who I am and that is OK!" Stop comparing yourself to others' ideas about what is good for you and healthy and instead get on with enjoying being you. From that place you will find making any changes you decide on a whole lot easier.

By the by, it's not about giving up things you like to eat or drink, but about moderation. Life is for living and enjoying!

TF

[Sparticus]

Do you permit yourself to be happy, Martin? The only thing "wrong" I can see from what you say in your post is that you don't seem to accept and love yourself as you are. Your attempts to change yourself have failed so why not try something new? "This is who I am and that is OK!" Stop comparing yourself to others' ideas about what is good for you and healthy and instead get on with enjoying being you. From that place you will find making any changes you decide on a whole lot easier.

By the by, it's not about giving up things you like to eat or drink, but about moderation. Life is for living and enjoying!

TF

Well said

Chin up Martin There are always people worse off in life.

[martin]

TF – overall I am a happy bunny, rereading my post it looked more depressing than I meant it to. Was just pondering (some of) my bad habits. Though at the moment I am a bit less fit than I usually like, had an inactive 2 years and the weight sneaked up on me and is at the moment hugging me comfortably round the belly with the add on that exertion leads to breathlessness which makes chairs look extra comfy. No particular new years resolutions but realisation that I need to get a bit more active and instead of leaving biccies around switch to sugar snap peas and baby sweet corn (which I equally enjoy) for munchy moments. Only other thing I intend to do is walk to work every now and again as there are ducks and swans on the way. I even like work about 80% of the time which is a pretty good rating. Don’t always like my boss but since I work for myself I had better try not to do anything too drastic on that front.

Sparty, Alas at the moment its chins up (plural)….some of the weight has sneaked up a bit higher. As I said that post read a bit more of a downer than I meant but my wife added the most hurtful comment…..re the occasional bop, would I mind not doing it as if we had children they would be too embarrassed to watch it and have to leave the country under an assumed name. No one told me that punk pogoing was out of fashion !! You cant watch the Rezilloes or the Clash rockin’ the Casbah and NOT pogo. Might make an exercise video based on that and scare the neighbours.

But to finish with an appropriate comment for this thread Cpap is still great, no afternoon naps needed, high energy levels in the morning through ‘til night. I’m a tubby, balding middleaged man with no sleep problems which is GREEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAATTTTTT !!!

[Tigers Fan]

I'm not at all sure how to improve the "tubby, balding, middle-aged man" description as it describes me on a good day. The day after a haircut (like today) and with good lighting at my mirror (so pleased with the new bathroom), said mirror might see a fat, almost bald, old man. Which raises a question that has me perplexed - when does one become old?

To the young, I am old at 66 - but what do they know. To the old, I am young - and I think they are right. I don't feel young but I most certainly don't feel old. I feel more young than old. On the premise that one grows old before dying, I'd like to know when being old begins. When I have that answer, I'll want to know how long being old lasts. Add the two together and I shall quickly know what spend rate I can afford.

When does one become old?

TF

TF

[Sparticus]

Scared

Well Im scared to death of becoming old so does this mean Im excused or I havent reach the age yet which classes me as OLD! but I will except middle aged which is between 20-60

Maybe old and bald is a symptom of OSA maybe thats one of the defining charactors of the illness, if thats so then what about the women? If we are all old fat and bald then what are there symptoms?

I wonder...?

[martin]

Its a variable, I wake up about 35-40 and remove mask , beating the off switch in the same movement. I then start to move and discover my back is locked and my other arm has gone dead due to sleeping in one position on my back all night while wrestling the ananconda that is the tube, approx age at this point 99+. I will draw a line over the next 10 mins but it takes about 50 years off that figure making me approx human and approx 50. If I walk to work and have time to visit the ducks I revert to about 12, if I drive then about 35. At work its the serious head and I'm about 60 as (since I dont think i'm 49 i feel i should act in a mature manner, forgetting that I am mature-or ripe on a hot day). A traffic jam on the way home adds approx 25 years to my back and leg but brings my swearing level and musical taste back to approx 25. If I go for a wander , lie comfortably reading (remembering to shift positions every now and again) I switch to a comfy 45. If i get stuck in front of the comp for 4 hours then the swearing kicks back in and I hit about 75. Then comes a comfy bed with my well adjusted mask and the world service on a loose earpiece which makes my brain 70 and I'm sleeping like a baby.
So the upshot of all that is......I have no idea of what age I am so I ain't trying to define old.
Was it Groucho Marx who said "I'm as old as the woman I feel" which makes me.....ouch...I wasn't going to tell my wifes age...honest!!!" 21 21 21 !!!!!

[paul1964]

3 months in and i am a new man

after having a sleep study in june 2011 i waited for an appointment to the sleep clinic, i recieved a letter and a date was given to me in october, i was astonished to be told that in a scale of 0-60 i was 55 ( in one hour i stopped breathing 55 times for 10 seconds or more the longest time was 68 seconds) within minutes i was told to take home this machine and showed how to put on a mask and basically left to get on with it, i found this forum and got my info from the threads etc, wow what a difference my machine has made to me my partner now lets me drive because before cpap i frightened her with lack of concentration i was falling asleep even in restaurants, my snoring would wake the dead i have gone to sleep in my tent at santa pod camp site or a motor cycle rally only to wake up and all the neighbouring tents have all moved away my friends wouldn't camp any where near me. now my missis has to check i am still in the bed as even after 3 months she hasn't got used to the fact i am so quiet now. i recently went back to the sleep clinic and they are very pleased with my data on the sd card i was also given a humidifier to fit to my machine and it has made a difference in the fact my nose doesn't dry out i am not too familiar with what all the terms are but i am using a complete philips system one unit with a-flex and the humidifier on setting 2 and the machine is slightly lower than the edge of the mattress and have had no problems with rainout i use the nasal pillow mask that came with the unit but when i had a cold i asked for a full face mask and recieved a resmed mask but found that after the pressure built up it started (for want of a better word) farting on my face so i only use this when i cant breathe through my nose but. honestly i would not do without my machine it took some getting used to but boy the benefits far out way cons thank god for the man who thought up the idea of these machines i feel like i have my life back !!!!!!!and many thanks to all the people who have put all the invaluable info on this site without which i would still be struggling

[ChrisM]

I was diagnosed with OSA 11 years ago. For a couple of years prior to that, I had been feeling awful, but didn't have a clue why. I had never heard of OSA, I simply knew I was tired all the time, didn't have the energy to do anything but get through the working day, and was becoming a social recluse.

Then, while selling a flat and buying a house, I spent a few months living with my mum. She was immediately concerned about the noises I was making while sleeping, and even more concerned when the noises stopped. Around the same time, I spoke with a friend in the States, who suffered from OSA, and he advised me to have it checked out.

So after moving, I looked into things, and finally was diagnosed. I was one of the lucky ones who took to CPAP pretty easily. Friends soon noticed that I had become more sociable again, and seemed a lot happier and alive. When they asked me about it, I used to describe it this way:

"Imagine a box, wrapped in sparkly paper, with a big bow on it. You pull the bow, undo the wrapping, open the box, and inside is another 6 hours a day."

That's how I think of CPAP. It's the best present anyone has ever given me.

[Sparticus]

I was diagnosed with OSA 11 years ago. For a couple of years prior to that, I had been feeling awful, but didn't have a clue why. I had never heard of OSA, I simply knew I was tired all the time, didn't have the energy to do anything but get through the working day, and was becoming a social recluse.

Then, while selling a flat and buying a house, I spent a few months living with my mum. She was immediately concerned about the noises I was making while sleeping, and even more concerned when the noises stopped. Around the same time, I spoke with a friend in the States, who suffered from OSA, and he advised me to have it checked out.

So after moving, I looked into things, and finally was diagnosed. I was one of the lucky ones who took to CPAP pretty easily. Friends soon noticed that I had become more sociable again, and seemed a lot happier and alive. When they asked me about it, I used to describe it this way:

"Imagine a box, wrapped in sparkly paper, with a big bow on it. You pull the bow, undo the wrapping, open the box, and inside is another 6 hours a day."

That's how I think of CPAP. It's the best present anyone has ever given me.

Nice one Chris and well done

I just have one issue could the box please contain a nice soft pillow

[Sienna]

I am a newbie and I have a success story.

I was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea. My initial 'wired up to a box of tricks' , sleep test was last January and I was informed by letter that my follow up appointment would be at the end of April.

I had assumed that with such a gap between appointments, my condition had been diagnosed as relatively minor and nothing to worry about. Having that mindset, I was more than surprised when the consultant informed me that I had moderate apnea, that I was waking up 18 times and more an hour. When he went on to tell me that I would need to return the following week to be fitted with my mask and shown how to use a machine that I would have to use each night for the rest of my life I was totally flabbergasted.

I left in a daze.

A week later, I returned to hospital where I received my resmed 9 and full face mask and, after a detailed explanation of how it worked and how to put the mask on, I was sent on my way.

The following few nights were a complete disaster. They each followed a similar, depressing pattern. The Quattro FX mask and its straps were horribly restrictive to wear and the machine pumped what seemed like arctic cold air at my frozen nose. After two hours, in despair, I would give it up as a bad job, remove the mask, turn the machine off and go to sleep the 'old fashioned' and as I now knew, potentially dangerous way.

After a week of this, I had developed a dread of going to bed. I resented the machine deeply. On the eighth day, I was telephoned by the nurse who asked how I was getting along. Cue a long moan from me about how there was no way on Earth that I would ever get used to the infernal contraption. I wondered aloud whether there was another way to alleviate my condition and mused that whoever had designed the mask must have been a sadist.

Patiently, the nurse explained that there were things that could be done that may make things easier for me and suggested another visit to the clinic.

I had no choice but to accept. And so, it was with a resigned air that I arrived for my appointment. There, the nurse took away my full face mask and equipped me with a pillow mask which was much less obstructive. He also suggested that I buy an H5i & climate line which, he assured me, would solve the freezing cold air problem.

However, even though armed with my new instructions and a new mask, I still left with a heavy heart, utterly convinced that nothing would enable me to get more than a few minutes fitful sleep while attached in any way to that damned device.

I ordered the humidifier which arrived a couple of days later.

Due to a combination of my scepticism and a busy travelling schedule, I was unable to try my new pillow mask / humidifier / climate line combo until two nights ago.

Determined to give it my best shot, I informed my partner that I would keep the mask on and the machine working, 'come what may'. She wisely decided to retire to another bedroom for the night.

My plan was to stay up until I was dead tired and hope that that would overcome the terrible deprivations that would sure to come. It was with a heavy heart that I sat on my bed, set the humidifier onto its warming cycle and donned the pillow mask.

"No way was this going to help". I thought to myself.

I settled down for another night of tossing and turning.

And then, something strange happened. The machine ramped up, informed me that the mask, which I had deliberately fitted in a loose configuration, was perfectly set and then proceeded to waft warm & confortable air into my airways.

It was a revelation!

I have to admit, it took me about an hour for me to get to sleep that night and I did awake twice for 'comfort breaks'. But when I awoke the next morning and checked the readings, I was informed that I had slept overall for eight hours that night and that my AHI was 3.6.

I was overjoyed and realised that the machine, far from being a device sent to ruin my life, was in fact something that would improve it in ways hitherto unimaginable. I was excited by this prospect and relieved that I would be able to cope. And cope well.

Last night was my second night with the new set up. I went to bed as normal, donned the gear and eventually drifted off to sleep. I awoke only once and went back to sleep as soon as I had returned to bed. This morning, the readout told me that I had had 9.3 hours sleep and that my AHI was 2.2. TWO POINT TWO!!

Fan-bleedin'-tastic!

Although, I'm still feeling slightly drowsy at times today I know that my journey has just begun - I've got 52 years of sleep to catch up on!

I'm probably on a pink cloud. But, I'm sure that I felt more refreshed when I woke up this morning that I ever have in years.

I'm very grateful to the staff at The North Middlesex hospital and for the very useful information found on this forum. I'm also grateful that I settled down so quickly with the machine once my problems had been addressed. I understand that I'm on the very first steps of a lifelong journey. But, now I can approach that journey with confidence, rather than dread.

Good luck with your journey. If there's a moral to my tale, then it is merely one that's been said many times on this forum before. Don't give up, keep trying new things until you find the set up that suits you.

[Tom @ Intus]

I am a newbie and I have a success story.

That's a great story Sienna, thanks for sharing in such depth and welcome to the forums!

[Tigers Fan]

Welcome to thhe club, sienna - it just gets better from here on out.

[acebass]

Sienna, may your sleep deepen and your AHI lessen!

[Sienna]

Thanks to you all for your kind words.

I wrote that post a couple of evenings ago. Last night, my reading was 1.2 on nine hours sleep !

I know that there will likely be problems and glitches ahead and that not everything can go on smoothly for ever. However, I now also know that nothing is insurmountable.

It's great to have this place to turn to for advice, hope and inspiration.