Yet another 'Just Diagnosed'

[wytco0]

Hello all, my first post here, I have just been told that I have:

'.... Moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnoea with an average of 19.6 episodes of obstruction per hour'

I am not sure if that's bad or very bad ....

Now I am on a waiting list for a CPAP set-up session with East Sussex Hospitals where I am told I will be issued with equipment and told how to use it.

I am not sure if the equipment I will get will be good or bad and I am interested in some pointers as to what I should be looking for and what my rights (if any are). Someone posted a link to a site for buying CPAP stuff, If I wanted to buy a different device to the one issued how would I do that?

I am definitely badly overweight and I am determined to do something about that, I haven't seen any posts about the affects of weight loss of OSA does anyone have any experience of this? It would be nice to think that I am not now dependent on a machine for the rest of my life.

Feeling a bit pissed off with this diagnosis but then a good nights sleep would be nice

[James @ Intus]

Hi, welcome to the forums.

19.6, call it 20, is indeed moderate so it's bad but could have been worse.

You won't have much say as far as the machine goes, it could be shiny new or mankey old, second hand even. All depends. You have more control over the mask. Try and determine whether you breathe through your mouth or nose during the night as this will to a degree decide what type of mask you need.

When they try and fine which size you need, insist on lying down so your face actually shapes the way it is during the night. Fitting one up-right has little resemblance to wearing it during the night.

If you are not happy with what they have to offer you, you can indeed buy yuor own stuff and be in charge of what you'll be getting.

In the UK there are two places:

http://www.eu-pap.co.uk/

http://www.cpap-europe.com/

All you need is documented evidence you have been diagnosed. In case of a fixed pressure CPAP machine (as oppose to an APAP) you would also need paperwork stating the pressure you need. See those sites for more detail. You don't need anyone's permission or anything like that, you are free to buy what you want.

If your OSA is due to excess tissue in the throat area then yes, you can expect the symptoms to improve if you loose weight. One member here, Puffin, has just completed a weightloss operation and hopes to be off CPAP in a few months. If you can loose it without the operation, all the better of course and regardless of OSA, achieving a healthy weight is probably something you should strive for anyway as it has so many more benefits to your health. Once on CPAP you will have much more energy to cope with whatever fitness regime you may decice on and your cortisol levels (which dictate fat storage) will be better too.

If you don't take care of the cause then CPAP is in fact for life. Though in your situation with moderate OSA, you could also look at Oral Appliance Therapy as an alternative to the mask and airpump.

Don't stay negative about it too long as there is a lot to be gained from your therapy! And with the group here you'll have a lot of experience to get answers from.

Let us know how you get on!

[leswaller]

Just to add to James' comments about weight loss. There is a distinct connectiuon between weight loss and sleep. When you are tired you eat more as your body thinks it needs more energy. As your sleep improves you will not feel so hungry, your physical energy levels will increase and consequently you will lose weight. I have lost more than 7 kilos since starting my CPAP treatment at the end of May and I am also hoping to come off my machine if I can lose a little more weight.

[wytco0]

Thanks for the info and welcome.

I certainly need to lose a lot of weight anyway regardless of the OSA, I am probably 30KG overweight.

I hope the affect that leswaller mentions works for me it would be a great boost to my weight loss program if the improved sleep helps me lose weigh before I even start to do some gentle exercise, at the moment I don't feel up to a lot of exercise (or any !!).

Can anyone advise what the likely machines I will get from East Sussex trust are? I would like to do a bit or research to see what to expect.

I tend to always fall sleep on my side and I am not sure if I breath mainly through my mouth or nose? is there an easy way of working this out? I often wake up laying face down !!

Will I be forced to have a complete face mask? I am worried that I will find that very claustrophobic.

[Tigers Fan]

You can't destroy matter

Hi Les

As we can't destroy matter then your 7 kg are still somewhere in the Universe, Les! I think I know where!

Let's say they are prompting me to start a new thread about "Slim Sure".

Tigers Fan