Sleep apnea & CPAP?
 

I did a sleep study last night, turns out I have severe sleep apnea, where I stop breathing upwards of 40 times an hour and my blood oxygen dips into the 60s in deep sleep.

I have to go back to the clinic probably next week for a study with the CPAP, and just looking for any first person experiences.

I did a study last night as well after a trip to the dentist. He seems to think a mouth piece will help at night.

Problem is I've been clenching my teeth through out the day soooooo...

Yes, I have been using a ResMed machine for about 2 years now and love it. I couldn't use a hard mask, but the "dream weaver" soft mask is awesome and I have four that I rotate after cleaning them.

From my experience, the worst part about sleep apnea is the sleep study.

I tried my step-father's CPAP on once and turned it on.
Did not like the sensation.... It felt like a gust of wind was raping my sinus cavity.

There was a recent thread where CPAP and the Planets experience with apnea and CPAP was discussed. Pretty long thread. http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showt...highlight=CPAP

I use to perform sleep studies and score them. Try the nasal pillows. Get some sleep aid. It's going to be weird at first and difficult to fall asleep. You have no choice. Apnea will kill you.

You are going to be amazed at the change in the quality of your life. Your problem is that you never get into reem 3 sleep. Thats the most restful stage of sleep. You will get there faster and stay there longer. 5 hours of sleep will feel like 12 hours of sleep.

I'm not dismissing the dangers of sleep apnea and know it can be a serious condition.

But it seems like it is one of those things now that pretty much EVERYONE seems to have. Anyone who snores, or wakes up in the middle of the night, or is tired during the day, is told they might have it. And I don't know anyone who has done a sleep study who has been told they don't have it. Makes me wonder if it is being overhyped a little.

I used a BiPAP when I was in the hospital in April and adjusted to it fairly quickly.

In the case of FireMeBoy, he had a sleep study which is basically a monitored EEG (i.e. monitoring brain waves while sleeping). It is both objective and diagnostic.

People are just more aware of it and treating it, but it is generally correlated (but not always) with obesity which is also more prevalent in society. Many (if not most) patients can cure their sleep apnea with weight loss.

Science and data doesn't lie.

Why would a person have electrodes placed all over their body, try to sleep in a strange room while some stranger watches them sleep if there is not some issue that has been going on for years until their wife or health causes them to go get a sleep study?

I'm sure that people want to sleep with this tight mask on their face. Wind blowing up their nose just for the free CPAP machine.

In my experience doing sleep studies about 10% didn't need a CPAP machine. Of that number it was about 90% orthopena. They needed to sleep in a certain position and they would be fine.

I don't generally snore, but my wife has commented a number of times that I've awakened here in the middle of the night by my jumpstarts awake. Most of them, I don't remember. But I do generally wake up anywhere from a half-dozen to a dozen times a night.

And I'm sure there is some truth to your comments, but SATs in the 60s aren't anything to screw around with.

Wife has commented for a couple years, but a nurse noted I stopped breathing while I was hospitalized. I was on the BiPAP anyway since it was that or they put me on a ventilator, so it wasn't a problem, but they set me up for the sleep study.

I have a friend who had sleep apnea. The CPAP took him some getting used to, but once he did, his life was absolutely transformed.

He dropped like 100 pounds and is in great shape now. He bikes and has tons of energy. He had no idea how badly he felt as a result of his apnea.

no it isnt. Can drastically increase morbidity and mortality. Glad you are treating it.

My wife's concerns about me stopping my breathing is what prompted my action with getting a study done. Without the machine, the only way I am able to breath and sleep is on my right side. On my left side, the air passage is closed.
Of course, if I was a mouthbreather, it would be no problem. :D

He's getting into reem 3 sleep and staying there longer. It's documented scienctific fact. It's easily correlated. Graph says you were in reem 3 sleep for 3 hours how do you feel? Okay. Graph says 6 hours how do you feel? fantastic. Same results for every single person. Everyone feels better the longer they stay in reem 3 sleep.