Re: Sleep Apnea Support/Questions Thread
 

Sorry to hear about all the pain...good news is you will be healthier after all is completed!!! Wishes and prayers your way Christian!!

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Just had a fun MRI of the brain today. Sleep apnea does complicate things even when you are awake! I have trouble breathing without the CPAP and lying on my back without moving for 45 minutes was a real joy. Plus, no anxiety meds because that would slow the breathing too much and complicate an already challenging situation!!

Yay for sleep apnea!

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I feel you on that...wife had an MRI last week...1 hour and 45 minutes..."don't move, watch your breathing", while the machine makes ungodly noises (wife said it sounded like it was falling apart). Hope I never need one of them!!

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I hate MRI's, when I had my MRI when they tested me for my apnea I had my first and only panic attack I ever had.

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I don't think I would be cooperative inside a metal tube...at all!!

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Wow, I've read through a lot of the posts here and maybe I need to look into my sleep apnea treatment again.

I have a CPAP and a full-face mask, I hate it. I used it nightly when I was married but got divorced last year and quit. I had leaks around the mask, even after trying several masks, and I don't recall feeling any better using it. It did stop my snoring but that's the only thing I know that it did for me.

However, here lately I've been feeling pretty drained. I attributed it to stress (like the divorce and some other things) but I see a lot of the way I feel may be a result of the sleep apnea.

I spend a lot of my day yawning, I never feel rested, energy is low... my biggest concern is my inability to get focused - my head just feels foggy or staticky, if that makes sense.

Thanks for the thread, I'll definitely need to look into this some more.

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This thread has been quiet for about a week now...any updates???

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Well I should have put this update in a long time ago, but time has slipped by. My wife picked up her CPAP machine on Wednesday last week. It is an adjustment for her getting used to having it, but she seems to be sleeping better. She also noticed that she has more energy now as well.

I first thought when she was prescribed the CPAP that I would need to start sleeping with earplugs again, but you can barely notice it running.

She spoke with one of our son’s therapist, and her husband is now scheduled for a sleep study as well.


One last thing. She is now wearing a mask that covers her nose, but it is uncomfortable is there a better option?

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small up date: my twin brother went in for a sleep study and came out with a machine. I'm making my appointment for next week sometime...

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I wear the full "pilot" mask that covers nose and mouth. I found it more comfortable than the one that just covered up my nose (because I would open my mouth and damn near suffocate form the air rushing in). Does it just cover her nose? Have her try the mouth/nose covered (if she can)...she will be a lot more comfortable.

Way better to be safe than sorry MJ!!!

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Check out the link I posted earlier to the mask I use. It doesn't cover the nose - just goes into it and covers the mouth. I find it works great for me.

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Yes the one she wears is the one that covers just her nose. I will have her talk to the the company, and try the full face one.

Thanks BigCat I will have her take a look at it.

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I had my follow up with the ENT and they told me I would be getting a CPAP machine. I need to call, as I have not heard from the CPAP people yet.

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Hi all,

My name's Jeof and ... uhm ... please place me in the camp with the people who think they MIGHT have sleep apnea.

So here are the potential tipoffs for me:

I snore ... loudly ... my wife has to roll me over onto my side to get me to stop.

Sometimes, my breathing "catches" during the night for a few seconds and I usually gasp to restart, followed by more snoring and rolling over onto my side.

Not often, but sometimes I wake up literally gasping for air with the feeling that my chest has just been sat on by an elephant.

That being said, while I am tired during the day, I don't lack for energy. I eat normally and am in decent shape, having been athletic most of my life. (I've run a marathon and lifted weights for a while before we had kids ... still play golf and basketball) I usually don't go to bed until 1:00 or 2:00 am and have to be up at 5:30 or 6:00 for work with the usual ill effects of not getting enough sleep. To compound this though, I have a one year old daughter who isn't the best sleeper :)

Luckily there is a Sleep Center right in my town and I've begun inquiring about getting looked at ... just need to make sure insurance covers it.

Thanks for the thread!

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I'm glad it helped!

Keep us posted please. :)

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Better safe that sorry Jeof. I had all the same symptoms as you.

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Got my CPAP today. All of the functions of the machine were explained to me. I got the nasal pillows mask. Tonight will be my first night sleeping with it. We'll see how it goes!

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I have sleep apnea. I cannot sleep on my back at all. I often wake up in the middle of the night with an out of breath feeling and often wake up in the middle of the night feeling like a bomb went off next to my bed. Its gotten about a hundred percent worse in the last six months and the fact that I have no health insurance and little money means no cpap or medical treatment for me.

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Good luck Christian...the first night is the roughest, it's all downhill after that one.

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An hour later, can't fall asleep. Back spasms. Dunno if one has anything to do with the other, though.

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Dangit, now after 1:30 AM, still can't sleep. This sucks.

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Last night did not go well. Took the mask off after a few hours of fighting it. Might try to get the Quattro full face mask. That's the one I used during my sleep study at the clinic.

It's very hard for me to NOT open my mouth during sleep. I find, when using this nasal pillow mask, that if I open my mouth, the choking sensation is unbearable.

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Back spasms are chest soreness are some of the initial side affects of the CPAP. Imagine that your basically inflating yourself non-stop throughout the night. They do subside, but in my case, the pressure they initially assigned me was just way too high at 14. It's not an exact science. I self-adjusted down a few until I found a pressure that not only didn't cause the soreness, but also kept my mouth from blowing open while I slept. I used the nose pillows too, and it took a good week or more to get completely comfortable, and then I didn't notice it at all.

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I used to have high pressures and I found it slammed my mouth shut. Now with lower pressures I had to go to a full face mask as the lower pressures would not keep my mouth shut and I didn't want to wear that stupid head band thingy.

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Which machine were you given? Does it have Bi-flex with it? Bi-flex allows you to break pressure by opening your mouth without that overwhelming intake of air that chokes you.

Here's the machine I was given and it was best thing going at the time.

http://bipapplusmseries.respironics.com/

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Do any of you have difficulties snorking? I know I'm missing out on a ton of the overall smoking experience because it is so hard to get the smoke flowing smoothly. I thought it was just me (probably is!), but do you think the changing in the breathing mechanics with the CPAP could affect this?

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If it does I'm luck as I'm not affected by it Patrick.

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Not caused me any problems at all. If anything, my nose is generally clearer for being blasted with warm, moist air every night, so snorking is quite easy.

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It is made by Respironics. Series M, I believe. It is not a Bipap machine. My pressure is set at 14 as well. My machine has a "ramp" button that I am supposed to use when I first put it on. It drops the pressure to 4, then over the course of 15 minutes, it gradually ramps up to 14.

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14 is pretty high pressure, at least it was for me. I was big guy then, so the pressure of my lungs being fully expanded against my chest wall hurt and I'd be sore all day. I found out how to change the pressure myself and dropped it down to 10 and had no problems after that. Once I had surgery and lost the weight, I had the pressure down to 4 and then just stopped it all together.

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This is one feature I miss after stopping the use of my CPAP. For the entire time I used it, which was just over a year, I had no colds, no sinus problems, no phlegm in the back of my throat in the morning. I actually continued using the machine even though I didn't need to because I just got addicted to how great it felt having that mask on.

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Night #2, still can't get used to it. Had to take the mask off to fall asleep. If I hit a week without it working, I'm switching masks.

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Christian...I started out with a mask similar to the one you're using and could not fall sleep either. After the first night, I called the doc to switch masks. Go with the full face mask and you will sleep like a baby. Don't wait a a week. Just my :2

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Kelmac, at the sleep study center, I used a mask called the Quattro. Image here. I fell asleep ok, but by the 5th-6th hour of the study, the sensor they clip to your finger to monitor your Oxygen levels felt like it was being squeezed in a vice grip. It was way too tight. That night was not a good night of sleep.

I had heard good things about the nasal pillows on here, so I suggested maybe I try that one. The one I have is called the Opus. Image here.

The girl who gave me my CPAP orientation suggested I wait a week or so before I switch masks. I have also been given Flonase spray to open the nasal passages, which has helped.

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Christian...here is the mask I switched to over a year ago and have no issues at all.

http://www.cpapxchange.com/cpap-mask...sk-resmed.html

I switched masks the second day...I could not fall asleep and called them the next morning. The next day, I was there swapping masks. Hope all pans out for ya.

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I have had my CPAP for a little over 2 months and at first (2 wks) I couldn't fall asleep and ended up taking it off. Then I was able to fall asleep but would wake up with it off, and I don't remember doing it. now I am finally able to sleep the night through with it on most of the time. Everyone is different and it may take you longer to get used to it or you may get used to it in a couple days.

anyways, best of luck to you, and btw I have a full face mask and a pressure of 13

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So, after dragging my feet, I'm set up for a Sleep Consultation for Sept. 18th, when I come back home for the High Holidays. After that, I'm sure its off for a sleep study.

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Updates anyone?

Some of you have yet to have your tests! :tt

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No update, just curious how often people generally go back for re-evaluation.

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I go every two years if I can.

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The first year was every few months...now it is once a year.

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I have been wearing mine for over a year and haven't been back for a checkup. I guess I should... but I sleep great now as it is.

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Well, gang, I'm getting a sleep study as well. After my pacemaker, the cardiac folks wanted me to visit the Sleep Clinic, and they decided I should undergo the test. Frankly, I wonder if this isn't a "one hand washing the other" scenario, and if the outcome of my initial visit wasn't a foregone conclusion. "Yes, you have a small throat, and are overweight." "Oh, people are different; the fact that you don't snore, wake up refreshed, don't fall asleep during the day etc." doesn't mean you don't have sleep apnea.

I am sure that I will be told I have sleep apnea after I spend the night at the clinic! Anyway, I am doing this, even if at the moment I'm rather dubious about the whole thing!

Having this thread is wonderful, I must say, and very helpful. It makes me think that getting tested is the right thing, and has me feeling a little less negatively towards the whole ringamaroll! I guess also spending more than my fair share of time in Dr's offices/hospitals lately has me a little sour!

Thanks for reading! Test is the 23rd- will keep you updated. Happy smokes to all!

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I am completely used to my CPAP mask and sleep through the night, every night with it on and wake up with it on in the morning. It took a while to get to this point but it is so worth it, I feel so much better during the day. Good luck to everyone just starting out, and if you are on the fence about getting tested, just go DO IT!

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Well brother... I hope they say you don't have it... or if you feel like you don't then don't get the machine. I firmly feel like much of today's medical treatments are CYA.

I, on other hand, knew something was wrong. I was tired all the time and could wake up a community with my snoring/gasping.

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My wife says she slept with a GRIZZLY BEAR for the last ten years. :D

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We have a reunion of my college friends every year. We all stay at the same hotel and share rooms. The year before last I was rooming with a guy I have known for 25+ years. After we checked in and get to the room he hands me some ear plugs and tells me I may need them.

I told him "Brother, you might want to keep those... I am about to rock your world!!!" Of course there is no drinking involved when 50 or so college buddies get together to try and show they can still party like they used to!!!

The next morning he told me he had NEVER heard such noises!!!! He also told the guy who coordinates it all that he loved me... but don't ever have us room together again.

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I know the feeling Brent!!! Too funny!!

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I'm glad you're going Hugh. Even mild cases of Sleep Apnea causes stress on your heart. At the end of the day is the mask a PITA? Sometimes, but I want to see my boys get married and have kids etc. so I'll put up with it.

Looking forward to the post when you tell us you don't have it! :D

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Had a Sleep Consult today. Told me I have a very good chance of having sleep apnea. Scheduling my sleep study it going to take a lttle work with me being at school 2 1/2 hours away, but I'll make it work. Keep you all posted. :tu