Hello Guest, Welcome to Apnea Board !
As a guest, you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use.
To post a message, you must create a free account using a valid email address.

or Create an Account


New Posts   Today's Posts

BIG PROBLEMS
#1
BIG PROBLEMS
Help Hello everyone, I am brand new to the board and I am hoping I will be able to find some much needed advice for my situation. I will make it as short as possible. I have OSA and have been prescribed a CPAP about three years ago. I haven't used it much because it really hasn't worked for me. I have had severe insomnia for over 10 years now, probably a result of my anxiety and panic attacks. I also have hypertension which I found out about before the apnea. My numbers were off the chart, I even would get nose bleeds. I've tried several different medications for my conditions over the years for anxiety and sleep. I've stuck with the same blood pressure med. I started using the CPAP without the sleeping meds at first but still could not fall asleep. While using the sleep meds the CPAP isn't of much use because taken it off in my sleep. The sleep meds that I have tried have been increasing in potency as my condition worsens and make it extremely difficult to get up in the morning. I even bought an alarm clock for deaf people that beeps super load, flashes lights and shakes the bed, but no luck. My house was broken into in the middle of the night and I didn't wake up. The difficulty with being able to wake up has caused me to be late for work chronically. I had even moved right next door to one of my jobs, again no luck. I have been fired from 4 jobs in the last 5 years. I even asked for accommodations on the job but that has led to getting fired too. Because I never have my health insurance for very long I am not able to see doctors regularly or stay with the same doctor. My last employer suggested that I file for disability. I want to work and I can work, I just can't always get there on time. I've decided to file for disability hoping that with steady health insurance I might be able to "fix" myself enough to work again. Needless to say, on top of my other ailments I am now completely depressed. Are there any words of wisdom out there for me? ps. I even bought one of those mouth pieces online tonight and will give it a try.
Post Reply Post Reply
#2
RE: BIG PROBLEMS
Hi Jaclyn64,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
I'm sorry you are having such a rough time with CPAP therapy.
Hang in there for more suggestions and don't give up.
trish6hundred
Post Reply Post Reply
#3
RE: BIG PROBLEMS
Hi Jaclyn64

I'm afraid all my pearls of wisdom have lost there luster. But I will tell you to find a base line that works for you and stick to it.
Maybe a job with flex-time would be something to look into. Or maybe a night job, like stocking groceries stores. Then sleep during the day. Who knows what you might find.
Just keep looking and trying, don't give in to the path that everyone else has set for you.
Lee
Post Reply Post Reply
#4
RE: BIG PROBLEMS
Why didn't the CPAP work? How long did you try it? How did the treatment work for you? Was it effective but you could not tolerate it?

It has been proven that high blood pressure is linked to a wide range of other illnesses and conditions. Such as hypertension. Taking your blood pressure meds is like mopping up the blood without closing the wound if you don't take care of the sleep apnea.

If sleep apnea, high blood pressure, and depression are the "only" conditions you have, you will not get disability. You may qualify for a temporary thing in order to help you get back into the work force but that is getting harder to do due to budget cuts. You may have better luck getting Medicaid at the county health services first.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




Post Reply Post Reply
#5
RE: BIG PROBLEMS
Jaclyn64,
It sounds like you've been through the ringer for sure.
Are you currently using your CPAP machine?

Like many of us, it sounds like you've gotten ground down by continuous stress and depression. Your sleep-disordered breathing plays no small part in that. There's no point in scaring you more, so I'm going to suggest that if you are not using your CPAP at night, it really is a good idea for you to start tonight, or with your next nap, whichever comes first. Whenever you sleep or nap, the mask and machine are on.

Second, try to determine whether or not your mask is leaking during your sleep. When your full face mask doesn't fit properly or isn't seated correctly, it will "face fart" or give out large leaks. Large leaks mean you aren't getting therapy. If you have a modern cpap machine with data capability, you can probably download free software to check out your large leaks. Many of our problems start with being given too small a choice of masks. Some people do better with full face masks, while others do better with nasal. Regardless, you need to start with the mask you were given because that's what you have right now.

Third, do some research. Next time you get a chance, review for yourself with one of the online cpap providers what masks are best-selling, popular, and why. Make a choice, given your preferences and buy a mask.

If your current machine is not fully-data-capable and it's over five years old, you may opt to buy a newer one that is. If you haven't been using your machine recently, you'll have to wait until you have enough recent compliance data from your current machine before you can ask for a new one from Medicare.

It will help us help you if you can post the exact models for your mask and CPAP machine in your equipment profile, along with your pressure settings. If you can't find their exact names, maybe you could post a clear photo of your mask and machine. We'll be able to tell you whether your machine is data-capable that way and give you suggestions on how to reduce large leak and still get a decent night's sleep.

Please consider mindful meditation. It's incorporates a breathing technique that can be helpful for reducing stress and mitigating depression. There are a number of books and guided audio CD's you can probably get at your local library about it. Just go to amazon and search on mindful meditation, and then go to your library's online catalog and see if they have it. If your local library doesn't have something, you may be able to get a book about it on inter-library loan. Mindful meditation is drug-free and may help you gain control over your own stress reactions when that is possible. Remember: You are not what you do. You are more than the sum of your parts.

Sticking with CPAP will help you get the recuperative (deep) sleep your body really needs to repair itself--including your brain. It may take some time, and I won't try to pretend that it's always fun to get used to for some of us, but the results are worth it.



[Image: dreamdiver-signature-gif.gif]
Post Reply Post Reply
#6
RE: BIG PROBLEMS
Need more input.

See if you can find the model of your ResMed machine. That will give us a good starting point.

Hang in there!

Welcome
"With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable." - Thomas Foxwell Buxton

Cool
Post Reply Post Reply
#7
RE: BIG PROBLEMS
Jaclyn64, Welcome, you have all the answers yourself and you are the one with the wisdom, your just not thinking clearly right now and that is due to the meds and the stress and anxiety. First, Insomnia is not an illness, it is a symptom of something much larger i.e a headache maybe a symptom of a cold. Doctors love to fix symptoms because it's easy. That is why the are giving you sleeping meds and upping them, they may work short term but not in the long term as the problem is still there and will come back again and again until the problem is solved. Also, sleeping meds just block the receptors to your brain you are not getting the quality, restorative sleep that we all need. Your problem with your sleep is coming from the stress and anixiety which is more than likely coming from the sleep apnea and your other illness's. I think our words of wisdom would be to get onto your CPAP, stick with it and see how you go and whether these things lift. CPAP is all in our heads, it is a mental thing we need to get over and we have to be able to see the benefits far out weigh the disadvantages. We can help you with the CPAP through support and assistance but you are the one that ultimately has to do a lot of the work.
I also agree with dream Diver re the Mindfulness, I go each week to a course and have been for the last 3 years where we do meditation, breathing and just being in the present. I tried many different things until I found what worked for me. I was in a similar position to you a couple of years ago, heavily doped up on meds, got 1 - 2 hours quality sleep a night, stressed, anxious all the time, diagnosed with depression on more meds for that, now 2 years down the track, the depression has lifted, off all meds, and get 7 - 8 quality sleep a night and feel great and love life. You can do it to.
Post Reply Post Reply
#8
RE: BIG PROBLEMS
I second what Tez says. Great post!
Post Reply Post Reply
#9
RE: BIG PROBLEMS
(07-23-2013, 07:33 PM)oak Wrote: I second what Tez says. Great post!
+1

[Image: dreamdiver-signature-gif.gif]
Post Reply Post Reply
#10
RE: BIG PROBLEMS
(07-23-2013, 09:45 AM)Sevensox Wrote: Hi Jaclyn64

I'm afraid all my pearls of wisdom have lost there luster. But I will tell you to find a base line that works for you and stick to it.
Maybe a job with flex-time would be something to look into. Or maybe a night job, like stocking groceries stores. Then sleep during the day. Who knows what you might find.
Just keep looking and trying, don't give in to the path that everyone else has set for you.
Lee

Thank you Lee, I will keep looking and trying!
Post Reply Post Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  [CPAP] PRISMA SMART MAX PROBLEMS WITH SOFTPAP LEVEL 2 rretamalt 18 2,004 03-19-2024, 06:17 PM
Last Post: motivationalGust
  [Equipment] ResMed Airtouch F20 Cushion cleaning with drool problems. Funkmonkey 2 169 03-05-2024, 04:08 PM
Last Post: Funkmonkey
  Anything can be done for baby with breathing problems Ptee8899 3 221 02-11-2024, 11:30 PM
Last Post: eok361
  Positional Apnea Problems ggibson 13 1,837 11-20-2023, 07:28 AM
Last Post: Jarlo
  CPAP since March 22, still dealing with aerophagia, wakings, and heart rate problems manacles 16 2,565 10-01-2023, 11:16 PM
Last Post: manacles
  CPAP Problems for People with Large Lung Capacity? AquaMan 7 996 09-17-2023, 03:32 PM
Last Post: quiescence at last
Question Top of the head tubing connection problems GaspForAir 2 461 09-05-2023, 06:09 PM
Last Post: Nightynite


New Posts   Today's Posts


About Apnea Board

Apnea Board is an educational web site designed to empower Sleep Apnea patients.