It's been long enough.......

[Big Guy]

.......that I've forgotten how long it's been since I've been on the juice (CPAP Therapy). 

I'm doing fine and dandy. I left my machine set-up, just in case I decided to go back on it. I'm gonna give it another month or so before I decide to pack it up and stow it away. 

I'd like to think that I didn't need it in the first place. After three years of use, you'd think that you could feel a difference somehow, some way. I also don't want to think that my primary care doctor knew better as well, or if maybe he just had a hunch, and decided to send me to a sleep doctor just cause. 

Anyways, it is what it is! I have a lot of still new-in-package supplies and such. A whole lot actually! I'm due for more in the near future. 

Oh well, I'm thankful that I'm doing fine. 

[Brazen]

I'm just curious, how do you know you no longer need it?

[Big Guy]

I'm just curious, how do you know you no longer need it?

I suppose just by the way I feel. I'm well aware that there are some that have very serious Sleep Apnea issues. I've spoken to my sleep doctor enough in the past, and he couldn't even tell me if and or when I might no longer need it. 

I know this isn't very scientific at all, but that's what I have to go by, how I feel. I turn 68 later this month, and as we all know by now, nothing gets any better as you grow older. 

Proof is in the pudding, so they say. I'm not any worse, so I'll take that and run with it. 

[Brazen]

Any chance you could check your blood oxygen through the night with a continuous pulse ox sensor?
That would be a way to know if you're risking long-term health effects even though you feel fine. 

I would think maybe your sleep doc couldn't tell you if or when you would no longer need it because sleep apnea isn't something that often goes away. Cpap is a treatment, not a cure.
(It *sometimes* goes away with weight loss but not always)

I didn't believe I had sleep apnea, no symptoms except fatigue, and I feel no better after 140 nights on the apap, but my OSCAR graphs show enough disturbed sleep to convince me that my long-term health will absolutely be compromised without treatment. 

Just my 2 cents.

[Ockrocket]

It would be interesting to know how many people are misdiagnosed.

I've always felt I was misdiagnosed as having sleep apnoea after falling asleep and having a vehicle crash.. I said all along the cause was the fact I'd been sleeping only three to five hours a night for about 10 years and my problem was one purely of massive fatigue.

I was unhappy that during the test in the hospital I had so many wires connected to me that I was unable to sleep on my side as I normally do.
This resulted in me snoring occasionally during the test night, and subsequently that meant I was deemed to have "mild sleep apnoea" according to the sleep specialist.
My wife has said I don't normally snore and I don't stop breathing during my sleep.

Although initially I felt using the CPAP gave me an improvement, mostly because it forced me to actually sleep more regular hours to stay compliant for the conditions on my professional driver licence status, I never found it allowed me to rest fully in sleep.
As a side sleeper and having shoulder and back problems that caused pain means I'm constantly turning from side to side.
Using a CPAP meant that I had to wake up sufficiently to move the hose above my head and also ensure my mask hadn't been dislodged in the roll to the opposite side.

Covid lockdowns put me out of business with my hire car service (no airport, no medical specialist, no clubs and pubs trip bookings from the clients I used to transport to various locations).. so since then I've retired and cancelled all my professional driver endorsements, now 68 years old and not interested in battling Sydney Australia traffic on a daily basis for 12 hours at a time anymore.

Since dropping the endorsements I also stopped using my CPAP just to see what difference it would make, now I can sleep seven and a half to nine hours totally undisturbed.. without subconsciously being worried about moving the hose and checking the mask I no longer wake sufficiently to notice I've even rolled over during the night.
So almost two years on for me stopping CPAP has been beneficial, but if I hadn't been put on it in the first place I probably wouldn't have changed my sleeping habits - which most likely have ended up with me killing myself, and possibly others, in another motor vehicle crash.

There are definitely those who need to be using a CPAP machine, for part of my time I worked in the aged care sector and knew many who had a genuine need.
But don't assume it will be a guaranteed "fix" for you, if you aren't getting proper benefit from it continue to work with your doctor and specialists to find the best answer for YOU.. the odds are in most cases the specialists would be correct in their diagnosis

[Big Guy]

I'm going to shoot for one year or so w/o Sleep Apnea Therapy and see how it goes. I have a pulse ox sensor, but it's not the type that keeps track of the readings. 

I canceled my sleep doc. appt. that was scheduled for Nov. 12 of last year. I'm surprised that the office hasn't called me back since to reschedule another. 

Anyways, it is what it is, and I'm doing fine.

[DaveL]

I'm glad you feel well.

FWIW I bought an iWatch 6 because it *sort of* takes O2 readings during the night. I have a clamp on pulse ox sensor. It reads the same, approximately, as my iWatch during the day.

I've never had a reading in the 80-90% range using the iWatch. And I've woken up every morning. I figure I'm ok.

I'm not impressed with the equipment we are required to use.  However, it's a lot better than the stuff was when I started over 30 years ago.  I find sleep quality is absolutely terrible.

Please stay in touch.

DaveL

edit:  The tech who works for my dentist said she was thinking of getting a sleep test.
I advised her not to. I asked her....have you measured your blood oxygen levels? And she had.  Perfect scores. Then I told her using all the equipment is a huge pain, and treatment for me is more stressful than the sleep apnea.  YMMV.
Besides, I can't tell how treatment went until I check OSCAR.

[Brazen]

IMO, The long-term health risks, even if you feel fine, make it something I'm not willing to ignore.

It only takes review of one night of OSCAR data at low pressure to determine need for pressure, it's not that you just have to take some doc's word for it.

I "feel" like I slept 100% better without cpap, and of course all the equipment is awful, but the data shows I was working hard for air at times and that can't be healthy for the body.
I'll eventually learn to tolerate the equipment with the right attitude about it.

But, of course, you do you.

[Nightynite]

I would love to be able to get rid of this octopus stuff on my face. I’m in the group that believes if you have sleep apnea and know about it , you better address it because of the accumulative negative effects it has on your body. I’m just thankful I was able to find out I had sleep apnea and even though I don’t like all this hardware, hoses and such, If it can keep me reasonably healthy I’m going to do my part.

[clownbell]

While how one feels is absolutely critical, I think it is worthwhile to consider your AHI before going on CPAP (see your sleep study) versus after being on CPAP. If one goes from 28 to <1, I think the proof of the pudding is there. Just my opinion, though.