It took some time to get this diagnosed and to a Sleep clinic, a lot of waking up gasping for air, thrashing in my sleep, getting up and falling asleep standing up falling onto tables, doors, you name it, I'm lucky I didn't do myself in from one of the falls. It got so bad I couldn't stay awake in the day, major sleep deprivation, for the last 2 years not more than 2-3hrs sleep in a night, yet so exhausted and drained.
Treatment, started off with a CPAP which was a mistake and later found a new provider that has me hooked up with the BiPAP I was prescribed, found this machine is helping a lot, but not without some issues.
Out of habit perhaps, I wake every 2-3hrs and take the mask off, I'll either get up walk around a bit and go back to sleep with the mask, other times I'll be taking it off and falling back to sleep without it on having apnea just as bad as before I started with treatment.
It may also have to do with the mask itself, I started with the Wisp and found the headgear to be to tight at the back of the head no matter how I adjusted it or what nasal piece I put on. Last week I went in for some results and the times I do have the mask on and am sleeping my AHI has gone down to 5-10 on average which is awesome, they gave me a Swift FX Nano to tryout and I really like the fit and feel of this one, feels I'm even getting better air flow than the Wisp but still I'm waking up every few hours and taking the mask off. I have another appointment Wednesday this week and maybe I'll try another mask? So unsure, the great thing is that I have so much more energy now even waking when I do, the Bipap I know is going to be a life saver, I just don't want to be taking it off and falling back to sleep with it not on, also want comfort from a mask, one of the downsides of having a large skull not much fits perfect.
Loving this board, I don't post much but wow what an awesome resource, so much info and that's just from what I've looked at so far...