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New member - User
#1
Smile 
New member - User
Hello Guys,

My name is Salman, 38 yo and im from Bahrain - Middle east.

I'm a father of 3 boys and OSA has been the story of my life! since high school, I've always been tired, fatigued and worn out no matter how much I sleep.
Even if I sleep 12-14 hours I always feel tired. After graduation and my second job (which was a very good one - Senior Economist) I couldn't make the most out of it as I was always late or absent, and had to throw the towel. Yes I used to stay up late and my lifestyle wasn't healthy at all but al my friends could sleep for 4-6 hours and live normally without any issues, something I envied them for.

I got married and had kids and the struggle continued, I tried to stop smoking, I though maybe I had thyroid disease (which my mom has) did all kind of tests, even when doctors visually inspected me and said no need for checkups as I look fine I insisted on paying for ultrasound and results came positive. I did vitamin tests such as D, B12 etc.. and raised all the levels but was still suffering. tried multivitamins, ginseng, honey and it all didn't work for me. I even once slept behind the wheels but luckily it was a minor accident.

I felt hopeless, watching my kids grow and I'm really not making the most out it, literally watching my life pass by and feeling tired and cant do anything about it was very sad. When tired it's very hard to tolerate the boys and I do my best o control my self, after all they have noting to do with it so its not fair for them to suffer as well. I used to work shifts but my life is already upside down so it only made it worst so I went back to morning working hours although I literally don't do mornings. I try my beast as "a man gotta do what a mans gotta do" and that is to provide to our families,  but I feel that I'm only functioning half or even less of my capacity, its effecting my productivity, mood, and generally my quality of life. My wife sleeps wit the kids ( I cant really blame her as I snore like a pig).

The thing is people don't really feel or understand what we really go through, some might think that we are exaggerating or just blame it on smoking, eating habits, staying late without really understanding our struggle! at the end we have a saying that only people with the wound would feel it no matter how much you explain. My life is boring, I work 9-5 come back home try my best not to nap to sleep early, when bed time comes I stay a bit late and go to work next day tired, I have a side business which is successful, but believe it or not after 13 years I cant even expand or progress.

After trying everything I almost gave up and I thought to my self I rest my case, the only thing I didn't give up was praying, praying to God to help me pick up myself, and that's when I visited the ophthalmology as I suffer from dry/red eyes due to LASIK operation I did 20 years ago, after asking me some question he recommended that I see the ENT doctor, which after examining me said I had chronic sinusitis and forwarded me to the sleep doctor who said its a good idea to do a sleep test, after sleep study I was diagnosed with moderate OSA (15 per hour) and I was given a choice of operation (sinuses surgery + tonsillectomy) and "maybe" see if it will help solve the problem or CPAP which I'm currently on trial (1 week before I purchase it for USD1500). Before sleep study I knew that I wake up a lot during my sleep but I thought because im changing sides and not due to apnea.

First two days I felt better, I felt oxygen in my body, less brain fog and some nice tickling feeling in my legs, with 4-20 pressure and all auto as recommended by the provider, my first mask is F30 which is not bad IMO. But mid day I would go to limp mode, struggling to keep my eyes open, im hoping that its residual sleepiness and should be ok with time. As a mouth breather, I was trying my best to breathe through my nose to get the best out of therapy, but after feeling tired and knowing that my nose is semi blocked I tried breathing from my mouth, now I thought I would use nasal spray before going to bed. Sometimes I wake in the middle of the night feeling that the pressure has dropped. Today after coming back from work I tried sleeping with mask on for 1 hour, I woke up after that and took the mask off and slept for 4 additional hours. Good thing is I'm putting some hours as you can see, I will do whatever it takes to make this work for me. I used to suffer from RLS as well but I don't anymore.

I have no regrets what so ever, I'm glad and thankful for my life and I was very relieved that I finally know the root cause to my problem.

Sorry for the long post and please excuse my English, I can finally vent and speak to people who understand what I go through.

I'm trying to post my data, this remind me of the car tuning days when we used to do some pulls and post our logs to tuners to check our AFR readings  Wink

Thank you for taking the time to read my story.

Regards,
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#2
RE: New member - User
I really hope that the graphs are correct 

[attachment=47160][attachment=47160]

more.....

tried my best but threes always room for improvement !


Attached Files Thumbnail(s)
                               
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#3
RE: New member - User
I've been using CPAP since Nov 2014, and use a full faced mask (F10). Never felt like trying any other mask. I was perpetually blocked in nasal passages. Either one or both nostrils was solidly blocked. Well, using all sorts of decongestant and antihistamines and tylenol I have been able to breathe thru both nostrils when positioned appropriately. So, some people that started out completely blocked do regain their nose breathing.

Keep trying. I see nothing that I would say is horrible about your charts.

QAL
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#4
RE: New member - User
Thank you Sir, Good to know ! 
Another Cpap benefit.

I’m going to pull the trigger as Sunday is the last day of trial, just one question, the machine I have is for trial and I think they’re called fleet.
If the customer doesn’t buy it, they send the machine back to Australia to change some parts (blower,filter…) but the one I have has perfume like smell only after using it for hours, when i wake up and take off the mask I smell something like perfume scents or Vicks, is that normal?

The guy unboxed the machine and mask in front of me but still.


Regards,
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#5
RE: New member - User
Welcome.
I too lived with undiagnosed OSA for many years. I missed a lot of my kids younger years. I would get down on the floor to play with them, but in short time I would be laid out and sleeping instead. Driving more than 15 minutes was difficult.
I give my wife credit for staying in our bed all that time, with my snoring and arms flailing (hit her quite a few times).
By random chance, I got a new doctor (nurse practitioner) and just in general questions she asked me how my sleep was. I told her what I knew, and she immediately sent me for a sleep test. In the test I was hitting 85 !
It looks like you are getting some effective therapy from the cpap. You would need more time on it, and some adjustments will be suggested from the good folks on this site.
Best of luck on your journey
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#6
RE: New member - User
Thanks for the positive reply Dave, much appreciated!

Yes I agree they deserve all the credit in the world, don't they. God bless them...

Is it normal for new masks to have some wired plastic like smell after using them for hours?

Would appreciate the experts input on the graphs, will post more soon

regards,
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#7
RE: New member - User
Ok
Set your min pressure =8

With a min of less than 7 you are crippling your EPR which is your best weapon against your Flow limits.

Also it is positional,. Read the article on the soft collar in my signature.

If you have to wrap a towel around a tie and tie it around your neck to keep your chin from tucking do it. Also pillows, use 1 vs 2, think flatter and less firm.

We only need to see the events, flow rate, pressure, flow limits and leaks unless we ask for more.
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#8
RE: New member - User
Thanks Gideon, will start with min. pressure 8 starting tonight.

And you’re absolutely right, previously I used to suffer from sleeping on my back! I do it now so I can fall asleep easier and then turn on my side. Will definitely read the thread and follow instructions and will report back  Thanks

But just one question, and please bear with me, does it mean that I may suffer from positional apnea and not necessarily need cpap but need to work on my position? Or both?

Regards,
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#9
RE: New member - User
If you provide a copy of your diagnostic sleep test I might be able to answer that. But think of your CPAP as providing you a sleep test every night which can alert you. Flow limits are the hardest to read. And by positional I do not meanside, back, or stomach.
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#10
RE: New member - User
Re - chin tucking

I switched to a fairly flat feather-like pillow, and trained myself to pull it aside when I roll onto my back.
When I roll onto my side, I grab the pillow again and make sure I 'shape' it so that Im comfortable in a chin-away-from-chest position.
Im sure I miss some flips, but I think I catch most of them.
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