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TOTALLY NEW, what to do, what to do??
#21
RE: TOTALLY NEW, what to do, what to do??
I'm not good at posting so I don't do it right all the time.

By "wedge" do you mean a foam wedge, a memory foam pillow type thing? Can you sleep on those on your side too? I can order one...Personally, I can't stand sleeping on my back. It makes me feel like a corpse. I hating having to try to sleep on my back during the sleep study. My study didn't go well sleep wise. The tech said I'd sleep for 20 minutes and then be awake for an hour. Took me forever to get to sleep, very frustrating. It was a very VERY long night.
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#22
RE: TOTALLY NEW, what to do, what to do??
I can't speak to what is normal where you are - I'm in Canada, and things work differently here... even from one patient/clinic to the next.

But I can speak to symptoms.

Here's my story, in brief - I've always snored. Loudly. Since I was in my early teens - I'm 54 now. In 2010 my stepfather told me that he was going in for a sleep study, dr thought he might have sleep apnea. This interested me because I knew beyond any doubt that I had sleep apnea. There was zero question in my mind, for at least 5 years prior. But I totally loathe doctors and avoid going. (When I finally made an appointment with mine, to get a referral, he riffled through my very thin file, muttering to himself "When was the last time I saw you...?" I said "1987?" and he laughed... then found that date. :-) ) My stepfather's journey went like this... his GP sent him to a sleep lab in town. The appointment was a week after the referral visit. He went in, got hooked up, in 4 hours they decided he had OSA... they put a mask on him and did the titration study right there and then. The next morning they sent him to a DME and he picked up a machine. 2 days later he decided that he hated it, the pressure was too much... so they swapped him for an Autoset machine, and he's been good since.

Now me.

I went to my GP and told him I needed a referral to a (preferably that same) sleep doctor. I explained that I'm super uncomfortable with the idea of going to the hospital's sleep lab - hate hospitals more than doctors, they're just a place to store doctors... He made me an appointment for tests- bloodwork, cardiogram, etc. over the next week. Got that done... then a referral to a sleep doctor. In 3 months. Finally got to that... he made me an appointment for a sleep lab. In 4 months. (I got lucky, they had a cancellation in a month, booked me in early.) And OF COURSE that lab was the hospital lab. So I barely slept. Just over an hour in the 8 I was there. In the morning, the tech told me "I can't tell you you have severe OSA, but I can tell you that I'm faxing this result to your Dr this morning, rather than on friday with the rest, as is routine. Call him tomorrow and get a machine, don't wait for your second study." I did... and got an Autoset machine so they could use that to come up with a "rough" titration. And got my second lab booked... 4 months later.

As it turns out, I took to the machine really well - I'm a scuba diver, so I think I was just naturally acclimatized to breathe through something on my face (though this is a reverse mechanic to scuba). But after 3 weeks they tried to force a fixed pressure CPAP machine on me, and I wouldn't stand for it. CPAP at 18 pressure is a lot less comfortable than APAP at 12-20... even when it gets up to 19 in my sleep, it isn't as bad as trying to fall asleep with 18 cm H20 blowing the mask off your face. :-)

You talk about being fuzzy... I couldn't carry on a conversation. I would honestly nod off in the middle of a sentence. I'd get to work at 9 am, and be nodding off at my desk by 10. I don't remember the last hour of any movie I watched between 2005 and 2010. I was lucky - I didn't have issues driving. But I *so* could have. I'd be up 3 or 4 times a night to go to the bathroom. Legs would jerk, and I'd kick at night. Even during the day (I thought I might have restless leg syndrome.) they'd be having spasms.

My first night on APAP, I slept 9 hours straight through, for the first time I could remember. Never moved - woke up in the same position I fell asleep in. (And HURT! I slept on my side, the shoulder I was on just wasn't used to that. :-) ) But when I woke up I felt 10 years younger. I didn't nod off at all that day - or since. I wasn't fuzzy headed. I could *remember* things. I didn't notice until a few weeks later that the leg spasms and restlessness had gone.

You *probably* won't get results like that, or that fast. You can, but I understand from others here that I'm sort of the best case scenario, where adjustment to the machine was simple and results were immediate and visible. So don't take my result as a given, its not. And even for me, it's a daily thing. A phrase that's been used here is "sleep hygiene" - basically, get into a routine that encourages your compliance, and that makes it easier for you to get to sleep. I have my little bedtime rituals that make all of this work for me, and when I miss them or choose to skip, I don't get perfect results. But if you stick with it, you *will* see improvements.


(04-11-2016, 04:44 PM)Dianea Wrote: I'm so tired. I have fuzzy brain all the time when I need to be alert and sociable for work and driving to and from work (2 to 4 hours late at night). HOW LONG DID YOU HAVE TO WAIT BEFORE GETTING YOUR MACHINE?

I waited 5 months for my first sleep study. Other than what my tech told me, I don't know what the results were (I'm going to ask for a copy) NOT A PEEP form my doctor about it. While waiting for his response, After waiting for 2 weeks, I called and I found out from the receptionist that I needed to get another study done, but I had to ask about it. (What if I had never asked and just patiently waited!)

IS ALL THIS WAITING NORMAL??? I do not know what the time frame after that will be to get a machine. I'd love to accept the standard 2 weeks wait, in view of the 5 months and now another 3 months THAT sounds pretty good!!

I'll see if there are other posts about what to do when waiting. I'll look into getting a wedge...

(04-12-2016, 01:55 AM)Dianea Wrote: I'm not good at posting so I don't do it right all the time.

I hating having to try to sleep on my back during the sleep study. My study didn't go well sleep wise. The tech said I'd sleep for 20 minutes and then be awake for an hour. Took me forever to get to sleep, very frustrating. It was a very VERY long night.

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#23
RE: TOTALLY NEW, what to do, what to do??
(04-12-2016, 01:55 AM)Dianea Wrote: I'm not good at posting so I don't do it right all the time.

By "wedge" do you mean a foam wedge, a memory foam pillow type thing? Can you sleep on those on your side too? I can order one...Personally, I can't stand sleeping on my back. It makes me feel like a corpse. I hating having to try to sleep on my back during the sleep study. My study didn't go well sleep wise. The tech said I'd sleep for 20 minutes and then be awake for an hour. Took me forever to get to sleep, very frustrating. It was a very VERY long night.

I don't know if many people really sleep well during these studies. The situation is so abnormal. And I also had to deal with a fair amount of waiting, even with so-called "good insurance."

Here's something you might try, assuming your apnea is mainly obstructive. Buy one of those anti-snore mouthpieces. You have to dip it in hot water for a minute to make them soft, then fit it to your bite, with your chin pushed forward a bit (not too much, or it'll be too uncomfortable). Then you put it under cool water to harden it. The directions are on the package anyway.

You then use this thing while sleeping, until your machine arrives. The forward position of your jaw opens your airway a bit, which is how it helps with snoring. It's almost certainly not going to fix your apnea but it might diminish it a bit, while you're waiting. What's more, the actual *PAP machine is far less uncomfortable than this mouthpiece!

I've used the mouthpiece in the past when I was going on a short trip and didn't feel like toting my machine. It falls into the category of not great but better than nothing. And you'll feel like you're doing something positive while enduring the waiting.

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