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

Your Personal CPAP Success Story - Post Here
RE: Your Personal CPAP Success Story - Post Here
As of today I have been six months on CPAP therapy. Seems like an appropriate milestone to provide this update along with my sincere appreciation to this community for teaching me what I need to know to take charge of my therapy and continuously improve its effectiveness.

CPAP therapy has been amazing for me. It is non-invasive, requires no drugs, and has had the single highest impact on my quality of life and daily effectiveness of any non-acute/emergency medical treatment I can remember.

So first off, thank you to SuperSleeper, the wiki editors, monitors, moderators, and other folks who operate this forum. Thank you to the medical professionals with sleep apnea who spend all day (or all night in sleep labs) working with patients and then come to this forum in your "spare time" to freely share your personal experience and knowledge. Thank you to the laymen who like me have entered this new place in our lives which were so impaired when we came here and who share our own tips, experiences, celebrate victories together and encourage others that they will feel better.

If I were to try and name all of the people who have helped me here I would risk leaving some out because so many of you give so generously of your time and expertise. Thanks to you all. One special mention I will make is trish6hundred who ensures that every newcomer gets an uplifting welcome message. And finally the good doctor DocWills, godspeed and safe travels on your mission to help treat refugees coming into Europe.

In other endeavors they would call a place like this a mastermind. People normally pay money to part of a mastermind, and here is a world-class resource with an active community of experts provided as a service at no cost to members. All they ask for is voluntary contributions of whatever is affordable based on the value this forum provides each individual so they can keep the lights on.

My story...

I had suffered for many months from what my doc called "general malaise", I just felt lousy and tired all the time. Went through a number of tests and diagnostics that basically cleared all the major systems. One day as I was leaving his office, he asked if I snored. I said my family thinks I do. And he suggested a sleep study.

The sleep study found severe sleep apnea and a couple nights later I came back for the titration study. I knew this was going to make a difference in my quality of life from the day after the titration study.

It was a terrible night with little sleep, and felt like a mad scientist was doing all kinds of weird and uncomfortable things to my poor tired body. Didn't get much sleep that night and felt miserable the next day.

But even with just a brief two hour period with AHI down from over 50 to 13, that next day was the first one in a long time that I didn't either take a nap or wished I could. I didn't feel all that rested, but I was alert the entire day. I knew this was the beginning of something life changing.

The weekend after my titration study I signed up here as a member. I had been lurking for a few weeks as I explored sleep apnea and found this forum to be a gold mine of info that was instrumental in me being able to take charge of my therapy, talk to the DME to choose the right kind of machine, and solve each problem as it came along.

Within about ten days, had my machine and the other gear to start my therapy on April 11.

They told me in the titration study that I was a mouth breather and so Full Face Mask was the recommended option for a mask. I struggled for weeks and months with leaks. Got lots of advice and tips here that eventually got me within the leak threshhold, but I still woke up a few times each night from leaks.

How to consistently reduce the AHI was a mystery. I was happy for the nights under 5, but I had no clue how to keep it there or why it went higher. With all the air leaks and what I now think were sleep disturbances from air leaks, I never was able to keep it consistently below 5.0. Even at that I was feeling so much better than before therapy that I could live with it if I had to.

One night I pulled out an old "stop snoring" chin strap and tried that with my FFM. It was like throwing a switch -- AHI dropped below five, and no major leaks. It was pretty amazing after all the gyrations I had been through with mixed success, that a simple chin strap nailed the leaks.

After about a week of good AHI and leaks under control, I began to wonder if I might be able to use the nasal pillows with the chin strap, and so I bought some with return insurance in case it didn't work out.

If the FFM/chin strap was as good as it gets, I would be happy and consider my therapy stable and successful. But I had no idea that the little bit of waking up (and perhaps arousals that didn't wake me up or I didn't remember in addition) was actually impacting my restful sleep.

Using the pillows, AHI is consistently below 2, no more major leaks, and the 95% air pressure has dropped from around 15 to around 10.

People joke about the cult of nasal pillows like it was the Borg... well I got assimilated. The nasal pillows took restful sleep for me to another level. They are so light weight and comfortable. And I don't wake up a few times a night anymore to wiggle my chin or move the FFM a touch to close a leak. It was a noticeable improvement and I found myself feeling better yet.

Sometimes I do wake up occasionally at night, and it's interesting when I do I realize that I was dreaming, which is another good thing I didn't remember doing in a long time.

I have read about reaching a plateau. I think I may be there right now. I feel so much better than I used to feel, and yet lately I find myself sometimes yawning during the day or noticing I didn't a good a night's rest as I have gotten used to. I think it's all relative. My worst night now is far better than my best night with untreated apnea.

Good sleep is so precious that now I pay attention to what impacts it. I am more aware of sleep disturbances. Alcohol before bed really does rob you of sleep. When I stay up too late or work an all niter I know what's going to happen the next morning.

And now if my AHI is higher than 2 I usually have a pretty good idea about why.

But that's all down in the noise compared to how I felt before vs after starting CPAP therapy.

If you are perusing this forum to help you decide whether to treat your apnea, I hope you get from all you read here that it is possible to treat it, and you can take charge and make a huge difference the success of your therapy. The CPAP machines we have today provide a wealth of useful data to help you understand what to do next, and there are people here who love reading that data and providing insights about it. Good luck to you, you have landed in a good place at apneaboard forum.

Saldus Miegas
Post Reply Post Reply
RE: Your Personal CPAP Success Story - Post Here
Nice write-up, Saldus. Glad everything is going so well for you - thanks for sharing this!

Coffee
SuperSleeper
Apnea Board Administrator
www.ApneaBoard.com


INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.


Post Reply Post Reply
RE: Your Personal CPAP Success Story - Post Here
(09-09-2015, 03:06 PM)scowell Wrote: Find a bedside table that is 4" below the top of your mattress... and butt it up right against your mattress. You *will* pull the machine off the night stand a few times...
Just put the machine on the floor. Nowhere for it to fall. I keep mine slightly under the bed, too, to avoid having the thing light up the room whenever I switch it on and off.


Post Reply Post Reply
RE: Your Personal CPAP Success Story - Post Here
My success story. At my pre-CPAP sleep test my overall AHI was 55 and while supine was 72. In the 2 months I have been using the machine the average has been 0.84! I am routinely waking up an hour before my alarm and not feeling tired during the day.
Post Reply Post Reply
RE: Your Personal CPAP Success Story - Post Here
I think it's about time I stopped lurking and started sharing.

I've been using CPAP (actually APAP) since February of 2013. I now can honestly say it changed my life. Thanks to the help I've gotten here and on a few other CPAP support forums, I am what you would call a complete success story. Sleepyhead tells me that my average AHI for the last year is 0.48. I sleep through the night every night with my CPAP, and I can't sleep without it.

If you're new and struggling, keep your chin up and don't give up. It gets better.

I can honestly say the hardest part for me was finding the right mask. And once that happened, everything kind of fell into place. Once that hurdle was crossed finding the right pressures for me was a snap.

But I had to kiss a lot of frogs to find that princess, so don't give up if you're on your first mask or your fifth, there's a mask out there that will finally fit you, you just have to find it.
Post Reply Post Reply
RE: Your Personal CPAP Success Story - Post Here
good story!

Banana
هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه  هههههه
Tongue Suck Technique for prevention of mouth breathing:
  • Place your tongue behind your front teeth on the roof of your mouth
  • let your tongue fill the space between the upper molars
  • gently suck to form a light vacuum

Practising during the day can help you to keep it at night

هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه  هههههه
Post Reply Post Reply
RE: Your Personal CPAP Success Story - Post Here
It hardly seems a year and some days since I first discovered this site and forum, when a friend from another forum I frequent (ghost1958) , recommended it to me.

It was a thread on that other forum regarding SA that I had had been reading, and finding that SA affects so many good folks of both genders and all ages, and came to the conclusion that my sweet wife was for sure one of the unfortunates.

After reading daily here, and settling on a Philips System One unit for her, complete with a humidity control system, and eventually with Sleepyhead and a readable data card, we got her started her on way to a better nightly sleep time.

Her first AHI numbers were to the point of scary, many in the 70's and 80's, but with help from here, and special personal attention from my friend 'Ghost' we kept tweaking the pressure, humidity and relief settings, and eventually got her got her down into the 20's range.

Then finding that she was just not capable of better numbers using (two different) consistently leaking FFM's, she wanted to try nasal pillows ...and BINGO!!, she got her first 5's. She likes the comfort factors of the nasal pillow much better too.

Her numbers these past six months or so, average between 1.5 to 3.5, and even 3 zeros so far. Her snoring is now almost non existent, and without benefit of any particular special diets, has dropped 29 lbs. She has so much more energy in her waking hours, and her life has totally changed for the better. These days if a very occasional 5 shows up, you should hear her gripe! And I can remember just a few months back, when just reaching that magic 5 number, seemed so good!

We sure could have never gotten where we are without all the help and advise that this forum, and the great folks that frequent it have provided for us. Thank you all ever so much.

Very Best Wishes and Blessings To All.... P.S. Never Give Up!!

Phil, aka FLcracker



Post Reply Post Reply
RE: Your Personal CPAP Success Story - Post Here
CPAP compliant for six years. Now switching from CPAP to APAP with oxygen therapy only at night. After a home overnight sleep test with a metered oximeter which found my average low SpO2 was 88, I have decided to try an improve that number. So, I am getting my new machine (Medicare will pay again after the years I have had using CPAP. My lung doctor ordered the O2 and I am getting an oxygen condenser for home. Also, I am hoping for an improvement on my shortness of breath during the day from using oxygen at night only, and during naps. The O2 inters my APAP hose and comes through to me in the blower air. I am very hopeful from what I have gathered in information that this will work. I will know this last week of October 2015 after my lung doctor get the results of my overnight oximeter results. This is my current success, after many many positive results with CPAP. APAP just means a CPAP with many auto settings to help with adjusting my machine. Also, ResMed AirSense 10 technology has a built in modem which uses cell phone towers to up load automatic numbers each morning after my night's rest. How cool is that! Bookie Draper
Post Reply Post Reply
RE: Your Personal CPAP Success Story - Post Here
BookieDraper,
Welcome to the Forum. Hope to hear more from you.
OpalRose
Apnea Board Administrator
www.apneaboard.com

_______________________
OSCAR Chart Organization
How to Attach Images and Files.
OSCAR - The Guide
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing therapy
OSCAR supported machines
Mask Primer



INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE.  ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA.  INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
Post Reply Post Reply
RE: Your Personal CPAP Success Story - Post Here
(10-26-2015, 08:39 AM)BookieDraper Wrote: CPAP compliant for six years. Now switching from CPAP to APAP with oxygen therapy only at night. After a home overnight sleep test with a metered oximeter which found my average low SpO2 was 88, I have decided to try an improve that number. So, I am getting my new machine (Medicare will pay again after the years I have had using CPAP. My lung doctor ordered the O2 and I am getting an oxygen condenser for home. Also, I am hoping for an improvement on my shortness of breath during the day from using oxygen at night only, and during naps. The O2 inters my APAP hose and comes through to me in the blower air. I am very hopeful from what I have gathered in information that this will work. I will know this last week of October 2015 after my lung doctor get the results of my overnight oximeter results. This is my current success, after many many positive results with CPAP. APAP just means a CPAP with many auto settings to help with adjusting my machine. Also, ResMed AirSense 10 technology has a built in modem which uses cell phone towers to up load automatic numbers each morning after my night's rest. How cool is that! Bookie Draper

That's what happened with me, but in my case after only a month or so with APAP alone. I think the oxygen helps me more than the APAP machine, but stick with the machine because it gives me data. One thing about the O2 concentrators is that they tend to be noisy. I bought some BOSE noise cancelling headphones and wear them when I sleep. I look like someone getting ready for a trip to Mars!

Daytime naps, when I need them, I just take the oxygen.

I've changed my machine so it works like a regular CPAP machine and have been gradually reducing the pressure. Right now I'm at 6.8 and I've had AHI below 0.2 since doing this and three nights out of five of 0. After a week or so I'll drop it another 0.2 cm, with the idea of getting to the point where it just stops my OA's, and let the oxygen do the rest.
Ed Seedhouse
VA7SDH

Part cow since February 2018.

Trust your mind less and your brain more.


Post Reply Post Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  [CPAP] First Post - Can't stay asleep with CPAP DKane 7 114 Yesterday, 12:48 PM
Last Post: SarcasticDave94
  Help - 1 year CPAP - not success - help very welcome! leono85 41 2,597 03-25-2024, 09:32 AM
Last Post: Macka
Question [Diagnosis] First post-CPAP visit to Sleep Doc - What to talk about? FlyAU98 6 186 03-23-2024, 09:08 AM
Last Post: HalfAsleep
  r4robin - Therapy Thread (Help with BiLevel settings-post #5) r4robin 42 1,818 03-11-2024, 01:26 PM
Last Post: bertchintus
  First Post - Help with Settings Ideas jrudicel 3 168 03-10-2024, 12:10 PM
Last Post: jrudicel
  Has anyone had success with ONLY a soft cervical collar? ranvanman 7 545 02-26-2024, 09:49 AM
Last Post: ranvanman
  Long story short chronic 5 380 02-18-2024, 03:43 PM
Last Post: chronic


New Posts   Today's Posts


About Apnea Board

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