07-09-2016, 06:47 PM
RE: extremely tired all the time. need advice.
G'day dorlow. I'm with you - I hate the bloody thing! Unfortunately I have to use it because the alternative is too horrible to contemplate.
You know there may well be other issues at play here besides sleep apnea. Have you had a full medical and bloods? There are a lot of conditions which can cause fatigue / sleepiness, including low vitamin D, low thyroid function, anaemia, and a bunch of others. Some of them are nasty, like leukemia, so make sure all these bases are covered.
Reading back over your posts there are a couple of things that don't make sense, and suggest to me that your cpap therapy has never been set up properly from the start. Your profile says you have a Resmed S8 Escape - this is a constant pressure machine which gives extremely limited data. But you also said your doctor set the machine to APAP - can't be done. Either the doc doesn't know what he's doing, or he's failed to communicate properly with you. This is fundamental and needs to be sorted.
Second, the S8 was a good machine in its time but is now two generations old. Importantly, it provides extremely limited data - not enough to really work out what's going on. You need to get hold of a modern data capable machine like an Airsense Autoset. This will provide real actual information that you can use to fine-tune your therapy and get some value out of it. But only if you commit to use it and follow through with the necessary monitoring. You need to do this yourself - your doc can't do it for you.
Finally - you think it's humiliating to wear a mask in bed at night? It won't be nearly as humiliating as getting old and decrepit before your time, having a stroke at the age of 50 and needing a nurse to wipe your arse every day for the rest of your life. It's time to toughen up, Princess!
You know there may well be other issues at play here besides sleep apnea. Have you had a full medical and bloods? There are a lot of conditions which can cause fatigue / sleepiness, including low vitamin D, low thyroid function, anaemia, and a bunch of others. Some of them are nasty, like leukemia, so make sure all these bases are covered.
Reading back over your posts there are a couple of things that don't make sense, and suggest to me that your cpap therapy has never been set up properly from the start. Your profile says you have a Resmed S8 Escape - this is a constant pressure machine which gives extremely limited data. But you also said your doctor set the machine to APAP - can't be done. Either the doc doesn't know what he's doing, or he's failed to communicate properly with you. This is fundamental and needs to be sorted.
Second, the S8 was a good machine in its time but is now two generations old. Importantly, it provides extremely limited data - not enough to really work out what's going on. You need to get hold of a modern data capable machine like an Airsense Autoset. This will provide real actual information that you can use to fine-tune your therapy and get some value out of it. But only if you commit to use it and follow through with the necessary monitoring. You need to do this yourself - your doc can't do it for you.
Finally - you think it's humiliating to wear a mask in bed at night? It won't be nearly as humiliating as getting old and decrepit before your time, having a stroke at the age of 50 and needing a nurse to wipe your arse every day for the rest of your life. It's time to toughen up, Princess!
It will not be the same as seeing Maryland Monroe for the first time. 
