RE: Newbie Greetings to the Apnea Nation
Adding my warm welcome to Apnea Board.
You've come to the right Apnea forum if you like coffee. Apnea, sleep issues, and coffee are likely our top 3 discussions. Now what could possibly be preventing good sleep?
And a CDL holder too? Well I used to drive regional tractor trailer runs for 11 years until the back got messed up badly.
OK back to your regular scheduled Apnea assistance.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
RE: Newbie Greetings to the Apnea Nation
azpapa:
I'm lucky to have found this board early. I'm just starting, and I've had pretty good success so far. The people at Supplier #1 were very helpful and provided several suggestions that I would've expected to get from the sleep Dr. or therapist. I've discovered that the way things are these days you can no longer depend upon the 'professionals' to tell you what you need to know. Everything in general is watered down these days, and healthcare is no exception.
I talked to my insurance company on Friday, and they said they WILL reimburse me for a portion of my costs. So cool beans. Although they said they would've covered 100% if I had went through the DME.... even though they would have to pay the DME more than they would have to pay me for buying in cash. There really is something wrong with that picture, and it's the reason healthcare is fundamentally broken in this country.
I think I've found the almost perfect settings for me. I raised the humidity to 1 and set the hose heat to 76 F. It seems to work most nights lately, but I can see how adjustments might need to made during warmer weather. Right now, it's about 4 F here is Chicago, so a just little humidity is definitely needed.
I'll play around with posting the chart as soon as I can, but Friday night was my best night ever. ResMed score was 100 with only 1.8 events per hour! I think I'm on my way!
The Slumber Queen
RE: Newbie Greetings to the Apnea Nation
Hi, Dave. I drove tractor trailer OTR for about six months before I moved on to driving buses. In those six months, though, I drove a chemical tanker, double pups, and regular 48' and 53'. Back before they had electronic logs, it was nearly impossible for an honest driver to compete with the drivers who were running illegally. I'd be out of hours while the loads were passed to someone who just kept driving, regardless of the limits. In any case, I found out that driving buses worked out better for me, and in many ways were a better quality of life because you didn't have to be on the road quite as long. I started by driving a Greyhound, and later drove a city bus here in Chicago (something I can't recommend these days.)
I eventually moved on to my current job as a desk jockey, but I still miss driving sometimes. I don't know what it's like now with the ELDs. We were still on paper logs when I left.
Anyway, sorry for the interruption folks. Back to the regular program.
The Slumber Queen
RE: Newbie Greetings to the Apnea Nation
Yep I'll ditto your paper log sentiment. Been there too.
And only truck drivers call the black mud at the truck stops coffee.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
RE: Newbie Greetings to the Apnea Nation
I started CPAP--THREE YEARS AGO today---whoopee! Today is my CPAP birthday!
My tech support person (AKA husband) helped me get started with Resmed Myair monitoring. Soon I was making paper graphs with that info--graph paper, felt tip markers. I am not tech-savvy. Anything I have learned about computers/ smart phones--I have learned slowly and with great frustration. I was trying to make sense of the CPAP therapy. Myair measures AHI, leaks (large leaks, apparently) , on/off, hours of use, total score. It doesn't count all the annoying breezy (into my eyes) leaks, or the noisy (waking me up) leaks. I thought there should have been some relationship between leaks and AHI but did not see any relationship.
Later we found OSCAR and I added those measures to my paper graphs.
I still add to my paper graphs : Myair total score, number of leaks, and number of times on/off. The on/off can be an important indicator of my night. (Did I not feel well? Did I have to take off the mask and re-adjust the fit several times? ) So on/off could be considered a measure of my frustration level for the night.
Some Myair nightly scores can look very good, but OSCAR tells the real story.
My sleep doc looks at Myair.
So , there is my two cents worth for today. And thank you for your post about some of your work history. My husband has driven a big truck, too, so he tells me little bits about trucking sometimes. It helps me to appreciate the semis on the roads. Where would we be without the big trucks?!
RE: Newbie Greetings to the Apnea Nation
hello again!
You may find this interesting:
I was reading an article recently 9from a nursing friend's alumna newsletter, I think). A nursing professor had worked with sleep apnea therapy since its beginning. During those earlier days, her nursing work included teaching the sleep apnea patients how to care for their tracheostomies. A TRACH was the treatment for sleep apnea. ! That information could help some of us to be more appreciative of our CPAP therapy.
I do appreciate my CPAP therapy.
How are you doing?
RE: Newbie Greetings to the Apnea Nation
There's a motivational thought for you. CPAP or trach. AKA here's a machine or we cut your throat. PAP please.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
RE: Newbie Greetings to the Apnea Nation
Thank you, Dave. I will be quiet now.
RE: Newbie Greetings to the Apnea Nation
It's OK it's just my sarcasm showing. I've apparently run out of the sarcastic font.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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