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Poll: how long till your first treatment ?
This poll is closed.
1 month or less
0%
0 0%
2 month's or less
33.33%
1 33.33%
half a year or less
0%
0 0%
1 year or less
0%
0 0%
2 years or less
0%
0 0%
4 years or less
33.33%
1 33.33%
longer than 4 years
33.33%
1 33.33%
Total 3 vote(s) 100%
* You voted for this item. [Show Results]

how fast did you get help ?
#1
how fast did you get help ?
to evaluate how fast we got relief, i'm offering a poll, here.
maybe you'd like to participate. would be fun ;-)

my quest is about how long it took from the onset of your sleep apnea
to your first, maybe not perfect, treatment
this even if you should not have immediately asked for treatment.

basically the time of suffering.
Post Reply Post Reply
#2
RE: how fast did you get help ?
Interesting question.

I had been a chainsaw snorer my whole life. I was teased about it on camping trips by friends, my wife was at her wit's end, my kids could hear me in their bedrooms, with our door and theirs closed. I should have done a sleep study a decade earlier, I might not have diabetes today (sleep apnea is a big contributor to Type 2).

So, went on a business trip to Colorado up in the mountains about ten years ago and I could not sleep ... at all! After a few minutes of sleep I'd wake up gasping for air, I was a wreck by the end of the 3 days.

At sea level again, I could sleep a little better, but now the symptoms of sleep apnea were very apparent to me, and I started researching vociferously and scheduled a sleep study. AHI was in the mid 40's IIRC. But I slept great at the sleep lab even with all the wiring and CPAP! Loved it!

I slept so well, in fact, I was frustrated at having to wait about 3 weeks for my machine. My doctor had to review the study, they had to prescribe the machine, the tech who set up new patients took a vacation. But after about 3 weeks after the sleep study, I had my AirSense 10 AutoSet and ResMed P10 nasal pillow mask. And took to it like a duck to water.

I feel so bad for people who have so much trouble adjusting to CPAP. They started me on APAP 10-14 and I slept like a baby first night and every night since, no discomfort, no adjustment period, no trouble at all. AHI was probably around 7-8 initially, but came down to under 5 pretty quickly. For the past couple years I've been under 1.0 98% of the time and the other 2% between 1.0 and 2.0 AHI. I cannot remember the last time it was over 2.0, I'd have to search my OSCAR record.

So, to answer your question, three weeks. Well, plus the two weeks after the Colorado trip to get the sleep study done, 5 weeks. I've used CPAP therapy every day since. Well, on a trip to Chicago last summer I brought my AirMini but forgot a nasal pillow  Angry  Was up most of night #1, was able to sleep somewhat well nights #2 & 3, but was glad to get back home. CPAP therapy has been a life-changer for me.

Currently, I've been trying to fine-tune my therapy, although I had no real issues with it. But I went to 9-13 APAP for about a year, then to CPAP with EPR=3, currently at 13.0cmH2O, and my flow graph looks much better. I have a ResMed F40 mask on the way to try, and my leak rate went way up with the P10 on current settings, but still sleeping well.

EDIT: Oh, I've had continued good luck with it. About 2 years ago, when ResMed discontinued the AirSense 10 Autoset, I got another one on clearance for $590! Evidently, ResMed restarted production of that machine, it is available again for $960. I just sent my original machine, with about 18,000 hours out to be refurbished with a new blower motor, seals, reset clock to zero hours, and check for any other issues for about $300. So I have two of this wonderful machine, one at about 6,000 hours, and my original coming back refurbed at zero hours, BOTH for less than the cost of a new AirSense 10 Autoset. I lead a charmed life. Big Grin
Post Reply Post Reply
#3
RE: how fast did you get help ?
nice story.

the apneas being the real problem, the snoring probably not so much,
but how did your wife cope with it ?


i myself got it in this terrible time of winter 2021/2022. in the beginning, i may just have recognized osa.
it felt like drowning, i was repeatedly catapulted out of sleep and had fragmented dreams.

i wasn't able to get healthcare, there, till the system started to open up again in 2023.

after a sleep study, they gave me a jaw retainer, then (i had to wait for over a month).
they meant it good, wanting to see if the hypopnea stuff could somehow vanish when the osa is treated,
but unfortunately not and i had problems with it eating my teeth and making my jaw crackle while chewing.

after everything taking so long, the family equipped me with a machine in 2024.
i should have found apneaboard earlier, i should have tried to by a machine earlier,
although they might have been scarce earlier. even later we needed to wait about half a year
for a somewhat promising machine to emerge. and then it undertreaded my hypopnea.

mainly my breath and the pressure gets shallower and shallower and then i wake up.
another effect is that there is this forced breath, then nothing and then the next forced breath.
both makes my oxygen saturation slowly decline.

i will try to get the lumis 150 vpap st with the ivaps mode over the health system now.
i don't know how hard this will be, since i read in the forum about doctors going stepwise
from simpler to more advanced machines, even if the diagnosis is clear. i will see. i'd have to.
if someone could give me some helpful advice how to approach the doctors, i would be glad.

so much about my story.
for learning more about me,
one go down my treatment threads.


the input fields of poll might not have been up while you answered,
so you would now be able to additionally click your 2 months or less,
for it to be counted in the survey, if you wish.


regarding the edit:

i don't know about the seals, service and the reset, but you could change the blower even yourself
and it would be probably about halfish the price, but you are on the safe side how you did it.

the other machine you got is the 11 series, true ? it has upsides and downsides,
it has a less solid stand, the motor of the air mini and there is this mic which many turn off (audio analysis).
on the other hand it has advanced blue-tooth connectivity. one could get cheaper wireless oximetry, then.
it has auto ramp for the ones who need it, a timezone-setting.
it's also servicing doctors and providers more. how do you like the machine ?
Post Reply Post Reply
#4
RE: how fast did you get help ?
How did my wife deal with what? The snoring? She slept in the guest bedroom. For years. With CPAP, no issues, the AirSense 10 is quiet, the P10 is quiet, she's delighted.

No, I did not get the AirSense 11. I love the 10, and when I heard the 10 was being discontinued, I got a brand-new AirSense 10 Autoset for $590 on clearance after they rolled out the new 11. Sometime later they brought the 10 back into production at the old price of $960, and it still appears to be in the catalog. I just had incredibly lucky timing on the purchase of the second machine. 

And I know I could have replaced the blower, but you know Murphy's law, and running into unexpected problems in the middle of a job. Plus, the vendor will check for other stuff, just in case, and since the cost of the new machine and the refurbishing of the old machine was less than the cost of a new AirSense 10, I thought I was pretty lucky. I'd rather have someone do it who has done hundreds of machine refurbs. The older I get the less interested I find myself in these types of projects. lol

The current AirSense 10 has about 6,000 hours on it, and when that conks out, I'll go back to refurbished, zero hours (on that blower and seals) original machine. I shouldn't need another machine for quite a long time. Plus I have a rarely used AirMini, because I used to travel for work a lot.

Edit:  Oh yeah, about the dreams. Now that I think about it I had not dreamed, fragmented or otherwise, for decades. One surprising result of therapy was amazingly vivid dreams that I remember upon waking. Must mean I'm sleeping OK.
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