Anyone have it? I just did the overnight sleep study last night. Very interesting. I have to wait to talk to the doctor for specifics, but the tech had to wake me up 2 hours in to put me on a breathing machine. She said she would wake me up if I had more than 15 occurances in an hour. No wonder why I am so damn tired all the time.
Curious if anyone has feedback for me on the CPAP machine. I have heard mixed reviews.
Quote from: Stu Pedasso on June 17, 2008, 10:18:45 AM
Anyone have it? I just did the overnight sleep study last night. Very interesting. I have to wait to talk to the doctor for specifics, but the tech had to wake me up 2 hours in to put me on a breathing machine. She said she would wake me up if I had more than 15 occurances in an hour. No wonder why I am so damn tired all the time.
Curious if anyone has feedback for me on the CPAP machine. I have heard mixed reviews.
My 2 year old had it.
Tonsillectomy cured it.
Quote from: Stu Pedasso on June 17, 2008, 10:18:45 AM
Curious if anyone has feedback for me on the CPAP machine. I have heard mixed reviews.
If your doctor tells you to get one, do it. You will sleep infinitely better, once you get used to wearing it. (My wife spent 13 years in Sleep Medicine at one of the best clinics in the country.)
My dad has it. He had some surgery where they clean out your sinuses. Made it MUCH better. He's Ok as long as he continues to irrigate his sinuses daily. I believe it keeps the scar tissue in his sinuses from returning which would bring back the apnea. He did all the sleep studies to figure out what was wrong as well.
The CPAP machine was marginally effective for him.
He had T&A surgery when he was a kid, so tonsils weren't the problem.
I need to do see someone about it. Haven't slept well in years. Fell asleep in a chair over the weekend at my parent's place, and my mom said I REALLY need to see someone about my sleep patterns :-[.
I had it! My sleep study showed that I would stop breathing for up to 50 seconds so I was on the CPAP. I hated that thing and had to take it on a business trip once.
After working with my Doctor and insurance company I had surgurgy to help correct the problem. No more CPAP.
I had a sleep study also and was found with a relatively mild form of apnea.
I was borderline needing a CPAP and didn't require one but was recommended, and got one anyway since it was covered by insurance.
One strong suggestion: Be sure the mask of the CPAP fits right. Otherwise you'll likely get annoyed with it in some way during the night. For example, my first one would dig into my sinus bones and had to get a different one.
I also had surgery to correct a deviated septum from over the years of doing stupid bicycles stunts and schoolyard football with no pads and helmets in the younger days, as well as correct parts of my mouth and throat areas damaged by childhood cooties.
But despite all this, I found the biggest help was losing weight, exercising to get better breathing, and placing a big priority in how I slept: Getting a very nice bed, pillows with various stiffness, and in how I actually lay my head on the pillow by making sure my air passage is straight. I haven't used the CPAP in a number of years without noticeable sleep problems.
Good luck. [thumbsup]
My former boss had it really bad, and got surgery two years ago, he said it was life-transforming.
Quote from: gojira on June 17, 2008, 11:45:05 AM
I [...] was found with a relatively mild form of apnea.
[...] I found the biggest help was losing weight, exercising to get better breathing
+1. The thing that finally drove me to lose weight was a combination of my wife quietly leaving the bed in the middle of the night because of my snoring (she'd sneak to the guest room after I slept, and return before I awoke, so as not to hurt my feelings), and me waking myself up a couple times with interrupted breathing.
40 lbs less fat, 20 pounds more muscle, and I get cardio at least 6 days a week, weights at least 4. I don't snore at all, and sleep LOTS better.
Oh, by the way, anticipating the comments about "are you sure that your wife was sleeping alone in that guest bed?". Yeah, haha. But she's a keeper.
I have that, i'm pretty sure. A few years ago, when it was bad, I woke up choking because i forgot to breathe. When i sleep, my mouth is always dry because one of my sinuses get clogged and i cant breathe out of that nostril. Funny thing is, my sinus only gets clogged when i lie down. The moment i sit up, it clears up.
I know two people that went through surgery to rectify it... they called it a "deviated septum." Me... if i start waking up choking every night, then i'll go to the doctor.
My mother suffered from sleep apnea until she got a CPAP machine. It can be a bit of a pain to get used to, but once you learn to sleep with it on, you'll know what real sleep is like. It improved my mother's hypertension and asthma. Overall, she is so much more functional with it. There are a couple of different kinds of masks, depending what position you sleep in. Keep with it and everything in life will get just that much better. Good luck!
My grandfather has it (sleep apnea). He was prescribed a CPAP machine. He didn't like it. I guess he didn't accept it as a valid treatment for a valid condition. And no one is helping him now. Good times.
I had it. Did the sleep study. Mine was severe. I forget the exact numbers. They prescribed a CPAP machines. They didn't offer any other options. I really got the feeling the sleep clinic was more of a CPAP machine sales office than any thing else. I'm much more about fixing the problem than treating the symptom. I went to an Eyes, Ears, Nose and Throat guy. He offered a surgical solution. I had a severely deviated septum. So, in one surgery, I got my septum straightened, I got a UPPP(Uvula and back of the palate removed) and my tonsils out. The change has been amazing. I do not snore any more. I feel so much more rested.
Ken
Quote from: minkman on June 18, 2008, 08:48:58 AM
I had it. Did the sleep study. Mine was severe. I forget the exact numbers. They prescribed a CPAP machines. They didn't offer any other options. I really got the feeling the sleep clinic was more of a CPAP machine sales office than any thing else. I'm much more about fixing the problem than treating the symptom. I went to an Eyes, Ears, Nose and Throat guy. He offered a surgical solution. I had a severely deviated septum. So, in one surgery, I got my septum straightened, I got a UPPP(Uvula and back of the palate removed) and my tonsils out. The change has been amazing. I do not snore any more. I feel so much more rested.
Ken
d00d. Good post. I should look into that.
I agree with your thoughts that it was a CPAP sales office. They pushed me and the other lady right into a fitting room in the morning. I'll give it a shot and see how things work out over the next few weeks. I dont think I would ever opt for the surgery though. My first official night with the machine wasnt too smooth. I woke up a few times to adjust it, but I will be patient and see if I can get used to it.
Quote from: swerdna on June 18, 2008, 09:09:08 AM
d00d. Good post. I should look into that.
Everyone is different. Talk to a good doc. I'm damn happy I did what I did, though. I was out of work for about 2 weeks. It was about a month before I could eat everything again. The first time I sneezed after it was almost a religious experience. After not being able to breathe through my nose for most of my life, being able to make so much air go through so quickly was sooooo strange. Unfortunately, it was on the bike in my helmet. ;D
Quote from: minkman on June 18, 2008, 08:48:58 AM
I had it. Did the sleep study. Mine was severe. I forget the exact numbers. They prescribed a CPAP machines. They didn't offer any other options. I really got the feeling the sleep clinic was more of a CPAP machine sales office than any thing else. I'm much more about fixing the problem than treating the symptom. I went to an Eyes, Ears, Nose and Throat guy. He offered a surgical solution. I had a severely deviated septum. So, in one surgery, I got my septum straightened, I got a UPPP(Uvula and back of the palate removed) and my tonsils out. The change has been amazing. I do not snore any more. I feel so much more rested.
Ken
I had my deviated septum repaired along with the removal of tonsils, uvula and the soft tissue in the back of the throat :-X. When they finally took the splint out of inside my notril I had a vision of that Arnold movie Total Recall when he pulls that tracking device out of his nose. OUCH!!!!!!
Quote from: minkman on June 18, 2008, 08:48:58 AM
I had it. Did the sleep study. Mine was severe. I forget the exact numbers. They prescribed a CPAP machines. They didn't offer any other options. I really got the feeling the sleep clinic was more of a CPAP machine sales office than any thing else. I'm much more about fixing the problem than treating the symptom. I went to an Eyes, Ears, Nose and Throat guy. He offered a surgical solution. I had a severely deviated septum. So, in one surgery, I got my septum straightened, I got a UPPP(Uvula and back of the palate removed) and my tonsils out. The change has been amazing. I do not snore any more. I feel so much more rested.
Ken
I was offered this same solution, but at 40 years of age (at the time i was treated) I had no desire to go thru the surgeries. I've been living quite nicely with the CPAP for the last 5 years.
Quote from: FatguyRacer on June 18, 2008, 11:01:27 AM
I was offered this same solution, but at 40 years of age (at the time i was treated) I had no desire to go thru the surgeries. I've been living quite nicely with the CPAP for the last 5 years.
I thought long about it. I had it done at 38, so I understand your point of view.
Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP, or the "throato-rooter") is not definitive treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). It definitely works for snoring, but does not have a demonstrable lasting effect on actual apnea. Once the pharyngeal scar tissue softens, typically after about 2 years, the patient often returns to "silent apnea" with no snoring but the same risk of stroke, heart attack, etc.
Positive airway pressure (CPAP or BiPAP) is currently the gold-standard treatment for OSA. CPAP is definitely a PITA, but once one adapts to it is no big deal at all. I've got fairly severe OSA with an AHI (apnea-hypopnea index) of over 80 and have access to whatever treatment I want. I'd prefer not to have to deal with CPAP but my interpretation of the data is that there is currently no surgical treatment that's effective other than tracheostomy (which is 100% effective) and I certainly don't want that. So, I use CPAP.
+2 on the CPAP machine, both my father and my longtime girlfriends dad uses one, if they recomend you get one and have them calibrate it for your breathing level you wil sleep much better. My dad would wake up 9 times an hour so he would never get fully into Rem sleep. So that will make you one grumpy dude after a while.
I am grumpy all the time >:( At least until I get my coffee [coffee]
I am getting used to the machine, but have been really tired in the morning. I did some research and other people report the same problem for the first few weeks. I guess it takes your body a while to get used to "good" sleep.
I'm a respiratory therapist, and used to work in the sleep lab. There are 2 kinds of sleep apnea, central and obstructive. In central, your brain forgets to tell your body to breathe when you are asleep. No amount of surgery will fix that. You need a machine.
The second type of sleep apnea is obstructive. Maybe you've gained weight and when you relax in your sleep, all that weight gets floppy and obstructs your airway. Or maybe your tonsils are inflamed and huge, and they flop back and block your airway. The CPAP (continuous positive pressure ventilation) machine basically just maintains a certain amount of back pressure which splints the airway open to allow you to breathe. The sleep lab will monitor you and determine which type you have and just how much pressure is required to hold things open.
If you have gained some weight, I'd recommend taking off the extra poundage first. The surgery (uvulectomy, etc) is hit or miss, and I've had more patients who've regretted it than not. Most are happy with surgery to fix a deviated septum, though.
Don't ignore the problem - your whole body suffers when you aren't breathing well.
My .02
I had the sleep test years ago. I flunked. I have a CPAP machine that I have had for probably 15 years or more. I used it for a while and then stopped. About 6 months ago I remembered I still had it and started using it again. It just covers my nose. I use it and found that it took abourt a week before I really noticed a big difference in the way I feel when I wake up. Usually nowI wake up ready to go. Before I would lay in bed for a half hour after the alarm went off , now when it goes off ,I turn it off and am ready to get up . My mouth used to feel desert dry when I woke up ...w/ the CPAP, my mouth feels fine when I wake up. 9 nights out of 10 I sleep without waking until it's time to get up.