Sleep Apnea, anyone else?

[LilBastage]

Best of luck, Brandon. I've never had any serious snoring problems, but maybe it's because I sleep on my stomach. TheWife© is such a light sleeper that TheDog© snoring and farting wakes her up every night (if you've ever had a Basset Hound you understand). I'm sure if I were snoring I'd know about it.

 

[Boomer52]

Dude, these things suck.... If you think the tiara was restrictive, just wait. There is nothing like being asleep, rolling over and slightly pulling the mask causing a nice jet of air to be blown into your eyeballs!! Most people opt for the surgery after trying these things outs (according to the nurse). I could not get used to mine.

I decided to try to lose a few pounds to get rid of the snoring. That is working out about as well as the CPAP machine....

This will do the trick in the majority of cases.

 

[cigarsarge]

Wife has one too.

My wife and I also are sleep apnea victims. Our quality of life has improved drastically since we got hooked up with a cpap machine. I've been on mine for four years and she has been on hers for two. I don't even know I have mine on now.

My wife had a stroke that was contributed to by sleep apnea...So it's a serious matter. I sugest you wear it every night.

The only problem I've experenced is if we are wearing them and decide to "go at it" before we sleep...The damn hoses get all twisted together. It's a real pain in the ass to untangle them.

 

[NullSmurf]

Wife has one too.

My wife and I also are sleep apnea victims. Our quality of life has improved drastically since we got hooked up with a cpap machine. I've been on mine for four years and she has been on hers for two. I don't even know I have mine on now.

My wife had a stroke that was contributed to by sleep apnea...So it's a serious matter. I sugest you wear it every night.

The only problem I've experenced is if we are wearing them and decide to "go at it" before we sleep...The damn hoses get all twisted together. It's a real pain in the ass to untangle them.

Jeeze Ken, I'm eating! WAY too much information.

 

[ggiese]

Remember when Thor made you wear his jock on your face after gym class? Same thing, without the scent of Bengay.

...he could always smear a bit of BenGay into the facemask for that true "takes ya back" kinda feeling... :thumbs:

 

[Eldorado Wayne]

Been using my machine for over 5 years. I never got use to the mask setups so I use the nose pillows that look sort of like a snorkel. If you travel a lot make sure to ask for a small machine. I traveled several years with this monster machine and then finally had a tech tell me they had small travel machines. the smaller size sure makes a difference.

cannot sleep with out it anymore.

eldorado

 

[ngetal]

I've a had a CPAP for about a year and a half and I love it. I even take it with me when I travel. I know a lot of people end up taking it off in the middle of the night, but I have never found it to be that uncomfortable. I don't even think about it anymore.

ditto here... I didn't seem to have any trouble getting used to wearing it, and having a CPAP seems to have drastically improved things for me... according to my sleep study results, I went from being a "moderate" case (average 24 times per hour that I'd stop breathing) to practically nothing (average 0.7 times per hour). as with Swifty, mine also goes with me when I travel, even if it's just overnight to a friend's place -- and my friends appreciate it too, since I'm not keeping them awake at night with snoring that sounds like a rampaging bear :blush:

 

[Shooter]

puresleep.com worked for me. No more snoring at all. Worked the first night. I snore so loud people in the hotel room could hear me. However now that I use the puresleep I never wake up at night or toss and turn.

I was skeptical it was my last hope before going to a doctor and it worked. Lots of people use it on the road instead of a CPAP machine.

 

[cajunblaze]

I was diagnosed with it about a year and a half ago, and last Christmas underwent 3 different throat operations to open up my breathing. My tonsils, adenoids, and uvula were all removed. During my sleep studies after the surgery, my sleep apnea had disappeared. In fact, the only reason I joined CP was because I was in bed and surfing the net on new years eve, lol. It can be a scary situation, sleep apnea is definitely not something to take lightly....having been there, good luck on the sleep study.

The operation doesn't work for everyone. it didn't for me. I use it every night, it's almost a sleeping pill for me. I put the mask on and not five minutes later, I'm out! It does take time to get use to it, but it's worth it.

Rich

 

[Petthefish]

Had a cpap for 4 years now I have gotten where I can not sleep without it. rp

 

[BigJake6904]

I was diagnosed with it about a year and a half ago, and last Christmas underwent 3 different throat operations to open up my breathing. My tonsils, adenoids, and uvula were all removed. During my sleep studies after the surgery, my sleep apnea had disappeared. In fact, the only reason I joined CP was because I was in bed and surfing the net on new years eve, lol. It can be a scary situation, sleep apnea is definitely not something to take lightly....having been there, good luck on the sleep study.

The operation doesn't work for everyone. it didn't for me. I use it every night, it's almost a sleeping pill for me. I put the mask on and not five minutes later, I'm out! It does take time to get use to it, but it's worth it.

Rich

It may not work for everyone...but if it's covered by insurance...it's worth a shot to avoid the hassle of the machine.

 

[rectifythis]

FWIW, I have heard that apnea can be fixed with a certain type of magnesium....not sure which....and I think it takes 6 weeks to start working. Worth a shot, cheap an non-invasive if someone wanted to do the experiment.

 

[NullSmurf]

If you go with the CPAP, get a sports bottle that you can squirt from and keep it bedside. You WILL wake up from time to time with Sahara mouth.

 

[MadMonk]

I got used to the nose mask fairly quickly. Read all your instructions, and play with the head harness adjustments until you get it right.
Use one with a humidifier if you can get it. You add distilled water, and the humidity will keep your sinus cavity nice and comfy.
This will definitely improve your quality of life.
Best of luck! :thumbs:

 

[jorel]

I've been on the machine for 14 years. While I immediately slept better with it (I had as many as 50 incidents an hour), it took 3-4 months to get completely used to the straps, sleeping position, etc. But as most people have said - I won't go anywhere without it. I "upgraded" to new equipment about 5 years ago - which was even quieter than the first one.

Also as most have hinted - there's no romance once you're hooked up - unless the little lady likes Darth Vadar or the Elephant Man.

John

 

[Swifty]

Wife has one too.

My wife and I also are sleep apnea victims. Our quality of life has improved drastically since we got hooked up with a cpap machine. I've been on mine for four years and she has been on hers for two. I don't even know I have mine on now.

My wife had a stroke that was contributed to by sleep apnea...So it's a serious matter. I sugest you wear it every night.

The only problem I've experenced is if we are wearing them and decide to "go at it" before we sleep...The damn hoses get all twisted together. It's a real pain in the ass to untangle them.

I have a close friend who is now legally blind as a result of sleep apnea. His body was not getting enough oxygen so it started producing more blood to compensate and the pressure ended up crushing his optic nerves. Pretty sad really, as it was completely preventable. I and others tried for years to get him to go to the doctor. I highly recommend that anyone who thinks they might have apnea to not wait to get checked out.

 

[Rebel Herfer]

Tiara Boy - there is another treatment that is like a retainer that moves your lower jaw forward, ask your Dentist or Dr.; plus it won't interfere with the tiara or get hoses in places you don't want them when you and whomever are "going at it." I gave the info to Jake. Jake do you still have it? Post if you do. It was my X-GF's company.
I salute those of you with The Machine©, it seems like a bothersome contraption, but considering the alternative it's not so bad. I just have occasional biuts of insomnia. Good luck y'all. & of course Merry Christmas!

 

[Shooter]

Tiara Boy - there is another treatment that is like a retainer that moves your lower jaw forward, ask your Dentist or Dr.; plus it won't interfere with the tiara or get hoses in places you don't want them when you and whomever are "going at it." I gave the info to Jake. Jake do you still have it? Post if you do. It was my X-GF's company.
I salute those of you with The Machine©, it seems like a bothersome contraption, but considering the alternative it's not so bad. I just have occasional biuts of insomnia. Good luck y'all. & of course Merry Christmas!

puresleep it works

 

[Irish]

I've had mine for about 5 years and love it.

Brandon make sure you ask for a machine with a humidifier as your nasel passages in the winter time will get dry and irritated without one. I also bring mine when I travel.The only time I can't use it is when I'm camping with the family.

But give it time..it will not feel right at first but make yourself wear it and you'll see a world of good from it.

X2

I've had mine for about 2 years now and don't know how I functioned without it. When I had my original sleep tests done, the doc said I had one of the worst cases he'd seen in a while, I believe I was up over a hundred episodes an hour - he was astonished that I actually functioned during the day.

Depending on your individual case, a number of different things may work. Losing weight usually helps, but may not completely remedy it. If you're like me and have a short thick neck (19-20" neck, even in my slimmer football days), you'll still likely need something. Surgery helps some. That mouthpiece also works for those with pretty minor cases. The CPAP or BiPAP is one of the less intrusive and pretty effective treatments as long as you give yourself a chance to get used to the mask or air pillow.

There are actually 2 forms of sleep apnea - the first and most common is the physical obstruction due to either a large neck, tongue, or extra mass/weight around the throat. Then there's actually a neurological form of the condition which is much more rare - the cpap also helps this form to some extent. I've got a little of each.

For anyone that's been putting off looking into a treatment, I strongly advise going to the doctor ASAP. While you may be able to deal with the sore throat from snoring or needing that extra nap, there are some severe side effects that can develop if you don't get it treated. High blood pressure, hardening of the heart, and a slew of other heart and circulatory problems. My wife said I probably had it several years ago, but I blew it off because I didn't realize how dangerous it was. I started developing high blood pressure, and that ended up being the culprit. Go for the test!

Best of luck with it Brandon, if you need some more info please feel free to PM me.

 

[bfreebern]

What an experience. Never snorkeled out of water and that's how I felt. The machine I used, per the tech was the latest/greatest, and auto adjusted to my breathing/etc.

After getting hooked up with all the cords, even the ones in my damn hair, I realized I had forgotten the Ambien my doctor gave me. I usually don't have a hard time falling asleep, but I sure as hell did last night.

The biggest thing at first was the noise of me breathing in/out with the mask. My mind kept doing crazy things, making me think I wasn't breathing in a correct pattern or just not breathing at all. It was very strange. The other thing was when I opened my mouth, it felt like I was suffocating and I couldn't talk when the tech asked me a question.

Next step is to wait on the doctor with a prescription, I'm guessing. I'm friggin' tired today, gotta get more coffee.