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CPAP saved my life
In January of 2006 I finally succumbed to my wife's relentless requests to get a sleep study. I had been an incredibly loud snorer for over a decade; and was always tired. Additionally, I was often irritable and even depressed. The sleep study results showed that I was waking up over 100 times an hour. Essentially, I had not been in deep sleep for over a decade. I have severe sleep apnea.
This condition had been a strain on my happiness, marriage, parenting, career and health for years. In February of 2006 I began using a CPAP device. It immediately had countless positive effects in my life, including:
+ Real sleep for me and my wife
+ More energy to exercise
+ Happiness, no more depression
+ Focus improved significantly at work
+ More patience helped me be a better husband and father
+ All these changes improved my home life and career significantly
If my story reminds you of your life or that of someone you love, please do all you can to get a sleep study done. Life deserves to be better.
This condition had been a strain on my happiness, marriage, parenting, career and health for years. In February of 2006 I began using a CPAP device. It immediately had countless positive effects in my life, including:
+ Real sleep for me and my wife
+ More energy to exercise
+ Happiness, no more depression
+ Focus improved significantly at work
+ More patience helped me be a better husband and father
+ All these changes improved my home life and career significantly
If my story reminds you of your life or that of someone you love, please do all you can to get a sleep study done. Life deserves to be better.
Views: 475
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Daniel on
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I have a patient at SomniHealth with a similar story. His boss noticed the improved focus at work, and he got a major promotion, which my patient attributed 100% to his use of CPAP.
Congratulations.
Daniel
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Permalink Reply by Sugarshirl on
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I agree with you 100% because I went through almost the same experience. I noticed that I was sitting up on the side of the bed doing my sleeping for about three years before I was tested. My CPAP is a great comfort to me because when I put it on at night, I know I will wake up in the morning. Having a bad heart and being told that I stopped breathing 90 times an hour really scared me. Today in pulmonary rehab the discussion part was on oxygen and equipment so I talked about my CPAP. There were only two others in the group that had Sleep Apnea, so of course I invited them to join this group of wonderful people. Thanks for posting your story as the more we know, the better we can help ourselves and others. Congrats on all the improvements in your life.
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Permalink Reply by Belinda Haman on
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I am new to cpap therapy and your story is very encouraging.....I have not used my cpap long enough yet to reap the benefits...but, I am looking forward to the positive results you have experienced with your therapy....
How long did it take for you to feel better, I was wondering you said you suffered depression were you on antidepressants and if you were have you gone off of them due to the cpap thereapy???
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Permalink Reply by BeeAsleep on
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I am looking forward to one day having a story like yours to share. So far, nothing is different, but it hasn't been that long, only since early April. Your story is encouraging, that so much so for sharing.
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Permalink Reply by tushygalore on
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Does this mean that I lose my "zombie" status when I get my cpap next month? WooHOO!
Thank you for posting this inspirational account! I'm still waiting on my sleep study but I'm keeping toes and fingers crossed that I'll get results like yours once I'm no longer choking my way through every night.
Thank you!!!
-Elissa-
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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on
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Thanks, I needed a success story this week.. This is why I do what I do.
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While we all hope you will immediately lose "zombie status," it may not work out that way for you. At SomniHealth, when we set up patients with CPAP machines, we explain that part of our role is to set proper expectations for the patient. If you think you're going to feel like a million bucks after one night of CPAP, what will happen if you don't feel any better? You may get discouraged and give up. While some people wake up the morning after their first night of CPAP and say, "That was the best night of sleep I've ever had!," the reality is that they are a very small minority. Many people initially sleep worse as they get used to sleeping with a mask pumping pressurized air into their nose.
In order to be successful, think of it as a very gradual process. Feeling more alert is highly subjective. Often, it creeps up on you and you aren't aware that you're feeling better until you have an "Aha!" moment. For me, it was when I was driving for 2 1/2 hours and suddenly realized that I wasn't sleepy (after 6 months with CPAP). For someone else I know, it was when he realized that the first cup of coffee he poured for himself was only half finished and cold at 11:30 am. Before CPAP, he was drinking a pot and a half before noon.
The fact that you are on this forum and educating yourself is a very good sign, and will probably improve your likelihood to lose Zombie Status. Good luck!
tushygalore said:Does this mean that I lose my "zombie" status when I get my cpap next month? WooHOO!
Thank you for posting this inspirational account! I'm still waiting on my sleep study but I'm keeping toes and fingers crossed that I'll get results like yours once I'm no longer choking my way through every night.
Thank you!!!
-Elissa-
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Permalink Reply by bonesigh on
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While the therapy is working for me in some respects it is not in others. I no longer have to get up to use the bathroom several times a night. I am less tired and I feel comfort in knowing that I am not stressing out my heart. I am however still having problems with depression and being very irritable. It's very hard to get things accomplished that don't absolutely have to be done. Like dealing with getting my therapy correct so I can be like Logan above!
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Permalink Reply by Richard Neider on
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I concur wholeheartily with your comments. I have been on CPAP for only 4 months and I have realized some of the same benefits you described. I am glads that I finally decided to have a sleep test and get help with a problem that I have had for way too many years. Thanks to my doctor who convinced me to take a test. I am sure glad that he did that. I no longer snore and get a good nites sleep most nites. Hooray for CPAP.
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Indeed! I made a list of over 25 effects that CPAP and sleep had on my life! Both obvious and more nuanced. I too had decades of insomnia. Sleep deprivation is devastating and can be so quickly reversed! Freedom from sleeplessness equals a more happy and compassionate life. Bravo. Melba
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Permalink Reply by Dave Hargett on
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Well, I have much the same story as the original poster in this thread. My diagnosis came back in 1994, though. So I've been on CPAP for 14-1/2 years so far, very successfully. My "Aha" moment came only 4 days into therapy when I realized that I had not taken my Saturday afternoon nap and was still feeling good at 11 pm on Saturday night. I've never looked back!
I still wound up having heart surgery in 2000 for clogged arteries, but there is a family history plus I now realize that I had undiagnosed apnea for 25 years - I flunked a military draft physical in the late Viet Nam years due to high blood pressure and I was already snoring like a freight train at that point. In fact, it was two days after my heart bypass surgery (I was still in the hospital recovering) when the health news for the day was the fact that UNtreated sleep apnea can be a primary cause of hypertension (Journal of American Medical Association). This was 30 years after I flunked that draft physical!
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Permalink Reply by KoryeLogan on
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It is truly wonderful to hear the conversations in this little thread I was encouraged to post. Yes for me the overnight success of my life being saved by CPAP took over a year. It began with my wife hearing a radio commercial for St. Joseph's sleep center in Santa Ana, California. After asking me to get a sleep study patiently for many months, I finally agreed.
Once I got my machine, each night my body and mind began to rejuvenate a little bit. By the time six months had passed I had become a new person, energized and filled with a new zest for life and a passionate mind ready to work like I hadn't been able to in years. Meanwhile, a similar transformation was occurring for my wife. Remember, she had also been sleep deprived for years due to my sleep apnea. My sweet angel of a wife would sleep with her head by my feet with three pillows over her ears... still moving out to the couch many nights. It actually took her longer to rejuvenate than it did me.
I was actually inspired to share my story this week, as my CPAP broke and I had to live without it for five days. Those five days were incredibly scary, each day and night becoming worse than the one before. By the last day, I was doing all I could to remain calm and poised while working. Yet my body was breaking down, focus was rapidly becoming increasingly difficult and I was at times overwhelmed with anxiety. It reminded me of how broken my life was before diagnosis and treatment; and how this negatively impacted my wife and son as well. This led me to share my story with the hope that perhaps one person, and thus one family's, world might be made new again.
God speed,
Korye
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