Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mike on April 16, 2009 at 10:55pm

This is my absolutely favorite topic because there's so much to look forward to once you get your sleep apnea under control. For me, I went from being chronically depressed without energy to talk on the phone with friends, go out and socialize, etc., to waking up each morning with a positive attitude and full of energy to tackle anything that the day threw at me. It was literally that dramatic. My wife and everyone else in my life took notice and commented on how much more upbeat i looked/acted. It didn't happen overnight. I had to tweak my treatment, experiment with different masks and pressure settings and machines and pillows, but it did happen. That's the start of my pep talk. look forward to what other people have to say... so many lives have been turned around with CPAP.

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Permalink Reply by PD Laire on April 18, 2009 at 2:03am

knew i was getting some real benefit when for the first time in years i felt i had enough energy to play tennis again.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Hargett on April 18, 2009 at 2:33am

I knew CPAP was working after only 4 days, when I was able to go without my normal weekend 2-3 hour nap. Over a short period of time, I was able to reduce the number of hours I would sleep, from about 9 down to 6 for a while; over the years I've migrated back to 8 hours as optimal for me. I had energy again, wasn't sleepy driving TO work in the morning. No longer would I start to nod off at my computer in the later afternoon hours or over a book I was reading at lunch.

I've been on CPAP for 15 years now and I'm still more active and feeling better at near age 60 (next month), than I was at age 45. For me, CPAP was really a miracle come true!

Dave Hargett

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Permalink Reply by Linda Parsons on April 18, 2009 at 8:23am

Elissa,
I had some difficulties getting used to the cpap, but it was mostly due to the fact that I had diabetes and didn't know it at the time. Once I got on my diabetes medication and lyrica for leg pain, I started to sleep so much better than ever before. I had gained lots of weight due to not being able to exercise. In two weeks after adjusting to the cpap, I was exercising and lost ten pounds. I wake up with so much more energy. I am not at my best yet, due to adjustments to my diabetes as well, but I am getting there. CPAP does take time to become accustomed to, but when it happens, you will feel a world of difference. Make sure you don't give up on it. Talk to your respiratory therapist who works with the company providing the equipment, or the sleep center when you are not sure what adjustments you need to make.
Good luck and sweet dreams! I started remembering dreams again, which I had not for years. It will be incredible!
Linda

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Permalink Reply by martin oshea on April 18, 2009 at 9:17am

Elissa,
After two years of struggles, I am CPAP free. I started running as much as I hated it. John Binhams books helped a lot.
Now I just need to get off all meds, (blood pressure) and I will put it all behind me. It a tough haul but you can do it!

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Permalink Reply by Pamela Simmons on April 18, 2009 at 9:45am

It has helped me a lot..................but it takes patience to get thru the procedure and then getting used to using the cpap.

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Permalink Reply by Jeffrey Donaldson on April 18, 2009 at 10:16am

Hi Elissa. A whole lot of things changed when I got my C-Pap. My depression went away, my heart palpatations stopped, my acid reflex improved, I started dreaming again, I stopped falling alseep during the day. Just to name a few. The one thing that I found amazing was how clear and bright everything seemed right after the first night on C-Pap. There should be a lot of things that will improve and disappear. Some you know about and some you probably have no idea are connected to sleep apnea. There will be an adjustment period to the mask. but keep a positive attitude. I WANT to feel better so I HAVE to use this.
Good luck and let us know how you are doing.

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Permalink Reply by Barbara on April 18, 2009 at 11:42am

After about a week on the CPAP I was starting to get use to it. Then got allergy/cold/flu/some wild disease that is producing more sn*t from my head than I have ever seen in my life . Cpap got filled with sn*t after a massive sneeze (about smothered to death as well) and that thing came off. Have not used in in 4 nights :o(. Actually miss it. Hopefully will be well soon and back on the PAP. As soon as I see any improvements I'll post - it is exciting to think of things getting better :o)
Barbara

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Permalink Reply by sleepycarol on April 18, 2009 at 3:40pm

martin oshea said:

Elissa,
After two years of struggles, I am CPAP free. I started running as much as I hated it. John Binhams books helped a lot.
Now I just need to get off all meds, (blood pressure) and I will put it all behind me. It a tough haul but you can do it!

Have you had another sleep study done to determine if you are actually free from sleep apnea episodes and blood oxygen tests to determine if you oxygen levels are staying up at night?

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Permalink Reply by susan finn on April 18, 2009 at 5:12pm

I feel SO much better....I can tell a HUGE diff on the nites that I get lazy & don't put it on....and sometimes when i do that I wake up & feel like i've run a race...my ribs even hurt, i guess from trying to breathe...SO, it's definitly worth sticking with once you get started...you'll see a noticible diff in your life (sorry I'm having trouble spelling)...my concentration & focus at work is improved too....

just stick with it!

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Permalink Reply by Dawn on April 18, 2009 at 9:41pm

Hi Elissa. Welcome to the world of diagnosed and treated sleep apnea. Feeling frustrated and worn from trying to get used to using CPAP? Hang in there...here's my story.....

I had other physical problems...hypertension I could not control and very bad swelling in my lower legs and feet and the worst of it was pulmonary hypertension---which is super bad to have. With CPAP all those things are now under control. Last echo of my heart showed I had near-normal pulmonary pressures (thank you God, thank you CPAP machine), my lower legs and feet are no longer swollen, and my blood pressure is awesome--110/70 (still on meds, but it is controlled now). There is a question of if my heart-racing problems are due to sleep apnea or not, but there is no way in hell I am stopping those meds to find out the hard way that it is not related to sleep apnea.

And the funny part---those are not the best things that happened to me. The best? For one, sex is a heck of a lot more fun when you are not dead-tired all of the time. Second, years and years ago I had been writing a novel and gradually I just lost interest in it. I had no idea why. After my sleep apnea was treated, it was sudden and dramatic---- I picked up that book and just started writing away...almost as if I had never put it down at all, as if that part of my brain never noticed the 14 or so years of not working. I find music much more enjoyable. I wake up and just go and get things done--and that I noticed after I used the CPAP for the very first time in the sleep lab: on the way home that morning I stopped at the mall and joined the early morning "mall walkers"---and I had never ever before been any sort of a morning person.

So hang in there. It is worth it all. There is no medicine in the world I could take that could make me feel this good and have so much life. Good luck with all the pain-in-the-arse issues, such as getting used to breathing with that thing on your face, waking up with the mask laying next to you rather than on, having to keep a constant supply of distilled water at your side, having to wash the thing out weekly with vinegar, and hauling the machine with you where ever you go. Considering all the positive things treating my sleep apnea has done, I consider it the best thing I ever did for myself and my family.

Now how is that for a pep talk?

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Permalink Reply by Kristina Zabala on April 19, 2009 at 2:31am

CPAP's aren't magic, but once you start sleeping better you will see improvements in your energy levels and brain power. My Neurologist first prescribed a CPAP for me when I started having seizures. He says that the only time the brain heals itself is while you are asleep. I've been using a CPAP for seven years. The biggest improvement that I noticed was that when I wake up I feel awake and energized, like you're supposed to after you sleep. I used to wake up all through the night when I stopped breathing. Now I don't stop breathing, so I don't wake up so much, and my brain has more of a chance to heal. I'm seven years older now (mid-forties) and now I don't need naps. Before I started using my CPAP I sure did need them because I absolutely couldn't stay awake in the afternoon. It took awhile to get used to using the CPAP, but it's worth it! Now I fall asleep immediately when I put it on, and STAY asleep. Oh, and my husband can sleep too now that I don't snore any more.

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