Thanks for joining, SleepyCarol! Please check back daily --- I'll be posting something new everyday.

Best,
Mike

Thanky for the Welcome, I have just been feeling my way around and reading some really great articles on here.(In between watching Bones and Miami CSI..lolol). I really like this site. I feel comfortable here. Looks like some really good folks on here ...

Carol,
Thanks so much for the info on the software and also the other group where I can get more info on my machine. It is complex and I love it, but do have more questions about it than the Respiratory Therapist was able to answer, and my physician only tells me that this is what I need for my central sleep apnea.........no further explanations! I do see the doc tomorrow and intend to ask him a lot of questions, as he is treating not only my sleep apnea, but also the emphysema, and several other problems.
Again, thanks for the info! And I hope you will add me to your "friends" on sleepguide.com
Melodie

THanks!

(actually his wife Victoria typing) I haven't gotten treatment because in order to go to a sleep clinic you have to have a refferal. I balk terribly at the thought of going to a Dr. unless I'm bleeding. Also, the friends I've talked to (several) have either had the surgery or tried the mask .......to no avail. Did I also mention that my wife tells me that what I feel is what she hears when she lays her head on my chest. My heart skips a beat periodically. About every 30 beats.

Just found this site, I have been on CPAP since 1998 and starting on monday I will be on BPAP due to my resent sleep study since I was in a car accident almost 2 years ago and recieved a head injury along with other problems. They found out that I am now having Central sleep Apnea. I just came back from one of my friends house who will be going in for a sleep study soon. Both him and is older brother were in Vietnam and were exposed to agent orange. His brother just died at age 61 this past Nov. due to sleep apena which was one of the many problems that he had due to agent orange. He having some of the same problems with his heart and low o2 levels in his blood. He was wondering if anyone else has seen a possible link to Sleep Apnea and Agent Orange. He is going to the VA and they are the ones who will be doing the sleep study. They want to do a home study first before they do due one in a sleep center. I have never heard anything like that being done before. But I guess the VA is trying to save money. I told him about this site with hopes that it might help him.
Thanks
Rich M.

Hi. I am not sure which Respironics machine nor which mask that i use. but I use them faithfully every night. I have been on CPAP for almost 5 years. I have talked with CPAP reps and they told me that insurance will pay for a new machine every 5 years, so I am excited to learn about the new machines that are available in my area. Supposedly they are quieter and have better masks.

Thanks for the comment.

-doug-

Thanks, it will be great to have someone to talk to who has been there done that!!
I have had a machine since 2002. I haven't had very much sucess in using it. I have tried most of the masks and always find myself ripping it off by 4 am after not having had very good sound sleep.
I recently have tried using a nose strip and taping my mouth shut....It seems to me to work well.
I would like to be tested doing this but my sleep center won't do it! "They don't want to take the risk!" I'm very frustrated about the whole process!!

I've been on CPAP since October 2004. My wife suspected I had sleep apnea and suggested I talk to my internal medicine doctor. He said since I had no physical signs (such as being grossly overweight with a large neck) there was no chance I had sleep anea,
Two years later I told the same doctor about an incident I had had on vacation. My brother (who has sleep apnea) and I slept in the same room at my sister's cabin. He said I kept him awake with my snoring and he saw me gasping for air.
The doctor arranged a steep study right away.

I've had several sleep studies, all of which diagnosed moderate sleep apnea. I tried CPAP and couldn't tolerate the face mask (even the "new" squishy one - this was a few years ago). I had an oral appliance custom-made by an orthodontist; it helps a little but not much.

Thanks so much. I didn't mind the air pressure, but the mask made me feel very claustrophobic. I couldn't fall asleep with it on; I couldn't keep it on for more than an hour. I changed HMOs recently and just requested an appointment with my PCP to get back on this. Thanks.

I have had two home tests done but both failed due to either not enough data collected or a wire coming out. I was told that I might have a mild case because of my small nose and air way passages. This causes me to snore at times.
I should go to take a sleep test but I am not looking forward to it. The place that my husband went to is like a hospital and I hate hospitals. There is a new sleep lab opening up in my area in a month or two that is more inviting and comfortable. I plan on going there.

Thanks S-carol, I didn't know I could ask for that. They were willing to give a RX for the study, but , the sleep center wouldn't do it.
Can this be done at home?
My masks leak all over the place even with them being very snug on my face leaving marks. The next day day my eyes tear like crazy! The nasal pillow gives me "piggy nose".

Happy New Year! Someone you referred to me on this forum has contacted me and I decided to join up to check it out. Bret

Mind? Well, how about Thanks! And Happy New Year. This little product works very well--mountains of testimonials to prove it. Marketing--now that's been something of a challenge. So every little bit helps!

Bret

Hey Sleepy Carol,

I use the Resmed Mirage Quattro Full Face Mask. Did you try this mask and/or others before settling on the Fisher/Paykel? Do you like your mask? I was thinking of trying a different/alternating so I don't indent my face too much in the same spots!

sounds like you've been through a lot of masks. if the mood every strikes you to write on one, i think it'd make a good discussion topic.

Carol, I wish I knew the answers to your questions and realized that not only do I know the answers but the last time I was tested was in the mid 1990's. I really need to connect with some one here to get tested again! Thanks for asking the questions. As to how I lost weight? I went to my local hospital's wellness center to a Non-surgical Weight Loss Program. The program emphasizes exploration of eating behavior, nutrition, and fitness. The program is saving my life, literally. I hope this is helpful. Jan

HI,thanks for the welcome! I have been on cpap for a little over a year. My cpap says "Compact" on the top of it and S8 on the right hand bottom top. I love my cpap and can't even imagine sleeping without it. It truly changed my life.

I have thought about it. A little history... My late husband snored like a freight train - he slept with cpap after having a very revealing sleep study. Fast forward... I have remarried and my new husband wakes me all night long because I'm snoring. I never knew I snored. I have gained about 30 pounds that I can't shed - which doesn't help and I have frequent headaches and constant fatigue. So, I know I need one and will likely have one in the coming month (new insurance). Evidently, I snore in any position and without any consistancy - I snore for awhile then I don';t, Not necessarily every breath.

Thanks!

I did not realize that until I read information on this site. I frequently awaken with a severe headache. Sometimes they go away, but most times they worsen. I have difficulty concentrating and have word finding problems. I'll keep you updated.

I was just diagnosed last month and just did the cpap study at the sleep center last Saturday, so don't even think my doctor has the results from that test.
Had a hard time adjusting to any of the masks. Any suggestions of questions to ask my doctor is most appreciated. Thank you for the welcome!

Thanks Carol,
I see you post quite a bit over on cpaptalk. I can not tell you enough how helpful these forums are for people with OSA. I can not believe how little help you get from your Dr. , DME, or RT.

If it were not for these forums what would all these people do. I read these posts and I get crazy thinking about all these people with no where to turn. I myself, am having a pretty tuff go of it, it seems somedays I sleep well and then the next couple of days are rough. I guess it will just take some time.
I have had my machine about 25 days now and I have not spoken to anyone but the guys and girls over on cpaptalk. Can you believe that not a doctor 's office call to ask if you are doing OK ??? NOTHING.

Well thanks for the greeting,
Stay and sleep well.

Jerry

I need that somebody answer my question. I´m new in this page and I don´t know how to use it. My daughter is 8 years old and she has a sleeping problem, she wakes up but her brain don´t. This morning she got one epidose like this, she was shaking (involuntarie moves) but she could not breath, its the first time that something like this happen. Somebody can tell me what I have to do

Carol, thank you for answer me so fast. Next Friday she will be in a hospital for 24 hours, so the doctor can make all the studies, we do not have a diagnostic yet, but all these seems to be a problem when she is asleep. I¨m really worried about all these. I will tell you what she has when teh doctor give us the results. But I´m really afraid because is the first time she can not breath

Thanks for the welcome, carol, I've been on a cpap for just about a year now...can still remember quite clearly the first time I used it, however, and would never go back to life without it.
I come from a family of olympic class snorers: real window-rattlers. My daughter once complained about my keeping her awake and her room is in the basement!
Anyway, I've just found this group and will lurk around for a bit, it's nice to find some fellow "darth vaders"....

No I have not thought about a sleep study. This is my first info I have found on the matter. I never really thought I had a problem, except with snoring. My husband is always telling me that I wake my self up with my snoring, but now I know better.. What is sleep study??

Hello Carol,

I manage a sleep lab, score studies, educate patients on the results of their studies( since many dr's will not or are not able to properly interpret a study and relay it back so patients can understand what is actually going on). Me and my husband are also contracted with a company to deliver CPAP machines to patients homes and educate them on the machine and use of CPAP. We go above and beyond what other DME's are doing. I have been reading many stories on this site about the poor service that is given and I'm very proud of the what we do. It's great to see the support given on this site and I'm very excited to be part of it.

I had to look it up, i am using the REMStar Pro with the additional humidifier. I do not know what the style of mask is that I am using. I use a full face mask because I have a deviated septum and cannot use the nasal mask. i have been on Therapy for about 3 years and my Cpap is set at 10, I would like for it to be higher...