Hi Janey!! You're welcome for my welcome! LOL!
Glad to have you onboard...

Susan :-)

Welcome to the forum.

Here you will find caring patients and professionals that care about your health. Sleep apnea can be deadly and with the help and support of this group, I have been able to be 100% compliant and improve my health.

Please feel free to join in the discussions, add a discussion, or just lurk. We are glad you are here

Hey Janey!

When were you diagnosed? I have been using a CPAP for about 2 years now and it makes a 100% difference. I couldn't even stay awake before I got mine. My sats dropped to 61%, pretty bad from what they tell me.

I use the 407 mask and yes it did take some getting used to. It drove me crazy at first, but after about 2 weeks you kind of get used to it and now I can't sleep without it. I feel like I'm suffocating if I don't have it on. The mask just goes over my nose so it isn't too bad. I'm just glad that I don't fall asleep like I did before. Now I can drive to the coast:) Believe it or not, this will help with the depression too. I had to take pills for years and now I don't take them anymore. I was told that if I had gone too long without being treated I could have had a heart attack too. Scary huh?

We are all doing fine here. I am working from home now and Petey is diving again. He should be home friday. He is down in California. His last trip home he brought another cat!!! I swear he can't have enough cats running around out here. I guess it's good that we are in the country. Did you get another pet? We need to plan a weekend when Rich is home, either you can come down here or we can come up there or meet in the middle somewhere. How is everyone doing there? Well, it's great to hear from you. talk to you soon. L.

That's GREAT news, Janey. Especially that he got through his bypass, and also that he was diagnosed with apnea as well. That'll make his recovery go much better if he'll accept CPAP in the hospital. What a blessing!--not for him, I'm sure, but it'll prolong his life in a major way. I have heart disease too, so I have some sense of how important treatment is for him. Good for you, that you kept after him. He won't be as shocked having heard it from you before. (He'll probably be more shocked that his "child" was right!!!
Take care--thanks for letting me know, and keep us posted.
Susan McCord :-)

Thinking about you, Janey. Hope your dad continues to recover well. It's a long haul sometimes, but he'll feel so much better. Kinda like us, with apnea. Work your ass off in the beginning and reap the rewards later on....

Hugs!

Susan McCord :-)

Janey, how's your dad getting along?

And how are you holding up? I'm thinking about you.....

Susan McCord :-)

Hi Janey--so glad to hear from you and happy your dad is doing well, all things considered. I can only imagine how exhausted you must be, both with your father so ill and with your struggle with sleep apnea. My heart is with you....

Re: online support groups for your dad and for family, check out the following:

1. Internet Cardiac (or "heart") support groups

2. Mended Hearts is good

3. Heart2Hearts is also good

4. There are a LOT of resources of differing kinds, including educational sites, that
may be helpful to you/ family and to him as he begins a long recovery process.

5. Key words for search = "cardiac", "heart", "support", "information", "education"

6. You might also check Oregon online support groups and/or groups that may be
in his actual area that he may want to attend when he gets a little stronger.

7. Having led cancer support groups and being a heart patient myself, I can
assure you that a good support group is worth its weight in gold.

You may want to check out some of these ahead of time to what you think may be most appropriate for him. There are a lot of things available, and it might be overwhelming for him to try to ferret out himself, especially if he's just home from bypass. That's a vulnerable time, and he's bound to be totally exhausted with physical healing a priority. He may very well NOT want to investigate internet stuff right away. If not, just keep a memo to yourself of a few sites that might be good. Many of them have that green check mark attached. I'd go with those first. If they're commercial or marketing sites, move on. Most of this stuff is free and SHOULD be!

Take care, honey, and let me know how things are going.

Is it okay with you if I post a notice to SleepGuide members about your dad? I won't do it without your permission, or if you'd rather do it yourself. There's a lot of support for you on SG, as well as with online groups that support family members.

Talk to you soon.

Susan McCord :-)

Janey, we all hope your Dad is doing ok, and you are taking care of yourself
during this trying time, let us know when you are rested, ok?
Thinking of you...
Gordon, wife Linda, Susan, and Sleepguide Gang.

Hi Janey- hope you don't mind I posted my "opinion" There are times when we are so taxed, emotionally, taking care of loved ones, that it's better to concentrate on the issue at hand, your CPAP therapy can wait, just take multi vitamins and try to eat well, and get as much rest as you can right now, and realize your stress will pass in a few months, things will get ironed-out.
thinking of you, Gordon, Linda and all your friends at SleepGuide