hi rick and welcome

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.

Well my Lord, Rick, you've sure had more than your share of health challenges to deal with. More than any one person should have to manage in a lifetime...I applaud your efforts to lose weight, d/c alcohol, and the other lifestyle changes you're making. Is your sleep MD respectful of your history? Are you getting treatment via the V.A.?

I'm certain my dad had apnea like your dad. My older son, 47, who was diagnosed with heart disease in 2005, same as I was, also has apnea but doesn't tolerate CPAP and is getting NO treatment. Scares me to death but he's well-grown and needs to make his own healthcare decisions.

Before I go any further, I just want to sincerely thank you for your outstanding service to our country. As far as I'm concerned, all vets (especially combat vets) should receive nothing but gold standard treatment in general.

What's the interaction between the meds you take for narcolepsy and then trying to sleep with CPAP at night? Seems as though if the two overlap, that could cause you difficulty with sleeping at night. Is that the case? I really don't know 'cause I'm not that familiar with the ins and outs of narcolepsy....

I was happy to welcome you to SG before. Now I'm VERY glad you found SleepGuide. There's a great deal of powerful support to be had, not the least of which includes several sleep professionals who are dedicated to volunteering their time to apnea support and treatment.

Hey, you might want to check out the SG Book Club--there are several books on there that have been written by some of our docs on SG. The cool thing is that if you have any questions about them, you can contact the authors directly 'cause they're members of SG!

Hope to see you actively involved in Discussions on here. You'll gain a lot, and I think you also have a LOT to offer the rest of us.....

Susan :-)

Good morning, Rick--I was diagnosed late June '09. Have been on CPAP for nearly 3 months.

How 'bout you? How did you find SleepGuide? I just happened on it while seeking info way back in June. Was immediately struck by the active community and the nature of the interactions. Haven't doubted this is the place for me ever since.

Glad to hear back from you!

Susan :-)