Hi Susan,

I am feeling so much better. I have been doing a lot of sleeping, but now I feel more refreshed. Thank you for the info. I am going to go check them out and email my dad one or two to get him started. =). If you want to post please do, I guess I am really shy, lol. Take Care,

Hugs,
Janey Clark

Hi Susan, thanks for the welcome. This site was mentioned on another apnea forum I belong to so I thought I'd spread my wings a bit. As soon as I become familiar with things around here, hopefully I can join in with my perspective as the spouse of a cpapper as well as have some of my own questions answered as well. Thanks again. Spouse

Hi Susan,

I am doing ok... So exhausted, we just got back home last night. Dad is in Oregon and we are in Washington. I have to say that this last week was the most stressful that I have ever encountered. Dad is doing well. They did a quad bypass on Tuesday, and he finally was able to come home today. He is madder then a hornets nest when he found out that I cancelled my second sleep study and delayed getting my cpap for a month so I can be there for his surgery. Do you know of any "user friendly" forums or websites for heart patients? We finally got dad on the computer. He only visits his email and craigslist. I am going to see if I can find him something similiar to this site for bypass patients. I think it will help him.

Thank you,

Janey

thank you for adding me as a friend. it's nice to know i am not the only masked woman out there. :)

hi susan, i just happened upon this site today. thank you. i was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea in july. while i am not pleased with my new lifetime bed "partner", i realize how life saving/enhancing the CPAP is. i am divorced and have just ended a long term relationship with a man who had a CPAP machine as well. it was an easy entry into being "seen" with my mask, as he had been a longtime user. now being newly single, i dread having to introduce this to another man. it is making be relationship shy. also is it necessary to use the demineralized water as prescribed and any time saving cleaning tips thanks, ivy.

Hi Susan

Just checking in, thank you for your support! My dad just got out of surgery a couple of hours ago. He had a quad bypass. They let me see him for a minute in the ICU. The nurse was telling us all about the surgery, and then what really stuck out was " and he has sleep apnea". Lol so the first thing I inquire about instead of the heart was the apnea. He is so stubborn he would not listen to me when I first started to talk to him about getting checked out! Anyways thanks again. He is doing well and I will be here with him for the week. I only read a few of your posts, hope they get resolved soon!

Janey

REALLY ALL I WANT TO DO IT SIT DOWN AND CRY BUT I KNOW HOW STUPID THAT IT AND HOW SELFISH AND SELF-CENTERED THAT MAKES ME APPEAR.

Oh my Gosh Susan......I just got my CPAP this afternoon and I'M LOST! I have this horrible range of emotions.....anger that I have OSA and have to use this icky machine, scared that I won't use it correctly......afraid that I'll have a bloody and sore nose forever like after the testing, afraid that if I don't use it my health will continue to deteriorate, afraid that my cats will want to chew on it, afraid that I won't be able to sleep, afraid that it'll affect my personal intimate life, trying to figure out where I'll hide it before company comes over......and then the good feelings......happy with the great machine I got and that my insurance is paying 100% until the end of the year, happy that I'm more fortunate than others......BUT right now I'm having a hard time focusing on the positive things about it.

Hi Rick--first, re: post-Vietnam--that's a shameful piece of this country's history. There were SO MANY of us who were enraged by the stuff you guys went through, what little of it we really knew. I've always wondered how much of the lack of care came out of governmental policy. 'Nam vets got screwed. There's just no question in my mind about it. You guys were the ones who were keeping us safe and doing what they'd been trained to do.

I'm sorry, Rick. I'm really sorry you and all your brothers have had to put with such bullshit. You all deserved so much better.....still do......

So.... back to apnea.....I'm glad you have a good, pro-active MD. That can make all the difference in the world in how treatment goes, ANY kind of treatment. Hey, do you know the actual name of the that date rape drug? I don't know that I've ever heard it called anything else. I wonder what it's actually used for, what it's actually Rx'd for.....

'Ya know, Rick, the way you've gotten right into this Forum makes me know you're gonna be a bigtime contributor. I don't think you need to be concerned about that. You've already got what it takes, which is caring about your own health and caring about other people's struggles. Hell, you could write the book on that last one, I'm sure.....and you'll get a lot back from us in the process. I may only know you in cyberspace, but I can tell already that you're a class act.

Re: the snoring solution ads: there's been a fair amount of discussion onsite about whether or not those ads lead people away from treatment by lulling them into believing all they have to do is stop snoring and they'll be all right. On the other hand, there are quite a few patients who use a chin strap to keep from breathing through their mouths. One guy on here uses an athletic headband and it works just fine for probably only 10 bucks!!

(I'm pretty sure I need one 'cause I wake up with a really dry mouth a lot of times. I'm not thrilled with the thought of having yet one more thing circling my head when I sleep, but reality's reality, right?)

The expressed concern about the ads is the way some of them are worded, i.e., touted as "a cure", when we all know there's no overall cure in sight, even with treatment.

Glad to hear from you, Rick. And I'm really happy to have you on SG. I'll look forward to seeing you online!!

Susan :-)

Hi again Susan,

Thank you for the comment about service men & women. We were outcasts as the Viet Nam war came to a close, but I didn't realize how bad we were throught of until many years later. I spent 7 1/2 years either in Viet Nam or flying over Laos, Cambodia or Viet Nam.

Mt MD is great, knows all my medical history, because I brought it to him. He wanted to try me on some drug to help me sleep before I started using the CPAP daily. The problem is the drug was the Date Rape Drug. I's used to treat some people with Sleep Apnea, believe it or not. I resprectfully declined.

The Provigial doesn't bother affect my sleeping because I take them during the morning and at Noon. I also take some sleep medication to relax me before I put on the CPAP.

I also have Migrane headaches which are a result of many things including; concusions, anxiety, depression, lack of a normal nights sleep, PTSD, and 21 1/2 years in the military

I hope I can contribute to the group and maybe I'll even learn something.

Oh, I saw an add on the right side of this page with an article of "Comfortable & Effective Anti-Snoring product. The article was by Stephen Matthews who also in vented the "My Snoring Solution Jaw Supporter Very interesting along with very detailed articles from CNN and others all about Sleep Apnea and using this device and others.

Thanks again, Rick.

Thanks Susan.
Your such good value. Im feeling calm now so i'll go get these doors painted.. I have painted the whole house in the last 6 months but just cant bring myself to finish the job.. (glenda eyes off the couch and the remote as an alternative)

Glenda.

Hi Susan,
Thanks for your persistence.. im just sorting myself out and working out your site. Im quite fuzzy most of the time and loose concentration and enthusiasm way too easily. I have a senile old dog and the kids call me by his name now cos I have surpassed his level of awareness! Often things just dont sink in.. Ill be preparing for an appointment half an hours drive away, 10 minutes before im to be there.. etc etc.
I have been lucky to be on income protection insuance for the past 9 months.. but just now my employer has decided to close my position.. weeks from my return. The union is on the job, but I'd understand if I ended up unemployed. There holds a whole new set of problems and my brain just isnt managing.
Thanks for listening!
Glenda

Hi Susan,
I just was looking for a friend named Ian White and I came across his comment about sleep apnea. So....I read some of the blogs and decided to join. I was frist diagnosed back in 1989 but, I believe I had sleep apnea as a child. I first started using a CPAP back in 1990 and had all kinds of issues with the mask. I discontinued use and was again diagnosed with extremely severe obstructive sleep apnea in 1995 by a different doctor. He sent me to a Sleep Doctor. He suggested I loose weight and not to drink alcohol in the evening. Well, I lost 50 pounds, stopped drinking all alcohol and changed my lifestyle. I have had a mouth piece, a neck brace, 4 sleep studies, 3 operations and I still have severe sleep apnea. On top of everything, I was also diagnosed with Narcolepsy.

I believe my father had sleep apnea but was never diagnosed. I believe he had a mild case of Narcolepsy also.

I am using CPAP with a nasal pillow mask, chin strap and mouth guard. I am taking 800mg of Provigil each day to stay wake. I still feel like I didn't get a full night sleep when I get up in the morning. I do wake up at night and use the bathroom. I also take of the mask in the middle of the night for one reason or another. I have PTSD, mostly related to my time in Southeast Asia. I accumulated over 5000 hours of combat flying time and would wear an oxygen mask in some situations. The mask and bottle were cumbersome and would get into the way of my working and I would a grab it and fling it off. After a while I could feel that I need oxygen and I'd find my mask and put it back on for a short while. This all happened between 1969 and 1975.
I'm on my 3rd Sleep Doctor and I'm 100% disabled.

Thank you Susan. How long have you had sleep apnea?

hi susan i just agreed with your cleaning methods with a little bit of clarity
please read

I remember my frustration after the first night, but they had this really sweet gal who said to me..."Bruce, after 30 days we won't even be having this conversation" The next night, everything changed. I have often thought how great to be a Rep, even do house calls to encourage and inform on how I position everything, but you can always be sued, so that's ridiculous, without being bonded, it's a damn shame you can't help people like that, and they, like I said, depend on markups on the supplies for their profit, which is abused, so these blogs are really vital to helping remove the stigma of "I don't need a breathing machine, for God's sake..."

Thanks Susan! I went to my union dentist last week, who sees lots of UFCW members, the receptionists NEVER HEARD of CPAP. My wife had several surgeries for breast cancer and the operating room nurse said her husband's snoring ruined her marriage til divorce, I told her the truth(she mentioned those bogus nose strips, give me a break...) I hope the stigma goes away and we can help others.
I am skeptical about mouth devices too, although I bought 25 shares of Resmed under $43 yesterday, I believe in the therapy and would like to invest more, fyi.

Thanks for your kind words and upbeat attitude.