Just got my machine WOO HOO!
 

And it's lovely! I am so excited about going to bed tonight, I can't wait to test it out and see how it's like to wake up after a full night's sleep and feel good for a change. I am worried about what happens if they power goes off though, what happens then? :eek:

If the powers off the air won't be flowing and dh asked me what about it and I just don't know what to say, now I am worried about it since our power does surge from time to time, what happens if it goes out for an hour? Will we suffocate? Sounds like a weird question and one I forgot to think about while the tech was here setting it up for me. :)

http://mseries.respironics.com/

That is the machine I got today with cflex. I can hardly wait to go to bed tonight! :D
http://www.cyber-soup.com/maskheadgear.jpg

I am yawning but I don't FEEL tired...I think it's just my body's not used to actally resting! *wink* I can hardly believe I woke upo this morning and am not in ANY pain! WOW and NO papermouth! I slept GREAT! It took about an hour to fall asleep but then it usually takes me that long anyway.

I can hardly believe how I feel, eyes are watering and all and I have yet to have coffee but I feel awesome mentally, awake and refreshed, had nine hours mostly solid, once I woke up and had to go to the bathroom but that was it. I really can tell the difference this is going to make in my life! :D

AWESOME PAM !!! I knew you would notice a big change instantly when you got you cpap... machine. My hub did and it just keeps getting better too. sure it will slip off and you will still probly have to get used to the mask but shoot the benifits are so much who really cares right ? right!!!
SO very happy and glad for you.. it is almost like your breathing is back and your llife has been saved in a way .. sorta kinda ;)
Welcome to a new way of life... may it be filled with happy times and Tons Of Sunshine.
Peace and Love
BMW...Tina

p.s now you can dream at night rather then snore and struggle for air. AMEN!!!!!

I was so surprised I didn't even wake up with a headache from the straps on the headgear, it was just great, I really enjoyed it. What a joy it is to be able to breathe at night. It's such an important thing we all do that to learn you stop doin git during sleep, a time where we're at our most vulnerable state, is really disconerting. I am so happy with my machine BMW I am bouncing in my chair and off the walls! :D Thanks for the encouragement, I knew it would take a little getting used to but I still enjoyed my first night on it. :D

Pamster
I am really interested in your progress with this so thanks for posting about it

I have always felt my dh has sleep apnoea, but getting him to do something about it is......ummmmm.... so I am geaning info from your posts and hoping to present him and his doc with some helpful pointers to help with his :Zzzz:

I used to be tired all day long, I mean even after coffee I would still be yawning. My eyes still water and I yawn a bit in the early morning but I don't keep yawning anymore and I am betting the watering eyes will go away as I continue using the CPAP. I feel so much better, although I woke up in pain today I think that it's because my bed is bad...I am going to be getting a new bed in a few weeks so I think that will help with pain. But the first two days I woke up virtually pain free.

One thing I have noticed is that although I like sleeping on my side it wakes me up because one nostril goes closed, the bottom one and I notice I wake up and have to turn on my back, but I can fall asleep much better now. I used to take an hour and sometimes MORE if you can believe it. But now I am falling asleep with the machine on in like thirty minutes now. It's wonderful, it's just fantastic how much clearer I am able to think after just about five days, and I hear from my mother it just gets better and better! :D

If your hubby stops breathing in his sleep then he really needs to get a sleep study done, it's not hard to get done and his PCP can order it but make sure they add, "With tituration as needed" on the RX so that if he DOES stop breathing over 30 times in two hours they can wake him and give him the mask and fiddle with settings to see what works best for him. I was noted as breathing at decreased rate of 74% efficiency, meaning I was only breathing at a 26% rate of effective breathing.

I don't know how many times I stopped breathing, it wasn't in the report, but I really feel so much better now there is no doubt that I will be keeping this machine and using it long past the 14 months Medicare rents it for until they purchase it. If you have any questions go ahead and ask, I am not an expert but I can tell you in my experience it's been a fantastic change to my life, I haven't felt this good in years. :D

I slep awful last night, I had a congested sinus and wasn't able to go to bed wearing the mask. I woke up at like midnight and didn't go back to skeep until about 2 am. Going to lay down for a nap if I can and see how a power snooze goes over. Hopefully I will feel better soon, I am still a little tired during the day today, but I hope to be able to use the machine for a nice little nap. :)

hi pamster----i was diagnosed with sleep apnea and it took a few months to get the reports back...then went in for the 2nd test with the cpap machine on april 1... they said that i stopped breathing 20x's in an hour (every 3 min) and with the cpap it was corrected...i have been waiting since then to hear from the drs as to when i get the machine..it may be weeks for them but it feels as if it has been months for me..i have been suffering with the sleep attacks or insomnia now since dec..i am so happy to hear that it works for you---gives me hope--it is just taking so long to get started that i am getting worse..falling down constantly, pain increasing daily and depression is killing me..i called the dr office and they said it may be a few more weeks.. i have to get back to work so i can pay my mortgage and pay back the loans i had to take out to survive the past months of hell--- without sleep..i have problems walking never mind driving a car and working all night..
did it take them long to get you set up with the cpap? or as usual is it just me??? seems my luck has gone bye-bye since i was injured in 1994... but hearing your good news gives me hope that maybe my life might get even a little better...thanks for sharing your news and experience--moonstar

From my hubs point of view after his sleep test and being told he needed the machine ... after 2 weeks of waiting I got upset and called and told them that if my hub stops breathing in his sleep and dies I will be sueing .He got the machine the very next day.
Pam hope you got some zzzs in and are feeling better. my hub has a humidifier thing on his so the air is not so dry when he uses the cpap.
I work at hotel you would be suprised how many folks use a cpap.chemar I pray your hub listens and goes to doc/sleep clinic. Sleep apena is NO JOKE!!!!
Gotta go all the best to you Chemar Moonstar and Pam.
Peace
BMW...Tina

Oh moonstar, I feel for you. For me people moved fast. See I got the prescription in December, I didn't use it until April 10th, I got in on a cancelled appt. They called one night and said they had an opening, I took it and then had an appointment exactly a week later. I got the machine the day I saw my doctor. They called a respiratory supplier and got me the one I've got, they came out that day, I went to see my PCP at 10:00 am and by two-thirty I was looking at my machine. :)

I am so sorry it's taken you so long, The sleep study place might be why it was held up, how long was it that you got the results and know your dr had them? I have had it a week and only not slept with it a few times like during the night I awoke with a nostril closed off. So I took off the machine mask, just raise it to my forehead until I can breathe again. Then I take it back and use it again. I sleep on my side because I got the nose mask, it's kind of weird. But I will take the weirdness of it all to save my life, you know?

Just because it feels funny doesn't mean that I have forgotten the benefits I am creating for my body. We're moving soon. And I am really happy to have the machine, I know you will be too once you get used to it. See what they did for me was called a split study, where half is testing you for apnea and then fiddling with the machine settings to see what pressure works for a person, it said, "tituration as needed" which empowered them at the hospital I went to, to test the machine on me and write a report on it. They had almost a week to get it faxed over to my dr's office, and when they finally did the dr's office called in the script for the machine. :)

I need 0.80 cm's. I added a pic of my machine and headgear to my OSA page. You should call your dr's office probably and ask about the script/order for the machine for you. I think they should be reminded you still haven't gotten the machine yet. Hang in there moonstar, you're almost done waiting, I empathize totally. You will do much better with the machine I think. I know I feel better from using it a week. I know it will only get better too. Last night I woke up in pain and took the mask off for some of the time last night due to a congested sinus. :p

Hi BMW,

I definitely feel so much better, I still need coffee though to get my day really started. But I feel a lot better. It's amazing the difference I feel after just a week of using it. I don't feel bad at all. I am enjoying my sleep now. I figure it's only going to get better. :)

Great pic pam, and you have the same exact type of cpap machine as my dh.
now we all want to see a pic with you wearing the mask :D .
I kid my dh that he sounds sorta like darth vader from star wars when the mask slips off or the tube ... elephant trunk thingy comes off.
Now have a great week and weekend of sunshine and peace.
BMW

Thanks BMW, I am sleeing much better with the mask on then I first thought I ever would. It's just easier to fall asleep wearing it and lying on my back. I took a photo of it on me but it's a weird looking photograph, so I won't be putting it up on my site. I would share it but I look way tired in it-LOL!!!1!1

Wish there was an easier way of taking it off and going to the bathroom. That would be one thing I wish this mask setup has. A quick release that you could easily replug into after going to the bathroom. Something you could do when half a sleep. That would be awesome. :)

Dear Pamster!
I just disconnect the hose from the mask when I have to use the bathroom. I hope that yours has that option. Believe me when I tell you that if the power goes off you will know it!

I am so used to mine now I am able to sleep on my sides and stomach. (just still takes time for me to fall asleep) A hint or two, get some Vicks Vapor Rub and swab a bit where the hose connects to the mask. This will sure help to clear your sinus. For dry mouth I suck on a piece of hard candy and chew it up when I feel sleepy.

Thank you candlelightlives, those are some great ideas. I will get some vapor rub just for the machine so that when I feel a little congested it will help knock it out of my system. I like the idea a lot and will pick some up next time I am out shopping. I can sleep on my side except for the sinus closing up and then I have to flip over onto my back for awhile, but maybe with the vapor rub that will no longer be needed. :) Great idea candlelightlives, thanks so much for posting about it! :D :D :D

I didn't post about this yet but I suppose I should. Jackie took my chin strap saturday morning/afternoon after being told no more food. It's always food with him. Anyway I had the mask and hose in my lock box with a padlock on it. I didn't take the chin strap and left it on the dresser, so during the day at some point he hid it, I think it was somewhere in the walk in closet.

Thing is he refused to acknowledge that he's done a thing, he's acting like all oblivious to it all, the night goes by without my chin strap so no machine use. I was sure it was in the garbage, that somehow it had gotten by me. I was resolved to buy a new one today, but as it turns out he responded to something, a bribe, Jack came up with the idea and we both told him numerous times, making gestures about our heads like my chinny strap has to be worn...

"Jackie, if you bring back Mommy's chin strap, her chin strap, bring it back and you can go in the pool today..."

Ten minutes go by he's still acting a little oblivious, but once no one was looking he ducked in the walk in and dug out the thing and replaced it on my dresser! Acting like it had been there all along and wasn't I just NOT seeing it? He manipulated the situation, so now Chinny strap is in my big tool box sized lock box is. I roll out here in my chair to the table, and open it (keys are always worn around my neck, I sleep with my keys...You have to around this autistic child, CONSTANT chain of custudy of objects...

That is the way things have to play out here in my house. So it might sound a little odd that I lock up my hose, mask and strap, but to keep the kiddo off it, it's the only way. It's working now where it was just out of control before and he was going in there turning it on and doing things with it. I don't like him pressing all the buttons. But I love my machine, he leaves that alone pretty much, but the hose and mask WITH the machine spell trouble...LOL! :)

hello..been awhile
 

have not had the strength to do hardly anything lately..not even reading here where i felt at my best...i waited for well over 6 weeks since being diagnosed..when i finally got a return call from the sleep lab---they were on vacation..you see everybody deserves a vacation was there excuse..i can never win..always fall between the cracks or misplaced or error in filing etc.. the dr kept apologizing with every phone call i made--but never fixed the problem or told me they were on vacation..anyway..i got the machine at last. the same one as pamster.it did take a few days to get use to-- then it helprd alot for a few days--now seems to make me clostrophobic,sweaty, wake up every 2-3 hrs-even though i am breathing only through my nose when i swallow i have a weird feeling and my throat feels like it is closing up. sometimes i feel like a need a bib when i can't wake up fast enough to take the mask off my face to swallow and i drool all down my pjs..
i still feel so embarrassed and try to cover my head when i sleep so nobody sees me. i am sleeping on the couch so my fiance doesn't (a) see me (b) doesn't move around on the bed (c) he stays up very late(due to the fact he works nights and doesn't get home till after 1:30 am) and then does his e-bay job till 4-5am.
no matter what time i fall asleep i wake between 4-5am..am starving and thirsty..then try to get back to sleep before i have to get up to put my autistic brother off to program at 7am.... i then fall back to sleep by 9ish and proceed to sleep for about 4 hours..i have called the dr to see if this is normal but then nothing is normal for me..whatever normal is??? dr tells me to give it some more time..
still can't seem to turn my brain off and depression is getting worse by the second..between the depression,pain,anxiety,sleepiness..taking a shower is putting me into panic mode-- well...again thank you my friends for letting me vent and whine..and being there when i am at my lowest and cn't explain my feelings to anyone(cept my therapist--who tells me to give myself a break) hope everyone has a peaceful night or day of sleeping...moonstar (or falling moonstar):hug:

Oh moonstar I feel just terrible for you that they took SO long to get your machine out to you. I guess I was just lucky my doctor was able to get a medical supplier to get one out to me that same day he went over the results. It sounds like it's the same thing I have happening too. I drool a lot and it's all over my chin strap, :p but also the breathing thing, when you swallow, my ears pop and my throat feels funny, like it's constricting against the air. You might want to try the CFlex feature on the machine moonstar, it's supposed to 'ramp up' slower so you're asleep by the time it starts blowing the full incriment of air.

I have found I feel less depressed after a few solid nights using the machine. I do notice I am waking up and it feels like the machine's not working but then when I open my mouth a little bit the tornado of wind rushes out so I know it's working, it just doesn't feel or sound like it is at 3 am. I tried to take a nap today and couldn't, laid there for an hour and just could NOT nodd off. :p

I hope you start feeling better moonstar, stick with the machine, I know it's no fun looking like you're about to go deep sea diving, but it's to help you breathe and to help your body get the rest it needs to heal itself from the stresses of the day. :)

Pam,

Just to let you know about the conjestion part. I had a heated humidifier put on my CPAP machine when I was having sinus problems. That took care of part of that. I also see an allergy specialist now. I'm allergic to mold. Before seeing the allergery specialist, I was told to use saline spray during the daytime to keep my nasal passages clean. That's why you're having problems at night with your CPAP machine.

Becky

That's a good suggestion, I will have to get some, I have seen them in the store before. I think that it will help; I might see about getting an allegy pill like zyrteck or something soon, because my sinuses do get congested a lot these days and I know it's because of the pollen in the air. :p

Thanks for the reply Becky. :D

Moonstar,

This sounds like some bureaucratic problem to me.

I had to go for a second sleep test due the lateness in the first test that I actually stopped breathing, in the fourth hour, but it was a ridiculous amount of disturbances, once every minute average after it started, with a peak period of 3 times a minute, or one breath approximately every 20 seconds, which also aroused me out of any form of sleep state. There has to be a certain degree of arousal, as measured by brain activity, each time before it's considered an "incident." They got me back in for testing within a week because they didn't have the chance to test me long enough after the interruptions started. I had my cpap respirator within about another week after that. So from first test to having a CPAP at home took less than two weeks, and they apologized for making me come back for a second test. The name of the testing company is SomniCare, which has a home office in Des Moines, IA. I live in eastern Kansas, so it could have something to do with distribution, but I doubt it.

Even though this was not the final solution for me, I can't blame my insurance carrier or SomniCare. They did a great job. And it has helped, even though the obstruction has enlarged. I think we have it shrinking again due to Synthroid. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis about 7 weeks ago.

If your primary physician prescribes the treatment, then you should be able to get the equipment somehow. It sounds as if you are going to need to demand an explanation from someone as to why this is taking so long. Yours may be considered a "borderline" case, perhaps treatable in some other manner according to some MBA genius at the insurance company, and your doc and the insurance people are fighting about it. This kind of thing should be way out of the ordinary.

Good luck,
DJ

Pam,

I agree with Beckyboo--get the heated humidifier. It's great, and makes a huge difference. Tell you doctor you are getting blood out of your nose every morning. That's what finally worked for me (and it was true.) I also use Flonase every night just before bedtime.

DJ

hi to all...
 

it has been some time since i have written..so much more is going on with me and everyday something new is found ...so many tests and no answers.. the machine i finally got didn't work..the mask did not fit correctly..i called the respitory therapist and never got my calls returned..went to see the dr again and told him that my calls (all7 of them) wwe not returned and he said he would call them..still no response!! after waitiing for months i finally made another appointment with another sleep clinic..this one is furtheer away from my home but at least they return calls and have a great reputation..my appoiintment is for this tuesday and then another overnight test on friday. i know my apnea has gotten worse..if i sleep and one of my pillows falls i stop breathing..i can feel it happening..my throat closes up and i start gasping for air. i don't sleep much these days..seem to have insomnia at night and am up past 4-6 am..then sleep for 2 hrs and the alarm goes off--i have to get my autistic brother (terry) up to go to program at 8 am ...he leaves at 9..and i try to go back to sleep for another 2 hrs..when i get up i feel like i have slept thru the day and don't remember getting terry up--this can't last much longer..i have black bags under both eyes--and do my best to cover them up with makeup to get thru my 6 hrs of work..i am working from 4:30 pm to 10:30 pm...if i make it to work 3 out of 5 days it is a miracle..my pain level is 10 + almost all day and night . i started to take different meds for the last 10 days..time released morphine,lyrica and oxycodone for my pain..now diagnosed with rsd,fibromyalgia...sorry got to stop now..my hands are killing me each time i hit a key...peaceful days and nights to everyone..i will let you know how things turn out....monnstar (linda)