Beta Riders Club Discussion Forum

webmaster wrote:It's good you caught it. It is hard on your heart and the effects of the resulting sleep deprivation are many...

I downloaded a free program called sleepyhead that will read the data off the cpap. I can see how well I am sleeping - highly recommended.

jeff

did the first sleep study with the mask (for a baseline ? I guess) 2 days ago, next I will get contacted by the MD and the CPAP Place... was a little weird sleeping with mask don't know how hard it will be to get used to...

It was a little hard to get used to. But now - I can't sleep without it. I have a nose mask and I route the "hose" up over my head - so that I can turn at night without it getting tangled up.

Depending on how severe the apnea is - I found that I felt much better after first few weeks... It takes a while to recover from sleep deficit that the sleep apnea causes....

jeff

How did you find out you had it?

For me - my wife noticed alot of heavy snoring and that I would quit breathing at times...

I then did a sleep study. You wear a piece of equipment that monitors your sleeping - a strap around your chest and some monitors near your mouth to sense you snoring and breathing.

jeff

Wow! This must be a sign for me. My wife has been telling me to get a consultant for months. It's no fun waking up choking on your own spit.

I got diagnosed with sleep apnea also, probably 6 or 7 years ago. I tried really hard for over a month to get used to the mask and the machine. Needless to say I wasn't successful. I would get tangled up in the hose or the mask would break seal. It was always something, they even got me a gin strap to keep my mouth closed. I know it's like playing with fire but I never tried again. I was told by a doctor if you sleep on your side or preferably your stomach the sleep apnea is less likely to bother you. So that's what I try to do. Good luck to you guys hopefully it will work for you.

Losing weight will help greatly and if you can't handle the machine - you should make this a *very* high priority. Before the cpap machine -> I would stop breathing for over a minute at a time and had 30-40 "events" per hour. My oxygen level dropped below 80% during the night.

The pressure on your chest cavity when your air supply is shut off by a collapsing airway is extremely high - it puts pressure on your heart and will cause it to enlarge. Bad, Bad stuff....

I have a mask that has the "hose" routed up over my head - there is a junction that spins on the hose - so I don't get tangled up too much when I sleep.

It took a few months to get used to - but well worth it.

jeff

I actually have losed about 30 lbs over the last 3 months and if all goes well I will loose some more. The enlarging heart part makes sense to me now. Several years ago I was having some chest pain so they did a stress test, and many others. I was told then that the walls of my heart were getting thick, so they put me on some medicine. The chest pain ended up only being indigestion/acid reflux. I started loosing my weight when the doctor told me I was prediabetic. I think I may revisit the cpap machine and see if I can make it work for me.

Found out I have moderate sleep apnea. I quit breathing 20 -30 times an hour. Been sleeping with the machine for about two and half months and just finally getting used to it.