I'm two years into using a CPAP and it has made my, and my wife's life, much, much better.
Sleep Apnea?
- Thread starter David T.
- Start date
My mother has it and it took her a while and a couple of masks to get fully used to it, but the difference it has made in her life it night and day.
She now gets a full 6 hours sleep which probably has not happened in over 20 years. The sleep apnia was causing her many other health problems which are slowly but surely subsiding.
The machines these days are very quiet, just make sure you are comfortable with the mask, it seems that doctors don't understand the problems the CPAP machine may cause. My mother was getting a dry mouth and waking up, until we got her a mask that covers the mouth and nose.
She now gets a full 6 hours sleep which probably has not happened in over 20 years. The sleep apnia was causing her many other health problems which are slowly but surely subsiding.
The machines these days are very quiet, just make sure you are comfortable with the mask, it seems that doctors don't understand the problems the CPAP machine may cause. My mother was getting a dry mouth and waking up, until we got her a mask that covers the mouth and nose.
This post reminds me of the men who killed their friend by trying to do his liposuction surgery in the garage with a ShopVac. Pjotr, please refrain from giving medical advice if you don't have adequate medical training or at least an understanding of what you are talking about. Here is a small sample of possible complications for an incorrectly prescribed CPAP machine.
Sinusitus
Hypotension
Pharyngeal irritation
Pressure ulcerations
Gastric distension
Aspiration pneumonia
Pulmonary barotrauma
Hypoventilation
CO2 retention
Pneumocephalus
Some of these complications are potentially life threatening. That is why proper evaluation and fitting must be done by properly trained personnel.
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One quick caveat to my above post. I don't want anyone to think I am suggesting not to seek help (or not use a CPAP divice if so prescribed) if they think they may have obstructive sleep apnea. The potential complications I listed above are rare in patients using a properly fitted and adjusted device. Among patients with OSA who are properly using CPAP, the risk of NOT using it outweighs the risks of using CPAP.
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Pjotr
Well that's strange, because when I asked my consultant specialist I was told that there were no apprciable danger in using a PAP. I wasn't suggesting just going out and shoving a machine on your face. Have it diagnosed and supervised at a level that doesn't involve hospitals and specialists and make it affordable to more people.
Well your consultant / specialist was wrong, and obviously not a physician trained in the field. That is the very reason that CPAP requires a prescription from a physician! I do not mean to be snarky (well maybe a bit) but espousing medical treatment without proper training does not sit well with me. If your motivation is to make things more affordable for more people, I suggest that you pilot the next comercial flight you take (after all, making things affordable should take precedence over knowing what you are talking about or doing, right?). You should also represent yourself, instead of seeking counsel, when you crash the plane and kill your passengers, and the survivors sue you. Further, you should embalm the dead yourself, insted of using a mortician, to make things more affordable.
Pjotr, I am a board certified Pulmonologist, and I can say with certainty, you have no idea what you are talking about. I say this with only a small modicum of malice, but mostly implore you to not try to give medical advice when you know not that of which you speak.
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Posted at 3:15AM from Florida. Whatsa matter, can't sleep?
I got the night shift tonight at the hospital. Luckily quiet tonight. On my 6th cup of Java!
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Pjotr
Well actually he was a physician and certainly charged like it. As do lots of the specialists in that scarcastic little scenario you just put forward. I never gave out medical advice. I questioned the procedures and management of obstructive sleep apnea which in my case ended up as a complete rip-off. I'm sure (unless proven wrong) that the majority of people who end up with a PAP machine could have had that prescribed without the expense of spending a night in hospital and several visits with a specialist physician. I've been involved with medical specialists who I've admired and respected inspite of the hideous sums they charged. A lot of my friends are certified physicians.
Why don't you throw some figures around and prove me wrong? X1 is the amount of people who presented with symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, X2 the amount of people who ended up (after all the various procedures) sucessfully getting a good nights sleep with a PAP machine of some description.
With respect, why don't you prove your opinions are correct?
That statement is pure subjective opinion and you want the medical expert to defend their training and experience? Personal experience is just that. Not Factual information that can categorically be applied to everyone.
The other reason(s) of having the initial screening, or polysomnogram (PSG), is to see if any other symptoms are evident. These include, but are not limited to, Cheyne-Stokes breathing, cardiac abnormalities, epileptic behavior, paralysis upon waking, extent of apnea, possibility of central apnea, periodic limb movement. Also, all medical tests need to have quantifying and qualifying criteria to deem them acceptable, just like any other medical test. The PSG also gives polysomnographic techs (like me) and doctors a baseline of what your sleep looks like.
I won't deny that going in for two tests, getting a bunch of wires attached to you and sleeping in a strange clinic is disconcerting, but that is small price to pay for great sleep.
I won't deny that going in for two tests, getting a bunch of wires attached to you and sleeping in a strange clinic is disconcerting, but that is small price to pay for great sleep.
Of course, every single one of those patients COULD have had CPAP prescribed without adequate workup. Just like I could prescribe you an anti-hypertensive without knowing if you have hypertension, or your dosage requirement even if you do have HTN. It would just be dangerous malpractice of medicine.
Thank you mtsgsd. I could not have said it better myself.
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Any one here have it? I go in for a sleep study tomorrow night. I've already had the O2 meter on and the Doc said it really looks like I have it. I sure hope this will take care of it because I'm tired of feeling like I've had my butt kicked every day. No energy, very hard to get out of bed and the falling asleep at my desk is a little annoying
Any thing I need to ask or know tomorrow night?
Dave
Best of luck I got by with out the darth vader machine by raising the head end of my bed a few inchs and by using a temperpetic pillow. Also I lost 30 pounds.
The Tempurpedic pillows are very helpful in opening the glottis. the Temperpedic pillows are what my wife uses when I do something wrong!
Glad you found someting that helps. Weight loss is usually one of the best things to help with OSA, but also one of the hardest to implement.
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I had a discussion this morning about sleep apnea with a colleague. He knows he needs to have the sytudy and get on a machine, just hates the thought of it.
I told him about my experiences (as outlined earlier in this thread).
He mentioned wanting to look into the mouthguard that moves your lower jaw forward.
Has anybody ever seen/tried that?
I told him about my experiences (as outlined earlier in this thread).
He mentioned wanting to look into the mouthguard that moves your lower jaw forward.
Has anybody ever seen/tried that?
I'd be interested in trying one of those, but I don't know where to find one. can't afford a dr. visit right now. 
I've noticed that I have less trouble if I can hold my jaw forward some, but can't keep it that way when I'm asleep. LOL
I've noticed that I have less trouble if I can hold my jaw forward some, but can't keep it that way when I'm asleep. LOLI'd be interested in trying one of those, but I don't know where to find one. can't afford a dr. visit right now.
I would look at one, too, if only for the times I travel, since I really don't like taking my machine with me.
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Pjotr
I'm not sure if it is that subjective. This thread is called sleep apnea. There's is another thread floating around with a similar title. It's not called Cheynes-Stokes breathing or epileptic behaviour or paralysis upon waking or by the names of a host of other what I assume are sleep disorders with similar symptoms to OSA. The desk of the consultant pyisician I visited (board certified I'm sure) was covered with examples of PAP machines and one of those jaw jutting mandible devices. Not pamphlets describing treatment options for Cheynes-Stokes breathing or epileptic disorders. It was blatantly obvious that the majority of people he saw ended up with PAP machines or a jaw jutter. There was also no doubt in his mind (and he told me so) that what he was looking at (being a very experienced board certified physician) in my case was somebody who was going to end up on the end of a PAP machine.
There are numerous suppliers online and in shops in most cities of the world that supply these machines and masks etc etc. There are at least a dozen machines and half a dozen makes to choose from. Some of them look really sexy and have clock radios so you could actually claim (ignoring the pipework) that they're legitimate bedside apparel rather than a medical machine. Sorry, but you can't tell me that PAP machines are rare or are the result of some rare sleeping disorder. And this inspite of the fact that it costs something like $4,000 over half of which was for consultants fees and a hospital sleep study.
This is for a lot of people without private health insurance is a serious amount of money to fork out. Even amongst a cohort of people who spend ridiculous amounts of money on wet shaving devices! If my understanding of population statistics is correct (and it is because I'm a board certified scientist) this also presents almost literally the tip of iceberg in terms of how many people have OSA, the vast majority of which haven't got access because of financial contraints.
All I'm suggesting, and I can't see how this can be construed as a slight upon the medical training or individual experience of a physician, is that there has to be a way to give access to more people. At the risk of being over simplistic, if I have headache I take a pill. The list of possible life threatening causes of headaches I'm sure would cover pages, yet I and the lots of others grab a painkiller. I'm not saying that OSA is the equivalent or as common as a headache or that a PAP machine is the equivalent of a painkiller but if you can cure (or help rather) the majority of people with OSA symptoms through a trial with a PAP machine supervised by a qualified technician why couldn't that be an option rather than going to the full and very expensive medical trial as a first response.
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Because a trial of CPAP can be dangerous or even life threatening to patients with certain pre-existing medical conditions!
Could you hear me that time Pjtor?
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Pjotr
A properly fitted jaw jutter costs almost as much as a machine unfortunately. I actually tried one I got online. Similar to a sports gaurd that you heat up in warm water and fit in your mouth. In my case this thing was an absolute disaster but it might work for others as a trial thing before getting a real one. I'm sure if you google it you'd find something. My then young puppy thought it a wonderful thing to chew on and I let him have it! I'm not giving out medical advice!! Just my personal experience.
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