OffTopic: Sleep Apnea
December 29th, 2006 by Christopher HarrisSince sleep apnea is a medical condition and a CPAP is a medical device that requires a prescription, your best bet is to talk to your doctor about a referral to a sleep clinic. For general information, you might check out the American Sleep Apnea Association, especially their patient information section. For more information on CPAP machines, I found CPAP.com to be helpful. It is a store, but it shows you options – hopefully your health insurance covers some/all of the machine costs.
What I have noticed so far:
After the first night, I awoke refreshed and not tired for the first time in what must have been years. I was to the point where I could take a nap and wake up more tired than when I went to sleep. I was on allergy medicine, but was constantly congested. My head felt – and I mean this literally – fuzzy and stuffed with cotton most of the day. My wife wasn’t sleeping either because my snoring was quite loud and she worried about me not breathing (which I did…er..didn’t do rather a few times every night). Now I am doing much better.
It took me about a week or so to get used to the mask and machine, but now it isn’t any problem at all. My wife reports that I don’t snore anymore, and I wake up feeling about like I should – i.e. this isn’t a miracle, if I pull a gaming night until 4:00, then I will be tired the next day. Having an attached humidifier is also a huge help. Living in Western New York with gas heat means very dry winters. Breathing the humidified air keeps me uncongested and I am actually off my allergy medicine full time and only using it when necessary (dogs, molds, etc). It wasn’t allergies that were causing me to be so congested, it was bad breathing all night long.
So, a couple of websites to get the information started, but your best bet is to talk to your doctor. If you need more convincing, don’t feel bad. It took me a few years to get over the worries about everything involved; the sleep studies, the machine, etc. Actually, I waited almost 2 years after my first sleep study before admitting I needed the CPAP and so things just got worse for me. For more personal information, you might check to see if there is a Sleep Apnea Support Group near you. If nothing else, it gives you someone to talk to who knows what you are going through – either as someone with sleep apnea, or the stress and concern of living with someone who has sleep apnea.
January 3rd, 2007 at 7:17 am
My husband received his sleep machine several years ago and I know it saved his life. He was becoming so despondent from lack of sleep and constant tiredness that the depression was ruining his life. Soon after my father bought his CPAP. For both of them it stopped the storing completely. I couldn’t take listening to the snoring anymore. Now all of us have quiet nights. I am a big advocate for people going out and doing the sleep test. My father would actually fall asleep driving before. Now he has his life back.
January 3rd, 2007 at 11:21 am
Thanks for sharing, Diane. I wish I had encountered more stories from people during the two years I did nothing about my condition.
March 26th, 2007 at 2:58 am
CPAP humidifiers really prove to be a great help. Not only does it moistens the rapidly moving air and prevent dryness of the mucuos membranes, it also makes CPAP therapy a lot more bearable. But make sure you also clean your CPAP machine and its parts regularly. When unclean, it too causes respiratory tract infections brought about by bacteria that’s carried into the respiratory system by the machine.