Sleep Apnea..Don’t Mess Around With It
Topic 27704 | Page 1
I had to get a cpap and hated it at first. But now my blood pressure (which was usually just a point or 2 shy of the 140/80 or whatever) is well under the range. Now that I'm used to it, I HATE it if I cant use it for some reason.
CPAP:
Constant Positive Airway Pressure
CPAP is a breathing assist device which is worn over the mouth or nose. It provides nighttime relief for individuals who suffer from Sleep Apnea.
How long did it take you guys to get used to it? I have been on mine 5 weeks and find that I am more tired and really cranky when I wake up.
Laura
My H-beats always in 90s
I have been using a cpap for over 20 years and now I won't sleep without it. But it took me several months to get used to it. Part of that is getting the right mask. There are several different types. I personally have found that Resmed makes the best masks even if you have some other brand of cpap machine.
I needed to take sleeping pills for a few months to help me adjust. Since you can't do that if you're a commercial driver, you might consider getting checked for sleep apnea before you start your driving career.
If you area commercial driver and get a cpap machine you won't be able to use sleeping pills. An alternative approach to sleeping pills, which sleep doctors say works better anyway, is CBT for Insomnia. CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. You can google this and get several cheap or free programs. I have found this approach quite helpful. That is, I have found the online programs quite effective (I tried 3 of them) and much more convenient and cheaper than going to a live doctor who will teach you the techniques. (I tried that too and found the online programs easier and cheaper.)
Sleep Apnea:
A physical disorder in which you have pauses in your breathing, or take shallow breaths, during sleep. These pauses can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Normal breathing will usually resume, sometimes with a loud choking sound or snort.
In obstructive sleep apnea, your airways become blocked or collapse during sleep, causing the pauses and shallow breathing.
It is a chronic condition that will require ongoing management. It affects about 18 million people in the U.S.
CPAP:
Constant Positive Airway Pressure
CPAP is a breathing assist device which is worn over the mouth or nose. It provides nighttime relief for individuals who suffer from Sleep Apnea.
After learning about the dangers of sleep apnea , I feel like I've become a CPAP evangelist, lol. I feel like there is a stigma to being lame and sounding like Darth Vader with the machine, but some of the health conditions that sleep apnea is linked too are downright scary. Besides obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure, your heart can become enlarged due to having to work harder. You put strain on all your organs.
It took me a bit to get used to it as well. Slightly TMI, but I do sleep with my mouth open so I use the full face mask. I just tighten that bad boy up and then sleep on my side as I found it hard to sleep on my back.
Sleep Apnea:
A physical disorder in which you have pauses in your breathing, or take shallow breaths, during sleep. These pauses can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Normal breathing will usually resume, sometimes with a loud choking sound or snort.
In obstructive sleep apnea, your airways become blocked or collapse during sleep, causing the pauses and shallow breathing.
It is a chronic condition that will require ongoing management. It affects about 18 million people in the U.S.
CPAP:
Constant Positive Airway Pressure
CPAP is a breathing assist device which is worn over the mouth or nose. It provides nighttime relief for individuals who suffer from Sleep Apnea.
How long did it take you guys to get used to it? I have been on mine 5 weeks and find that I am more tired and really cranky when I wake up.
Laura
The truth is...it took me almost a year to get used to it. You can see posts here of me complaining about it.
changing masks didnt matter. i was exhausted and flat out dangerous... seriously. it made me congested and the only response i got was "use the humidifier" which actually made me worse. the theory on the humidifier is that your passages are dry, so your body is producing mucus to lubricate. the humidifier would provide the lubricant so therefore your body wouldn't make you congested. NEGATIVE. i actually argued with the woman. i started putting Vicks vapor rub on my face and the open jar outside the intake vent.
i felt like i was suffocating at night and would rip it off without knowing.
It got so bad that i took a ton of Zyrtec on my vacation and it finally cleared up. people have told me they cant sleep without it... i can sleep no matter what now. with or without it.
i don't dream with it though.... which is another issue i have. I have had crazy entertaining dreams my whole life and when the dreams went away, it felt like a part of me died cause that is where a lot of my creativity comes from. i have had no desire to complete my novel manuscript.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
I have been on CPAP since 2000, had a echo cardigram done of my heart 3 years ago, muscle is strong, bp great. I sleep well. Dont mess around with SA, people die due to untreated SA, guy at my old office dropped dead at home shortly after I quit and started trucking school, always breathed heavy and complained of not sleeping right.
He was also a heavy gambler, drinker , weighed over 350 and his diet was chit.....
CPAP:
Constant Positive Airway Pressure
CPAP is a breathing assist device which is worn over the mouth or nose. It provides nighttime relief for individuals who suffer from Sleep Apnea.
Kearsey wrote, regarding CPAP:
....... i don't dream with it though.... which is another issue i have. I have had crazy entertaining dreams my whole life and when the dreams went away, it felt like a part of me died cause that is where a lot of my creativity comes from. i have had no desire to complete my novel manuscript.
Kearsey, it's a bigger topic but iodine deficiency leads to lack of dreams. Related issues include thyroid and please know up front that allopathic, establishment medicine is considered to be monstrously flawed with respect to accurate diagnosing and treatment of thyroid stuff. Anyone reading that route is advised to look at broad views, including so-called alternative approaches. Don't expect a "classically" trained endocrinologist to be the best arbiter of truth or advice for thyroid.
CPAP:
Constant Positive Airway Pressure
CPAP is a breathing assist device which is worn over the mouth or nose. It provides nighttime relief for individuals who suffer from Sleep Apnea.
Nah... i have no health issues. no bp, thyroid, heart diabetes issues at all.
all blood work is good. i once had cravings for pretzels and it turned out i had low sodium due to being on nutrisystem. i never add salt or sugar to meals, and theirs is very low. The doctor was shocked.
i was.once.in an accident and the doctor told.me i have such a strong heart and muscle mass that i would have died without it. a less muscular person would have died.
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I’ve been driving since October of 2014. Each year I’ve qualified for a one year card based in medications for high blood pressure. This year I was flagged for a sleep test to determine if I had sleep apnea or not. Today I sat with the specialist treating me for my sleep apnea. He reviewed with me the results. I have to tell you, one number stuck out. I had 26 obstructive Apneas. That’s when your airways are completely blocked. I had a maximum duration of 28 seconds.
Here is the one that scared me and made me thankful I went through the process and am now in a APAP (automatic) machine. My heart rate: it ranged between 87 and the low was 41bpm. There is a term bradycardia...which is defined as lower than 60. My average heart rate was 52.
I had NO CLUE any if this was going on. No clue of the Apneas, no clue of the slow heart rate. As the doctor said to me....well of course you didn’t, you were sleeping. Lol.
My point? Yes. It’s a pain in the butt. Yes, it’s uncomfortable..but you do adjust and get used to it. I’m assuming that there’s not much room below 41 BPM before the ole ticker just stops altogether.
So when they say you need to be tested, say thank you, get tested and deal with the results. It may have just saved my life.
Sleep Apnea:
A physical disorder in which you have pauses in your breathing, or take shallow breaths, during sleep. These pauses can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Normal breathing will usually resume, sometimes with a loud choking sound or snort.
In obstructive sleep apnea, your airways become blocked or collapse during sleep, causing the pauses and shallow breathing.
It is a chronic condition that will require ongoing management. It affects about 18 million people in the U.S.
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. The BMI's biggest weakness is that it doesn't consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass. BMI may:
It's quite common, especially for men, to fall into the "overweight" category if you happen to be stronger than average. If you're pretty strong but in good shape then pay no attention.