Anyone here have sleep apnea?

Get with your insurance company for out of pocket cost for both the sleep test and the cpap machine.

I had to pay $1100 out of pocket for the sleep test and monthly payments of $70 for the machine for 10 months, and they want you to buy a new mask and tube monthly.

You can buy a brand new ResMed and full face mask for around $700 online, I could have bought the machine and tried it for less that I had to pay for the sleep test. If you buy one and it does not work you can sell it used (minus the mask & tube) for around $400 online and recoup some of your money.

Your description matches mine perfectly- same symptoms

Mask does help, but I have a very hard time keeping it on all night.

Also- helps eliminate any headaches from sleeping- I used to get headaches from just taking a nap, as long as I use the mask headaches are gone.

Good luck- I hope you can find some relief!

a reply to: RickinVa
I have resmed machine and just replaced my full mask with a nose only mask and a chin strap to keep my mouth closed...really like this new set up!

I don't know where you all come from but in the Uk when you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea and have a Cpap you HAVE to use it as sleep apnea is a proscribed condition for the DVLA (the driving agency). The specialist HAS to inform them that you are complying by using it and if you don't use it your driving licence is revoked. This is because you could fall asleep at the wheel. Also your vehicle insurance company must be informed but if you have the no action letter from the driving agency (because you are conforming) they do not charge extra.
If you don't use the machine and end up in an accident and they find out about your sleep apnea then get ready to lose your house and whatever money you've got.
Now I've had a Cpap for about 6 years. Keep cool with it, it is no big deal. A couple of bits of advice for you. 1. get a Cpap with a humidifier as you get a very, very dry mouth. Also when you use one before you put your mask on rub lip balm or vaseline on your lips for the same reason. Trouble sleeping? Over the last 6 weeks I have been using 3 drops of CBD oil under my tongue, works a treat.

I have been on a cpap since 2006.

In feb 2006 i had a sleep study done and before i could have the follow up to have the pressure set and fitted for the mask i had a heart attack.

After they cleared the blockage and before my 5 way bypass surgery the nurses noted that i was snoring heavy and would stop breathing then gasp for air.

They brought in a large cpap machine and hooked me up right then.

After the bypass surgery the CPaP was great as it made it easier to breath through the pain in my chest.

I had it really bad when my anemia was severe. My blood pressure was so low, as was my pulse and thanks to my thyroid also going bad at the same time, my thyroid gland was very swollen, making it hard to breathe. My kids constantly worried that I'd had a heart attack or something in my sleep because I'd go for long periods where it didn't look like I was breathing at all.

When I was in the hospital for ankle surgery, they had a nurse coming in every hour or so to check my breathing.

Once things got sorted and my anemia and thyroid were set right, the apnea stopped.

Any sort of opiate will also bring on apnea in me as well. I refuse to take codeine or morphine for that reason. Scares the hell out of me when I wake up and have to remind myself to breathe.

a reply to: Domo1

I tried a CPAP for two months and hated it.

Had the worse sleep of my life and I'm a chronic insomniac.

Just can't stand anything on my face.

I hear people swear by these and I hope it works for you. My doc just said, "Well, instead lose some weight fatso".


Pro Tip: Never take a large cheese pizza to a doctors visit.

a reply to: Domo1

Both my husband and I have sleep apnea. Mine is mild (and may be related to Restless Leg Syndrome.) His is moderately bad. We both have CPAP machines.

The CPAP has done a lot for my husband. It's helped with his blood pressure and his overall health.

My case is very mild (the CPAP is more of a preventative) and I can't tell much of an impact. I do use it faithfully, though. He found it easy to get used to; I had a harder time. He's got the full mouth-nose mask (which is easier to adjust to) and I have the nasal pillow (I have hypersensitive skin and the full mask gave me horrendous headaches.

We both have ResMed machines.

a reply to: crayzeed

I've been using the CBD gummies... good stuff. It does help.

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: Domo1

I tried a CPAP for two months and hated it.

Had the worse sleep of my life and I'm a chronic insomniac.

Just can't stand anything on my face.

I hear people swear by these and I hope it works for you. My doc just said, "Well, instead lose some weight fatso".


Pro Tip: Never take a large cheese pizza to a doctors visit.

You can get away with a large bottle of sherry though, if you have a large enough jacket.

I really want to thank everyone who responded with their stories, it seems like I could really benefit.

a reply to: DBCowboy

Pro Tip: Never take a large cheese pizza to a doctors visit.

What am I supposed to eat?

originally posted by: Domo1
Pretty much every young lady that I've spent the night with in the last ten years (the number is higher than 0 smartasses) has told me I stop breathing in the middle of the night, that I snore pretty loud, and I wake up pretty often gasping in air. One time I woke up and I couldn't breathe in for almost 30 seconds. Scared the CRAP out of me. Wake myself up snoring pretty often. Mid snore.

I remember living in a top unit condo. I was good friends with the couple downstairs, mentioned I had woke myself up snoring, and said something about my snoring too loud. The woman goes "I know.".

I can fall asleep on my back really fast, but inevitably end up gasping for air and waking myself up within probably seconds. WAY harder to fall asleep on my stomach or side, but that's how I have to do it. I can't remember the last time I slept without taking diphenhydramine (Benadryl) or drinking (and I know these make symptoms worse).

I've always had a hard time sleeping, but these symptoms have gotten way worse recently. My blood pressure also went through the roof recently. I wake up and am aware of it at least 5 times a night, and I've been feeling like I haven't slept.

I went to the doctor today because my allergies were killing me, and I wasn't entirely sure what I should take and had a weird rash I've never had before on my forearm. I mentioned the sleep thing, and she told me I definitely need a sleep study, and that it may have a huge impact on my blood pressure. The more I read up on it, the more I think this could be a life changing thing.

I talked with a few people I know that had the study done, both at home and in a lab. One person told me it changed his life completely after he got a CPAP machine.

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-What was the study like? I'd much rather do an at home study, and my doctor indicated it was likely my issue is severe enough that this is an option. Even if I stayed awake for two nights, I almost guarantee I wouldn't fall asleep in a clinic environment. I know everyone says that, but I can stay awake for a bizarre amount of time when I'm uncomfortable. I went 3 nights once.

-If you have a CPAP machine, how long did it take you to get used to? I hate wearing a shirt to sleep, so having a face mask/nose mask seems like it would be a problem. I can't even wear a watch. My hope is that being able to lay on my back without gasping for air would negate my issues. Anyone else have these problems?

-If you have a CPAP machine, did it change your life? I'm so sick of being tired when I get up.

-Were you offered an option between at home or clinic? I have insurance, but it appears it's still going to be way cheaper to do an at home thing. I'm not nervous about doing the clinic thing, I just highly doubt I would sleep. I'm fine with paying for it too, but if I can save $1,000 I would prefer it.

-Do you feel like a weirdo? I'm single right now, and feel like having a lady over would get weird if I had to go all Vader. I suppose any woman worth being with wouldn't care, but I'm not always looking for Mrs. Right. I feel like it sucks to have your normal be reliant on a machine.

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TL;DR

From my doctor visit to my Googling, it seems like I probably need a CPAP machine. Looks like it could lower my blood pressure, help me to feel like less of a zombie in the morning, elevate my mood, and one thing I saw said something about extending life ten years not to mention not waking up 10 times a night. What was your experience with CPAP?

Really appreciate replies. I'm 30ish, about 15 pounds overweight, fairly active, eat pretty well, and just want a good sleep.

Long time lurker. The home test can be falsely low in determining whether or not sleep apnea is present. Home tests not recommended for folks with serious medical comorbid conditions (heart failure, etc.). That being said, if you have the home test and it’s positive, the most likely scenario to follow is that you’ll do an in-lab sleep study where they adjust the pressure of a CPAP (or BiPAP) machine to levels where it decreases the number of apneic or hypopneic episodes you’re having. They can fit you with different masks. Full face is the most common for mouth breathers but there’s the nasal pillow option that has a chin strap to close one’s mouth. Dry mouth and smothering/claustrophobia/mask leaking are 3 of the more common complaints initially. Humidity levels can generally be adjusted.

If your insurance won’t approve the CPAP titration study after the in-home study, your sleep doc can prescribe auto-PAP where the machine must record specific info to determine how well it’s working when set in a certain range of pressures.

Uncontrolled sleep apnea can lead to uncontrolled hypertension, which can lead to heart failure or put you at risk for strokes. Low-grade pulmonary hypertension can also be attributed to uncontrolled sleep apnea. It can also be a cause for atrial arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation. Frequent urination at night can be a symptom of uncontrolled sleep apnea.

Diet/Exercise after a while can sometimes resolve sleep apnea. Patients that have weight change (gain or loss) often require different pressures on their CPAP (whether it go to 0 and you don’t need it anymore, or higher pressures) when weight is lost or gained, respectively.

Wish you the best.

Two things that work for me one Vicks under the nose .
two sleeping on harder things even putting a cheep matters on teh floor and it goes away .

weird thing is I did not have a problem untill I was over 40 then it got really bad to the point I went to emergency room .
Now its been ages but I slept on a couch for the last 1.5 years now a mattress on the floor .


Maybe its going ? cant say but the softer the sleep area was the worse it got .

a reply to: Domo1

Greetings! I have sleep apnea of the less common 'central' type, which means my brain aberrantly stops telling my diaphragm to breath in deep sleep, and then I would wake up gasping. For this, I use a 'Bi-Pap' machine, which is like a CPAP, but instead of constant pressure ('c'), it modulates the pressure, and actually breathes for me when my brain's signal lapses.

My sleep study cost US $6000, but insurance paid for it after the deductible. I went into the lab, and they hooked me all up, and it felt like I didn't sleep at all that night, but they got enough data for the diagnosis.

One thing I would say before you get any potential diagnosis of sleep apnea - if you want life insurance, get it first!!! I tried to get a 300k life insurance policy this last year, and the fact that I now carry a diagnosis of central sleep apnea means nobody will give me life insurance if there is any type of medical review. If I had known that, I would have got my life insurance policy first. Just saying.

Once I started using the machine, which helped me get more satisfying sleep starting the first night I wore it, I also performed better at work, my blood pressure came down so that I need less medicine for that, and I suffer much less 'heartburn at night' (GERD - gastroesophageal reflux disease).

I had insomnia for 7 years. And first thought that it was smth far more serious. I slept an average of 1-3 hours per night and I regularly would go a couple days without sleeping at all. About 2 years ago I went gluten free and within a couple weeks I was at 8 hours per night. Since then I have noticed that almost every time I stray from gluten free I will have trouble sleeping for the next week or so, but other than that it has been a miraculous shift! But I did more to overcome it. - Room temperature: cool- Noise: silence or ambient- Light: none- A new mattress (reviews here sleepmentor.net...)- Melatonin 1.5 hours before bedI also used an app such as Sleep Cycle to wake me up when im in the lightest phase of sleep (which has a noticeable impact on how rested and eager you are to get out of bed in the morning)I feel a new man now!!!!

Before recovering I investigated the problem of the sleep apnea very carefully and what I found:

Try a nasal pillow mask (sends air straight into your nose rather than wearing a mask over your nose). Much quieter, easier to read in bed and packs down much smaller for travel.
However, if travelling to a hot country, take a more traditional facial mask, up the pressure slightly and loosen the straps just a little. You get a cool breeze over your face all night.
Woken up to early? In a different time zone? Have a hangover? With a mask you can easily sleep with the duvet over your head.

I hope it would help! Be brave, please

Hey OP (or anyone else) I am actually a sleep tech, diagnosing and treating sleep apnea. I’ve been doing this since 2006.
It’s been a LONG time since I’ve checked out ATS, but I’ll bookmark this thread and try to remember to check in and answer any questions.

Is 'awake apnea' a thing?

Recently i'll find that sometimes i'll forget to breath and i have to consciously force my body to take a breath - scary AF.

Happens mostly when i'm trying to fall asleep however it has occurred once or twice sat at my desk at work.

It only started at the beginning of the summer when i started to take fexofenadine for hayfever. I've stopped taking them now and seems to have abated mostly (I know breathlessness is a symptom for >6% of users).

Zopiclone is the medicine i was prescribed by my doctor to treat my sleep apnea problem.I am very happy with the result and now I am able to enjoy peaceful and relaxing sleep.Buy zopiclone online is my recommendation for all who are facing the same problem.