Diagnosed With Sleep Apnea -Anyone Else?

[Deaw]

OK, so first I had to temporarily move from my beautiful island of Koh Phangan because we don't have any real hospital facilities there.

Decided on Pattaya because I hate big cities - and even though this place is a smelly hellhole of epic proportions at least they have good medical facilities here.

BPH - multiple treatments by Urologists, Nephrologists [kidney specialist] and even Neurologists couldn't come up with my reason for Nocturia; IE, way too much peeing at night after lying down, sometimes 5 or 6 in a night.

THEN I saw a sleep doctor......she hit the jackpot when I did an overnight hooked up with about 30 wires leading to my brain and she discovered I have 'severe' sleep apnea, score 29.5 [anything above 15 is severe].

At least I have an answer.....but now I am expected to wear this bondage mask/torture device/breathing aparatus to bed every night.

8 nights now and hardly a wink.....I just can't fall asleep with the thing on, it's dam_n near impossible and so uncomfortable!

I have tried 3 separate masks and still no luck......now of course I am looking at the thing every night and telling myself "you're not gonna fall asleep with that thing on again" so of course I can't.

An insomniac even in the best of times, this is making my nights pure torture.....the bed is my enemy......people back in the states I talk to tell me "oh yeah, I have that sleep apnea crap, I just don't wear the mask and deal with it" but my Doctor [who is super-nice and trained in Boston] tells me that could lead to stroke, heart disease, kidney failure, etc.......basically an early grave.

I am 49, non-smoker, non-drinker, generally healthy otherwise but could stand to lose 20KG's........anyone else have this nonsense or know anyone who does and what do you do????

cheers. Deaw

Edited June 12, 2012 by Deaw

[Deaw]

it looks small, sure.....but it is uncomfortable as heck

and I can never fall asleep on my back as I am now supposed to ......49 years of sleeping on my stomach or in the fetal position is kinda hard to break, ya' know?

[impulse]

Give CPAP 30 days before you give up on it.

As an alternative, I had my throat roto-rootered (no tonsils or hangey-down-thingey any more). That worked for me on the apnea, but the unintended consequences have lingered for 15+ years. To this day, I inhale saliva, water and food on occasion because my uvula isn't there to warn me it's coming (at least that's my theory).

For me, I wish I could learn to sleep on my back because I'm sure that would be better support for an old fart's back and neck than sleeping on my side or stomach. I'm told I learned to not sleep on my back because of the airway restrictions.

It's been over a decade though since I was involved in a sleep clinic and I understand the science has advanced a lot. If you've just tried different masks, you may want to look into different machines as well. They have many different models that control airflow with microprocessors nowadays. Back in the day, my CPAP machine was a lot like a vacuum cleaner set to blow, and was only adjustable at the clinic.

Good luck with your sleep.

Edited June 12, 2012 by impulse

[tutsiwarrior]

yeah...sleep apnea is a problem and I've had it since junior high school in the early 60s: 'whack! wake up ye disrespectful little shit!'...'I'm just sleepy and can't stay awake'...and then evil asian clients would come and shout: 'we don't pay yer ass USD10000 per month to sleep...'...'get fcuked ye stupid dink...when yer sleepy then ye just sleep...it's that simple...'

and the wives and GFs always complained about the loud snoring and falling asleep in the middle of sex...

Edited June 12, 2012 by tutsiwarrior

[Deaw]

cheers for the answers gents......I have been with the CPAP for 8 days now, with hardly a good nights sleep [unless of course I ditch the mask halfway but ummmm, I am not supposed to do that]. I walk around like a zombie all day and basically just stay in unless I need some food from the 7.

The roto-rooter deal is not an option.....my tonsils are already gone and the Doc tells me my uvula is not swolen enough to go down there, it's not the root cause for me ....and in any case, that only works 20-25% of the time. Extending the lower jaw, some type of major mandible surgery with a week or more recovery time, was also advised against.....I don't have the necessary overbite.

And how honest of her to DISSUADE surgery.......hospitals are businesses and they would make a heckuva lot more from that than selling me a CPAP machine where their profit will maybe be a couple hundred bucks.

I am really trying to sleep on my back, can't do it......I will also stick with the CPAP machine and will end up buying one, success or not; back home where I am headed next for 3 months everything will be 5-6 times more expensive and I have no health insurance back there.

really frustrating......"sure, we can cure your sleep problems; all you have to do is change the way you have been sleeping for 50 years and wear this incredibly uncomfortable thing on your face all night" grrrrrrrrrrr

[Pacificperson]

I was talking to a friend a couple of days ago. He has been lossing weight because of a minor stroke a couple of years ago. Anyway, he said that the weight loss had solved his probles of sleep apnea and snoring. Lossing the 20 Kg might solve some of your problems.

[tutsiwarrior]

I was talking to a friend a couple of days ago. He has been lossing weight because of a minor stroke a couple of years ago. Anyway, he said that the weight loss had solved his probles of sleep apnea and snoring. Lossing the 20 Kg might solve some of your problems.

yeah...they say that excessive neck tissue or fat from being overweight exacerbates sleep apnea and losing a few pounds in this regard always helps...

[PaulKemp]

Hey there,

Apparently Ive got UARS, which is a type of sleep apnea (still not convinced ive got it... but thats a whole other story).

I sleep with an APAP machine, which is drastically better than CPAP because the APAP will decrease pressure when you exhale. I could NOT sleep with the CPAP when they gave it to me during the sleep test. I felt like I was being tortured, inflated like a human balloon- there was no way to breathe out of the damned thing.

Anyway, a few things that helped me.

1) APAP - definitely the biggest help

2) Was mouth breathing a lot- which screws up the whole system when you use a nose pillow, so I just taped my mouth shut. Bizarre but it works!

3) Use the ramp function.

4) Try to sleep on your side (...is what I have been told, and I find it works very well). It also helps to stop the gas you might get from being blown up...

5) Wear the CPAP for an hour or two before you go to bed if you can for a few weeks to get used to it. It really does take a while to start sleeping properly with all that head gear.

[CaptHaddock]

I was talking to a friend a couple of days ago. He has been lossing weight because of a minor stroke a couple of years ago. Anyway, he said that the weight loss had solved his probles of sleep apnea and snoring. Lossing the 20 Kg might solve some of your problems.

Losing 35 pounds fixed my snoring, to say nothing of the other health benefits. I'll bet the OP's doctor never mentioned weight loss.

[Valentine]

it looks small, sure.....but it is uncomfortable as heck

and I can never fall asleep on my back as I am now supposed to ......49 years of sleeping on my stomach or in the fetal position is kinda hard to break, ya' know?

If you are using the model depicted in the photo & it is auto then I would say you have one of the best machines on the market. I am using the previous F & P auto cpap with the nasal mask & it works really well. I occasionally check AHI in the morning & it usually between 1 & 4, sometimes zero. I believe if it stays under 5 it is OK. Previously I used to get up & pee 4 or 5 times a night but not anymore. I think the brain activates the urge to urinate so you don't choke in your sleep. Anyway, persevere & you will soon see a noticeable difference in your life. BTW I sleep on my side. If you are using the F & P Icon Auto do you mind telling me how much it cost.

[poanoi]

I don't know about that problem,

but i know i get a good position to sleep when i have one of these tube pillow and kind of sleep

at 45 degree angle on between side and stomach

Edited June 13, 2012 by poanoi

[Deaw]

Thanks a lot for the replies, gents......I actually have a follow-up at 1pm today and will respond a bit more when I come back from that.....this is day 9 for me and I am nowhere yet.

Poanoi........falling asleep is never the issue and never has been, I can do that easily on my side or my stomach [as long as I am not wearing some bulky mask!]. But we can't control what happens an hour or 2 later, and once I flip onto my back is when the sleep apnea really starts, the tests showed it.

if I could find a way to stay fetal or on my stomach all night I'd be fine, maybe some LARGE pillows to keep me from flipping over? But I think it would still happen anyway, it's hard to control what our body does in deep sleep mode.

[poanoi]

I sleep in that position, i can't lay down in any other position so long without getting back pain.

[Deaw]

OK, so back from my latest appointment and got bombarded with sticker shock.........68,000 baht for the machine and mask! Fisher-paykel out of New Zealand........what a rip-off, I told them I would get back to them but I am going to the states in late July and I think I can get the same price or even lower there so why buy here and have to drag the thing overeas with me? That was a shocker, I had figured around 30K at most. But again, I am happy to at least have a diagnosis, this Nocturia [getting up too often at night to pee] has been driving me nuts, it's good to finally know the root cause of that and all the tests and preliminary work I have done here would have been much more in the states, so already I think I have saved some dough.....will look into other methods of reducing my apnea before I leave, including trying to sleep on my side and stomach all night as poanoi suggested and also need to shed 20 or 25 kgs, no joke............ cheers all, contributions much apppreciated

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Don't give up yet on that CPAP machine, at least before you read the article below!!

Mac

http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/12/12188460-not-so-sexy-cpap-can-boost-mens-sex-lives-study-finds?lite

Not-so-sexy CPAP can boost men's sex lives, study finds

Koshy Johnson / Getty Images

The mask-and-hose contraption known as a CPAP machine may not look alluring, but the relief it provides for sleep apnea can help improve erectile dysfunction and boost users' sex lives.

By Brian Alexander

A CPAP device, the Darth Vader-like mask used to ease breathing in sleep apnea sufferers, might be the least attractive thing a man can wear at night, but it could wind up improving his sex life, according to a new study released today at an annual meeting of sleep experts.

In yet another example of how the human penis can serve as an important health indicator, a team of doctors from the Sleep Disorders Center of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center has found that erectile dysfunction is common in younger men with sleep apnea, but that E.D. -- and libido -- improves in men who use the CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure machine.

They presented their results today at the meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Boston.

Over the past few years, medical science has repeatedly shown that how a man’s penis is working can reflect how the rest of his body is working. E.D. can be an early sign of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and poor fitness, among other ailments.

So when army captain Dr. Joseph Dombrowsky looked at a small handful of studies that had linked apnea to E.D., he realized that he had access to a pool of possible test subjects -- military beneficiaries newly diagnosed with the sleep disorder -- that he could use to explore the link.

Dombrowsky and his colleagues recruited 92 men with an average age of nearly 46 who had both a new diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, and who were starting therapy with CPAP machines.

The CPAP is a mask-and-tube contraption that few might call sexy. Worn during sleep, it sends a steady flow of air through the mask into breathing passages to keep airways open and restore depleted oxygen levels. It’s the most common and effective treatment for OSA, which occurs when tissue in the back of the throat collapses during sleep, blocking air, disrupting sleep and boosting the risk of health problems such as heart disease and stroke.

The men in the study averaged 38 apnea events per hour, Dombrowsky found. That’s pretty bad. Severe apnea is defined as 30 or more such events per hour.

Using a well-established sexual function survey, 43.5 percent of the men reported erectile dysfunction. Unlike previous studies, the E.D. was broken down into three varieties: mild, moderate and severe. The men were reassessed at one-, three- and six-months of CPAP therapy.

Dombrowksy was looking for what he called “minimal clinically important differences” of CPAP use.

“That’s not just a change in a score, a statistic,” he explained in an interview, “but a difference patients really notice and will appreciate.”

More than half of patients with mild E.D., or some 54 percent, noticed an improvement after CPAP use. Nearly 29 percent of those with moderate E.D. improved, and more than 27 percent of those with severe E.D. saw a boost. Sexual desire also tended to improve, Dombrowsky found.

Drugs like Viagra have been shown to work more powerfully to improve E.D. than CPAP therapy, but Dombrowsky speculates that by starting CPAP before the condition gets worse, some men might be able to skip the pills.

While stressing that he was speaking for himself, not for his research team, the army, or the U.S. government, Dombrowsky said he believes that CPAP therapy might be a good early therapy for E.D., particularly in younger men.

“What the results say to me is that E.D. is a progressive disease, as is sleep apnea. So if we were to intervene earlier, we might be able to stave off the progression of erectile dysfunction.”

His study raises the issue of why apnea might lead to E.D. in the first place. The most obvious explanation is that the link is related to the way apnea creates low oxygen levels in the blood. But that may or may not be correct. Dombrowsky pointed out that during REM sleep, men get erections in something like a nocturnal workout of penis plumbing. Because apnea interferes with REM sleep, fragmenting sleep patterns, penises may not be getting this workout, leading to dysfunction.

Dombrowksy said he plans to continue the work with larger numbers of men in hopes of answering some of these questions.

Brian Alexander (www.BrianRAlexander.com) is co-author, with Larry Young PhD., of "The Chemistry Between Us: Love Sex and the Science of Attraction," (www.TheChemistryBetweenUs.com) to be published Sept. 13.

[tutsiwarrior]

Thanks a lot for the replies, gents......I actually have a follow-up at 1pm today and will respond a bit more when I come back from that.....this is day 9 for me and I am nowhere yet.

Poanoi........falling asleep is never the issue and never has been, I can do that easily on my side or my stomach [as long as I am not wearing some bulky mask!]. But we can't control what happens an hour or 2 later, and once I flip onto my back is when the sleep apnea really starts, the tests showed it.

if I could find a way to stay fetal or on my stomach all night I'd be fine, maybe some LARGE pillows to keep me from flipping over? But I think it would still happen anyway, it's hard to control what our body does in deep sleep mode.

I'd say invest in some bolster cushions (the long sausage like bed cushions) and place them strategically before you sleep to prevent rolling over onto yer back...for me they have not been a solution but they have helped significantly...

and always consider your sleeping arrangement; comfortable, all cotton bed linen and a strictly controlled environment; I like a refrigerated room around 25oC and very quiet and with no sunlight...and then measure your sleep time as accurately as possible and assess how you feel when you wake up; refreshed? fatigued? and then think about how you can improve the situation...

bad sleep can dramatically affect heart problems and now I dread hotels and temporary arrangements and work environments where bosses get uptight about sleeping at yer desk...when yer sleepy just sleep as required as resisting is the worst kind of stress imaginable...just do the right thing if you value yer health...

Edited June 13, 2012 by tutsiwarrior

[Deaw]

good article......but to be honest I haven't had any interest in sex in years, way before any of this started...... I have always thought sex is more work than fun; and who likes work?

yes, yes.....this could be part of the reason, I get it.......but I am 49 now and have been thinking this way since I was 28 or so, it's just not a big deal for me to get all sweaty and bothered with a lady and "relationships" are completely for the birds. I was married for 5 years in the 90's, I have 2 grown kids and even though I live in Thailand I have slept by myself for years.....ask any Thai person what Deaw means and you will know why I chose that for my screen name.

But for sure I need to lose weight to clean up my high-ish blood pressure, help out my heart and I need to get the mask once I get home and deal with this Apnea garbage as well grrrrrr...if it does somehow help my non-existent sex life as well, I guess I will take that too.

[Deaw]

I'd say invest in some bolster cushions (the long sausage like bed cushions) and place them strategically before you sleep to prevent rolling over onto yer back...for me they have not been a solution but they have helped significantly...

measure your sleep time as accurately as possible and assess how you feel when you wake up; refreshed? fatigued? and then think about how you can improve the situation...

agreed.....I am actually going to run up to Big C tomorrow and buy one of those long cushions......the locals love them as we all know, I have always said to myself "don't get it" hahaha.....but now I will try one behind me when I lie down and see how that works.

The Doc tells me that I only have apnea when I am on my back, the tests proved that.....this may sound like wishful thinking but it seems like if I could find a way to just sleep on my stomach and my side maybe I wouldn't have a problem?? worth a try, that's for sure......

I usually wake up fatigued.....haven't had a good night's sleep since December or so unless I take meds, which i am trying like heck to avoid; all because of Nocturia, which is mostly caused by the Sleep Apnea! endless cycle......thankfully I don't have to wake up and work, I am a day trader and my minimal work is done at night when the markets are open in NYC.

Edited June 13, 2012 by Deaw

[Valentine]

OK, so back from my latest appointment and got bombarded with sticker shock.........68,000 baht for the machine and mask! Fisher-paykel out of New Zealand........what a rip-off, I told them I would get back to them but I am going to the states in late July and I think I can get the same price or even lower there so why buy here and have to drag the thing overeas with me? That was a shocker, I had figured around 30K at most. But again, I am happy to at least have a diagnosis, this Nocturia [getting up too often at night to pee] has been driving me nuts, it's good to finally know the root cause of that and all the tests and preliminary work I have done here would have been much more in the states, so already I think I have saved some dough.....will look into other methods of reducing my apnea before I leave, including trying to sleep on my side and stomach all night as poanoi suggested and also need to shed 20 or 25 kgs, no joke............ cheers all, contributions much apppreciated

Online price here http://www.cpapplus.com/machines/auto-machines.html

Price quoted to me by the F & P agent in Thailand is Baht 60,000. Remember this is the top of the line machine. IN NZ where they are made the price ends up around 50 to 60,000.

[tutsiwarrior]

anyone that sez that sleep problems are simply a matter of sleeping position are full of shit...apnea is a big problem that requires medical attention...I had a minor stroke recently and the Vietnamese 'doctor' just did a 'handshake test' and determined that there was no neurological damage but 3 months were required to regain functioning on my right side....stupid dink jiveass...

inform yerself as there is plenty of material on the internet and do an assessment based upon your current conditions...then see a specialist in sleeping disorders...people are now finding a relationship between bad sleep and heart problems and it's good to be aware...when at home just sleep when required...when at work and there is a problem in a 'non-sleeping' environment just stand up and smash the complaining manager in the face and then get the next flight home; quite satisfying and your health will then improve as well...

[Deaw]

Online price here http://www.cpapplus....o-machines.html

Price quoted to me by the F & P agent in Thailand is Baht 60,000. Remember this is the top of the line machine. IN NZ where they are made the price ends up around 50 to 60,000.

good link and I saved it.....I had seen a similar price somewhere on another site as well, the exact device I was allowed to test is the Fisher/Paykel Icon machine, 2nd row down; with tubes and everything it's under 1100US, or about 33K baht.......these guys here want double that! Again, hospitals are businesses..... waiting till I get home will also allow me to avoid lugging the thing halfway around the world and through customs, etc....

Agreed Tutsi, sleeping disorders are certainly more than just about the position you sleep in.....the only reason I'd try some pillows {I am here for another month anyway} first is because the apnea ONLY occurs when I am on my back during the nights, tests proved that. seems if I could somehow avoid ending up on the back during the night I wouldn't have trouble breathing? wouldn't solve the apnea or cure it of course, but at least I would be breathing better and maybe wouldn't have to wake up 5 times to take a leak every ight.

[Billmont]

Yes, I have this problem. I went for test in Bangkok Pattata Hospital, usual wires to head and chest, told I had apnea but other tests confirmed it was in the brain and nothing could be done to cure it and suggest a machine. Thought about it and then purchased one in Bangkok about 8 years ago cost be aboutTHB 120,000. Never got used to it, could not sleep using it. In the end gave up and said sod it, and I just put up with waking up regularly, going for a pee, sometimes I stay up for a couple of house and do some emails. It used to bother my ex (British) girlfried more than it did me, I stop breathing and she was afraid I was going to die, in the end she was afraid I wasn't. My Thai wife sleeps like a baby and it does not bother her. We all have something to live with, a cross to bear so to speak and this is the way I look at it and carry on as normal. I am also very good at ignoring doctors advice, I usually go home throw the tablets in a drawer as I think it was mothing serious otherwise the doctor would recommend more tests or see a specialist and I usually get better in a few days or weeks. I once did see a specialist in the Uk and he ask me how muc i drank and I told him a few beers, a few glasses of wine and a few large shots of scotch. He said that was alot for one week, I told no that is per day! He then confessed to me that he drank a bottle of wine every day and said it was so easy. I said don't worry about it as that does you more harm than the wine. He thanked me and I left.

[CHARLES1949]

i have sleep apnea too....you said you were going to the states and might buy a cpap there.....you will need a prescription from an american doctor to purchase a new one in the usa......i had my son purchase mine on craigslist from an individual and he shipped it to me...it is legal to buy from an individual...the machine i purchased had been used very few hours.....the machine has a menu for showing the total hours it has been used....i use a nasal mask and i am happy with it....just cannot sleep on stomach but no problem with sleeping on back or sides....good luck...

[luangtom]

I, too, have sleep-apnea. I have been on a CPAP-machine now for about one year. I tried two masks before I settled on the third, almost like a nasal-canula...a nose-pillow. The masks for nose and mouth covering were too restrictive and left me with a ridge dent in my nose's bridge. I use the ramp procedure in getting it up to full-force oxygenation and it works for me. The first two masks were limiting my ability to move about much without having the seal of the mask leak. The nasal-canula type allows me to move about and sleep on side or back. I never did sleep on my belly. I also did lose 40-pounds and that, in itself, helped me alot in my breathing while sleeping and while awake. I could not sleep more than an hour or two at first with any of them, but now can sleep a full 6 to 8 hours without getting up to pee. Before use of the CPAP, I used to get up every two hours or so. Now, I stay the course and do not get up to pee. Good luck.....Craigslist is a good suggestion. An airline neck-pillow also helped me get better sleep while on the CPAP.

Edited June 17, 2012 by luangtom

[Qman]

I had sleep studies and have been using a CPAP for 8 years now. I could never adjust to the face mask as it is really uncomfortable so changed to the nasal pillow style which is softer and allows you to sleep on your side much easier. Having the CPAP gets you good sleep and you can dream again by reaching deeper level of REM sleep. When I travel without it I get a sore throat from snoring and it is a necessity. Still wish I did not have to use a CPAP but the nasal pillow option makes it bearable. I also feel that you get better air pressure and intake. It is important to be "fitted" with a machine and mask so they can set the air pressure. Too much or too little are both problems and will not let you sleep well. Good luck with the adjustment to the CPAP.

[Dork]

A possible solution to the problem of sleeping on your back is wearing a tshirt with a tennis ball sown on the back. It sounds a bit silly but some say that it works.

I'm pretty sure that I have sleep apnea but haven't sought medical advice mainly because I don't want to be told that I need a CPAP and all the reading I have done says that's what they're going to say. I travel a lot and the idea of packing that thing and finding an electrical outlet in a different hotel every night on top of trying to sleep with hoses attached to my face makes it seem like an absolute last resort.

On and off I have tried another fairly simple device. It is called aveoTSD (google it) and is a soft silicon thing that attaches to your tongue by suction and stops it falling back into your mouth thereby obstructing the airway. Like a CPAP it also takes some getting used to and I haven't yet managed to be able to keep the thing in my mouth for a whole night. However I have resolved to try again and this time persevere with it.

One thing that concerns me a bit is that from what I have read is the difference between "obstructive" and "central" sleep apnea (OSA vs CSA) with the latter being caused by something in the brain rather than a physical obstruction. Like the op, I am also 10-15kg overweight and I am pretty sure that has a lot to do with it. My weight tends to fluctuate a bit and during the periods that I have lost weight my wife says that she doesn't notice my apneas as much. That would tend to support my theory that my problem is OSA. However once in a while I have doubts. An example is last week I was on an early morning flight after a tough couple of days/nights. Takeoff was delayed so I was sitting bolt upright in the seat but kept dropping off to sleep. 2 or 3 times I woke suddenly with that panicked feeling that I wasn't breathing which because I was upright, I don't think would be caused by obstruction - or maybe it was but I wasn't aware of my head dropping - I don't know.

Sorry for the rambling - Just a bunch of thoughts with no solution. But I am pretty convinced that this sleep apnea thing is to be taken seriously and is much more prevalent than most people think and there doesn't seem to be any really good solution out there.

[Ulysses G.]

I have sleep apnea and was afraid to get a CPAP machine after reading all the complaints on the internet, but I got to the point where I was falling asleep all the time when I would just sit down somewhere and wake up an hour later, wondering what the hell I was doing there.

I did the sleep tests, tried a few machines and ended up getting a very expensive one that only gives you air when you need it, so your throat does not get too dry from a constant flow. Anyway, the first time I tried it, I immediately stopped falling asleep all the time and I got used to my full face mask (I breath through my mouth when sleeping) and sleeping on my side very quickly. All I can say is that the CPAP machine improved my health a lot and for those having problems, I would not give up on it without even trying it. It really bothers me very litttle and I was sure that it would.

[tutsiwarrior]

I have sleep apnea and was afraid to get a CPAP machine after reading all the complaints on the internet, but I got to the point where I was falling asleep all the time when I would just sit down somewhere and wake up an hour later, wondering what the hell I was doing there.

I did the sleep tests, tried a few machines and ended up getting a very expensive one that only gives you air when you need it, so your throat does not get too dry from a constant flow. Anyway, the first time I tried it, I immediately stopped falling asleep all the time and I got used to my full face mask (I breath through my mouth when sleeping) and sleeping on my side very quickly. All I can say is that the CPAP machine improved my health a lot and for those having problems, I would not give up on it without even trying it. It really bothers me very litttle and I was sure that it would.

I have sleep apnea and was afraid to get a CPAP machine after reading all the complaints on the internet, but I got to the point where I was falling asleep all the time when I would just sit down somewhere and wake up an hour later, wondering what the hell I was doing there.

I did the sleep tests, tried a few machines and ended up getting a very expensive one that only gives you air when you need it, so your throat does not get too dry from a constant flow. Anyway, the first time I tried it, I immediately stopped falling asleep all the time and I got used to my full face mask (I breath through my mouth when sleeping) and sleeping on my side very quickly. All I can say is that the CPAP machine improved my health a lot and for those having problems, I would not give up on it without even trying it. It really bothers me very litttle and I was sure that it would.

so...what can we say about the wise purchase of a CPAP machine? is a medical examination required with all the associated tests or can one just go out and buy one and expect the best without any doctor's intervention?

I'm starting a new job and haveta do something about sleeping during the day as I've had too many problems in that regard with senior management...but I have no time for a comprehensive investigation by a medic and would want to try it out by simply purchasing the apparatus...

how much does the machine weigh? and can one purchase in BKK for transport out to an overseas remote area without a doctors recommendation? are there any 'disposables' (filters and etc) required for the operation? maybe better to simply purchase the device when I arrive at the new job?

any info?

[Ulysses G.]

You have to get a sleep test first to know how to set the air pressure so that it will keep your airway open all night. The (reputable) companies that sell them will let you try one for a few weeks first to see if you like it.

I tried a real basic model and realized after a few days that my throat was sore from constant pressure and I did not want one that you have to fill with water ever day, so I got one that only increases the air pressure when you need it - no water needed -, instead of the same pressure all the time. That worked much better for me and I'm glad that I got it, even though it was expensive.

I would get the sleep test and have a doctor help you, rather than trying to figure it out on your own.

Edited June 19, 2012 by Ulysses G.

[tutsiwarrior]

thanks, UG...it looks like that I'm gonna haveta approach this matter with caution...