Up my nose with a rubber hose (Sleep Apnea and CPAP)

[kokopelli20878]

No, we're not having a "welcome back, Kotter" flashback.

I've been living with obstructive sleep apnea for quite some time. 
A couple of years ago, I had an operation on my schnooz, hoping that it would eliminate the problem.  The operation helped my sense of smell, and made breathing much easier, but did nothing about the apnea.

As my snoring was

Comments

[amamama]

That's great news! I'm really happy for you, as I'm all too familiar with that zombie feeling (though I don't have apnea). Your wife notices you're happier, I'd wager you'll get a general improvement in health, too. Cheers!

[scarlett71177]

Good luck with the CPAP machine.

Aren't sleep studies fun? [/ends sarcasm]

sleep studies

[kokopelli20878]

Well, having done four of them, I can say - no.

Re: sleep studies

[scarlett71177]

4? yeeps. It feels like sleeping in a plate of spaghetti- wires everywhere, tangling you up. I agree. Not fun.

[madderbrad]

You know, I think I should perhaps have another study done myself. Only ever had the one, many years ago, but I've still got the symptoms - snoring on the Richter scale, often waking up dead tired. Maybe the technology for the sleep study has improved - or I've gotten worse. Certainly no-one likes to appear to be a zombie!

I know for a fact that my nose is blocked up, but I was told that (a) the operation is very very painful, and (b) the improvement only temporary; that the airway would gradually close up again? This is going back quite a few years though.

Thanks for the motivational reminder.

[madderbrad]

So I did two more sleep studies

I was going to ask why you did *three* tests; I was of the impression that the studies only showed either if you had sleep apnea, or if you didn't. I did the test years ago, and was told I didn't have it. Is there more to it than that?

one, two, three, four

[kokopelli20878]

Prior to the first operation, I had a SNAP test, which said that I had significant sleep apnea. Based on this, I had the operation, which straightened my deviated septum. Snoring improved a bit, but the other symptoms remained, so we did a Polysomnogram at the local hospital, which had a cruddy facility. It was a split study, but I didn't have significant apnea events during the 1st 4 hours, only during the 2nd 4 hours. So I went home and gutted it out for another two years. Doing nothing wasn't working, so I visited my doc, and we did test #3, which was at a proper sleep center, which diagnosed me as either moderate or severe apnea, depending upon the scale used. After that, we had test #4, in which I was fitted with a CPAP and they fiddled with the pressure until they found the minimum pressure at which my airway stayed open and I stopped thrashing about.

On the whole, the Missus is glad I stuck with it.

Re: one, two, three, four

[madderbrad]

Thanks for the info. Since it's been so long, I definitely think I'll give it another go myself.

[brother_art]

Congrat's on getting the Darth Vader mask, John.

Glad I sleep on my stomach.