One bit of advice - when you have the sleep study done - take the next day off work if you can. That way if you feel like you got zero sleep, you can nap the next day. Very few people leave a sleep study feeling like they are ready to tackle the world.
My mom did a sleep study maybe 25 years ago or so. They never gave her a machine, they did surgery instead (deviated septum I think?) It’s possible that they put a mask on her at some point like I had in my study and how Inner Stickler mentions, and her apnea was not positively affected by the CPAP, so the next step for her was surgery.
My sleep study was in two parts. The first basically measured how I was sleeping, and the result came back: frickin’ terrible. No wonder you are falling asleep at your desk at work.
The second one was a week later with a CPAP. It took a little getting used to, but eventually I fell asleep. When I woke up, I felt like a completely different human being. That was apparently the first full night of sleep I had had in many, many years.
Actually, there are sleep studies done for all kinds of reasons. As an undergrad, I found some easy money volunteering as a normal control for “sleep studies”.
One study was looking at diurnal variation in growth hormone production. An IV line exited my arm and went through the wall so that hourly blood samples could be taken while I slept.
Another study looked at nocturnal penile tumescence. It paid very well due to the embarrasment factor of being woken each time the device said I had an erection during sleep to get verification. Seriously.
Oh yeah also my niece just had a sleep study done to determine whether or not she needed her tonsils out. She did need her tonsils out.
My 2nd study, the titration study to determine CPAP settings, was difficult for me to fall asleep. All the hook-ups again and then adding a CPAP mask for the first time. It was rough but I did manage to fall asleep for a about 3 hours. It was absurd how much better I felt even though it was only a few hours sleep. I was AWAKE, I was clear headed, I didn’t feel like I just fought my way to the surface from the bottom of the ocean for the last several hours without air. Just those few hours of real sleep, for the first time in decades, and I finally realized that this is how “normal” people feel in the morning. Never missed a night of CPAP since.
Ignorance fought! Thanks.
There should be little stars you put on your calendar for dropping phrases like “nocturnal penile tumescence” into conversation.
They should be shooting stars.
The reason I used the phrase. . . it was part of the title of the journal article which featured a picture of my erect member. In my 20s I’d do anything for money!
(Joking aside, it was an interesting, elegant study comparing nocturnal penile tumescence in normal controls and in individuals with erectile dysfunction due to various reasons.)
Black Market?? Like what??
Some people buy the machines (possibly with the help of insurance) and despite trying cannot tolerate CPAP use. Several then sell the machines often through online channels. And some online vendors do not ask for a prescription. And a prescription is not required in some countries.
Similarly, some of the supplies may be unneeded extras. When I get a replacement nose piece for my nasal pillows mask it comes in a box with three nose pieces, one of each of three different sizes. I only need the medium size. And while I haven’t bothered to sell the extra small and large nose pieces I can see the value in that. When I was visiting Medellin, Colombia I unpacked my CPAP and could not find the nose piece. Wouyld have been nice to have an extra in the case as backup. I nearly freaked and was having a hard time imagining how I was going to find a place to sell me the missing part. Fortunately I found it in a different compartment in the carrying case, moved courtesy of the TSA during their inspection.
I have been following closely the relative ease of availability of the new machines.
I cannot justify spending the money on a new very small auto titrating machine, but I do have a couple of web pages bookmarked for the day when I find myself in desperate need.
These folks claim that they will do an internet-based interview with a physician of their choosing and based on that approval I can purchase a machine.
Sounds good to me!
That said, I really liked the way the previous thread was headed. Who knew that Medellin was the new worldwide exchange for stolen and used CPAPs???
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Thanks for all of the feedback…I’ve only been back a couple times to read them because I don’t really want to deal with it but I know I need to.
Another reason though is that I’ve been waiting for the bill to see if I want to request another test. The cost is $250.
As I said in the OP, strapping the rig on woke me up so much that I decided to take an Ambien which would normally put me out for 5-6 hours. I actually woke up after 3 1/2 and couldn’t fall back to sleep for another hour.
I’d be real interested to see the results of the last hour compared to the sleeping results. I’m going to ask.
Got the machine a week ago. Used it five times cuz I went away for the weekend and was not ready to travel with it.
I’ve used it with 10mg Ambien to go to sleep; 5MG to get back to sleep and none at all. I really haven’t noticed any change in my ability to get to sleep or stay asleep yet but it is early.
Getting to sleep was never a problem so I guess I am adjusting to it well. Staying asleep has been so in that sense it isn’t helping yet.
I chose the nasal mask because I thought the nasal pillows put out an aggravating level of air straight into my nose. I may try those after all though.
I got mine last Thursday, and I’ve used it every night. I chose the same mask, I don’t want those things sticking directly into my nose. Waking up at 5:30 AM hasn’t been quite as harsh, but other than that I can’t say I’ve noticed any difference in how I’m feeling during the day. My wife, however, is most pleased. She says I’m still a bit restless, but it’s a vast improvement.
One thing I’m having a hard time with is when I first put it on. Exhaling is hard, and I feel like I can’t breathe. It takes about ten minutes of alternating between breathing through my mouth and nose before I feel like I’m getting enough air. The past three nights, I’ve woken up once or twice in the middle of the night to find the mask up on the bridge of my nose. I don’t know if I’m puliing it off in my sleep, or if it’s riding up on its own since I fall sleep on my stomach. I’ll be bringing that up with the doctor at my follow-up appointment next month.
Dunno about your machine but mine has a ‘ramp-up’ feature where it starts out with really low pressure and then over 15 minutes or so gets up to the prescribed pressure. I had to shorten it quite a bit as the initial pressure made me feel like I couldn’t breathe.
I don’t have any trouble only breathing in and out of my nose while keeping my mouth shut for the most part. I have been wearing an over-the-counter disposable bight guard regularly for the last few years so maybe I’m trained to keep it shut.
I’ve been using my CPAP for about 4 years now, I don’t remember my actual scores, but I was in the high sleep apnea event percentile with a significant drop in O2…it has been a Godsend, I sleep great, I feel rested in the morning, it actually didn’t take very long to get used to…in fact, I have a hard time falling asleep without it…most importantly, I don’t snore and my wife isn’t poking me in the side every five minutes, “Roll over! ROLL OVER!!”
Mine did this, ResMed FX, I just removed the start-up pressure as it’s one of the few settings I can change…