u8myufo
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The title just to grab attention but I would still like to give those not familiar a little insight..
Anybody else in the group suffer with obstructive sleep apnea and is using cpap? It is estimated that 1.5 million adults in the UK have it, and yet up to 85% are undiagnosed, therefore untreated.
I was diagnosed a few years back now and thankfully it was a moderate case, I first become aware of something not being right when after having dinner which most of the time was around 6pm, I was just nodding off most days which was something I had never done before. It was summer time so put that down to early starts, long days and heat exhaustion, anyhow I went to the GP and he suggested I get an oxygen test done. A small clamp reader on the finger overnight and hit start, dropped it back at the hospital the following day and waited for the results. Discussing the results with the lady she got around to showing me and telling me i`d have to wear this mask connected to a small machine, yeh it came as a bit of a shock as thoughts of having to wear this thing at night was not something I really wanted to do. The machine works as follows, once switched on there is a very low pressure of air going to the mask, it`s not pure oxygen as some think but just the surrounding air, once you get in to your own breathing pattern to go to sleep that pressure reduces to more of a whisp of air for want of a better description, the machine is sensing the breathing pattern, as soon as the airways starts to become restricted slightly it instantly recognises that fact and then the air is pushed through with a bit more pressure to keep the airway open which in turn prevents the apnea happening, it`s nothing major like a gale force wind and you will not even notice it
So off home I go with it in it`s travel bag, People do have different ways of breathing when asleep, either in and out through their mouth, in through the nose and out the mouth, apparently though the best method is simply in and out through the nose. So at first I used a mask which covered the nose and mouth, but eventually changed that out for a nasal mask. Now if you are not aware how apnea works you basically stop breathing momentarily, the amount of times that can happen will vary from person to person which will determine the severity of it, from memory mine was about 80 times a night, and as mentioned that was diagnosed as a moderate case. The brain then naturally kickstarts you into breathing again when that happens, in a nutshell it`s an interruptive sleep pattern, you may well wake up feeling fine but you rarely go into deep sleep which is what the body really needs to charge tself back up again. Like many the first few weeks does get a bit of getting used to, at first I had to go back for a checkup where they download the memory card and look at the sleep patterns every twice a year, now I only have to go back every 3 years. I have to say that I feel so much better for it, I certainly feel more alert in the mornings and most nights go into R.E.M.
I will not bother posting any links as it`s easy enough to find out, but it`s been proven that if you are suffering with sleep apnea it can cause a whole lot of other health problems, having joined a group on the net when first diagnosed stories from people saying how their weight loss has become so much easier, hearing and vison slightly improved as well as improving but not curing their diabetes were all too common. Those that have had to shake their partners quite violently as they have stopped breathing for much longer than a couple of seconds, it is something that can cause death. There is also plenty of info that it is also linked to heart problems. For an illness that cannot be seen or felt pain wise it can have serious consequences long term, As for the causes there are a few, overweight around the neck, a receeding jaw due to having dentures to name but two, and yeh I snored like a trooper which is pretty common in most but just taken as a given that you are in a deep sleep, In reality that is far from it, but it is something I never do now. . So going back to after a few weeks of using cpap and thinking about how it all came about, I also remembered a short while before I started falling asleep those early evenings. Whilst driving down the motorway doing deliveries one mid morning I am in the middle lane doing around 75 overtaking a vehicle, when all of a sudden my eyelids just dropped like a stone for aprox 2 seconds, a complete black out. There was not even a warning of any tiredness, I pulled in asap and just had a rest for 20 minutes trying to figure out what caused it, after that I felt right as rain and carried on. Yes I was probably stupid not to have gone to a GP at the time, but that was then. I can only close this by saying I myself would not be without the cpap machine now, if you find yourself in a similar position of being diagnosed do not be put off and stick with it as you do get used to it. happy to answer any questions I can if it helps someone being at ease with it or any small problems they may have if using it.
Anybody else in the group suffer with obstructive sleep apnea and is using cpap? It is estimated that 1.5 million adults in the UK have it, and yet up to 85% are undiagnosed, therefore untreated.
I was diagnosed a few years back now and thankfully it was a moderate case, I first become aware of something not being right when after having dinner which most of the time was around 6pm, I was just nodding off most days which was something I had never done before. It was summer time so put that down to early starts, long days and heat exhaustion, anyhow I went to the GP and he suggested I get an oxygen test done. A small clamp reader on the finger overnight and hit start, dropped it back at the hospital the following day and waited for the results. Discussing the results with the lady she got around to showing me and telling me i`d have to wear this mask connected to a small machine, yeh it came as a bit of a shock as thoughts of having to wear this thing at night was not something I really wanted to do. The machine works as follows, once switched on there is a very low pressure of air going to the mask, it`s not pure oxygen as some think but just the surrounding air, once you get in to your own breathing pattern to go to sleep that pressure reduces to more of a whisp of air for want of a better description, the machine is sensing the breathing pattern, as soon as the airways starts to become restricted slightly it instantly recognises that fact and then the air is pushed through with a bit more pressure to keep the airway open which in turn prevents the apnea happening, it`s nothing major like a gale force wind and you will not even notice it
So off home I go with it in it`s travel bag, People do have different ways of breathing when asleep, either in and out through their mouth, in through the nose and out the mouth, apparently though the best method is simply in and out through the nose. So at first I used a mask which covered the nose and mouth, but eventually changed that out for a nasal mask. Now if you are not aware how apnea works you basically stop breathing momentarily, the amount of times that can happen will vary from person to person which will determine the severity of it, from memory mine was about 80 times a night, and as mentioned that was diagnosed as a moderate case. The brain then naturally kickstarts you into breathing again when that happens, in a nutshell it`s an interruptive sleep pattern, you may well wake up feeling fine but you rarely go into deep sleep which is what the body really needs to charge tself back up again. Like many the first few weeks does get a bit of getting used to, at first I had to go back for a checkup where they download the memory card and look at the sleep patterns every twice a year, now I only have to go back every 3 years. I have to say that I feel so much better for it, I certainly feel more alert in the mornings and most nights go into R.E.M.
I will not bother posting any links as it`s easy enough to find out, but it`s been proven that if you are suffering with sleep apnea it can cause a whole lot of other health problems, having joined a group on the net when first diagnosed stories from people saying how their weight loss has become so much easier, hearing and vison slightly improved as well as improving but not curing their diabetes were all too common. Those that have had to shake their partners quite violently as they have stopped breathing for much longer than a couple of seconds, it is something that can cause death. There is also plenty of info that it is also linked to heart problems. For an illness that cannot be seen or felt pain wise it can have serious consequences long term, As for the causes there are a few, overweight around the neck, a receeding jaw due to having dentures to name but two, and yeh I snored like a trooper which is pretty common in most but just taken as a given that you are in a deep sleep, In reality that is far from it, but it is something I never do now. . So going back to after a few weeks of using cpap and thinking about how it all came about, I also remembered a short while before I started falling asleep those early evenings. Whilst driving down the motorway doing deliveries one mid morning I am in the middle lane doing around 75 overtaking a vehicle, when all of a sudden my eyelids just dropped like a stone for aprox 2 seconds, a complete black out. There was not even a warning of any tiredness, I pulled in asap and just had a rest for 20 minutes trying to figure out what caused it, after that I felt right as rain and carried on. Yes I was probably stupid not to have gone to a GP at the time, but that was then. I can only close this by saying I myself would not be without the cpap machine now, if you find yourself in a similar position of being diagnosed do not be put off and stick with it as you do get used to it. happy to answer any questions I can if it helps someone being at ease with it or any small problems they may have if using it.
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