sleep apnea? | Arthritis Information

I was wondering if anyone else on here has been diagnosed with sleep apnea? I went for a sleep study last night and was told I have sleep apnea and have to go back next week for another sleep study - this one with a cpap machine. I had assumed my daytime sleepiness was due to RA, but my primary care doctor wanted to delve further. I'm surprised at the diagnosis, as I'm not overweight, don't smoke and don't appear to have any of the risk factors for sleep apnea. I'm just curious is anyone else on here has been diagnosed with this. Thanks! Love and hugs, Juliah

I had been diagnosed with sleep apneia several years ago after my wife noticed that I stopped breathing for a few seconds several times during the night.

I was fitted with a CPAP machine and tried to use it but because the hospital lab had decided I needed the air pressure and flow set quite high the mask seal couldn't stop leaks. The whistling of the air past the mask REALLY kept me awake. Tightening the mask up made my face very sore.

The end result was that I was tireder than ever. I have since given up on the device. I have discovered that when sleeping on my stomach I don't have the problem. Hard to keep this position while asleep always tho.

I have read that some people have a pocket in the back of their pj top for a tennis ball to keep you on your stomach.

If they decide that you need a machine DO NOT LEAVE THE CLINIC UNTIL YOU ARE TOTALLY SURE YOU ARE VERY COMFORTABLE WITH THE SET UP!!!

After I found that I had a problem with the equipment, the vendor's reps who supplied the system could never get it right. They fiddled with different masks several times but were not allowed to mess with air flow or pressure settings. By this time I was too disillusioned to redo the testing at the hospital.

So if I may repeat: Don't let them release you from the clinic or hospital until you are POSITIVE you can sleep comfortably with the unit all night long.

Hope this helps.
Ketch

Juliah~ My neice, nephew, and sister all have sleep apnea and use the cpap machines. It's been a literal life saver for them. Their breathing study was horrible, could have been fatal. Now they can't sleep without the machines though it took some getting used too. Do make sure you are fitted properly if you have to use one. Sometimes it is tough to get it just right. Good luck!My DH has had a c-pap for a long time, he is carrying it on a 3 week tour of Europe as I write. Like Moana said it can be a life saver, and not just for the user, there were times when I was ready to kill him. Ketch is right about getting it fit, DH had to go through a bunch of masks before he got one he liked.Julia. Sorry to hear about this diagnosis. I have sleep apnea and am on
CPAP at night. Remember, 50 percent of people with sleep apnea are
overweight. That means that 50 percent of people with it are not. People
with big tonsils are also at risk. I was much more overweight when I was
diagnosed and I have not been retested. I have not worn my CPAP for
months because I can't seem to get a good night sleep with it. I'm
working on that. Sleep apnea is one of the biggest reasons for sudden
cardiac death. It can lead to trunk obesity which can lead to diabetes.
Many people who are on their CPAP as directed tend to drop weight.
Sleepapnea.org can offer advice and info on this disease. I have some
advice for you. Make sure you get a mask that you are really happy with
as it does affect your quality of sleep. If it does not fit, you will not sleep
well. Keep trying different ones until you find one you like. I think
everyone should be tested for this, especially us with RA as we don't need
to speed up cardiac disease as RA is already doing this for us. Ketch, some advice. See if you can be on plain O2 via nasal cannula at
night. The goal is to keep your saturation greater than 90. Simple 02 will do
that. I was on oxygen at night for a few months until my sleep study was
done and to tell you the truth, I wish I would have just stayed with that. I
think once the insurance pays for the CPAP, it is harder to get the 02 set up.

I wear a C-pap when sleeping. I will tell you that before I started using it I was sleepy all the time and I could fall asleep at any time, any place. I felt like crap all the time. Since I got my machine I wear it faithfully every night. It took some time getting use to it. But I kept it up and I feel so much better for it. Keep in mind it takes your body some time to adjust to getting adequate oxygenation.

Depriving yourself of oxygen isn't real good on the brain. It's hard on the heart also. If you tell yourself you arent going to like it then you wont. Try to keep a positive attitude. And of course there is also the benefit of no more snoring and your spouse will thank you. :)

Get over the vanity thing and just wear it. Sorry to be blunt.