I went thru some old records and I was wrong about the six years. I think it's 4, which is still a long time. And yes, it has not been an easy journey for me. It is again very difficult these past few weeks. I had hoped that I would have been able to just pop on the mask, go to sleep and everything wd be fine and that didn't happen. I have insomnia along with other maladies. Just after my sosa(severe obstructive sleep apnea) diagnosis, I had surgery for a septal deviation and I don't think that was a rousing success, but I cannot recall the level of breathing difficulty I had, but it ain't perfect now. A nose spray helps occasionally. My sleep dr. calls it or me.....complex. (sounds polite, wouldn't you say?) Lars, interesting that the sleep dr. feels that the mask is not the cause of your anxiety and of course that's true, but anxiety is still a common reaction to the mask. And this kind of leads into what I was thinking in my earlier posts-about it being a young science, and believing in your own gut, and "sleep dr., just fix me-in the current imperfect state that I'm in. Yes, I have a few warts, anxiety being the one wart in the forefront now, but ..." Otoh, maybe these newly diagnosed sleep problems bring every big and little complaint, imperfection, trouble, symptom to the front and center of our worlds,--I cannot clearly articulate what I'm thinking--Is this the case that, finally, someone is paying attention and we have to spill our guts with each malady plaguing us? or should I just speak for myself, in this instance? Lars, why do you think your body is not in balance? Unless you have lab results that tell you of this imbalance? There's a lot of 'good health' in your activities, such as your wonderful hikes, and your gardening, and cooking, and jack of all around your house,--and certainly your artistic abilities to see art wherever you look, and I'm not referring to your professional work capabilities but your vision as a layperson/human -altho that's mental rather than physical. I just think you have a lot of good health showing, too. Perhaps there is a component to these sleep issues where the patient becomes more aware or somehow feels a need to discuss/ address each big and little thing? Does a sleep dx open a can of worms? And then does the sleep dr. adequately respond? or kick it to a colleague? Is it just because a forum for complaints opens up? I dunno. I don't even remember everything, The headgear used to pull my longish hair out. After sleeping with a satin shmattie over my hair, under the headgear, I finally cut my hair. I had nasal deviation surgery. I did finally start losing weight, about 40 lbs. so far and I'm eating the same! (Getting your attention, now?lol) I addressed my pulmonary problems and now take a boatload of pricey drugs. Lotta babbling on my part, here.

I have sleep apnea and am using a CPAP machine. Most doctors aren't versed in sleep medicine, however, a pulminologist is. A pulminologist is trained to read sleep study data and determine the proper therapeutic levels. There are a number of variations available. The treatment depends on the specific problems causing obstruction and their location. There are three types of sleep apnea, including obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), central sleep apnea, mixed sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is a disorder in which complete or partial obstruction of the airway during sleep causes loud snoring, oxyhemoglobin desaturations and frequent arousals. Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by repetitive upper airway obstruction during sleep as a result of narrowing of the respiratory passages. Central sleep apnea is a sleep breathing disorder that occurs when the brain fails to send the appropriate signals to the breathing muscles to initiate respirations. Conditions that can cause central sleep apnea include bulbar poliomyelitis, encephalitis affecting the brainstem, and neurodegenerative illnesses. A sleep test, called polysomnography is done to diagnose sleep apnea. Confirmation of the diagnosis requires making measurements while the person sleeps. There are different types of machines - some that have automatically adjustable air pressure or air pressures that are different when you breathe in than when you breathe out. There are also APAP or AutoPAP or AutoCPAP machines. These machines fine tune the amount of pressure delivered to the patient to the minimum required to maintain an unobstructed airway on a breath-by-breath basis by measuring the resistance in the patient's breathing, thereby giving the patient the precise pressure required at a given moment and avoiding the compromise of fixed pressure. There are also bBi-level pressure devices. You may or may not need humidification whether it be heated or passive. Some people need the ramp feature, others don't. Some people need to use a chin strap, others don't. There are also a variety of masks - all based on a theraputic determination. There are full face masks, nasal pillows, masks that just cover the nose, etc. The point of all of this is that there are way too many variables to monkey around and guess at what "might" work. CPAP therapy involves more than just strapping on a mask and experimenting. Different types of sleep apnea require a different course of treatment and the only definitive way to determine what one needs is to have a sleep study. Randomly guessing or experimenting and getting it wrong can be just as deadly as not using CPAP once it has been properly diagnosed. A diabetic would no sooner experiment with how much insulin they need by "trial & error." CPAP therapy should be viewed the same.

Okay... Now I use lemon balm (melissa officinalis) knocks me out... I can have a whole tea ball full of the stuff and sleep 10 hours. Plus it's a minor anti-depressant. PLUS, you can adapt it, for instance, I am a light weight, for a good night's sleep I only need a teaspoon full in a tea ball for tea, but if you need more, you can up the dose, whereas with a pill you can't. Easy to find and cheap, you can even grow your own, but it will take over.

Phoggie.....it is not a cpac as some call it. It is a CPAP (CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure) and I can tell you know nothing about it. You may want to read up on it. You said they ordered a cpap machine for you, but you never picked it up. That is really not how it works as the company supplying the cpap will send out a Respiratory Therapist with the machine and show you how to use and care for it and also how important it is to use. If one was ordered for you, you must have stopped breathing several times while asleep. Stroke, heart attack or death can happen to those who have sleep apnea and do not have it treated. Mare, please go have the test and do as they say. It is not that bad at all, just uncomfortable and you will fall asleep if you set your mind to. Also they will check the stats on your machine (there is a data card in the machine) every 3-6 months to make sure it is still set properly for your needs. Good luck and hope you don't need this, but I will tell you I have not slept this well for years.