I Will not wear it! Ever, ever again!
Imperfect does not = unsuccessful
Lisa, I had the same reaction to the machine. First I felt I was gulping air, my mouth kept filling up with air. Then, I felt my stomach was full of air after using it. I thought...what the heck! I never felt I was not sleeping well in the first place, and this is certainly not better than not using it!
OK, so now I have to go back to have them check on my progress and I haven't used it. Maybe three or four nights. So, I'm committed to begin using it so I at least have two weeks of use under my belt to show them and to prove something -- who know what -- to myself. I am going to try for the two weeks beginning tonight.
One thing that helped me was to use it while I sat and watched tv, just to get used to it. You have to keep your mouth shut. Now that was tough for me! It was revealing, too, because I thought, you mean I have to sit in front of the tv for two hours and not talk -- or, eat?!
Anyway, Lisa, that's what I've learned. I've used it enough to know I can sleep with it and I do want to know if it does help me. So many here on this board have been helped by it, I feel I have to try. One thing I don't want to happen is that I'd get so used to sleeping with the machine that I can't sleep without it. No way am I going to travel around Europe, for instance, shleping that machine around.
Trouble is, I feel now that I've been diagnosed, they won't do the surgery unless I have that under control. Once the surgery is done, most people don't need it any more. This is definitely one of the most difficult and maddening hoops to jump through.
Good Luck and keep us posted.
Kathy
~ SANDY ~ 5'9" HW 291/SW 274/GW 174/CW 155
Starting BMI 40.4 Extremly Obese ~ Current BMI 22.8 Normal
I absolutely hated mine!!! It takes up to 3-4 weeks to get used to it. And the machine has a monitor in it so they can tell how long you use it every night. And there is a problem with the anesthesia administration if you don't breathe right. You have to keep trying the machine. Even if you take it off during the night and throw it across the room, keep trying. At my check up after a month they needed at least a 4 hours a night to see if the machine needed adjusting to help you sleep better. There are several different masks including one that will help you keep your mouth shut, one that is like the oxygen thingy that just goes in your nostrils, etc. But you do need to try. Refusing to use it, or just plain not trying, could be an indicator to the program that you can't stick with something -- if you get frustrated you just quit. Not a good thing for a lifetime plan.
Good luck --- I know it sucks but after surgery you probably won't need it!!!!
See you Saturday at coffee in Burnsville?
Fitness is not about age or a size -- it's really about an attitude and life style!!!
Life is not measured by the number of breathes we take, but by the moments that take our breathe away~~
