Test

My Darling would never even hear the thing , he is a sound sleeper .  I think that if anyone in this family has apnea its him. He stops breathing for a long while , when I am awake , I nudge him in the ribs & tell him to start breathing.  

Same thing with me Cat!

My fiance is such a solid sleeper- he wouldn't notice if I was kidnapped in the night!
It's funny because I think HE HAS sleep Apnea! LOL

He is not overweight at all, but sometimes Its as if he stoppes breathing and like you I nudge him and then he coughs a bit and everything is fine- it worries me!

PS. Concerning the sleep apnea test, it depends on whether they will send you report to saint john or not. I was referred to Vitale Aire by a Respitologist so he will view the report and then decide whether Saint John is needed.

I think they only send the report to a Saint John specialist if you were refered to Vital Aire by your GP.

M

I picked up my machine , she showed me how to use it .
I asked her what happens if I  am diagnosed with  sleep apnea.( sleep study or not )  because I am having surgery sometime in the winter & I need to know by then. In SJ the wait is almost a year. SO she told me that they can tell from this machine & the script can be written out here for the cpap .  I think thats all thats neccessary then. That mission almost accomplished.
I hear that they are noisy . I also seen a pic of one that goes under the nose ,called a nose pillow . I cant imagine trying to sleep with all that getup on !!

There is a trick to it Cat.  The one thing that I found helped me was staying positive.  I just told myself I can do this and this is necessary for me to live and to sleep properly and to take the strain off my heart because everytime you stop breathing your heart suffers.  So I stayed positive and I gave it an honest try for several months.  I went back to Vitalaire maybe 6 times before they found the right mask and the right fit for my face and it was worth it.  I live 30 minutes away from a city and could not drive there alone for fear of falling asleep.  I always used to stop half way and lock the car and put my head back and try to nap for a bit before I carried on.  Now I can drive there and back no problem.  Of course, my snorkle as I call it is not pretty and so ravishing is not a word I use to describe the way I sleep but I am sleeping so who cares.  I even put my mask on if I want to have a short nap.  You will not believe, once you get the right mask and the right combination for you, how awesome you will feel.  You will have more energy and more stamina and we need that for this surgery.  And you will be so well rested and that will be very important to getting through the surgery with ease.  Just keep positive and give it a good honest try and you will feel sooooo much better.
Ann

Oh and I meant to say too that my friend started out with the nose pillow and did not like it but I have another friend just loves it.  My friend who hated the nose pillow is more comfortable with a full face mask that covers her nose and mouth.  I like one that just covers my nose only not my mouth.  You will find the one you like best and then it just onwards to bigger and better things from there.
Ann

It is a God send.  I have lugged mine all over the world.
I got used to mine slowly. I could only sleep with it for a couple hours at first, but it increased over time, but I started feeling a lot better within days.
Sleep APNEA has been linked (in some studies) to sudden fatial heart attack.

Well I soon will be hitting the hay . I will take my buddy with me & put it under my pillow .   I have 2 questionairres  to fill out , one tonight & one in the morning . I hope that I can stay asleep for at least 6 hours . I can never stay asleep all night . I am usually up around 3-4 am & up til 8am . I may have an afternooon nap  or not....!    The Dr. scribed me clonocpam  to help me sleep , I take 3 of them .  I still manage to wake up & not go back to sleep. I have to see her again & tell her that . There must be something else she can give me .
How does everyone like this weather ? At least its mild out , rain supposed to stop tommorrow ..
Good night everyone .....

Hey Cat

Hope you got a full night sleep so they can have some results for you.  When I was going through a major depression about 7 years ago they sent me to a neurologist as I kept passing out.  He suspended my liscense thinking it could be narcolepsy.  I would be talking to someone on the phone and completely zonk out.  Hubby would simply tell the person I would call back later.  Sometimes my son who was about 6 at the time would try to wake me and couldn't - thought I was dead a few times.  For years beforehand driving had been an issue - easily lull me asleep - wake up when the tires would hit the gravel so I definately had some angels protecting me at times.

When I did the at home test the results were inconclusive as I just couldn't sleep long enough - maybe a couple hours here and there - yes major insomia too.  So I waited for the full overnight test in Saint John.  By then I was pregnant so we waited a little bit after he was born since I was nursing.

When I met with the sleep specialist after doing the overnight test she said she was amazed I could actually walk straight - my sleep apnea was that bad!!  Needless to say I got the machine (thank goodness for hubby's insurance plan). 

I wear the full over the nose mask and have the line across my forehead since I try to keep the straps tight - it still slips off the back of my head at times.  I do notice a big difference if I fall asleep before putting it on or take it off while sleeping.  My husband doesn't mind the noise - he snores loud enough to drown it out!!

Dr S did say that after the surgery I likely will not need the machine any longer - woohoo.

My machine is a Res-Med and it is very very quite.  My husband has never complained and actually tells people that it is whisper quiet.  He says that compared to the noise I made snoring this is totally silent.  He gets a better sleep as well since my snoring and gasping would constantly wake him up. Really, if you have sleep apnea and need a CPAP machine, get it and get used to it.  Both you and your husband will be so happy you did.

I hope any of you that need a machine also has insuranse coverage. They are 1500.00 to 2000.00. Mine was 1800.00 but that was 5 years ago. Since obesity is a growing problem, I thought the price may have gone down. Kind of like what happens the months after In finally decide to by some electronic toy!!!