Hi, I'm a wife of a SA sufferer.  I found this forum when trying to get his c-pap fixed after it went kaput on a trip.  I'm the internet junkie, so I guess I'm the one on the forums.  I look forward to sharing stories and offering support.

Welcome
 Looking forward to sharing and helping .
 I am also the wife of a SA.  I found the forum very helpful for me at the beginning of my husbands diagnosis.
Just know you are not alone.

Hello and Welcome!

Altho this is suppose to be for spouses to post,but we get a lot of users posting here as well.

I am also the wife of a cpap user/SA sufferer.  Hubby has been at it for 14 months now.
He uses a full face mask since he is a mouth breather.

Please feel free to ask questions that you might have about things.

I'm a spouse and have been posting to the main boards for almost a year and a half.  There is no reason why a spouse can't post there.  I think this place was intended for spouses who have personal problems with their spouse's use of a CPAP machine and mask.  A place where they can get support from other spouses in accepting the situation that their other half is in.  I have not had any problems of this kind so never missed it's non-existence but recently there have been newcomers who need the support.  I am happy to see that there is a place for them.  I'm not sure that I have anything to offer but if there is, I will be happy to come forward.

I'm also a newbie.  My husband of 17 years went for a sleep study a few weeks ago and was found to have apnea (which wasn't a surprise to ME).  He actually slept really well during the initial sleep study, but rarely went into a deep sleep because he was waking himself into a less deep sleep when his breathing apnead/snoring/etc.  He did stop breathing for over a minute.  He went back for a second study with a CPAP nose thing.  He hardly slept at all and was absolutely exhausted the next day.  I'm really disappointed and feel like the whole thing was a disaster.   We meet with the doctor tomorrow.  It seems like there are inconsistencies on the data we got too, but hopefully the doctor appointment will clear that up.  The bridge of my husband's nose is still irritated and it's been 4 days since the study.  It seems like the solutions to apnea are these devices that look like what Amelia Earhart wore.  It's 2007, for God's sake.  Is this really the best we can do for these poor people????  I am a little freaked out by the look of the thing too.    My husband wasn't tired before the study, but snored loudly.  I really don't know what to do.  The solution is worse than the problem.  Can anyone help me?

Janet, welcome to the site.  It's hard to know where to begin in answer to your posting but I would like to suggest first that you should start your own thread.  Coming at the end of a thread tends to get you ignored.  Probably you would be better off using the main forum because you will get the most attention there.

And, yes, this is the best we can do for obstructive sleep apnea sufferers and, once one gets things adjusted properly, it works very well.

 Do you have copies of the results of the studies?  If you haven't, you should get copies of  both, including the graphs.  Sometimes the doctor or the clinic are reluctant to give them to you but it is your right to have them so insist.  Once you have them, post them and we will help you understand them.

If your husband wasn't tired before the first study, what prompted him to have one? Because, from what you have said, he definitely has obstructive sleep apnea and would benefit from using a CPAP machine and mask.

My own husband has been using a machine for a year and a half.  He accepted it right away because his titration study (the one during which you wear the mask) showed him just how much better it made him feel.  I didn't have a problem with his using it because it eliminated his snoring which had been driving me nuts for years.  But I felt that I could never do it myself.  Then I began having sleeping problems of my own and found that I was more than willing to go that route if it would give me better sleep.  Unfortunately, it turned out not to be the problem and I'm still trying to find the answer.

I know this whole thing has come as a shock to you both and it is going to take time to come to terms with it.  That's okay - it happens to a lot of people and sooner or later, they do come to terms with it. Start by reading as much as you can about the problem and ask us all the questions you want.  Once it becomes more familiar, I think you will find it easier to accept but it will be a slow process so please don't despair.

Janet, I should have added this to my first answer.  Don't rush into getting a machine and mask before you get comfortable with the whole idea and before you know what it is all about.  In this case, knowledge is power.

Also, find out what your insurance covers and how it works before you buy anything.  And research the equipment suppliers that you can use.  

And the sore nose that your husband had (has?) is a sign of a poorly fitted mask.  Shame on the sleep clinic for doing such a poor job.

Frances, thanks so much for your reply.  It is nice to know that people understand what we are going through.  Yes, my husband has obstructive apnea.  I will post his results of both studies after I get a copy of the ones today from the study with the mask (7/6) where he didn't sleep much at all.  I am the one that started all of this (which is why I feel a little guilty) because his snoring has gotten so bad that he's been sleeping in the guest bedroom about six months--because I just couldn't take it any more.  We live in a small town, so I don't have a lot of faith in the doctors here and the lack of technology knowledge.  It seems like you go for a study, they say you have apnea, they hand you a device, bye.  I've heard that only 40% of people continue to use the masks, and I can certainly see why.  I have seen something on the palatial implants, which sound SOOOO much better than this Darth Vador device.  I'm going to ask about them today, but honestly expect that the doctor will have little to no knowledge of them.  (Yes, I'm feeling pessimistic.)  I do blame myself for not going to the doctor appointment after the first study because perhaps I'd know more, but my husband doesn't seem to know much and he was THERE.  I'll try to start a new post at that time too, but this is the first time I've ever done anything like this.   Thanks again for your response; it really means a lot to me.