Hey everyone. Glad I happened upon this board. My wife made me have a sleep study due to her reports that I snore alot now and that I stop breathing. I've never experienced it.

Sleep study results showed I have extreme sleep apnea:

analyzed time: 5 hours 47 minutes
position: 131 minutes supine, 205 minutes non-supine
oxygen desat events: 123
apnea statistics: obstructive 43, supine, 18 mean seconds, 36 longest seconds
apnea statistics: hypopnea 80, supine 67, non supine 13, 28 mean seconds, 79 longest seconds

Does all that look bad?

They issued me a CPAP machine, but I really could not deal with: the noise (I'm sensitive to noise when I'm first trying to get to sleep) and the perceived air pressure. I could not help the panic feeling that the pressure caused. Yes, it was slight and they'd run a test on me to determine the right setting for my machine, but it still caused a feeling of panic in me. Not to mention the very odd idea that you have to wear all this gear just to go to bed.

Is my experience way out in left field?

Thanks for input,

Doug

Doug-

There are some additional things that would be helpful in helping you know just how serious your apnea is. I would encourage you to request a copy of your sleep study report from either your sleep doctor (who ran and interpreted the sleep study) or your doctor who prescribed your CPAP. It would also be helpful to know if you had a single night split-study or if you had a 2 night study (the first night to measure your sleep and the second study to figure out the best setting for your CPAP). If you had 2 separate studies, you should request a copy of that study also.

My impression is that that your sleep study shows a significant problem with sleep apnea. My guess is that if you look at data regarding your O2 levels during the sleep study, that those figures would help you understand just how much your apnea and hypopnea is affecting you and your body.

The experience of initial difficulty in adjusting to CPAP is not uncommon. Many machines have a ramp feature that slowly builds up the pressure to the prescribed pressure to help you fall asleep. If you haven't already tried this, you may find it helpful. What is your prescribed CPAP pressure and what machine are are you using?

Best wishes,
Bill