I just today came back from my doctors office after my first sleep study. In short words, he told me I was screwed. I had quit breathing 54 times per hour. I have to go back with the mask on, and go to sleep again. My question is, will this mask help me, and what are the best to get?

Sleepy in Carolina wrote:

I just today came back from my doctors office after my first sleep study. In short words, he told me I was screwed. I had quit breathing 54 times per hour. I have to go back with the mask on, and go to sleep again. My question is, will this mask help me, and what are the best to get?

Hi Sleepy,

"Screwed," eh?  Well, it may seem like that now.
How have you felt up until now?  Have you felt the daytime exhaustion so many of  us felt before we were treated?  Did you fall asleep during inappropriate times?  Did you have other problems, like high blood pressure, headaches, depression, and others?  

Yes, the mask and the cpap treatment can sure help.  I started treatment just about a year ago.  I NEVER want to go back to feeling the way I did before cpap.   It may seem like a pain to have to sleep with a mask, but I would much rather  have that problem then feel as I had or  have some more constant chronic health problem.  Cpap therapy can save your life, most importantly.  Untreated sleep apnea over time can lead to some very dangerous conditions, like stroke and heart attack.  And untreated sleep apnea can cause other health problems or make existing ones so much worse.  Also, if you actually have sleep apnea, you NEED TO KNOW.  If you EVER have surgery in the future, for any reason or condition, be sure to let the doctors and anesthesiologists know, because they need to adjust the surgery care for your condition, treated or untreated.  

So there are many reasons to be treated for this, especially since this can be a life-threatening condition.
But also, you can feel SO much better!  God, what a difference in my life!  I still have health problems, but I don't feel nearly as exhausted and debilitated as I did before treatment started.  Wearing the mask is a small price to pay to feel better and protect your health.  

Your second part of the sleep study, where they fit you with the mask and test you with cpap therapy, will likely determine what type of mask you will need.  Some are nose masks, fitting over the nose.  Others are full face masks, fitting over the nose and the mouth (for those who breathe through their mouth often).  There are other versions of the nose mask, like nasal pillows and other similar ones.  Some of these are far less obtrusive.  As to the brands of masks?  You might read the different posted comments under the mask forum to see what people like.  It is different for different people.  As you can imagine, every face is a little different in shape and strength, etc.  What works for one person might not work as well for another.  The study will help determine what type of mask you might need.  Then working with the medical equipment providers, there may be an opportunity to test different ones.  Still, read these posts.  They might help.


You might want to check out the Frequently Asked Questions section (FAQ) of the forum, for more information.
The following is a link to one of the topics about sleep apnea:
click here for link to FAQ topic


Linda

I tried the mask, but I couldn't go to sleep. It was not the mask, just that when I wake, I can't go ba to sleep. I wake at all hours of the night. Sometimes 2:am, fix the coffee, and stay up till 9:pm. I feel tired all the time. I have bags under my eyes, and I just feel tired. About once a year, I wake up and feel like I am a 20 year old. I am 50. I have the study in front of me, and it says,
Wakefullnes 245
Total Sleep time 11.9
Apnea/Hypopnea 21.1
Leg Movements 94
Does this mean anything to you guys?

Keep trying - you can't really judge CPAP based on one night or even a week - keep with it, and it should help at least some of your symptoms, since your numbers DO indicate sleep apnea.  I'm no doctor, so just going off what I've learned in the past few months...

Your AHI appears to be 21.1 (apnea/hypopnea index), which means on average you have 21.1 "apneic events" per hour.   An AHI of 0-5 is considered "normal", 6-15 is "mild", 16-30 "moderate", and 30+ is "severe".  So, you fall well into the Moderate category for sleep apnea.  Basically, when sleeping, you're waking up to some degree roughly every 3 minutes.

I used to feel the same way - I'd wake up to use the bathroom or for some reason, and have a hard time falling back to sleep.  That's stopped now that i'm consistently using a CPAP machine.  I believe that due to my apnea (61.1 score here), I was never in a very deep sleep - so it was easy to wake up fully.  Also, it seemed to take forever to get to sleep - I think because I'd just be falling alseep, then have an event, and it would wake me back up.  Now with CPAP I fall asleep quickly, and stay asleep much better through the night.  When I do wake up enough to remember it, I seem to be able to roll over and fall back asleep faster.

So my recommendation - stick with it and see how it goes as you get more used to the strangeness of the mask/machine.  And by all means, talk to your doctor about all of this - perhaps he/she can give some suggestions, or have you try some medication for a bit to help.


_________________
--Frank (FJC)

When I said I couldn't go back to sleep, I meant that they tried to do it the same night I did the study. The mask didn't bother me at all, I just can't go back to sleep when someone wakes me. I awoke at 3:am this morning, and couldn't go back to sleep. I don't think I will have any problems wearing the mask. I go back Monday for the 2nd test, which will be with the mask. I am looking forward to it, to see if I feel better after the sleep. I have no energy, is this the reason???