I just know that I pray for something else that is better than cpap to be used. A machine that goes along with someones breathing. Like I am a sleep talker so every time I tried using cpap I would start talking in my sleep. Then I can't breathe so I would knock it off of me while half awake. It would be so much better if there was a machine that went with a persons breathing. If a person would do something like talk in their sleep the machine would stop working while that was happening and then start working again after that. I tried every kind of mask there is, even the nose pads. I tried cpap and bipap without any success with it. Now I have one of those mouth pieces I just got not too long ago. I'm so afraid of it failing that I have been too scared to use it. I just know one thing, I'm so tired of being tired.
I had been a great snorer for years. When my daughter was a teen about 15 years ago we had to share a bedroom. One night when I went to bed she had commented that she had to hurry and get to sleep before I did or she wouldn't be able to cause I snored so loud. So I informed my dr. and he scheduled me for a sleep study. At that time my diagnosis came back that I did not have it. So time marched on. Then about a year ago I again mentioned to my dr that I feel tired all of the time. So he scheduled me for another sleep study, but this time at another hospital. This time I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. I had stopped breathing about 250 times over an 8 hour period and almost stopped breathing over 200 times. Great now I had a diagnosis, now what can I do? Well, the sleep center informed me about c pap. I tried that and I couldn't get in the 4 hours a night that I needed for medicare to purchase the machine for me. See, I am a sleep talker so everytime I went to talk I would knock off the mouthpiece. So I ended up trying every kind of mask that there is and couldn't do it. Then I tried bipap with the same results. My next step was to contact an ent physician. I went to that appointment with great hopes only to be shot down. Why? My sleep apnea was too severe and the surgery would help me. Well, here I am with nothing else offered to me in my area where I live and still extremely tired. Also with a mother that's 86 and doesn't understand what sleep apnea is. She thinks just because I went to bed at a certain time and wake up say 8 hours later I shouldn't be tired. I have tried to explain to her and she still doesn't get it. I just heard about this retainer thing that is suppose to help. Has anybody else heard of this? I am really considering buying one next month. I really need to try something. Also, what doesn't help my situation is as a complication of cancer and a bad dr's choice I had to have my leg amputated. In addition to be a sleep talker, I use to be a sleep walker. One time when I fell asleep on the couch I went to sleep walk, which isn't too good when you have a leg missing. I ended up smacking my nose on the floor and breaking it. The emt I saw told me that my septum is deviated but not enough to do anything about it. Seems like I can't even do that right. lol
