Biguglygremlin

The Nuance Mask has been around for a long time now but the cushions are quite comfortable and it works reasonably well for side sleeping. The hose can be looped through the strap over the head but I don't bother because I use a hose stand. Lift

Hi pianoman82

I certainly have other issues (see profile) as would many who frequent this forum.

I have no medical training but if your primary concern is the prevailing fatigue there could be many causes including viral or immunological.

According to Wiki sleep starts are a fairly common issue for many people but it seems that caffeine might make them worse and, unfortunately, so can anxiety.

I suspect that OSA could also increase the frequency and intensity of sleep starts if you fall asleep without CPAP.

It seems to me that sleep starts are a symptom of fatigue rather than a cause.

Hi p3000g

I have been using the same mask for 5 years now and I have that problem (RUTS) and although that thread was written in a provocative or jocular style it was actually a serious question.

For me it was never obvious until I began cutting my hair very short but the straps certainly seem to have reshaped the skull.

It could be coincidental but I was not aware of those tracks before I had CPAP and what are the odds of them being exactly where the straps are?

Initially I thought it might be just tracks in the scalp but now I'm pretty sure it is in the skull itself.

Maybe I have a soft head?

Maybe the straps have to be in just the right areas in the first place?

Maybe it's exacerbated by a shrinking brain?

I cut my hair very short because the straps manage to slip off pretty much every night for one reason or another and longer hair just makes it worse.

One reason for the mask slipping around is that it's not very tight so it doesn't require tight straps to cause indents.

I'm not overly concerned myself but that's largely because these are the least of my problems and unless I buy a mask that has a totally different strap configuration there is not much I can do about it.

Do Ohio truckdrivers have an association or union of some kind?

Does the government have an unfair dissmissals department or something similar?

Do you have an ombudsman or other representative?

Most of those recourses are toothless but sometimes the threat of extra paperwork is enough to make a difference or at least buy you some time.

I didn't mean to be critical of the doctors SleepDent and I apologise for my lack of tact. I was just depicting the world as I see it. BUG's world.

Most doctors I know are largely unwilling participants in this whole debacle and those that are willing are often zealots who believe in what they are doing.

What I see as the sleep industry is primarily driven by insurance companies who have become expert at manipulating our laws and policies.

They effectively dictate to the government and the health industry and largely control the flow of money in all these areas.

They function on the same principle as the casinos. The more money being spent the more they benefit.

It is in their interests to make every aspect of health as expensive as humanly possible.

The sleep industry in general (clinics and manufacturers) has thrived in this enriched environment.

So how did they accrue so much power?

An escalating scare campaign was an excellent opening strategy.

Lowering the bar to include a vast chunk of the population was a good secondary move.

But they really trumped the game when they were able to threaten peoples jobs and licences.

What's the next step?

Compulsory testing of everybody for normal drivers licenses?

Random workplace testing?

An Apnea free certificate required to stroll down the sidewalk?

Yes let's do it!

I love the fact that many places are legalizing marijuana yet you could lose your license and your job if you are caught snoring! :)

With some clever manipulation of numbers and careful omissions the whole industry has fabricated a false reality and accrued an unbelievable level of power and authority.

I am not questioning the reality of serious levels of Apnea nor the necessity to find treatments.

I have a CPAP machine that I use all the time.

I don't object to companies and industries making money, even insane amounts of money.

It is the misleading claims and abuse of power that I would question.

I can't find it just now but I think there was a mention of April or at least a very similar intermediary 3 or 4 months back.

It stuck me as yet another twist in what is already a very complicated process.

The fact that nobody has passed the test must surely prove that the doctors are always right and that everybody in America over the age of 30 has Apnea. For those who don't get sarcasm it also proves the existence of the tooth fairy. :)

On a more technical note. If they set the bar at 5 and the average for the normal population is 5 then what other outcome is possible. If they have created a margin, say 7 or 8 then it seems to me that all they need to do is be more selective of which particular period of data they process to generate their preferred outcome.

I thought "they" required you to submit the CPAP machine periodically so they could retrieve the data which the machine would normally have been recording.

Nowadays they could have most CPAP machines online and monitored, effectively policed.

Perhaps the system is in place in theory but not the follow through on the ground.

We have license issues down here too which is one of the reasons I first came to this forum ten months back.

Threat to Drivers License

I didn't see the last comment till now.

It brings this discussion directly into the realms of a previous one, although hopefully less permanent.

RUTS

This issue is of no real concern to me but for those who are concerned about their appearance I would advise that they own a selection of masks with significantly different support and strap configurations and cycle between them on a weekly or monthly basis.

None of that was helpful sorry.

I might not be the best one to be offering advice here.

I refuse to learn all the correct terms and labels and have only general impressions to work with.

I believe that anybody who does a sleep study will be diagnosed with Apnea.

The numbers are rigged so there really is no other possible outcome.

Even so I would suggest that you do the at home study if possible.

Don't take any extra meds or alcohol in the days prior to the study.

Don't do anything excessive with exercise or diet etc.

Arrange your bed so you are comfy but cannot sleep on your back.

If you have a partner get them to stay up for 5 or 6 hours and make sure that you do not roll onto your back.

Don't persist. If you can't get to sleep quickly take the gear off and try again later.

If you have slept fairly well for even 3 or 4 hours just take the gear off and pack it away to return.

Insist on getting ALL the results including the raw data they used to generate the reports.

Hi AmusingBarracuda,

I also was shocked when I first became aware of the nature and extent of the sleep industry.

I am in Australia and we are perhaps a bit behind the American version but stupid enough to be gradually embracing the whole convoluted package.

I think perhaps a lot of the blame rests with your health industry and the insurance companies.

It astonishes me how much power and influence the sleep industry has accrued and how few standards and controls are in place for the industry itself.

I am also extremely skeptical about the key claims and statistics that the industry makes and promotes in order to justify their misappropriated authority. (see previous ramblings of mine)

Unfortunately the whole construction is too entrenched and too lucrative to be easily challenged.

I think the greatest harm it does for me is the way it reflects on humanities greed, ignorance and gullibility.

Not the most diplomatic statements for me to be making in a sleep apnea forum. :(