Biguglygremlin

Hi eblo

Your doctor should be able to look at each of those symptoms and deal with them, starting with the most urgent.

Don't expect a single cause nor a simple solution but patience, persistence, knowledge and effort will win in the end. :)

I'm almost the reverse in that I have always been a nose breather which is reflected by the size of my ......

Well that's irrelevant to this discussion but recently I've had issues with leakage that looks a lot like mouth breathing without understanding why.

My nose is certainly not getting any smaller but your description has helped me see the light.

When I sleep my tongue pushes forward and slides between my teeth, I guess to prevent grinding and that worked fine .......... while I still had most of my teeth.

I've had a few top teeth removed recently and it sort of corresponds with my leakage rate.

Let me see now ..... each tooth is worth about 5% by my reckoning and more have to go.

It's going to get drafty as time goes by. :(

You obviously need help to quit bonjour! Please let me help! :)

You are doing well to keep it down to 10 or less a day itsdrew93. Quitting can be really difficult.

Most people have to try many times but each time they get a little closer to figuring it out and eventually they get there.

You can do it too itsdrew93. You're doing ok.

I might have suggested that you try vaping but I suspect that it's just another vice and probably has no real connection to normal smoking.

Bonjour's smoking could also be considered another vice but a roll your own with some of his fish mixed in could be the universal cure for both kinds of smoking! :O

It will take time to get the fitness sorted too although that should be a whole lot more fun.

In the meantime, if the wife has run our of earplugs, it wouldn't hurt to haul that machine down to the nearest CPAP store and ask them to wind it up a degree or two and, in my opinion, turn the ramp off altogether.

There's not much point in talking about masks and stuff while the pressure is so low but, while you are there, see if they have a nasal pillows type mask that you could try on and maybe a chin strap so you have a few options. (It might be cheaper to buy them online)

Then get yourself a real comfy pair of sports shoes and start planning your next adventure. :)

With a few smart steps that machine could be safely gone by next winter.

Unfortunately, the smell of bonjour's smoked fish will be with you forever!

I am not a doctor nor have much information about your circumstances itsdrew93 but at your age, if you could improve your overall health, fitness and lifestyle you could kiss that CPAP goodbye and enjoy decades of fun and freedom without having to worry endlessly about the next problem.

I'm in my 60s now and everything just kind of snuck up on me so by the time I realised how much trouble I was in it was a very long crawl back out of this hole, especially with worn out joints and a lifetime of bad habits.

Turn it around while you are still young. Yes sort out the medical stuff but then move on and focus on your goals and interests and hobbies.

You took the time and effort to look for answers.

You have what it takes to turn this around and really live!

I have never smoked itsdrew93

Is it a problem for you?

Sometimes it's better to just send the machine back and ask them to crank it up a notch or two.

I would be gasping at 8 and barely managing at 10 even if I was awake. But I never aspired to be normal. :)

How about giving me some advice on mask fit and comfort and adjusting to the joys of CPAP? It might be a bit late in the piece but I still haven't really got it figured out and I'm sure itsdrew93 could use some help too.

Hi again itsdrew93

I presume this is more of a personal question than a statistical debate and in either case I can only make a very vague guess based purely on my own prejudices and opinions.

I suspect that you have a mild case of Apnea but a serious case of anxiety, which we all have to some degree. It's essential to life.

As for the Apnea it is unlikely that lack of therapy would make much difference to your lifespan if it's only mild, but you are still quite young and likely to have fitness or health issues that will impact on your life span in the long run even if they don't get worse.

This is where my discussions above come in.

If you ignore your general health and it deteriorates the impact on your life could be really bad.

That is the worst case scenario.

If you persist with your Apnea therapy and view it as a protection your health will still deteriorate but with some awareness on your part and access to good health services you can avoid or delay some of the major health issues.

That is probably where most of us CPAP users hang out.

If you embrace Apnea therapy but also do something about your lifestyle and deteriorating health you will have the threefold benefit of improved lifestyle, improved health and good health services.

That is where we need to be!

There isn't really a credible answer to your original question itsdrew93 but SleepDent used a nice round number above. (ten years) It's as good a number as any for this discussion although I believe it applies to the circumstances that cause Apnea, and the circumstances that prevent or delay treatment of serious diseases, rather than to Apnea itself.

.

Anxiety, which is a natural response to life, can get stuck in overdrive and cause serious stress to the whole body, so perhaps that is something we all should find a way to manage.

Sometimes, (but not always) a clearer picture can be reassuring, so have you considered buying a fitbit type wrist or finger device so you can sleep confidently, knowing that your sleep is being monitored and that any truly dangerous patterns would be evident in the first few nights?