Biguglygremlin

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?

In the world of chaos bottom lines are always negotiable.

In the world of chaos simplifications and statistics are always misleading.

In the world of chaos I have dared to challenge some long standing assumptions because static assumptions are something we can't afford at the pace we are now moving.

However I am not advising Apnea sufferers to discontinue treatment.

Therapy is certainly beneficial, especially because it comes with a bonus.

There are powerful reasons for the prolonged life spans.

Reasons that go above and beyond the current inept treatments for Apnea.

If you have the knowledge, determination and means to access and use Apnea therapy you can also apply those same advantages to your health, fitness, diet and lifestyle.

That's the message we should be promoting!

If you have the support and means to access Apnea therapy you likely have the support and means to get medical advice, early intervention and the best treatment for a whole range of life threatening diseases.

Use those resources, get regular check-ups, follow up on symptoms, get referrals. Use the advantages you have and yes, if you have the means, support research.

It's likely that the circumstances that enable you to use Apnea therapy will have a far greater effect on your life span than the therapy itself.

Things are rarely what they seem.

The story is far from ended.

This book is still being written.

Let's hope the next chapter is better than the last one. :)

Yes that is what we have all been led to understand, (Apnea leads to Cardio Vascular Disease) and it does seem logical, but the facts do not seem to support that theory.

Treating Sleep Apnea

I suspect that the most harm that untreated Apnea does is kill brain cells.

Cardio Vascular Disease may be caused by the same conditions that cause Apnea, which are predominantly age and weight, but it's a mistake to believe that Apnea is the cause.

It seems that, despite many claims to the contrary, Apnea treatment will not reduce the risk of Cardio Vascular Disease.

CPAP has benefits obviously but, if we want to prevent Cardio Vascular Disease, we have to do something about the real causes.

We can't get younger but we can get fitter and healthier.

Who knows, if we understand the real dangers, and do something about them, we may be able to park the CPAP back in the cupboard!

Just kidding? Seriously Ruby!

How can you be so flippant, flip, glib, frivolous, waggish, whimsical,

Hang on a sec while I boost the pressure.

Ohhh that feels so gooood!

Now where was I?

Oh I remember!

jokey, jesting, jocular, playful, roguish, mischievous, puckish.

You got away with it that time Ruby but never again!

This is a serious matter!

People have nearly died laughing you know!

Oops now look what you've gone and done!

I've sprung a leak.... :(

Now where's that chewing gum?

There .... all fixed.

Now where were we again?

Oh ... that's right.

Keep it serious from now on Ruby!

No more facetious discussions!

Well that 93 makes you quite a bit younger than most of this crowd.

You didn't elucidate what it is that keeps you awake till 5 or 6am nor the degree of Apnea that you have.

I only ask because, if I understand you correctly, the CPAP helps you get to sleep, but from impressions I have gathered, that is not commonly the case, especially just a few months into treatment, unless the Apnea is very severe, so how does your CPAP help you and why?

I don't mean to interrogate you itsdrew93 but even wild speculation can benefit from a few points of reference. :)

A home sleep study would only cost $100 out of pocket here.

Our national health scheme (Medicare) pays the rest.

But even so it's not easy money to find.

Home sleep studies appear to be moving towards mainstream medicine now but when it comes to skilled service nothing seems to have changed.

The person I spoke to today at a sleep study facility apparently had no specific training and admitted to having no knowledge of what the equipment monitored.

Hi singingkeys

No I don't recall that experience but I tend to forget things easily.

Some time ago Sierra quoted a common expression "be careful what you wish for" and I think that applies to all of us.

One of my favourite concepts is that we humans create reality, or at least our reality, as we move forward, by imagining and theorizing and speculating.

On a cosmic level it is an incredible and scary thought but it certainly applies on a more personal level.

It seems to me that we maintain balance by looking and moving outwards but we can't always do that.

All too often we turn the focus and effort inwards and if we do it for too long we run into trouble.

When I focus too much on health issues they invariably get worse.

The same often applies to problems with mechanical and digital devices.

Sometimes ignorance really is bliss. :)

Hi itsdrew93

Surely that's not your birth year!

Why don't you get to sleep without the machine till 5 or 6 am?

What degree of Apnea do you have?

What is the machine?

What are it's current settings?

I'm sure there are lots more questions.

How to Find the Answer

A concept that my feeble brain has been struggling with for a while is how you would use a CPAP machine to replicate a sleep study.

I can see how it could be used to fine tune parameters and settings for a CPAP machine but what else can it do beyond or before that?

I always think of a sleep study as gathering data without treatment or pressure. Trying to assess the extent of the problem before considering therapy.

I would like to know what my OSA and oxygen numbers are now without CPAP and can't afford a sleep study so if a CPAP machine really can do that I'd love to know about it.