Laura

Just a couple of weeks into cpap use. Had figured out that wearing a ponytail and pulling it through the slot in the strap of the dreamwear headgear helped keep it on. But then I started taking the mask off in the middle of the night without noticing. Figured out that it works to use bobby pins to anchor the strap into my hair (hopefully I won't learn to remove multiple bobby pins in my sleep!). Just thought this might help someone else.

Thanks for your responses. It's been about 2 weeks and I think I'm adjusting pretty well to the cpap use. I can often tell the difference in my "awakeness" during the day, but I think it will take some time for it to really change my life noticably.

Good topic, quite relevant for me I think. I took a long time getting through graduate school (several extra years), which I had always attributed to depression. I did well with a postdoc position for a few years that was not demanding in terms of time/schedule. I struggled greatly for a couple of years in a more demanding and structured job (which came with about an hour commute) in a medical clinic setting. I barely made it through the 2 year commitment to get some loan repayment there. There were others working there who needed a lot of coffee and some naps over lunch, too, so it was not clear to me that it wasn't normal to struggle with it. For the past year or so, I have been trying my own business so I have more flexibility and then recently was diagnosed. Got my cpap machine and started last night. Hoping it helps significantly, as I don't think I'd be able to work hard enough otherwise.