Good point! Treatment is an inconvenience. You have to be willing to be inconvenienced to be able to feel better. And most people have no idea how much better they could feel. They just don't know what they don't know.
If you have a Medical facility in your town who serves patients who are uninsured or underinsured as a ministry or with grant money, you may check with them to see if that may have a use for it.
Masks are certainly not one size fits all. I am always trying a new mask. I think I do best with the nasal pillows.
What kind of mask are you using?
I completely agree that using a nasal pillow mask with mouth taping or a chin strap works much better for me than a full face mask.
Very useful information! Thanks for sharing!
My mom was tall and skinny weighing just over 100 lbs. I think that many of her issues came from undiagnosed sleep apnea. She finally got a C-Pap machine and used it 3 months before she passed away. Don't delay in getting tested. You want to be in the "I'm glad I did camp" vs. the "I wish I had camp". No harm done if you are tested and don't have sleep apnea. That will be just one more possibility eliminated.
Biguglygremlin, Provent is not a device. It is an upscale nasal strip with a small insert attached that fits in each nostril. They are disposable after each use. I want to say the last time I purchased them they were a couple of dollars per day to use. This was right after they were FDA Approved and Insurance was not yet covering them. They may be covering them now. I don't go through them quickly because I mainly use them when I fly so as to not have to drag the CPAP on the plane. I told my doctor about them before she knew of them. She tells me each time I am in her office how many of her patients who do travel a lot love them. I know that my father has pretty severe apnea and refused to use a CPAP. His Doctor, same as mine, felt that he was too severe to be treated with Provent. He convinced her to put him through a sleep study using them. He passed and she prescribed. Provent is a small company and many Doctors are not yet familiar with them. Do your own research which is how I found them.
Great points made on this post with the diabetes comparison. Compliance to CPAP is a huge issue. I was diagnosed in my late 20ies and I am now 57. I struggled with CPAP in the beginning and I still struggle with CPAP. I was not compliant for a good 10-15 years. Then I learned about the dangers of choosing to not to comply. When I was first diagnosed, no one ever told me the dangers of Sleep Apnea. The Doctor just said, you have sleep apnea and gave me a prescription to take to the medical supply to get a CPAP. The only thing I was aware of is that it stopped my snoring. Once I became aware of the all the underlying diseases that could be prevented by being compliant to using my CPAP, I decided that it was worth being inconvenienced to wear the mask. I still struggle every night. I put it on with good intentions only to find it somewhere else when I wake up. I work on it diligently and am always trying new things to be compliant more hours of each night. That being said, I believe the issue is lack of awareness for both Sleep Apnea and Diabetes as to what your life will look like if you choose not to take treatment. Most people are aware what happens if you choose not to take treatment with the C-word. Awareness is going to come through more education to the general public to create the same fear. People are most times more motivated by fear than pleasure. Those with Sleep Apnea could change the statistics if we were more vocal in our own circles of influence bringing it up in conversations and not being afraid to chat about and share the symptoms. Many may recognize themselves inside your story. We must make it a topic of conversation to raise awareness. I will many times refer someone to this site to take the surveys and see if they recognize themselves in working through the questions.
Maybe you deleted it by mistake. I have never known anything to be deleted that was related to Sleep Apnea at least. Please do repost.
