Turquoiseturtle

I was diagnosed shortly after retiring. In the morning, I would have trouble concentrating enough to read the newspaper, even though it felt like I slept well. I always felt it was my morning commute by bike, 5-10 miles, that got the oxygen flowing and I was truly awake. I would then be alert all day. Of course, those kindergarteners kept me on my toes all day. I'd crash about 9. With CPAP, I find I am up a bit later, am still an early riser. I sleep about 7.5 hours now vs 8.5 before. I still hit the road early for 30-60 mile rides several days a week and am feeling great.

If you are an athlete/cyclist and having heart issues, read "The Haywire Heart." So many of my very fit cycling buddies are having AFIB and other heart problems. One of our ride leaders feels so strongly about this, he makes a pitch for this book on every ride he leads.

I am using the Swift FX, and have a very small head. The silicone part is down to the last notch, but the Velcro strap across the back had to be modified to be small enough.

Tried EPR off a couple nights. Did not like the feeling. Also no change, event wise. So it is back on and I see sleep Doc soon.

Thanks for all the info on EPR. I had. No idea. . . Have been on CPAP for just over 2 years (air sense 10, nasal pillows). At diagnosis, my AHI, ranged from 5-8. Wth treatment it was about .5, until this past month. Now it is jumping all over the place. Several in the 4-6 range. AHI is now 1.6 for the last 30 days. I had a similar spike last year, only lasting a couple weeks, and my provider was not concerned, as AHI was still just below 1.0. Early on the central AI was about 50% of the total AHI. Now it is closer to 90%, if I am understanding the numbers correctly. Today's reading for last 30 days AHI 1.6, central AI 1.4. I turned off EPR, and will see how that goes.

Soak it to clean it? I clean mine weekly with warm water and baby shampoo. Don't see how soaking would hurt it. I clean the nasal pillow daily, everything else weekly, and find everything but the nasal pillow lasts far longer than expected. Based on the replacement schedule my insurance covers, I have backups for everything, and have had to say stop. I mean, how many humidifiers do you need hanging around?

I use a secondary 12 volt marine battery, with inverter to run fridge, lights and chargers in a VW Eurovan. Solar panel recharges battery if we are not driving. Have camped a couple weeks at a time and Resmed Airsense 10 works perfectly.

My apnea is/was mild and I did not feel a huge difference in how I felt when I started treatment. I had none of the typical symptoms or apparent risk factors before diagnosis. (Apparently, about half my events are "central" though how my machine can tell the difference is a mystery to me.) Among friends, I am known as the energizer bunny. Get up early, ride my bike to work, teach kindergarteners all day, ride home, cook, create, do stuff, crash about 9. I always needed a solid 8 hours of sleep. Did not notice exactly when apnea became a problem, but my heart started acting up. After diagnoses, and starting treatment, the heart problem vanished, and I noticed my concentration definitely improved. I could once again get lost in a book for hours.

I was one of 6, in a group appointment, getting fitted for CPAP mask. I was none too sure about this whole thing. The gentleman sitting next to me was so happy to be back on insurance and able to go back to using CPAP, and gave me the best advice of anyone. Get the RIGHT mask and fit for a successful experience. There were a multitude of brands and types to try. The closest I got, was still not quite the right fit. Turns out there was an extra small size nasal pillow, not included in the standard Swift FX package, but definitely available. It pays to be persistent and get what is best for you.

Thanks for something positive. My diagnosis of sleep apnea came as a complete shock. There was no gasping for breath, no snoring, seemed to sleep well, 8 hours with no apparent waking, but my concentration for reading had definitely suffered over the last several years. I attributed this to aging. I also blamed aging for my average speed as a cyclist dropping drastically. 2 and a half years ago, my heart began acting up, and over the next 6 months of testing, the PVCs became more frequent and eventually left me with worrisome chest pains. The Dr. could find no cause for the PVCs, and eventually a sleep study was ordered. A combination of OSA and central apnea in the mild range was the verdict. That's still 40-60 events per night. No REM sleep, no dreaming. (When others talked about dreams, I always commented on my complete lack of dreams.) I started treatment immediately after diagnosis. There is so much negative about those "horrible CPAP machines" that I was not thrilled about the prospect. I am happy to say, my choice of mask etc. was totally workable from day one, and (until this week*) has been used every single night. My AHI average over 30 days hovers around .5, I'm again reading a book a week and I feel better cycling, but sadly speed is not coming back. A.G.E. syndrome, most likely. *spent 3 nights in hospital with hubby, who broke a hip in cycling accident last week, when a car pulled out on us.