Little Olive - Therapy Adventure

[Little Olive]

The whole truth and nothing but - minus tomorrow morning's data which I won't have time to do in the morning before I go.

[Little Olive]

Time flies when you are having fun with machinery

[UnicornRider]

Tomorrow's  the day, but you live in tomorrow. So, maybe today is the day!

I eagerly anticipate good news from the Kiwi nation.

[Little Olive]

As far as I can work out, tonight is today and tomorrow will be Thursday. All very confusing but yes, strangely , NZ is first in the world to see the sun. I was up before the winter sun to make the trip to hospital in another city.

So sorry , but it was all an enormous anticlimax. I was received, had chest Xray and ecg,, (not reported on yet) measured and weighed, had my throat and nose looked down and up, , then had a very long interview with the respiratory nurse practitioner who asked me a million questions, looked at my Oscars, filled in forms, made notes, all without stopping for lunch.

So I came home with my dear old machine, . It seems today was just another stage in the process. Now the "respiratory team" ie the physicians etc are going to discuss my case at their weekly patient management meeting, and come up with a plan for me. They are trying to get a full picture of my entire sleep difficulties , not just the apnea - although I think it's all connected. Anyhow, I feel listened to, and that I am being thoroughly investigated by the right people. Tbh this being a very small country, there are limitations on what you can expect in the way of experts so l am grateful to be taken care of in that department.

I am slightly discombobulated, as l thought I was just going to have a discussion about machines and settings and get advice on those, and maybe a different machine, but it was more a full respiratory and health assessment . I guess they are looking to exclude diseases and conditions that can cause centrals and CSB .

[UnicornRider]

I was up late last night, trying to calm the dogs and looking for the cat. They fear the fireworks surrounding the 4th of July. Some of my neighbors go to the Native American Reservations to purchase fireworks that can not be legally purchased else where in the state. They are getting sky rockets that rival the display the town puts on for Independance Day. My poor kids were barking and shaking, then the neighbor across the street, set off a sky rocket that barely cleared the roof tops before it exploded, pelting the front and roof of our house with yet unexploded fireworks material. That one shook the house.

 So through bleary eyes I opened the computer this morning and first thing I noticed was the date and thought of you. The thorough health check-up is a good thing! Here, there are a lot of people that should have that type of health check to eliminate or address correctable medical issues that impede the therapy provided by PAP.

  Did they explain a timeline for what to expect in the future?

[Little Olive]

I feel for you and the pets and wildlife. We have this problem too from 5 November (a ridiculous institution called Guy Fawkes night), right through in the New year. Fireworks sales are illegal except for one week i n November, when all the morons and idiots stock up large for the summer. There is a big protest group called Ban the Boom and petitions are presented every year ad nauseum to ban them but no government has the guts to do it. My dogs have always been terrified of them because they are all rescues from traumatic pasts and already have anxiety problems. My current old schnauzer needs medicating to get through the worst of it. It's horrible for the birds and wildlife and lethal for horses and other animals who can't escape. When we had horses and goats we had to stay awake all night supervising them., I hope your four legged ones don't have to put up with this for too long.

Short timeline I think, yesterday she (Respiratory Nurse practitioner) said the team would discuss my case either tomorrow or next week. She said they will either come up with recommendations for therapy or refer me on further, to an even bigger Hospital, where there is the Big Daddy of respiratory services. below is a snippet from their info page: I think they are going down the path of eliminating neurological and other causes for my sleep disordered breathing, rather than just stand alone sleep apnea. Which makes sense I guess, I just didn't expect that.

Sleep Medicine
You may also be referred to our service if you have problems sleeping, as sleep problems can be caused by breathing issues during sleep. Our doctors work closely with the University of Otago Sleep Laboratory (WellSleep).
If you have any change in your condition before you come to your appointment, please see your GP immediately.

Our Team
During your treatment, you may meet:

Respiratory physicians (doctors who specialize in treating conditions of the lungs)
Specially trained nurses
Respiratory physiologists
Registrars (doctors training to be specialists)

Meanwhile I'm still hovering in the same AHI area, which isn't that bad, could def be a lot worse.

PS this is all free for me, via the National Health Service. Unfortunately we have a new goverment, of the Three Scrooges, an unholy trinity of 3 right wing conservative parties, whose main concern is tax cuts for the rich. They are already implementing some cuts to the health sector, but hopefully they will leave respiratory services nationwide alone.

[UnicornRider]

With all of your PAP variations you trialed, was there any pressure that provided the most restorative sleep?  

Or, if nothing stands out, then most comfortable.

From here on out, it is up to you. I should order an AirSense 10 clinicians manual to see what modes or Tweaking & Tuning features they offer.

I sent a PM, we should probably minimize discussing our pets on the main forum. However I can probably saw I was surprised to see the calming chews I get for the dogs, has the same active ingredients as the Youtheory "Sleep Powder" that I stir into the Sleepytime tea I drink before bed time.  Almost makes me want to try one of the doggie chews.   

[Little Olive]

Haha yes l was.mindful of that as l wrote. Coincidentally l spent some time today doing exactly that ... looking through the best results at the settings

[UnicornRider]

How are you doing? Have the medical personnel gotten back to you with any information? How are you doing on the CPAP? What pressure setting did you settle on? Inquiring minds want to know.