[Diagnosis] Hi All - soon to study

[alex_357]

Hi All -

Quick background on me:

I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea in 2006 (the worst that the techs working that night had ever seen, they even offered to drive me home in the morning, for fear of me driving off a cliff. lololol). I ended up having the UPPP surgery about 3 days after the sleep study.

The UPPP surgery was extremely painful. And I've had all kinds of nasty bone reconstruction surgeries, etc. This surgery was horrible painful. Anyway, the UPPP did nothing what-so-ever. The surgeon/doctor is no longer in business, so I gave up trying to tackle my sleep apnea issues.

Bad idea..

About three months ago I passed out in the bathroom, and woke up 30 minutes later. I called 911 and passed out again waiting for them. On the way to the hospital, passed out again and again. Finally I woke up in the ER and I was hooked up to the EKG monitor, and flatlined multiple times for more than 20 seconds each time.

I was given an emergency pacemaker within the hour. And I've been struggling with blood pressure, and heart rate altering meds ever since. Let me tell you.. This sucks. Each day I feel like I may not live to see the next day. Energy levels and quality of life are zero. They are saying I have sick sinus syndrome, and my heart doesn't beat on it's own, 250+ times a day according to my pacemaker.

Short story long. I finally went to a new Pulmonary specialist about my sleep apnea again, and they say I need a "new" study done. My report from several years ago is not good anymore.

So I'm going for a new sleep study in ten more days and I'd like to know a few things.


Should I use my sleep study report and doctor prescription to get a fancy nice Resmed S10? Or go with whatever CPAP the doctor recommends?

I ask, to try to save some money/time.

How long to most people have to wait to notice results from using a newly prescribed CPAP?

Most importantly:
Does anyone notice a difference in their blood pressure, after success with a CPAP machine?

Sorry about a long post, just wanted to give some insight to my condition, and I will definitely keep posting results after I get this mess sorted out. I don't like feeling like I have one foot in the grave all the time.

alex_357

[DeepBreathing]

G'day Alex, welcome to the forum.

It sounds like you've been well and truly put through the wringer! Obviously there is a wider range of problems here than just sleep apnea, but the apnea will no doubt be contributing to many of them. Your sleep study should help to quantify the apnea and give a guide for therapy. Assuming you have obstructive apnea then the Resmed Autoset (or equivalent) is recommended by most of the gurus here. I believe there's not a great difference in price between the Autoset and the lower models (in the US anyhow) and the Autoset can operate in a couple of different modes, including straight constant pressure cpap. The main thing to beware of is that the machine you get must have full data recording - some only record the hours used and (possibly) the AHI - this is not a great deal of use in fine-tuning your therapy. If you get a fully data-capable machine (like the Resmed Autoset) then you can use either ResScan or Sleepyhead software to review your progress in great detail. This really helps you to know what's going on and to make necessary adjustments.

Some lucky people get an instant improvement with PAP therapy, but for most of us it's a bit of a journey. You need to adjust to sleeping with a plastic alien strapped to your face and blowing air at you all night long. You also need to deal with leaks from the mask, which can blow into your eyes or else make trumpet / fart noises which will wake you and your bed-partner. And having multiple medical issues, you may notice less of an improvement in your energy levels than some other people. All that said, however, PAP therapy is the gold standard for treatment of apnea and it's well worth persevering.

I have noticed a drop in my blood pressure since being on therapy. It has also cured my heart arrhythmia. It's taken a while and hasn't always been easy, but I think the results more than justify the effort. Good luck!

[Galactus]

Sorry to hear you had such bad issues, sounds like youa re headed in the right direction now.

I got some immediate results and then it kept improving over the next months.

Wish you all the best.

[trish6hundred]

Hi alex_357,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Wow, you have been through a lot. Hopefully, at your next study, you will find out more about what's going on with your sleep. Hang in there for more answers to your questions and best of luck to you as you continue your apnea journey.

[Doc J]

Wow you have been through a lot! The new machine is the Resmed A10, either that or the trusty S9 autoset would work fine. Like they said full data recording is a must for you to monitor what's going on and adjust. I hope you get on the rebound soon.

[Evpraxia]

SO glad you found this board!

Definitely get a full data capable range (adjustable) machine. Having a non-data machine is like trying to treat diabetes only by how you are feeling instead of checking the blood sugar level.

[Evpraxia]

Ah, just found the link for the machine info page: http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...ne_Choices

REALLY good info!

[alex_357]

Thanks for all the welcomes and plethora of information. I have another week to go before my study. I'm hoping this solves some of my health issues. I look forward to better sleep.