Giving up after 6 long weeks

[jodiramm]

So it has been 6 weeks with trying to sleep and having to take off of work do to not sleeping that i have come to the conclusion that it is just not going to work for me. I have tried numerous masks and pillows and have seen sleep specialists and doctors that have been giving me sleep medication and i still cannot sleep with it on my face. I am so upset about the whole thing. I wish you all the best and i am glad this is working for you all and i really wish it worked for me. I seriously would not have gotten this far without this board. I am also quitting for the fact that there is just no way i would even pass my insurance compliance at this point. Of course i could always purchase one on my own and may do that at a later date. Just wanted to say

[trish6hundred]

Hi jodiramm, I'm sorry you feel that you need to give up. I know six weeks seems like a long time, especially when you've tried so many different things. I hope you would reconsider your decision because for some, CPAP therapy can take a long time and I'm not sure six weeks is enough time, I think you are giving up too soon, but of course, it is up to you. Best of luck to you and PLEASE hang in there for more suggestions
A FEW MORE THINGs,! you know that if you give up, you will still have the apnea to deal with and also, you say that you had to take off work because you couldn't sleep, did you have to take off before you got the CPAP machine? If so, you will still be taking off work won't you?Just some afterthoughts to my above post.

[PollCat]

You do realize the possible consequence of not receiving the prescribed therapy? As my original sleep doc explained it back in 1995, one morning I may not wake up. Actually what he said was: "One morning you'll wake up - dead!" It's a statement I've never forgotten and I've slept with a CPAP very night since then.

What exactly is it that you can you not adjust to? Have you tried any of the other masks (nasal mask, full-face,etc.)? There has to be something that will allow you to sleep safely!

We (the board) would really hate to 'lose' you.

[PaulaO2]

This is going to sound harsh. It's supposed to be.

Let us know where to send your family the flowers for your funeral. Seriously.

Read this: http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...6#pid17786

It has ONLY been six weeks. If you choose to give up on your life and basically commit slow suicide, go right ahead. But it has ONLY been six weeks.

Some members here have struggled for much much longer. Some still are. Yet they keep trying. Do they value their life more than you do yours? If actions are the only thing we see, then yes, they do. We aren't in your pajamas so we only know what you tell us. And you just told us that six weeks is too long for you to care about your life.

Some people struggle for years to learn how to live their new life whether that be due to an accident that caused paralysis, or a disease that is causing weakness such as MS, or whatever else life has tossed their way. But they keep trying. Keep going. Keep getting up in the morning and trying and going again.

You have chosen not to.

Just tell us where to send the flowers.

[jdireton]

Jodi,

I really wish you'd reconsider. Just know we'll still be here if you change your mind.

I do wish you the best of health!

[JJJ]

So it has been 6 weeks with trying to sleep and having to take off of work do to not sleeping that i have come to the conclusion that it is just not going to work for me. I have tried numerous masks and pillows and have seen sleep specialists and doctors that have been giving me sleep medication and i still cannot sleep with it on my face. I am so upset about the whole thing. I wish you all the best and i am glad this is working for you all and i really wish it worked for me. I seriously would not have gotten this far without this board. I am also quitting for the fact that there is just no way i would even pass my insurance compliance at this point. Of course i could always purchase one on my own and may do that at a later date. Just wanted to say

Few people have an easy time getting on with the mask. I started four months ago and I'm still struggling some. I have a few suggestions:

1) Ditch as much of the insurance as you can afford to. I bought a practically new machine identical to the one my doc prescribed for $300 from a local guy on Craigslist. Now I don't have to worry about insurance rules.

2) Be sure to get copies of your sleep study and other records from your doc. Most importantly, get copies of the prescription. This will allow you to buy masks from online suppliers and anyone else you choose.

3) Take a break. Being off the therapy is not good, but you survived without it before. You can live for a week or two without it. Better to lose a few weeks therapy in order to refocus on the problem and come back fighting later, than to lose the therapy completely forever.

4) Don't leave the forum. Hang around, even if all you do is lurk and read what others say.

[zonk]

I wish you all the best and i am glad this is working for you all and i really wish it worked for me.

It can work for you too ... Just pull your big socks up and get on with it.
Nobody going to knock on your front door and fix it you .. doctors not helping then find ones who can help
Giving up is not an option ... Seriously its not like some chronic disease or cancer ... PAP therapy is just AIR

Its slippery slope ... Don,t get used to the idea of giving up
We read stories of folks who gave up PAP and only to come back years later with far worse condition than before

[jbtuggers]

It took me 3 months just to start feeling good and sleeping 4 hours a night but I hung in there like everyone here said to and if it worked for me it will work for you so please keep trying.

[Halfevl333]

I have used a C-Pap since the early 1990's. I was in a hospital for some tests and after the first night, the other 3 patients in the room went down and demanded either I be moved or they be moved. It was nice I got my own private room... I have to use my C-Pap and there is no getting around it. A year a go the wife and I went camping and unfortunately we couldn't get a spot with electricity, I not only didn't get much sleep, but my wife also stayed awake most of the night because I would stop breathing, snore, snort and make all sorts of sounds...

It is hard to get used to wearing the mask, (I use the one that goes over the nose), but once you do, you won't want to live (or sleep) without it. One thing you might have checked, if you are having trouble with the mask, have the Docs check the air pressure level. I know when changing machines, I have had to have it adjusted up on occasion because I felt like I was not getting any air...that will make you stop using the mask real quick.

[dcgrafix]

I must agree to all of the members & I too am still waiting for the response I have heard from people ;i know when they say "it was the the best thing I ever have done I feel like a million bucks"
I can only say If I look back I can say at best it has only made a small improvement BUT I am told by many it takes a lot longer than 6 weeks.

I would be interested in the medications your DR. has prescribed to help you sleep.
Of course that may be too personal to post

I only ask because without meds I do not sleep!!
I remember needing a job & was asked if I could work at night & knowing it was only for a few weeks I said yes.
All I had to do to work all night was not take my meds & I was far more wide awake then any of the crew.

When my sleep problems really accelerated I was put on amitriptyline 50mg this helped quite a bit if I could get to sleep
now I take 175mg & was at a point that I could not get to sleep again & took a small sleep study put on be LD drug store just using a small box for 5 days that gave me a report of my poor sleep & was told about Zopiclone & only now with a report from this study did my Dr. take me seriously & prescribed Zopiclone & gave me a referral to a sleep lab.
I am still in the trial stages set at a constant pressure to see how I react & there for will leave my settings set by my DME.

With out the Zopiclone I can't get to sleep & without Amitriptyline I can't stay asleep so I wonder if you had better meds & support from a doctor with a new outlook that you may get better results?

I am sure you know what caffeine can do I can't have any at all or I pay for it.
I asked the sleep DR. after my first sleep study if there was anything more than the apnea b
& only got a "Yes but lets get the apnea in control first then we can talk about the others later"
My sleep DR. has no people skills & a bad bedside manner!
Al I know is as the day goes on into the afternoon or If I am lucky the evening I get a horrible feeling of stress,tension, anxiety, racing pounding heart, rapid breathing it is getting worse!
Zopiclone is the only way I can sleep now & that it takes months of monitored CPAP to see an improvement.

I hope for you that you hang in there & reach out to some help from a DR. other then your GP to get a new look on your problems.
It is a huge problem these days to find the right DR. I still haven't found mine, it seems he only does something if recommended by report DR. of If I find something that makes sens of my symptoms.
This would not work well for your mechanic why should it be so expected from you DR.

I know it is easy to say "Don't give up" but with some new ideas & possibly with the right medication you may get some sleep & medicated sleep is better than no sleep.

Dan