New here... really scared.

[archangle]

Welcome, Gogetah.

Consider yourself lucky you came here before you got your CPAP machine. There's a good chance your DME (CPAP salesman) will try to screw you with a bad CPAP machine.

Read the Useful Links in my signature line at the bottom of this post to get clues on not getting screwed. The right machine makes a big deal in your therapy.

You should be scared of untreated apnea. There can be problems with CPAP, but they're mostly annoyances.

As for scaring the women off, don't put the mask on until after the sex. 8-) Tell her it's better than hearing you snore and gasp for air all night long.

[brianwood619]

1. You caught it early before any ill effects caused you any problems like high blood pressure and so on

2. Be patient. It will take a while to get used to having the mask on your face when you sleep, you will have set backs but keep putting the mask back on. It took me almost six weeks before I was sleeping all night with the mask, it took my son four weeks,we both feel better now more than ever.

3. Take your time in mask selection, if one is not comfortable there are lots of different options out there to use.

Good luck

[Shastzi]

Hi Gogetah.



You're getting good advice here.
Think your situation is bad? Not yet.
I knew a kid that was in his 20's and already was on his second heart transplant, lung transplant, liver transplant
and at least one kidney transplant.

Believe me, you have it easy!
Just get going on your CPAP and a lot of bad things wont happen to you!
Now how cool is that?
The folks here will show you how to do it all the right way, (Docs & clinics dont have the time)
Like blood pressure meds you'll be in this the rest of your life so just accept that now.
(If there was an easier way, believe me, we'd all be doing it!)

And then there's girls. Should not be a problem if you share this up front with her.
If she runs off then she was no good anyway.
Then again you never know, some gals get turned on by a Man in a Mask!

Hang in there and best of luck!

[DariaVader]

Gogetah, my son is 33 and has Severe Obstructive Apnea. You are not alone. He looks like a bouncer too... I think you tuff types are the ones most likely to be afflicted - my own ladylike case notwithstanding

Once you get on the machine, the difference in how you feel will be so huge, you will leap tall buildings for the privilege of wearing it - and the great thing is you will be able to do that because of how much better you feel.

The girls.... well - they will most likely prefer darth vader to gasping and snorting. Depending on what you end up with for a mask, Darth is just a funny exaggeration; it is not so bad compared to not breathing.

[Gogetah]

I appreciate the kind words and suggestions I'm going to do w.e I have to do I just feel really young to have this and I feel like the only young person no offense to anyone that I'm mentioning age lol but I just figured I'd have these type of problems at a later age its just scary knowing j have this and I'll have it for the rest of my life some stories I've heard and read make it worse I feel like I will die in my sleep.

[PoolQ]

I appreciate the kind words and suggestions I'm going to do w.e I have to do I just feel really young to have this and I feel like the only young person no offense to anyone that I'm mentioning age lol but I just figured I'd have these type of problems at a later age its just scary knowing j have this and I'll have it for the rest of my life some stories I've heard and read make it worse I feel like I will die in my sleep.

hey life is kind of like poker, you get the hand dealt and you just have to play them out. You will get more cards later that can change everything, who knows you may win the lottery. What will the person of your dreams see in you and care about, the same thing you see in them.

It's never a question IF there is a person for you, exactly the way you are, but a matter of finding that person no matter what your situation is.

trust me no one wants to have medical problems at any age. I am wondering about many of the same things, I have plans, I have things I want to do, and I don't want sleep apnea. Oh well. My concerns are just as important to me as yours are to you, that's how life works.

Don't give up, be the best you can be with this and everything else that life throws at you.

[fvcroft]

I appreciate the kind words and suggestions I'm going to do w.e I have to do I just feel really young to have this and I feel like the only young person no offense to anyone that I'm mentioning age lol but I just figured I'd have these type of problems at a later age its just scary knowing j have this and I'll have it for the rest of my life some stories I've heard and read make it worse I feel like I will die in my sleep.

Read the forum..ask questions... Be calm... It will all work out
Good luck and keep your head up

[archangle]

I appreciate the kind words and suggestions I'm going to do w.e I have to do I just feel really young to have this and I feel like the only young person no offense to anyone that I'm mentioning age lol but I just figured I'd have these type of problems at a later age its just scary knowing j have this and I'll have it for the rest of my life some stories I've heard and read make it worse I feel like I will die in my sleep.

Well, unfortunately/fortunately, we're beginning to realize that sleep apnea isn't just a problem for the old, the male, and the fat. Unfortunate that it happens. Fortunate that we're realizing it and treating those who would have been missed in the past.

As for it being a life threatening issue, think of it as being like being a 4 pack a day smoker and cocaine abuser. It's not that likely to kill you in the next few months, but over time it will get you.

[DariaVader]

I am 57, and was only diagnosed with sleep apnea this past year. I am 100% certain in retrospect that I have had it my whole life tho, no matter what size or age. I had frequent dreams as a child of being strangled, drowned, buried alive, choked, smothered - you name it along with many other symptoms of apnea. I wish that there had been diagnosis and treatment for it when I was young, it has done a lot of damage having allowed it to wreak havoc on me for 57 years. My 33 yr old son has a very severe case, as I mentioned before. I wish he had been diagnosed earlier as well, I know now that he's had it all along too, but it is what it is. My father also has it - dunno what took us all so long!

It's not ideal that we have to use cpap --- but it really does mitigate the issues caused by apnea and in that we are fortunate. Catching it early is actually great! you probably dont have high blood pressure, afib or diabetes yet

[me50]

I appreciate the kind words and suggestions I'm going to do w.e I have to do I just feel really young to have this and I feel like the only young person no offense to anyone that I'm mentioning age lol but I just figured I'd have these type of problems at a later age its just scary knowing j have this and I'll have it for the rest of my life some stories I've heard and read make it worse I feel like I will die in my sleep.

a lot of us probably had OSA at a young age but were not diagnosed. A lot of those that went undiagnosed for several years ended up with heart conditions and other conditions as well.

So, as hard as it may seem to you right now, be thankful to your higher power (whatever you believe in) that you were diagnosed at a young age so you avoid the medical issues that some others have to deal with daily.

Take a look at this post if you haven't already seen it.

http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...#pid127100

The person that will be your partner, if she really loves you, will be grateful for the machine and how it will keep you from dying because you stop breathing or have trouble breathing and possibly from medical conditions that could have happened because you were not diagnosed young or did not use the machine.

I was diagnosed about 20 years ago and had trouble with the machine and not one person told me of the repercussions of not using the machine and I quit using it. As a matter of fact, the RT told me that if I didn't like it, I could sell it on craigslist or ebay or some place like that as it was a hot commodity. So, I just didn't know that it could have such serious consequences from not using the machine.

Was having issues so had another sleep study and got another machine and was told what could happen if I didn't use it and I have not gone to sleep without it since.

Stick with it. You will be glad you did. It won't be easy but not everything worth having is easy.....like relationships. You will get there and you have the members here to help you. twenty years ago, we didn't have a place to go like this to get help and as you can see, we don't always get the full story on how serious not using a machine can be.