Newly diagnosed and anxious
Hi All,
I'm 32 and have just been diagnosed with severe OSA. My sleep study showed i stopped breathing 45 times an hour.
I am waiting to have a CPAP fitted.
With this diagnosis, it has made me really anxious.
I've had symptoms for a really long time but I didn't think it was anything serious. Now I am worried what damage I have done to my heart and my risk of heart attack and stroke in the future.
I had my cholesterol checked about 6 months ago and it was fine and my blood pressure is good as well.
Should I just be grateful that I was diagnosed now and will get treatment and forgot about the heart attacks and stroke?
I'm working on improving my health. I quit smoking 12 months ago, watching what I eat and and now exercise regularly.
RE: Newly diagnosed and anxious
You should be fine being diagnosed at 32, I was in my 60's and looking back I had it in my 30's
RE: Newly diagnosed and anxious
G'day hatbox. Welcome to Apnea Board.
An AHI of 45 is not to be sneezed at, but mine was 62 and we've had others on here with AHIs in the 90s. This is not trying to put you down, but to reassure you that your case isn't unusual, or especially severe. What is unusual is that you're diagnosed so young. This is a good thing, as you now have the opportunity to avoid many years of potential damage to your body.
It sounds like you're doing all the right things - get on top of the apnea and you'll have many healthy years ahead of you.
RE: Newly diagnosed and anxious
Welcome to the Apnea Board. It's great the PSG / sleep study highlighted this early in your life. Mine didn't get discovered until I was about 42; and that with an extremely high AHI at 75 (I think as unfortunately I have a poor memory now). By diagnosing and treating it now, you will certainly avoid, or at the very least minimize, any negative effects sleep apnea would cause you later. Stick with this board and you'll learn quite a bit on apnea treatment, devices, settings, and about most everything else associated with sleep apnea. Best to ya.
Dave
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RE: Newly diagnosed and anxious
Welcome to the forum.
It is good that you found out and are able to treat it now. The real question is where to go NOW.
First and foremost, it is most important to get a machine that records FULL data. Many DMEs will give you a machine that records Compliance (how much you use the CPAP machine) and an AHI number. This is simply not enough data. You want to get enough data to allow you (or your Dr) to change your settings with knowledge of how you are reacting to the settings in your machine and not guess on what would be better.
Read the links in my signature, yes it's a lot of reading, but NOW is the time to set you up for long term success.
Take advantage of every sleep test you do to try different masks (read the Mask Primer) because this is the most personal thing about apnea treatment. Masks MUST be tried on to see if they will work on your face (I'm sure it is different than mine)
Included is a process of what to expect as you move forward in your therapy. All good reading. The best CPAP to get are the current model Auto CPAP machines from either ResMed or Phillips Respironics. Try both brands if you can to see if you prefer one over the other. The algorithms they use to follow your breathing are different. Many here prefer the ResMed because it responds to events faster.
Any questions, please ask them here.
Please post your sleep study results here. They will help us give you better advice, as will your daily SleepyHead charts once you get a machine.
Fred
RE: Newly diagnosed and anxious
Read this article on machine choices as well.
Machine Choices
RE: Newly diagnosed and anxious
Hi hatbox,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
It’s good to hear that you're treating your sleep apnea early,keep up the good work on improving your health.
Good luck as you start CPAP therapy.
trish6hundred
RE: Newly diagnosed and anxious
Welcome! Don't obsess too much about the "severe" label. That refers to the frequency of events, not the severity of the events or overall condition. The medical researchers needed to have groups for statistical purposes. They could have named them Sometimes, Often, and Quite Often.
Ask your doctor for a Testosterone level test. Untreated sleep apnea often results in lowered levels.
