RE: What convinced you?
When I was younger, I went for many blood test to find what was causing my extreme fatigue. At some point I gave up trying to figure it out. I just kept myself healthy and always mentioned still tired at checkups. Decades later some someone in the family got diagnosed. I told the doctor at the time I wanted to see a sleep doctor. I was told I am not a male and not fat enough. I argued and finally got a to see a sleep doctor. Got tested and the rest is history. Hopefully not, since I am still looking for improvement.
I am happy to see younger people getting diagnosed earlier in their lives, instead of decades later.
RE: What convinced you?
Brazen,
LOL
...If a condom in the pocket is presumptuous, a CPAP in the trunk ….
RE: What convinced you?
My doctor. My blood pressure was elevated and he had me take blood pressure readings throughout the day. It was the highest when I first woke up. He said that you just rested for hours, your blood pressure should be the lowest. Of course, by that time I was collapsing when I got home from work.
I still remember the morning after I had my sleep study. I felt great. At that point if I had to use a staple gun to keep my mask on, I was ready for it.
John
RE: What convinced you?
Learning about the Inspire Implant.
For years I have known that I have sleep apnea, based on numerous people telling me that I snore, especially my wife. However I also struggle with insomnia. Over the last few years I’ve managed to largely tame the insomnia and can usually fall asleep at night without too much difficulty. However in order to fall asleep LOTS of very specific things need to be done a certain way. For example, I can’t have coffee after 1:30pm, My bedroom needs to be a little cool, the blankets and sheets cannot be too warm, I must have blackout curtains, I cannot do extra work from my job after 9:00pm, I cannot have any stressful conversations after about 9:15pm, I can only wear boxer shorts to sleep in, I must sleep on my back with 1 pillow. I cannot wear a watch or my wedding ring. Based on these constraints I knew that any attempt to use a CPAP machine would result in my lying in bed awake tossing and turning for hours. I suspect that an oral appliance will have a similar effect- it will stop snoring by stopping sleeping. Consequently I made the rational decision to do nothing- why waste time and money and miss work to go to Doctors appointment to pursue a treatment that won’t work? Then I learned about Inspire and decided that would be worth pursuing because it would not kick in until I was already asleep. Unfortunately they make you attempt to use CPAP first, so I finally decided to go do a sleep study so I could get going on the way to get Inspire.
The good news- my sleep apnea is mild at 6.4 AHI. The bad news- my apnea is too mild for me to be eligible for Inspire. Also bad- my tonsils are too small to make a difference if they were removed.
I attempted to do CPAP for 3 months. As I suspected, the sensation of something touching my face completely prevents me from falling asleep 100% of the time unless I am drugged (and even then it’s a mixed bag). I am getting fitted for an oral appliance next month. I am concerned that the $857 I have to cover will be a complete waste of money. I do wonder if I would be better off paying $2,000 for the eXcite OSA device instead. Or maybe just accepting that my wife and should sleep in separate bedrooms.
