What convinced you?

[taylorgtr]

What convinced you to get tested and start CPAP treatment? 

Was it a spouse, a doctor, your symptoms, or someone else's story?

[mesenteria]

Mine was an internal decision.  My heart began to fibrillate, and the sensation was worrisome to me.  I consulted a cardiologist who ordered every conceivable test.  No ischemic heart disease, no structure defects of any kind.  A Doppler Ultrasound even showed that my 65-year-old male meat-eating carotid arteries were clear.

The last test was a polysomnography.  It showed severe apnea.  My cardiologist brightly quipped, when he had me in for the results, "Well, I guess we know why you have AF!"

The decision was, to be trite, a no-brainer.  I had a terrible first night due to mouth leaks, but I was determined to preserve what was left of my heart to the extent possible.  I learned of taping over the mouth, and the rest is a pretty good run over the intervening five years.

[srlevine1]

Originally, my first sleep test was suggested by an FAA-approved AME (Aviation Medical Examiner) and was based on neck size (18") and self-reported snoring, per my girlfriend.

[staceyburke]

I was driving a group of students in Denver and drifted off asleep.   Only for a split sec but I knew I could not take a chance of hurting someone else being so sleep deprived.

[Nightynite]

I just wasn’t sleeping good and my older sister told me about her neighbor was on cpap because he couldn’t sleep, now he sleeps much better. I wondered if that is what was the matter with me, so I talked with my pcp , did a home sleep test , and here I am.

[Brazen]

I've been experiencing terrible fatigue (and other things) since Sept. 2020.
Fatigue is my only sleep apnea symptom. Pre-cpap I slept like the dead but woke up exhausted everyday.
Primary doc ran limited blood tests, found no other reason for my symptoms, and sent me for a sleep study.
First was at home. It was negative for sleep apnea. Sleep doc called it a "false negative" and sent me to the clinic for a full PSG/split study. 
Results of the PSG, AHI 7.7. (But, REM AHI = 24)
REM latency was over 240mins. (normal is 60-90)

147 nights ago, I reluctantly started using a Resmed AS11, downloaded OSCAR, and found that incorrect pressure settings did indeed show significant flow limits indicating disordered sleep.
Correct settings have controlled the AHI and flow limits.
However, I still see significant arousals in OSCAR every night. I do not get restful looking breathing patterns often.

I also still feel incredibly fatigued and my sleep quality is subjectively worse with the cpap. I'm giving it time and I'm meeting with the sleep doc again in a few weeks.
I've also found a new primary doctor willing to dig into other possible causes for my symptoms.

[Old Bert]

I had been waking up choking since I was in kindergarten. In the 60s they had no idea what it was. They just called night terrors and chalked it up to little kid having bad dreams. I have been dealing with it all my life. In my 40s a friend suggested I get tested.

[DaveCar]

At times, I couldnt drive for more than 10 or 20 minutes without having to pull over and either walk around the vehicle, or take a 15min cat nap. A few times, was woken up by a stranger knocking on the window to see if I was alive (I guess I looked like I died in my seat lol ).
I missed a good chunk of my kids youth, as I was always asleep.
Watching a movie was out of the question.
I thought I just needed more sleep.
I started flailing at night, hit the wife quite a few times (bless her heart, she only hit me back once or twice, but she did bite my arm when it landed on her mouth once.. lol)
Then one day my new doc just happened to ask me how my sleeping was.. and the rest is history.
So thankful. Wish I knew about all this years before.

I gotta give some credit to this old timer on youtube too. I was pretty apprehensive about sleep study and possibly this thing called cpap. Watched his video I found via a regular search. He said yep it looks dumb and it's a chore.. but you're going to live now and not going to "stroke out". His practical approach and confidence gave me the final push I needed.

[Gogirl]

Mine was from a colonoscopy.. doctor said I stopped breathing. I also had a harder time than normal coming out of the anesthesia. Don’t have any of the normal signs of sleep apnea but doctor put in a referral to sleep deparment and I was shocked. After doing  some research found out my dad had it - so I had a genetic predisposition, post menopause, old, petite and enlarged nasal turbinates. Lots of women don’t snore - I only did an occasional snorting but my husband really snores and is over weight. I was very angry at first. But that was 5 months ago and after doing a lot of research and seeing all the things that can happen to your health if it’s not treated I finally came to terms with it. I have had my machine for 1 week and slept for 8 hrs each night. Not as bad as I thought. Finally let my husband see me in my mask and he said I looked like a little pink bunny. Bless him. I bought a cute pink and flowery wrap for my tube off Etsy and I feel more feminine in it. Every little thing helps. This forum has really helped me accept it.

[Lucid]

Symptoms:  I usually couldn't go back to sleep if I woke up early, so I wasn't getting enough hours of sleep.  I was often tired, irritable, angry, and stressed out.  I would occasionally wake up with a pounding heart.  I suspected for some time that I had sleep apnea, but I wasn't sure about some of the symptoms (such as snoring) that doctors screen for in order to decide whether to recommend a sleep study.  Finally, I went to see an ENT who was more concerned about the possibility of sleep apnea and ordered a sleep study.  My AHI was 56, and the sleep doctor prescribed CPAP.  

It took me about a week to be able to sleep through the night with the mask and pressure.  Once I did, I never wanted to stop using it.  I'm relaxed and even tempered now.  I wish had started using CPAP 15 years ago!