CPAP - Sleep Apnoea

[KitFaerie]

I used to be a sleep scientist. Um, if you have sleep aponea then not using any treatment is really dangerous. You stop breathing in little bits throughout the night and your brain wakes you up just enough to keep breathing, but you dont hit the real deep sleep cos your brain has to keep you awake enough to stay alive. And CO builds up in your blood cos your breathing keeps stopping and that's related to cardiac problems later in life. Not getting deep sleep is related to cognitive problems, depression and weight gain. Some people with sleep aponea have quite serious car accidents related to lack of sleep. An overnight stay will tell you how many times an hour you stop breathing.

Basically a CPAP machine is an air splint to stop your throat closing up (most common type of sleep aponea). Surgery doesnt always work, and if it doesnt you'll need a machine anyway. You dont always need a mask, you can get nasal only. The machines make about as much noise as a air con, some of the newer ones make less. Some people take to it straight away, others take longer. Sometimes dental splints work by keeping the throat open. Some people can develop sleep aponea because they're overweight and can have too much tissue in their throat.

Sleep is hugely hugely important. Basically if you dont sleep, then you risk a whole host of other health and mental problems, including a shortened life span. I understand you need to find the treatment that works for you, but no treatment shouldn't be an option.

When you go for the overnight stay ask for a split one if you can get it. That means you spend half the night without CPAP in order to confirm and gauge the severity of sleep aponea. Then you spend the other half of the night with a mask/nasal and see how it works. Your oxygen saturation will be monitored as well as your brain wave patterns, cos that tells us whether your getting any deep sleep and how well the CPAP is working. Otherwise you'll have to do 2 nights in the sleep centre, and they're not particularly restful

[Turkish Delight]

I can sleep anywhere and i mean anywhere in any position. Several times have i dozed off in heavy traffic and woke to my car beginning to swerve to the other side of the road. So i can understand having quite severe car accidents. I can't drive long distances without the need to pull over and sleep, but i don't so i keep going. I find it hard to keep my eyes open at work, esp. in seminars and meetings.

I'm doing a home sleep study. They give you all the stuff and teach you how to use it and you go home and sleep and take the stuff back the next day. The clinic is at Hawthorn.

My life is run by sleep. I just want to sleep all the time.

With the dental splint, does one gag when putting it in? Does it sit back near your throat, if so...NOPE. not doing that either.

Okay, i could POSSIBLY do the nasal CPAP but definitely not mask.

You have scared me shiatless KF. But thanks for your reply. Greatly appreciate it.
depression tick
weight gain tick

I didn't see your post Yael. Thanks a lot. I guess $1500 isn't too bad, if it's a state of the art one. Okay, so i'm starting to warm to the idea. I'll do some shopping around, but thanks for recommending a supplier!

One of the passages of my noise is quiet narrow. When he pushed this thin tube into it to have a look, it hurt so much even with anaethesia (sp?). He reckons my tongue falls back too, hence the choking, gasping when i wake up from it.