Who are all of you?

[Perplexed]

Hamlet, its not USUAL to have a split-night study, BUT - it isn't all that unusual either. And it can be done quite successfully at times. Apparently yours was quite successful. Good!

Sleep medication whilst on CPAP should not be a problem at all. However, meds developed specificially for sleep problems rather than low dose antidepressants, antianxiotics, anticonvulsants and muscle relaxers are more desirable. They were often better than nothing before the new specifically for sleep meds were developed but ...

To avoid the condensation in your mask you can turn your humidifier a little lower, place your CPAP lower than your mattress, hang your hose above your head whilst sleeping, take your hose under the covers w/you, make or buy a hose cover.

Welcome to the forum!!

[White Beard]

Maybe that should be made into a new post? I would like to know how taking a sleep aid and having air blow into your face can be deadly? Hamlett where did you read that? And why would your doctor give you a prescription for it to get used to your CPAP?? It doesn't make any sense to me!

[Hamlett]

Thanks for the welcoming. Go to your sleep basics tab on this website, look under "featured articles" and pick "tips for successful sleep" then read #13.

[White Beard]

Hamlett I did look it up, and it said Obstructive Sleep Apnea and using sleeping pills (can be) a deadly combination. I didn't see it say anything about it being deadly while using CPAP. And Doctors frequently do subscribe sleeping pills to Sleep Apnea patients, especially ones new to CPAP or for their sleep studies.
I did not mean to come off as being sarcastic to you or anything like that, I just wanted to point out that I did not believe that using the two things together ( CPAP and Sleeping Pills) were deadly. And I don't believe they are! I can see where over use of sleeping pills for some people with Sleep Apnea could be a problem. But I would not be to concerned about it, if the they were prescribed by a doctor that knows you have sleep apnea.
And yes I did forget my manners, that is not at all like me! Welcome aboard this CPAP adventure! I hope it is a pleasant one for you, but if you have any problems these sleep apnea forums are the right place to come! There are many many good folks out here that are more than willing to help you. I do hope we have not gotten off on the wrong foot so to speak. Welcome aboard and Good Luck to you!

[Hamlett]

WHITEBEARD,

I'M NOT OFFENDED. I APPRECIATE THE SINCERETY IN YOUR LAST POST. I DO HAVE ALOT OF QUESTIONS FOR ALL OF YOU "CPAP VETERANS". I WORK AT AN ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING FIRM AND SOMETIMES IT GETS A LITTLE SLOW AROUND HERE. SO, I CAN POP IN AND OUT ENOUGH TO CHECK FOR NEW POSTS PERIODICALLY. IF I DON'T ANSWER RIGHT AWAY, IT IS BECAUSE I GOT BUSY.

MY FIRST QUESTION IS: IS OSA SOMETHING THAT WILL BE EVENTUALLY CURED OR AT LEAST CURVED BY CPAP?

[kristin]

I was also wondering, does it go away or am I a hose head for life?

[Perplexed]

In all likelihood you are a hosehead for life. CPAP is not a "permanent" cure like surgery to remove an appendix cures you of any further appendix attacks. It is a cure ONLY when it is used.

The only TRUE cure in the sense of an appendectomy for appendicitis is a tracheotomy - and believe me, you DON'T want to go there!

For those overweight, weight loss MIGHT eliminate the need for CPAP - but - in all likelihood the OSA will eventually return even when you keep the weight off.

There are circumstances where a tonsilectomy IF enlarged, swollen tonsils were the cause might eliminate the need for CPAP. But most of the time, tonsillectomy, turnbinate surgery, etc only reduce the pressure need or only eliminate the need for CPAP for a very short time.

The other "extreme" surgeries are "iffy".

[White Beard]

Hamlett and kristin As far as I know there is no absolute cure for SA, and CPAP will not cure it, I kind of look at XPAP like a pair of glasses, or a hearing aid , or even a cain! It is a tool, and it is used to help you with some part of your daily living. Glasses correct your vision, and XPAP helps correct your breathing when you sleep. Just as glasses don't fix your eyes, CPAP won't fix your throat. It is just a tool that you can use to to temporarily correct a weakness or deficiency in your body. That is my view of it anyway, I hope that helped, Good Luck

[Perplexed]

GOOD comparisons, WhiteBeard! Now WHY didn't "I" think of them? Duh. Thanks.

[White Beard]

Perplexed How do you do that? I read a post and type a reply and when I submit it you have already done one!!

[Hamlett]

IS THIS SOMETHING THAT I HAVE HAD ALL OF MY LIFE? WAS I BORN WITH IT? IS IT HEREDITARY? COULD IT HAVE STARTED IN MY YOUNGER YEARS, AND NOW IT HAS GOTTEN SO BAD THAT I AM FEELING THE SYMPTOMS MORE AND MORE?

[White Beard]

And you just did it again!!

[White Beard]

That is a good question Hamlett, I really don't have an answer for that, I don't think anybody know quite enough about SA yet to be able to give you a difinitive answer. Sorry?

[White Beard]

Hamlett I will admit I have had the same questions, There is nothing good about SA, except I have found a whole bunch of GREAT people at these forums, that I never knew existed, and without having Sleep Apnea, I probably never would have know about them. Just a little silver lining! Actually a very big one!

[Tracy]

It's my opinion that most of us have sleep apnea for a variety of anatomical reasons that might include the tongue, jaw, airway size, nasal constriction, enlarged tonsils, adenoids and uvula....as a few examples. Most of us have more than one of these issues and so while one might not cause apnea, a combination of anomalies will.

These anatomical issues are why apnea is hereditary, so I also believe that most of us are born with apnea. Often it waits til later in life to rear its ugly head. Sometimes the wait is caused by weight gain. I don't believe in most cases that being overweight alone is the cause of apnea, but weight gain coupled with some of the other issues mentioned above might be what finally causes the apnea to appear.

The vicious cycle of apnea causing weight gain, the weight gain making apnea worse - then the additional weight gain....the more you gain the worse it gets, the worse the apnea the more you gain. It's hard to lose weight in any circumstance but when you are sleep deprived and have little energy its even harder.

The only cure for apnea that I know of is a tracheotomy - something I would not choose as my life on BiLevel works well.

So, we should all stop and consider why each of us has sleep apnea....then you will be able to determine if it's "for life". Apnea runs in my family for the common anatomical reasons - wide tongue, narrow jaw and short neck. I believe my undiagnosed apnea was a contributing factor to my massive weight gain in my early adulthood, yet gastric bypass and loss of 105 pounds still leaves me on BiLevel at a pressure of 20-11. I can live with that!

I already had UPPP which made my apnea worse! Why? Because removing the uvula, trimming the soft palate were not my issues in the first place....they were not abnormal. I did not know enough back then ( 1990 ) to ask questions of the surgeon and learn about apnea and why I had it.

I think its very important for the patient education process to include discussion between doctor and patient about why we have apnea. Then we have a more reasonable expectation of our treatment options.

It's interesting that since my diagnosis 18 years ago, I have lived in 3 different states and have had 14 nights in the sleep lab and have seen 7 sleep physicians - NOT ONE of them ever discussed why I had sleep apnea. I would have liked to know - everything becomes clearer and you know what....we can deal with anything if we know what it is and why....its the not knowing that can get in the way of successful therapeutic compliance.

Hope these tidbits help explain!

Tracy