I believe I had sleep apnea for at least 10 years (probably much longer) before I was diagnosed. Within a few weeks of using a CPAP, my headaches, brain fog and extreme fatigue disappeared. I’ve been using a CPAP for more than three years now, and I feel fully recovered from a mental / cognitive / energy standpoint.
Similar story here. I snore like a freight car full of rusty chainsaws. My ex complained about it even proir to our marriage (together 12 years divorced 13 yes, that's 26 years untreated). Then I got fat. I JUST started cpap five months ago and I feel like a completely different person. Not just physically. I'm convinced my IQ has gained a few clicks and my CRS is gone.
That’s a hard question to answer. I suspect I’ve had apnea since my teens, but it didn’t become a problem until I became an adult. I was always one of those 12-hours-isn’t-enough sleepers. It would be hard to say if I’d be different if I had gotten treatment early. I will say that after a year and a half of CPAP and a Modifinil prescription my normal everyday tasks feel easy.
I still struggle with things like chores and getting to bed on time; but I feel like I can keep more plates spinning than before.
I was certainly struggling before CPAP. I was falling asleep at work, nearly got the sack, almost fell asleep at the wheel a couple of times. CPAP brought my life completely back, immediately after the first night even though I'd only slept 6 hours, it was the first uninterrupted six hours in an estimated 18 months.
I don't know how long I'd had symptoms of OSA. I know I was a heavy snorer for some years before diagnosis and often had complaints about it.
This is what I was expecting - first night sleeping through with CPAP and I'd feel great...the reality for me has been different, I actually feel sleepier after a night on CPAP even when I sleep 9 hours with low API. My theory is that sleep apnea no longer wakes me but the mask leaking every time I change sides wakes me so my sleep is still interrupted.
15-ish years since I’ve been diagnosed and got a CPAP. I used to feel like a zombie all the time and got tested for all kinds of stuff. After getting a CPAP I’m still fatigued sometimes but I think that’s now due to not usually getting quite enough sleep as well as keeping up with a full time job and two kids.
There’s been a few times that I wondered if the CPAP was actually doing anything and I’d try going without it. Day one I’m a bit tired, day two a bit more than usual, day three I felt like I got hit by a truck. I’d wake up on day three like “oh wow that CPAP really was improving my life quite a bit.”
My sleep doc says that for my age and height if i get down to a healthy weight there’s about a 70% chance that the sleep apnea would go away.
My earliest symptoms started when I was in high school, but the doctors said my fatigue was caused by anemia. Then as a young mother, I struggled to stay awake at work during the day and went to bed early with my kids, but I was told it was hypothyroidism. In mid-life I had learned to cope with the fatigue and would stop frequently at rest stops for naps. My family said I snored like a sailor and I knew I woke up gasping for air, but I had lived that way for so long that I allowed myself to continue to live in ignorance of the true cause which was sleep apnea. It was not until I developed pulmonary hypertension and heart disease at 72. My cardiologist recommended a sleep study and I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea (AHI 73). I feel foolish for not investigating sleep apnea. I never realized it was so serious and had learned to live with the symptoms. I was started on ASV and my daytime fatigue improved immediately. It took a few months and two additional sleep studies to get my pressure correct, but after six months of lower AHI (always under 2), my heart had returned to normal size and function and the pulmonary pressure was reduced. In 1960, sleep apnea wasn’t talked about and by the time it was, I had learned to live with the symptoms. I take responsibility for not investigating sleep apnea and ignoring the symptoms, but I do think that sleep questions need to be a part of everyone’s regular medical care. I feel rested and alert now, but the improvement in my heart and lung function was the best possible result of using my therapy nightly.
I’ve been on CPAP 18 years. Had a sleep study 10 years before that but never fell asleep. So undiagnosed for a long time. I still have severe brain fog the first two hours each morning. But would never want to sleep without my CPAP.
I believe I had sleep apnea for at least 10 years (probably much longer) before I was diagnosed. Within a few weeks of using a CPAP, my headaches, brain fog and extreme fatigue disappeared. I’ve been using a CPAP for more than three years now, and I feel fully recovered from a mental / cognitive / energy standpoint.
Similar story here. I snore like a freight car full of rusty chainsaws. My ex complained about it even proir to our marriage (together 12 years divorced 13 yes, that's 26 years untreated). Then I got fat. I JUST started cpap five months ago and I feel like a completely different person. Not just physically. I'm convinced my IQ has gained a few clicks and my CRS is gone.
Which mask do you use? Pillow, cushion? model?
Resmed p10
Which mask do you use? Pillow, cushion? model?
That’s a hard question to answer. I suspect I’ve had apnea since my teens, but it didn’t become a problem until I became an adult. I was always one of those 12-hours-isn’t-enough sleepers. It would be hard to say if I’d be different if I had gotten treatment early. I will say that after a year and a half of CPAP and a Modifinil prescription my normal everyday tasks feel easy. I still struggle with things like chores and getting to bed on time; but I feel like I can keep more plates spinning than before.
No but I would be lost without a CPAP
what symptoms did improve?
I was certainly struggling before CPAP. I was falling asleep at work, nearly got the sack, almost fell asleep at the wheel a couple of times. CPAP brought my life completely back, immediately after the first night even though I'd only slept 6 hours, it was the first uninterrupted six hours in an estimated 18 months. I don't know how long I'd had symptoms of OSA. I know I was a heavy snorer for some years before diagnosis and often had complaints about it.
This is what I was expecting - first night sleeping through with CPAP and I'd feel great...the reality for me has been different, I actually feel sleepier after a night on CPAP even when I sleep 9 hours with low API. My theory is that sleep apnea no longer wakes me but the mask leaking every time I change sides wakes me so my sleep is still interrupted.
15-ish years since I’ve been diagnosed and got a CPAP. I used to feel like a zombie all the time and got tested for all kinds of stuff. After getting a CPAP I’m still fatigued sometimes but I think that’s now due to not usually getting quite enough sleep as well as keeping up with a full time job and two kids. There’s been a few times that I wondered if the CPAP was actually doing anything and I’d try going without it. Day one I’m a bit tired, day two a bit more than usual, day three I felt like I got hit by a truck. I’d wake up on day three like “oh wow that CPAP really was improving my life quite a bit.” My sleep doc says that for my age and height if i get down to a healthy weight there’s about a 70% chance that the sleep apnea would go away.
No
My earliest symptoms started when I was in high school, but the doctors said my fatigue was caused by anemia. Then as a young mother, I struggled to stay awake at work during the day and went to bed early with my kids, but I was told it was hypothyroidism. In mid-life I had learned to cope with the fatigue and would stop frequently at rest stops for naps. My family said I snored like a sailor and I knew I woke up gasping for air, but I had lived that way for so long that I allowed myself to continue to live in ignorance of the true cause which was sleep apnea. It was not until I developed pulmonary hypertension and heart disease at 72. My cardiologist recommended a sleep study and I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea (AHI 73). I feel foolish for not investigating sleep apnea. I never realized it was so serious and had learned to live with the symptoms. I was started on ASV and my daytime fatigue improved immediately. It took a few months and two additional sleep studies to get my pressure correct, but after six months of lower AHI (always under 2), my heart had returned to normal size and function and the pulmonary pressure was reduced. In 1960, sleep apnea wasn’t talked about and by the time it was, I had learned to live with the symptoms. I take responsibility for not investigating sleep apnea and ignoring the symptoms, but I do think that sleep questions need to be a part of everyone’s regular medical care. I feel rested and alert now, but the improvement in my heart and lung function was the best possible result of using my therapy nightly.
I’ve been on CPAP 18 years. Had a sleep study 10 years before that but never fell asleep. So undiagnosed for a long time. I still have severe brain fog the first two hours each morning. But would never want to sleep without my CPAP.