Sleep Apnea anyone?

**FONZY007** · 06-21-2012, 11:04 PM

I have health insurance and just made an appointment and seen the doctor and gone from there, took about 3 months to see the doctor and 5 weeks to have everything dialed in

**GFA** · 06-22-2012, 11:34 AM

The sleep study company just called, will be going in on July 2nd to get my cpap machine. Follow up BW with hematologist is the very next day so unfortunately i wont know if it has any impact on RBCs yet.

I donated blood a few weeks ago but the last time I donated my RBCs went right back up after a month.

Maybe with the cpap and another blood donation I can keep my rbc down. Will report in results later.

Day 4 Phentermine

Still going strong. Down 6 lbs so far since starting. I know its mostly water at this point but still feels good

At this rate Ill be under 200 in a week! The only side I have right now is dry mouth. Drinking water like crazy which is good. Cut out all diet soda as well. I hear caffeine can decrease the effectiveness of it.

**jwh7699** · 06-22-2012, 07:18 PM

I have sleep apnea. My air pressure is 18. I have used a full mask CPAP for over a year. It does take a few weeks to get used to. I've only tried not using it twice in the past year and both times I was super tired the next day. Weight does play a factor in my case, but I do know a guy who is not overweight and has to use one. He has a lot of issues with Acid Reflux and this caused the problem. It is definetley worth the expense. Best of luck all!!!

**GFA** · 07-02-2012, 04:14 PM

Just picked up my CPAP machine. Really quiet. Tonight will be the first night using the machine. My air pressure is 8. Went to the center where a technician showed me how to use it. They even plugged in a wireless modem that will transmit data back to the center for any adjustments during the first 90 days.

Tomorrow is a follow up visit with the blood doc, he will test my RBCs again. I will see if I can convince him to hold off till after my next blood donation along with the CPAP to see if my levels improve. Really trying to avoid the weekly blood lettings

**xtitan1** · 07-02-2012, 04:46 PM

I'm new to the TRT stuff but I've been on CPAP therapy for about 14 months. My advice is to be really picky about the mask, your insurance will cover it if you return it and get a different type. I also want to recommend the Swift FX nasal pillow mask. I am a stomach and side sleeper.

**MrManGuy84** · 07-03-2012, 02:40 AM

Getting the right mask is a pain. The first one I tried was really ineffective for some reason even though it was comfortable. My current insurance doesn't cover equipment at all. The one I have is pretty good but I want to try another. I don't understand why these things cost so much.

**GFA** · 07-03-2012, 04:49 AM

Originally Posted by xtitan1

I'm new to the TRT stuff but I've been on CPAP therapy for about 14 months. My advice is to be really picky about the mask, your insurance will cover it if you return it and get a different type. I also want to recommend the Swift FX nasal pillow mask. I am a stomach and side sleeper.

Ya the mask was uncomfortable.

Is this the mask you use?

http://www.cpap.com/productpage/resm...rce=igodigital

**SEOINAGE** · 07-03-2012, 10:15 AM

i think i want to get that one, i have a nose one, but it has hard plastic across the face, so when i lay on my side it kind of makes it push away from my nose, maybe need to make it tighter, but i am tempted to get that max there as i used that one in the study. Also almost a week now i have woken up in the morning with the mask off, and been having a hard time breathing, starting to think i need to bump the pressure up because i have gained some weight and possibly have made things a little worse.

Also the nose one i have sits a little further out from face so can't lay flat on your face very well. And i fell asleep flat on my face in teh study for a while and the flatter all cushion one did better. I even think that design could be improved.

**xtitan1** · 07-03-2012, 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by GFA

Ya the mask was uncomfortable.

Is this the mask you use?

Yep, that's the exact one I use. Obviously it's going to depend on your preferences, but I've noticed a lot of people seem to like this mask and I know I certainly do. One thing of note that really helped me: the mask comes with these cloth things you can put around the part of the headge*r that goes across your cheeks so it doesn't leave indentations on your cheeks after you take it off. My mask would sometimes slip and break the seal, but I read online that people suggested not putting the cloth things on and I did this and it's great now. Might want to experiment with that if you get the mask.

These pillows are nice and soft, and they contour to your nostrils for a tight seal. I have not had problems with the mask coming off.

If you're worrying that additional weight gain has made your sleep apnea worse, what my sleep doctor did was lend me an auto-cpap machine for a month and then look at the results to see if the machine ever needed to go above the pressure that my normal CPAP is set at. That way you can avoid having to redo a sleep study titration, which is very expensive as you probably know.

**Dukkit** · 07-03-2012, 01:39 PM

Went to doctor yesterday, she told me to go for a sleep study.

Gotta wait till after the holiday to set up an appointment.

Hope its the reason Ive felt so beat and crappy the past year.

**xtitan1** · 07-03-2012, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by dukkitdalaw

Went to doctor yesterday, she told me to go for a sleep study.

Gotta wait till after the holiday to set up an appointment.

Hope its the reason Ive felt so beat and crappy the past year.

Good luck! Although whether that means coming up positive or negative for sleep apnea, I'm not sure. It's nice to have an explanation for how you feel but bad to have something wrong with you lol.

**GFA** · 07-03-2012, 05:53 PM

I went back today and swapped out the mask. Ended up getting a Phillips nasal pillow which is very lightweight. Will report findings back tomorrow. Nice thing is I get to swap out the mask for free in the first 30 days so dont have to pay for this either.

Looking forward to a good night sleep!

Also went to hematologist today, RBCs are high again no surprise. Going to do another blood donation in a month, hopefully a double and if my RBC is still high, doc is going to prescribe phlebotomy to get my hematocrit down to 45 (51 currently).

Hoping the cpap will help.

**GFA** · 07-07-2012, 07:12 AM

Been using the CPAP and nasal pillow the last few days. Feels much better than the full nasal mask. I can actually turn to my side as well. I found it interesting that now that I am using the CPAP machine I am sleeping in longer. I usually wake up around 6am but today I woke up at 8am.

**jwh7699** · 07-07-2012, 09:15 AM

I've been told with the nasal mask that you have to keep your mouth closed while you sleep or the air from the mask blows out. Is this true? Thanks!!

**SEOINAGE** · 07-07-2012, 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by GFA

Been using the CPAP and nasal pillow the last few days. Feels much better than the full nasal mask. I can actually turn to my side as well. I found it interesting that now that I am using the CPAP machine I am sleeping in longer. I usually wake up around 6am but today I woke up at 8am.

Yeah this is the biggest thing for me, on weekends i used to get up at 5 or 6, but now I can sleep till 8 or 9. I used to get up at 5 even if i stayed up till 1 or later. much better.