It struck me as I was listneing to this today (or maybe I have apnea on the brain) this song is about SLeep Apnea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4EPWD7A87A&eurl=http://thecompletists.org/smf/index.php?topic=13.0

I awoke, only to find my lungs empty
Through the night, so it seems I'm not breathing
And now my dreams are nothing like they were meant to be
And I'm Breaking Down
I think I'm breaking down

And I'm afraid to sleep because of what haunts me
Such as living with the uncertainties
They'll never find the words to say
Which would completely explain
Just how I'm breaking down

Someone come, Someone come and save my life
Maybe I'll sleep when I am dead
But now its like the night is taking up sides
With all the worries that occupy the back of my mind
Could it be? This misery will suffice

(Gordon Downey Singing This Verse)
I've become, the simple souvenir of someone's guilt
Like the sea, I'm constantly changing from calm to ill
Madness fills my heart and soul
As if the great divide could swallow me whole
Oh, how I'm breaking down

Someone come, Someone come and save my life
Maybe I'll sleep when I am dead
But now its like the night is taking up sides
With all the worries that occupy the back of my mind
Could it be? This misery will suffice


Someone come, Someone come and save my life

Someone come, Someone come and save my life

Someone come, Someone come and save my life
Could it be? This misery will suffice

WOW!!!  This sounds like how so many of us have felt and feel.  I went for 5 years with health complaints that are a mirror image of sleep apnea.  I was finally DX, did well the first 2-3 months, and now have been fighting the past 2-3 months again-This song reflects how I felt the other night when I was crying floods of tears after that doctor (partner of PCP) told me it was fine to have apneas and desaturate-that all it was was anxiety!  I was told by someone else that I was paranoid-that I should be breathing fine with my CPAP-I shouldn't be having any issues-"just anxiety'  

I had no options for sleep, and had so many in the health care web tell me-there is nothing we can do right now.  "You just need to try to sleep!"   Try to sleep when your family finds you turning blue. . . try to sleep when you wake up and find your fingernails pure white. . . . try to sleep when you wake up every other minute gasping and choking. . . try to sleep when you wake up and have to pee every time you stop breathing. . . try to sleep when you know you are getting at least 30% less oxygen than most other people. . . .try to sleep like this on or off CPAP. . . .try to sleep when your ear hurts so bad that nothing can touch the pain.. . .when in my case, I probably just need a simple pressure adjustment.   For the past 5 years, I simply needed a doctor who could recognize and treat sleep apnea.

Lantern, why not just buy yourself fully data capable autoPAP? And better yet, also get the software and cable reader? There are online DME suppliers that can have it shipped to you w/in 2-3 days.


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Some people are like Slinkies... Not really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.
Resmed VPAP Auto. Humidaire 3i, Simplicity & Micro masks, ResScan 3.4, S8 ResLink, Embla oximeter.

Lanter4life, I had to turn off C-Flex (it didn't work for me) and go to straight CPAP. Apparently, the rythym of C-Flex did not match my breathing rythym at times, and in the middle of the night, I'd wake up in a panic, finding myself suffocating, or out of breath! I went through 2 new machines thinking they were defective, before I found out what the issue was. I like the CPAP constantly blowing fresh air at me, so I can breathe, never feeling the machine is in exhale mode at the wrong time (as in C-Flex mode) when I need air, and limiting my breathing. Besides, I found that in CPAP mode, the equipment is made to provide some breathing relief as it is. Being older, and a smoker, my lungs are not the best, and I also found out, I need just a little bit of exhalation resistance that CPAP gives me, or if it is too little (as with C-Flex) my breathing rythym goes out of synch, and I start to hyperventilate, causing the issues I described. CPAP to me, means there is a constant, uninterrupted supply of fresh air now. It has been 3 wks now, and all seems to be Fine this way. I don't dread going to bed anymore. Maybe this would help you as well? Good luck, Mike


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Remstar M series Plus with C-flex & heated humidfier
Ultra Mirage Full Face
Ultra Mirage 11 Nasal

Mike,

Your experience is a common one!  But is often overlooked by new users (and doctors).  Exhalation Relief does increase comfort for some people, enabling them to be successful with CPAP therapy.  But sometimes we assume (and without even realizing it) that more features must = better... for everybody

In my opinion, CPAP features are a lot like other daily aids -- glasses, canes, hearing aids, etc.  If you need it then you are glad you have it.  Otherwise you don't use it.

Thanks for posting your experience!

Blessings,
--pseudonym