So I've had sleep apnea for a while now but I need a new machine (or do I) and I am tired of doctors, sleep test and $$ machines. So has anyone had luck with other options? I see a few sites where you can get a prescription on-line. There are new auto machines, oral/dental appliances, surgery, plus a few other. So what do you do.
Just my experience - genetically I'm predisposed to it (only found out recently), so it doesn't matter what shape I'm in, still gotta wear it at night. I did the at-home sleep test from an online store, no referral needed. Philips has a little device they send you out to use overnight. I got setup with a computer-controlled machine (
this guy) with the Dreamwear mask (
this guy).
In a nutshell, the old CPAP machines worked off a timer, which was a problem because you might cough at night and then it pushes air into your mouth and then you freak out & wake up. The newer BiPAP machines detect your breathing & pushes air in & out depending on how you breath, with almost no lag. Plus it shoots a little ping of air if you quit breathing to open up your throat. As far as the masks go, the old ones were huge, like shop masks, with a tube running down your chest that you'd get all tangled up in. Plus they'd dry out your mouth & throat. So the new one is:
1. Quiet & small Auto-BPAP machine matches your breathing
2. Has a heated humidifier that you refill a small tank with water
3. Nice mask with easy-fit magnetic clasps & a top-mounted tube so you can roll around at night
I had
no idea I had sleep apnea. I was always kind of tired & low-energy, but not to the point where I was like hey, I've got a sleeping issue! I mean, I'd go to sleep & stay asleep all night, and I average a 70-hour work week, have a family, and do various hobbies, so I always just wrote off the constant low-level fatigue as whatever. I heard about the online services where you can just ordered the test yourself & do it at home...I don't sleep well outside of my own bed, so a sleep clinic didn't really sound all that appealing. Mine came back as pretty bad on the test, so I got setup with a machine & within a few days got used to the whole setup.
It has a lot of benefits...not that I feel amazing all the time now, but just that I don't crash like mid-afternoon, I'm not slightly sleepy all the time, and I don't suffer from mental lag or brain fog anymore. It also seems to have resolved my stomach issues - I don't get tired after eating anymore, for example, and my gut is fully-operational for bowel movements (TMI). I went as far as getting my blood sugar checked for diabetes & monitoring my blood sugar with a monitoring system because I couldn't figure out why I was crashing after large meals. Turns out it was just sleep apnea! I feel like the end of a Scooby Doo show where they rip of the mask from the monster & find out it was just some dude all along...ADHD? SIBO? Low energy, low motivation, always kinda sleepy? It was you,
Sleep Apnea, all along! Hahaha. I was also having really weird blood pressure issues (high & kept growing) that the mask resolved as well. I guess your body doesn't like it when it feels like you're running a marathon all night long due to oxygen deprivation! It's also nice waking up & being "awake" instantly!
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