I had felt tired for such a long time, that I had normalised the whole affair. Every night, the same routine would unfold. I would awaken multiple times for no conceivable reason, feeling irritable and restless, or my compassionate and frequently anxious wife, would rouse me with the words, "WAKE UP, YOU'RE NOT BREATHING!"
Nearly identical path for me last year... very tired, lots of coffee, gave up coffee and realized something wasn't right. I got a test but there was a 2mo wait for a Dr to prescribe it, 3mo after that to get a machine because supply chain. Ended up buying basically unused airsense from craigslist for same price as deductible.
Life changing, but still wonder why it triggered so late in life...
How serendipitous! I booked an appointment with my doctor to explore treatments for my sleep apnea today and I found your article on Hacker News a few hours later. I haven't been diagnosed but my wife has commented on my sleep apnea events for at least 5 years. I didn't think much of it (so I hold my breath sometimes when I sleep, so what?) but I'm 37 and I don't want this to contribute to heart problems or anything else in the future. I clicked on your article because of the "brain fog" keyword. I wouldn't say that I have severe brain fog, but I am having more difficulty remembering certain things like people's names, memories from 10+ years ago, and generally things that are not in close proximity to my day-to-day. I also have a 2yo daughter and have been very over-extended running my own business for the past few years which could be contributing to this. I suspect that I too suffer from CSA vs. OSA thanks to this article. Thanks for sharing your experience!
CPAP user. Glad to learn I can take more control over my life, so thank you for the article.
Separately, I started using a Corsi Box air filter in my bedroom, and after the 1st few nights I found the steady white sound it made not only relaxing but a great help in covering up the noise from the machine, as an additional benefit to much cleaner air. I don't know how much that will help with your newer therapy mode, but passing this along.
Well articulated. The foregone productivity & mindfulness of unaware, undiagnosesd untreated percentage of a significant percentage of the population has long saddened me.
Honestly getting a sleep apnea study done is essential. As well as looking for a diverted septum. Upto 20% of people have these issues and they just destroy your quality of life and sanity.
For those with obstructive sleep apnea EPAP are small valves you stick in your nostrils that use backpressure from your own breathing to keep things open. Good solution for travelling or if regular CPAP use is just not comfy. Not as effective as CPAP but not as clunky either.
I went through a very similar process! My sleep therapist(s) tried several different machines but none really made a dent in my AHI. I was struggling hard. I found OSCAR and reviewed my data, read a lot of great posts by Sleeprider, and realized I may need a machine that can treat centrals. Talked to my doctor, got an ASV and now my AHI is 0.0 most nights. It's an incredible machine. I owe a lot to the apnea board and OSCAR for helping me figure this out.
Nearly identical path for me last year... very tired, lots of coffee, gave up coffee and realized something wasn't right. I got a test but there was a 2mo wait for a Dr to prescribe it, 3mo after that to get a machine because supply chain. Ended up buying basically unused airsense from craigslist for same price as deductible.
Life changing, but still wonder why it triggered so late in life...
How serendipitous! I booked an appointment with my doctor to explore treatments for my sleep apnea today and I found your article on Hacker News a few hours later. I haven't been diagnosed but my wife has commented on my sleep apnea events for at least 5 years. I didn't think much of it (so I hold my breath sometimes when I sleep, so what?) but I'm 37 and I don't want this to contribute to heart problems or anything else in the future. I clicked on your article because of the "brain fog" keyword. I wouldn't say that I have severe brain fog, but I am having more difficulty remembering certain things like people's names, memories from 10+ years ago, and generally things that are not in close proximity to my day-to-day. I also have a 2yo daughter and have been very over-extended running my own business for the past few years which could be contributing to this. I suspect that I too suffer from CSA vs. OSA thanks to this article. Thanks for sharing your experience!
CPAP user. Glad to learn I can take more control over my life, so thank you for the article.
Separately, I started using a Corsi Box air filter in my bedroom, and after the 1st few nights I found the steady white sound it made not only relaxing but a great help in covering up the noise from the machine, as an additional benefit to much cleaner air. I don't know how much that will help with your newer therapy mode, but passing this along.
I've been using a APAP for about 3 years now, its life changing, no more depression, no more fog (well most of the time). It truly is amazing
Well articulated. The foregone productivity & mindfulness of unaware, undiagnosesd untreated percentage of a significant percentage of the population has long saddened me.
Honestly getting a sleep apnea study done is essential. As well as looking for a diverted septum. Upto 20% of people have these issues and they just destroy your quality of life and sanity.
For those with obstructive sleep apnea EPAP are small valves you stick in your nostrils that use backpressure from your own breathing to keep things open. Good solution for travelling or if regular CPAP use is just not comfy. Not as effective as CPAP but not as clunky either.
Thanks for sharing Luke, had no idea when I saw you at parkrun why you had vanished for so long. Hope you are on the pathway to a better life now
You treat symptoms not the cause š
I looked for actual solution of coming back to natural healthy state.
Other source from y combinator gives some more natural solutions as inclined bed, mouthtape.
But we want to fix body permanently not pretend we fixed problem becoming dependent on external things.
I went through a very similar process! My sleep therapist(s) tried several different machines but none really made a dent in my AHI. I was struggling hard. I found OSCAR and reviewed my data, read a lot of great posts by Sleeprider, and realized I may need a machine that can treat centrals. Talked to my doctor, got an ASV and now my AHI is 0.0 most nights. It's an incredible machine. I owe a lot to the apnea board and OSCAR for helping me figure this out.
Knowing what you know now would you still go this route for testing initially