Sudy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 14, 2022 11:06 pm
I had a sleep study a couple months ago. It was a fun/annoying experience. I felt like I didn't get any serious sleeping done at all, though I knew I might not be conscious of it. Apparently they got three hours of data and when I'm sleeping on my back I exhibit severe apnea... medium when on my sides. The sleep doc says my oxygen numbers dipped to 90, which is low enough to damage my heart and affect my memory.
About twenty years ago I got talked by my wife and my doctor into doing a sleep study. I won't go into the whole absurd story (
unless someone asks), but after what to me was obviously some bogus testing they managed to convince my wife I needed a CPAP machine. My deductible was something like a grand
. I used it for a week but I'm a side sleeper and every time I so much as moved a bit the seal opened and it made this hissing sound and since I'm a light sleeper it would wake me up. After that week I put my foot down and told my wife I wasn't going to use it. I told her instead that anytime she heard me snoring she was to wake me up. After about a week of
that my snoring pretty much went away.
By the way, my story above was not to denigrate anyone who really has a medical issue and
needs a CPAP machine. In my case my health was fine as far as I was concerned but the doctor and my wife wanted to find a zebra in the kitchen. Twenty years on, my health is just fine except for that pesky prostate cancer.
Sudy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 14, 2022 11:06 pmHe referred me to a CPAP device distributor. They called me to advise of an 8-9 month waiting list and told me they'd add me to the list, but to please call around to other distributors who might have a shorter wait and then call them back so I could have myself taken off their list. (Lol?) Apparently there's another local place that might not have a waiting list that I'm trying now. If my current condition might damage my heart and brain, isn't this kind of urgent? The associated anxiety isn't exactly helping me sleep. (Though I presume that warning was more of a CYA thing.)
Good gosh that sucks. 8-9 month waiting list? Sheesh, when we went looking for one it was easy to locate a dealer. Of course I live in Florida where health care is pretty much our number 2 industry, right after tourism. And of course the dealer wouldn't take back a used CPAP machine for a refund
. We finally donated it to a clinic which wasn't as fussy.
Sudy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 14, 2022 11:06 pmAs a fairly restless sleeper I'm not looking forward to being constrained by a tube and headgear and how it's going to change my bedtime routine. Though it occurs to me that the apnea may be part of the reason I
am a restless sleeper. My snoring has also increased in intensity since putting on the pandemic pounds, and it's caused my wife to either punch me awake or wear ear plugs in bed. (I prefer the latter.) Half the time we don't even sleep together, but this is more due to our messed up schedules and is merely a convenient side effect.
My wife and I quit sleeping in the same bed in 2008 after she had some surgery to her hand that left it in a very tender state. Since we had a waterbed every time I'd roll over (which I do a lot) it would cause her to bump her hand against something which gave her a sudden sharp pain. And it probably wasn't doing her recovery from the surgery any good either.
Turns out that we both were very happy to have our own bedrooms
. She likes to fall asleep with the TV on, wants to have a phone with the ringer active next to her, and doesn't care about some sunlight coming around the curtain. My new bedroom, which was the guest room, has blackout window coverings, no phone and additional sound proofing. And while she continued with her waterbed (which she has had since she was a teenager) I was just as happy with a conventional bed.
But back to your issues
Sudy. After my wife had her back surgery early last year she started sleeping in her living room recliner. After a while of adapting to it, she really prefers it. Even though she was a side sleeper, she found that being in the recliner at the proper angle allowed her to sleep on her back. I imagine that if you are going to have to be using a CPAP machine it would be easier to sleep on your back. Or not of course.