My Life and Sleep Apnea

After my first sleep study I was told that I slept with my mouth open all night. I already knew that and so did my wife. Apparently the significance of that was that I would need a full face mask with my cpap machine. The next sleep study was scheduled and this time I would be fitted for a cpap. There was a little mix up at the sleep clinic because when I arrived they didn’t have a full face mask just one that covered over the nose. The mask was put on and the machine started. The technician told me that I had to keep my mouth shut or the air would blow out of my mouth. How was I supposed to do that? I tried to sleep but the thought of just breathing through my nose was unnatural to me. I keep opening my mouth and the weird sensation of the air leaving my mouth occurred. The technician was getting irritated with me. He came into the room carrying what looked like a strap. He wrapped the strap under my jaw and over my head. He assured me that this would help me keep my mouth. It ...

Not all cases of sleep apnea require surgery. There are many treatment procedures for sleep apnea to help control sleep apnea and snoring. cpap machines are often recommended for sleep apnea patients. Air is forced through a hose into a face mask making sure that the patient receives continous oxygen. When you go to a sleep center over night evaluation you might be fitted with a cpap the last half of the evening so a setting on the machine can be determined. As I have stated in a previous post I am no fan of cpap machines. It just didn't work for me. But from what I have read there are many that have found relief with them after an adjustment period. bipap machine is similiar to the cpap but the air moving through the hose to the mask is adjusted for your breathing. Unlike the constant air pressure of a cpap a bipap changes air pressure as you inhale and exhale. Once again I have tried the bipap with no success. Oral appliances is something that I haven't tried. The mouth p...

My first experience with a sleep clinic was in 1999. I had just been diagnosed with sleep apnea and my doctor wanted me to have an overnight study done. A friend of mine had the same test just months before me and he told me it wasn ’t bad. You just go there in the evening and sleep. Of course they hook you up to machines that read how well you are sleeping. Well that didn ’t seem bad. It was the night of the study, I had my overnight bag packed and I drove to the clinic around 8. I was given paperwork to fill out by the sleep tech. after that I was taken into what would be my room for the night. They tried to make it cozy with a TV and pictures on the wall but it was still a hospital room. Around 9 o’clock the tech took me into another room to hook me up to monitors. It was very weird. He put this glue like substance in my hair, my face, my chest and my legs. Then he attached metal discs onto the globs of glue all over my body. Wires were then connected to the metal discs. I’m ...