5 mth update
Well - 5 months now on CPAP after 38 years of snoring and choking.
Life is better than ever! I can work 10-14 hrs a day, go without eating for over 8 hours, sleep consistently for up to 10 hrs without waking, keep mentally active all day, drive for hours without having to stop and only drink coffee when I want to, not when I need to.
It's been an up and down path, and an expensive one as I've paid for my own testing, masks, machine and consumables, but every penny has been worth it and has enabled me to take on more work, being self employed sickness is very expensive.
I've kept extensive stats from both my machine and from my oximeter, and my ahi is consistently under 2, ODI consistently under 1. I've also found myself the perfect nasal mask (for me) - the sleepweaver - comfort seems to be everthing. Still seeking the perfect fullface mask, the Forma is working well for those stuffed up nights but the headgear seems hit or miss and sometimes it can leak a lot, and noisily.
Other benefits? I used to suffer a lot of dry skin and allergies, don't want to speak too soon as hay fever season is coming but the better sleep seems to be clearing up the skin problems and the allergies, only summer will tell if it's a miracle cure for hay fever but I suspect it's going to help, if only by filtering the air I'm breathing for about a third of the day.
I feel that I've not suffered at all from self-titrating and managing my own therapy, with the readouts from the machine and a glance at the outcomes in terms of health and wakefullnes I've figured that I never need more than 13hPa, and that there's no statistical difference between setting the minimum at 8 or at 13 (using an APAP) so I can use whatever is comfortable in that range. I've found that different masks behave differently at different pressures, so the sleepweaver is uncomfortable at low pressures (kill the ramp!) and the forma is quieter and seals better high (so I'll use that set at 10 minimum). I've also come to the conclusion that sinus or congestion problems are better dealt with by setting the machine wide open (minimum 4hPa) and using the full face mask than by having a night or two off, for me having a couple of nights without means tiredness and disturbed sleep again, for her it means loud snoring.
Good hints and tips picked up from the various internet forums, using the headboard as a hoselift, adding a small pinch of crystal menthol to the humidifier, making sure your face is dry and grease free etc, use a hose cover and buy some CPAP cleaning wipes for those nights you've forgotten to clean the rig! And I've met some interesting people and discovered that people I know are also CPAP users. In face I've also helped an old friend seek treatment himself (he's awaiting testing, the joys of the NHS) - I popped around to his house and his wife was complaining about his snoring so I loaned him the oximeter - next day he was at his GP with printed graphs...
So it is safe to say that CPAP has given me a life I've never had before, I'm of the opinion that it's a very under-rated therapy by the general medical profession (my GP was no help, but as I'm just not ill any more I've not been bothered to change!) who seem more interested in dispensing pills for blood pressure and treatment for diabetes and weight loss, when underlying for those of us with OSA could be the OSA causing the other symptoms, treatment for which is probably cheaper, drug free and simple, if slightly inconvenient.
