I fell asleep driving home from work on the 18th, crashed my car, injured myself and the person I hit. The irony was I stayed home from work on Tues. and Wed. because of the snow and not wanting to risk an accident. Now my car is totaled and my license suspended.

I went to my doctor, then a sleep specialist and had a sleep study Friday night. I have severe OSA but must have a second study before CPAP. I stopped breathing 100x in 2 hrs, but not the first 2 hrs which would have qualified me for CPAP on the spot. My O2 sats went down to 59%, but I didn't think sat meters were accurate below 70. I had no clue sleep apnea was even an issue. Anyway, I'm looking forward to feeling better.

For years I have been complaining to doctors about being tired, falling asleep as a passenger and getting really sleepy when I drive. I've even been to a hypnotist to try and stay more alert when I drive. A month ago I was diagnosed with a sudden acute onset of TMJ and everything just sort of fell apart after that. I use starlight mints to stay awake when I drive but they weren't working anymore. I can't concentrate at work (I'm a nurse), can't focus, can't seem to find the energy or motivation to finish anything. I have a terrible and frightening time finding words. Normally I'm very atriculate, but lately, I stumble and stutter and can't find words to say what I want - not simple words, but specifically nuanced expressions.

The tech who ran my study was shocked that I was as perky as I was in the morning. She made darn sure I wasn't driving myself home and said she hoped to see me back for part 2 this week.

I'm 55, female, overweight, sleep 4-6 hrs at night, drink coffee during the day and have a glass of wine before I go to bed (not anymore, apparently). I've been told I snore or puff and make noise when I sleep. All the signs and symptoms were there, I just didn't see them. I've been variously diagnosed with obesity, anemia, depression, menopausal symptoms, insomnia, high blood pressure, and problems from shift changing - but no one put all the symptoms together and said, whoa, you've got sleep apnea.

I'm looking forward to treating this and seeing what my life can be like with a few more oxygen molecules floating around.

Welcome to Apnea Board, Carlsonc.

I'm very sorry to hear about your accident. I hope the injuries weren't too serious.

I'm surprised to learn that there is a state that suspends your license under the conditions you've described (assuming, of course, that you're in the U.S.). I guess we'll eventually find OSA sufferers in jail.

Apparently I don't know as much about OSA as I thought I did. With an AI of 50 or so and a nadir O2 desat below 60%, I would have thought you'd have been put on PAP therapy as soon as possible.

It's a shame that they didn't opt for a split study, rather than a two-night polysomnogram. Then you might already have test results to support a prescription for a PAP device.

I know how you feel...like the saying goes, "of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most". My speech, my memory, and even my handwriting have all taken quite a hit since I developed OSA.

Good luck with the second half of your study. Be sure to let us know how it goes!

Carl

I had my second sleep study last night. It was...interesting. They were able to get my sats up to normal. The CPAP machine took care of the obstructive apnea so then they were able to see how much central apnea I have. The obstructive apnea happens in REM sleep when I dream. The central apnea is when I'm drowsy or just drifting off. Apparently it's just too much trouble to actually breathe at that point. The insurance company doesn't want to pay for obstructive apnea which is my fault for picking the wrong parents and being overweight. But they will pay for central apnea and I do have that, so we'll see.

Mostly I felt like I was being killed, suffocated. First of all I was covered with electrodes on my head, face, back and legs. Very distracting. Then they put a mask over my nose and strapped it on around my midface and lower jaw. That just feels threatening. Then you try to breathe against pressure. Breathing in is fine but breathing out is reflexively stopped and unless you really force yourself, you can't breathe. It's terrifying and I was having a really hard time with it, heart pounding, sure I was being suffocated. I felt very panic-y and I had to wake myself up enough to consciously force myself to calm down. The tech was great, helpful, reassuring. They started out at a low pressure of 4 cm (of what, I don't know). Then they bumped it up slowly until my sats were normal. My ending pressure was 11. Everytime she bumped it I'd wake up and start flailing, heart pounding, and have to force myself to calm down and breathe and go back to sleep. Finally at 3:30 when I woke up she put me in a chin strap because I kept opening my mouth. I couldn't actually breathe through my mouth on CPAP so all I did was cause a huge leak and my sats would drop. The chin strap was a wide piece of thick elastic she wound around my face and velcroed on the top of my head. That was the last straw. My neck is so short and fat that I felt like I couldn't swallow on top of not breathing.

At 6:30 they decided I was done and they had enough info to give the doctor so I could get a prescription or I could take home the mask and CPAP machine right then and there. Once I got the mask off and I could breathe through my mouth again I got very tearful and broke down for the next two hours. I was just a wreck. I declined the offer of the machine. The sleep specialist doc will get the results, write me a script and refer me to Home Health where they have about 20 masks so maybe I can find one that won't feel so claustrophobic and suffocating. The real point of last night was to see if CPAP would help me and what pressure I needed and we did that.

So now I wait for the next step. I called my friend, Patti, this morning. She's a therapist friend who's on CPAP. She reassured me that all my reactions were completely normal and it would get easier and better every night and I would be glad. I had a wanging headache all day but I do seem more alert.

Become a Vegetarian and do alot of Walking and take lots of Vitamins
and Digestive Enzymes.

You will Loose Weight and feel better and your Apnea will be greatly reduced.

Study Herbs and Homeopathy

Take Ginseng for energy.

Misty.

Becoming a vegetarian will not solve the problem. Eating well balanced meals will contribute to a better you.