Thursday, September 01, 2016
Can I get an APAP?
People, I am 5'8" and 140 lbs. But yet I have sleep apnea. Robin begged/dragged me to going to a doc and getting an APAP machine (automatic positive airway pressure). I was very skeptical.
But man! It really works. I am sleeping deeper, and for longer continuous periods of time. I am waking up more refreshed. I rarely need a nap during the day anymore.
Before I would wake up like 5 or 6 times during the night, either choking from the apnea or from Robin waking me to say my snoring was driving her nuts. Even when I was sleeping, if Robin got up to use the bathroom, I'd usually wake up because I wasn't sleeping deeply.
Now I'm routinely sleeping 6 or 7 straight hours without waking up.
Amazing.
So big ups to Mrs. Angus for getting me to try this solution.
ps. I'm pretty sure Mungo uses a CPAP machine. Maybe he will share his testimony.
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6 comments:
You may "feel" better, but what do the data say?
https://sleepyhead.jedimark.net (open source software for viewing most CPAP/APAP data)
I got one in December. It has changed my life, and took all of about 1 night to get used to. Based on my self-reported symptoms, my doctor thinks I've had apnia since I was about 14, aka 20 years.
If you think you have sleep apnia (and you can afford it), you absolutely should get tested.
Simon: the data from my machine is posted in the cloud and I can access it daily.
I agree with "changed my life". I got mine in 2005, and I joke that once it's on I fall asleep so quickly it's like being anesthetized.
Snoring runs in my family. I was so bad that when I was (thin and buff and) 19 I got kicked out of a youth hostel in Salzburg in the middle of the night. Now I'm 50 pounds heavier.
I sleep so well I often need less, and have difficulty sleeping at all once the sun comes up. I'm not particularly a morning person, but I wake up ridiculously alert and well-rested.
One bit of advice: figure out how long your sleep cycles are (mine are a bit shorter than 90 minutes), do the math, and time your wake up accordingly. It can be noticeably hard to rouse yourself from such deep sleep if an alarm wakes you up halfway through a cycle.
P.S. It helps with allergies and colds too!
Angus: I'm not sure what platform you are using, but web applications like Resmed's MyAir are somewhat limited in what data you can see; the full data is on the SD card.
Dave: There is an Android app, Sleel as Android that tracks sleep phases and modifies the actual alarm time to avoid waking during deep sleep.
yes, I'm using my air. Will I understand the additional data on the SD card?
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