SLEEP APNEA AND cPAP-THERAPY

There is a cure for sleepless nights and so called „PHainsomnia“

I can't even remember when it all started?!

Guess it must have been March or April. It started slowly and I didn't really think of it at the beginning and to be some sort of a problem. I just accepted it as a fact, something I needed to adjust with.

I usually go to bed pretty early, between 10/11 pm.
What happened was, that I started waking up again from my „first sleeping period“ after around only 1 ½ or 2 hours, which of course isn't very long. I didn't bother at first but got up instead, had something to drink, went for a pee and returned to bed. Of course it always takes a while before you fall asleep again. Guess most of us PHighters can relate to that.
I also put the blame on the fact that I'm not fully strechted, that I had too much time to relax and therefore was rested already when going to bed.
So at some point I fell asleep again and what happend? Two hours later I was awake again. This went on until the early morning hours. THEN I got really tired and could sleep until noon.

I started finding the weirdest explanations for this condition.

It was due to the late coffee I drank the evening before, I slept too long the morning before, the weather at nighttime was too hot to fall asleep, the list went on.
Then at the end of May I asked my PH outpatient's department whether I could have a check on sleep apnea.
I was given this little portable device which consisted of a pulse oximeter, nasal prongs and this little box which looked a bit like a pedometer and was strapped to your chest, recording the O2 saturation and the apneas. I could use this at home, which was good, as I thought it was easier to sleep in your own bed.

When I went to my PH physician the following day, the collected data was checked and surprise, surprise … I was told I was suffering from sleep apnea with around some 70 or so apneas that night. WOW! I didn't expect that.

So my next step was getting an appointment in a proper sleep laboratory. I sent all the documents along with my diagnosis of PH to the pulmologist and received a letter telling me that they reserved a spot for me at the beginning of April 2019 (!!!). I thought this was a joke or typo and called the doctors office, stressing out how urgent my case was because due to the underlying diagnosis of PH every disturbance (such as bad sleep or apneas) could fuel and speed up the original disease.

They put me on an emergency waiting list and luckily shortly afterwards I received a phonecall whether I was free that one night to check in the sleep laboratory. Of course I agreed.
What a strange night that was … I couldn't sleep at all. I was so worried moving from one side to the other in case I might rip off any of the cables and electrodes.
This first night was only some sort of evaluation of the current status as the portable device is not at all as highly diagnostic as the results in a sleep laboratory are.
So when they told me a few days after, I was IN FACT suffering from sleep apnea, I was kind of relieved as I knew there were ways to treat this and make it better.
I needed to have a second night in the laboratory, testing with a cPAP mask and adjusting pressure aso.
Again I needed to wait for an appointment but luckily this only took two weeks until I returned to the laboratory.

Second night at the sleep laboratory testing the cPAP mask

Surprisingly getting the mask applied to your face and sleeping with it was less stressful and uncomfortable than I thought it would be.

And what a relief … the collected data even showed that it helped a lot reducing the apneas. I was told I „only“ had 7 during that night, so coming from 70+ this was a huge improvement.

The doctor then prescribed me a cPAP-mask and a „Dreamstation“ by Phillips which controls the pressure.

I went to this shop who helps with breathing devices and the guy gave me a proper introduction for this device and I could even take it with me that same day.

So since August 7^th, 2018 I'm a proud owner of a cPAP-mask for sleep apnea therapy and somehow I do sound like Darth Vader and look like Maverick from Top Gun ….

♫ "Highway to the danger zone" ♪♫
That's me, Maverick Vader - a total success until now

I know some people who are giving this device a hard time and kind of refuse to accept that it might actually help them. Also, some may say that it makes them look „unsexy“.

Guys … when you sleep at night, your partner's eyes are closed as well when he sleeps.

I'm only two weeks into therapy with this device and I could sing praisals …. REALLY!

Instead of waking up every 1 ½ – 2 hours for around 3 – 4 times a night, now I only wake up once and have extended my sleeping periods to up to 3 – 4 hours.
I know that it will take up to three months until you have fully adjusted to the mask & therapy and will completely benefit from it but I just can't wait for it, as already now I see how much of a difference it can make.

SO … in case you have sleeping problems, often wake up at night, feeling worn out in the morning and still feel tired after „sleeping“ for 8 – 10 hours … it's not always just the side effects from PH medication but could mean you're suffering from sleep apnea. Make sure to have it tested to get back to a better sleep which also relieves the heart.

Just be open for the therapy!

I will keep you posted on further progress at this topic.