Living with Sleep Apnea – My Journey

In this article, I want to give you a personal account of living with sleep apnea and how I manage it, so I can share my experiences if you are about to start on this journey.

Or maybe you are just curious or maybe you think a loved one might have sleep apnea.

So I’m 55 now and I’ve been using a CPAP machine for 10 years now, and replaced it once. They last about 5 years.

This is me pictured at the Roman City of Bath in England. The water is green due to algae, and no bathing is allowed!

Diagnosis and Discovery

I can remember in my younger years, being told I snore loudly. I didn’t appreciate how loud it was because I was asleep! But I had the feeling it was louder than it should be.

I remember back in 2001 when I went on a solo trip to Australia, I was worried because I knew I would be sharing a dormitory with other men, so I bought every anti-snore aid I could find which included nose strips and a eucalyptus oil to drip on my tonsils. I know it didn’t help cause someone yelled out the next morning, “Hey mate, do you realize how bloody loud you snore?” I didn’t stay another night and spent more money to have my own room.

So fast forward about another 10 years, I am starting to find I am waking up with serious headaches and getting migraines and vomiting. The only good thing about the vomiting was it took the migraine away. At this point, I had met my future wife and she was concerned. I had to lie in the dark for a whole day before I felt better.

This could not go on any longer, and these migraines were getting worse. I discovered stress seemed to make it worse. I remember a time when I was moving out of a rental. I got it professionally cleaned and went back to take a look. I collapsed in the bathroom and vomited in the toilet.

I went to my doctor and he sent me to a sleep specialist. I opted for the home-based study rather than sleeping in a hospital.

The home-based study consisted of wiring myself to a little box and sticking sensors to various parts of my body. That night, I managed to get some sleep despite being tangled in wires and took the equipment back for interpretation.

When the results came back, it was shocking, I was having an apnea event every second, or 60 events every minute.

The following shows you what is called the Apnea-Hypopnea Index, as you can see mine is double that of severe

• Mild: An AHI of at least five events per hour, but fewer than 15.
• Moderate: An AHI of at least 15 events per hour, but fewer than 30.
• Severe: An AHI of at least 30 events per hour.

Treatment Journey

I was told that the solution was to get a CPAP Machine. It’s a machine that keeps your airways open by blowing a continuous stream of air into your nose or mouth so there is nothing to obstruct your breathing. Without this, living with sleep apnea would be worse and worse for my health

CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure

And here I am with my trusty ResMed CPAP machine.

Honestly, when I got this thing and put it on my face, I thought, “How the heck am I going to sleep with this thing on?“

The first night I used this machine, I pulled the mask off and put it on again constantly. It didn’t feel right. It felt like a tornado blowing into my mouth. I managed to sleep a bit, but I found when I woke up, my heart felt strained…

So I went back to the sleep center and they reduced the pressure a bit. That night it was far more comfortable.

Since then 10 years have passed.

You will have to maintain it. Here is my experience.

Daily	Clean mask with warm water and a tiny spot of detergent and dry
Daily	Rinse and dry the humidifier
Weekly	Rinse the air hose
Weekly	Flick the dust out of the filter. No need to buy a new one 😉
Every 6 -12 months	Buy a new mask. The seal will stretch and eventually leak. Replace air filter
Every 12-24 months	Replace the hose as it will get bent and out of shape. Possibly dirty too.
Every 5 years	Replace the whole lot. The motor bearing went on mine after 5 years.

Just remember this thing is saving your life, so you need to take care of it more than you would a pet.

Lifestyle Changes

So what you are going to find now, is that you have a new buddy that is going to share a third of your life with you.

If you have a partner then hopefully they will be understanding of this machine that you need to use. Luckily mine was, and if it wasn’t for her, I may not have got one and still be suffering crippling migraines or worse.

Some time ago I bumped into a person I had known for a long time and she was talking about her ex she had just split up with. He sneered and said, he even used one of those CPAP machines. I responded by saying that I use one too, which made her stop in her tracks.

Your other concern might be that it might be noisy. Don’t worry, they or not. The travel CPAP machine version is a bit noisier but that’s because they work slightly differently. But no they are not and you will soon get used to it.

The type of machine you see me holding above plugs into the wall, so if you are going away you need to make sure that where you are sleeping has a power outlet near the bed. If in doubt take a power extension with you.

If you like going camping then you could consider buying the travel version. I’m going overseas to Europe soon, so I’ve got one to use on the plane. I had to purchase a large rechargeable battery too.

Conclusion

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to get a CPAP machine if you have been told by your health professional that you need one. If you have any questions or concerns, please leave them below and I will try and answer them.

I am not a health professional or remotely qualified in any way to diagnose your issues, but I’m here to offer you some friendly advice.

Jeremy