I just got diagnosed with sleep apnea?

I assume a cpap is my future.
Any advice on how to adjust to life on one?
What If I drop my 65 pounds of extra weight-
can I possibly put my cpap in the closet with
my old computers??????

Hey Fred
I can tell you are worried about having sleep apnea. You have been asking all type of questions.
I have it. I have a cpap. I sleep like a baby now.

At first, I had trouble getting used to it and getting it to fit right. I often woke up to find out I ripped the thing off. But I got used to it and now I love it. I sleep a full 8 hours without getting up to take a leak.(side effect of having sleep apnea).

I have energy during the day and don't want to nod off(important while driving). I lost twenty pounds in 3 months without doing a single thing to lose weight.

I have been on a cpap for 3 years now. I no longer leap out of bed gasping like a fish out of water to get a breath(yes, it had gotten that bad). I was clocked(?) at 120 sleep apnea episodes per hour. That is one every 30 seconds.

My life sucked. I worked hard everyday but was always exhausted and started falling asleep anytime I sat down. And yes, even while driving, very scary and thankfully I did not wreck and kill anyone.

You are going to like it once you start seeing the benefits from it. If you're lucky, you will see them quickly, within days.
Yes, losing weight helps alot and benefits you anyway even if it does nothing about the apnea.

I have looked all over for the literature that came with my cpap machine but can't find them. There are several groups dedicated to sleep apnea and you can learn a lot from their websites. Use a search engine and find the websites and educate yourself about your disease.

There are tricks like when your room is too cold and the air is drying out your throat, put the hose under the blankets with you, warming the air. Some models of cpaps have humidifiers. Facemasks come in many styles, nose only, full face, etc.

The cpaps can be adjusted as to air pressure, my prescribed setting was too high so I adjusted it down just a bit and, bingo, it was like magic. The hardest thing is to get used to exhaling against the flow of air. You will, just breathe very deeply and slowly.

Hell, I could go on forever. Feel free to contact me with any questions you have!

why were you diagnosed with sleep apnea? I mean, did you specifically go to a doctor and say "do I have sleep apnea?"?

Lots of people have sleep apnea and it doesn't bother them. Their rest isn't always a good rest because they wake themselves up, but yet they live with it and don't get it fixed. So I don't understand why you're so concerned. If you have it and want to get it fixed then do. If you have it and everyone else is encouraging you to have it taken care of and you're worrying yourself sick about it and you want to be part of the crowd and you want to spend money and wear a device then go do that. It's your choice. I suggest you get on with your life, busy yourself with other things and stop worrying.

If you were diagnosed with OSA(Obstructive Sleep Apnea) than dropping a few pounds may indeed help. You must remember however, that OSA is caused by any obstruction of the upper airway durring sleep. CSA(Central Sleep Apnea) is caused by a period of lack of electrical activity in the respiration centers of the brain, or by loss of signal transmission across the nerves. Although, it sounds as if you have OSA. Try some weight loss plans, and check back with your doctor when you reach 10lbs or less over your Ideal Weight (fitday.com for Ideal Weight) for another Sleep Study BEFORE banishing the CPAP to the electronics wasteland.

Sleep Apnea is an extremely dangerous medical condition, not to be taken lightly. Un-treated this can double your risk for Stroke, Heart Attack, Arrhythmias(changes in the way the heart beats), sudden cardiac arrest while waking due to said Arrhythmias, and death while sleeping...all not so good.

Check out this site. It works:

http://www.improvedhealthandfitness.com/...