I was diagnosed 15 years ago with sleep apnea. It has been well controlled with a CPAP machine and got to the point where I couldn't sleep without it. About a year ago, I started getting very fatigued during the day. The pressures were checked on the machine and another sleep study was run. Everything was fine. Fine with me and the machine, but I was becoming more and more tired. Six months ago, I woke in the middle of the night gasping for air. I was on my CPAP, but I was totally out of breath. I went back to using oxygen with my CPAP and then only using oxygen. A recent test shows that I have transitioned into central sleep apnea. I had an exacerbation of my MS and it appears that a lesion has caused the change in the type of sleep apnea. I now use oxygen almost constantly and am looking at what is causing the problem and what the fix is. My thought is that it is either the MS or the medications that I am on for pain. It's my opinion that sleep apnea is the most misdiagnosed and undertreated condition in adults today. I've seen too many people who try and give up on the CPAP machine, but it is the one tool that can easily make the problem better. You look like an alien with the mask, but the sandman could care less what you look like at night. Published: May 13 ::

I have recently been diagnosed with sleep apnea. Although I don't have a remedy, I perhaps have another cause that may need further research. I recently had a head injury that gave me a concussion. One evening, I had an episode while I was awake that resembled sleep apnea enough to make a neurologist send me in for testing. During this episode, I exhaled and then suddenly was not able to inhale. It was though I forgot how to inhale. It was very scary! I kept calm as I gasped for breath. After a few minutes, I began breathing again; however now, I seem to breathe in the Cheyne Stokes pattern. I hope this will be helpful to researchers; doctors and sleep apnea suffers. This may be helpful to discovering a new type of remedy. Published: May 13 ::

About five years ago, I started feeling tired and sleepy all of the time, especially when I was doing a lot of driving back and forth from my parents’ home to my own while caring for them. I had my thyroid and iron checked to see if this was the cause of the tiredness. Then, one day, on the way home, I had a car accident. I apparently fell asleep at the wheel during the 5 p.m. rush hour and back-ended a car that was stopped. I don't remember much about the accident and apparently was knocked unconscious by the deployment of the airbags. I went to the doctor, and he referred me for a sleep study for sleep apnea. I was subsequently diagnosed with severe sleep apnea and was given a CPAP with a full mask. I made a rapid improvement with the use of the CPAP and have used it religiously ever since. I travel with it, nap with it, etc. I could have lost my life and caused others injury or death because of my unawareness of this illness. I love my CPAP and feel much more secure and relaxed when sleeping now. Now, I cannot sleep without it. People who suspect that they may have sleep apnea, or who know that they do, and do nothing about it, are accidents waiting to happen. It's better to use the CPAP than be charged with vehicular manslaughter or even involuntary manslaughter. I can live well with my CPAP but couldn't live with the knowledge I had caused someone injury or death. Published: April 24 ::

I am a Navy veteran diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. I want to tell other veterans that if they suspect sleep apnea, they should get tested at a VA hospital near them. They can get a free machine and supplies for the machine, if they test positive. They even gave me two masks (one with nose pillows and one full-face mask). I had no idea I stopped breathing 40 times in 60 minutes and only reached REM for 20 minutes out of 10 hours of sleep. Published: February 26 ::

Five years ago, I was exhausted to the point of sleeping almost all day. I was 54, not overweight, didn't have a thick neck, in other words I didn't fit the profile. My doctor was amazed by this. I thought my allergies were causing this excessive sleepiness. My doctor tested for allergies and set up a sleep apnea test. I ended up with severe sleep apnea, woke up 44 times an hour with no REM sleep. I have a CPAP machine and literally couldn't live without it. It only took three days to get use to it. I have to have it adjusted to go higher because at first I could only tolerate up to 10. Now I'm up to 15 for the last four years. I am exhausted again, so I am seeing my doctor to see about adjusting it again. While researching why my daughter was sleeping 16 hours a day, I found that diabetics (which she is) are more prone to sleep apnea. We had her tested right away and it was positive. Hers was not obstructive, and she does not have it anymore. I'm not having surgery, and I don't mind the mask at all. You must think of the consequences. It’s a small price to pay to live an active live. We need more education on sleep apnea because people do not realize the risks of having it, and it can be stopped easily. Others in the sleep apnea test walked out and went home without finishing it. I can't imagine they really knew what they were doing to themselves and their families. Whether you fit the profile, get checked. It could be worth your life. Published: August 22 ::