Anyone use a CPAP machine?

[jenforr108 48]

Thanks for your encouragement!! I’m in the USA live in Indiana, I guess I just have seen so many here not be required what has been requested of me and get frustrated. At one of my recent appointments I was told it might take at least 3 months to get insurance approval after completing everything expected of me and all those tests. I can’t remember exactly how it was worded to me but they stated “That they will be busy with teachers and educators surgery during the summer months while school is out.” I didn’t ask as it’s none of my business really but I certainly hope these teachers and educators are held to the same standards as I. I didn’t expect this to be easy and you know as well as I it hasn’t been. Just frustrated and in need of getting off a lot of my meds to save my kidneys. The weight loss is suppose to do that for me.

Good Luck with your surgery and I wish you a quick and painless recovery, please keep me / us posted how everything goes. Best wishes

jennifer

[PEGGO 107]

39 minutes ago, jenforr108 said:

Thanks for your encouragement!! I’m in the USA live in Indiana, I guess I just have seen so many here not be required what has been requested of me and get frustrated. At one of my recent appointments I was told it might take at least 3 months to get insurance approval after completing everything expected of me and all those tests. I can’t remember exactly how it was worded to me but they stated “That they will be busy with teachers and educators surgery during the summer months while school is out.” I didn’t ask as it’s none of my business really but I certainly hope these teachers and educators are held to the same standards as I. I didn’t expect this to be easy and you know as well as I it hasn’t been. Just frustrated and in need of getting off a lot of my meds to save my kidneys. The weight loss is suppose to do that for me.

Good Luck with your surgery and I wish you a quick and painless recovery, please keep me / us posted how everything goes. Best wishes

jennifer

Hi Jennifer . I really hope you aren’t kept waiting too long . I know what you mean , I had been going and collecting information I was asked to get , and they never even asked me for it .Yes , it’s SO frustrating , and when you’re told one thing is happening and it doesn’t , and you don’t even hear anything from them. They asked me to make a special appointment with the surgeon to discuss when my surgery would be done, a 2 day performance for me to get there , and he told me November 2018, and I never heard anymore . I probably wouldn’t have done by now if the dietician I saw hadn’t queried it ! Stick with it Jennifer , it will be worth it in the end . I’ll definitely keep you posted. I know it may be different in the UK to the

U.S. but it’s good to be able to compare notes!

Good luck

Peggy .

[NYJenn 1,464]

On 08/06/2019 at 10:33, jenforr108 said:

Thanks for your encouragement!! I’m in the USA live in Indiana, I guess I just have seen so many here not be required what has been requested of me and get frustrated. At one of my recent appointments I was told it might take at least 3 months to get insurance approval after completing everything expected of me and all those tests. I can’t remember exactly how it was worded to me but they stated “That they will be busy with teachers and educators surgery during the summer months while school is out.” I didn’t ask as it’s none of my business really but I certainly hope these teachers and educators are held to the same standards as I. I didn’t expect this to be easy and you know as well as I it hasn’t been. Just frustrated and in need of getting off a lot of my meds to save my kidneys. The weight loss is suppose to do that for me.

Good Luck with your surgery and I wish you a quick and painless recovery, please keep me / us posted how everything goes. Best wishes

jennifer

I’m a teacher and I didn’t get any special treatment, my surgery was scheduled after I fulfilled all my requirements...just like anyone else. It just so happened that I spaced out the process so I could finish and be scheduled for surgery in July.

[jenforr108 48]

That makes me feel better and I hope all facilities work that way. I don’t know if that’s how the place I’m going to works as the comment made to me made me wonder. I was originally told that this was a 6 month process and expected to have already had mine before summer. When I finished my requirements this comment was made about teachers and that it may be a while til then I would only want to check in once a month with my food logs and visit with the dietician til I get my date for surgery. Well 3 months later and still no word, I keep doing my part but I feel like I’ve been pushed back and am frustrated over it.

[jenforr108 48]

Thanks Peggy I will keep doing my part as I’m seeing improvements in my health as I go. Who knows they put me on hold for to long I won’t need the surgery and have accomplished my goals the old fashioned way.

[FluffySaysForkIt! 823]

3 hours ago, jenforr108 said:

That makes me feel better and I hope all facilities work that way. I don’t know if that’s how the place I’m going to works as the comment made to me made me wonder. I was originally told that this was a 6 month process and expected to have already had mine before summer. When I finished my requirements this comment was made about teachers and that it may be a while til then I would only want to check in once a month with my food logs and visit with the dietician til I get my date for surgery. Well 3 months later and still no word, I keep doing my part but I feel like I’ve been pushed back and am frustrated over it.

As a teacher, I am pretty sure what they meant is educators are putting off having their own surgery right away, after also doing everything everyone else also does requirement wise. They can then schedule during the summer to keep from interfering with their teaching jobs. This makes the summer surgery schedules tighter, and booked up earlier, by people already approved before you were is all.

If there was any form of "streamlined" WLS approval line for obese teachers anywhere on this planet, I promise you I would have found that sucker... 😁

I do understand your frustration in waiting, though. It is really hard. (((Hugs)))

I hope you get your surgery scheduled soon. Hang in there!

[FluffySaysForkIt! 823]

Hi @PEGGO

I also have the same mask already shown here. It really helped me get used to CPAP and I can second the experience mentioned of FINALLY sleeping so soundly I didn't move at all at night for several months.

Here are a few things to try if you are struggling with getting used to cpap:

1. Put it on while you are watching TV and not trying to sleep. Just let yourself get used to the feel of it on your face and breathing through it while hooked up to the machine. Without the pressure of feeling like you have to get to sleep you can relax a bit and ease into the feel of it.

2. I second trying many masks until you find one that works for you. Don't be afraid to speak up to your provider. There are many styles and one will work for you.

3. It sounds counterintuitive, but DON'T OVERTIGHTEN your mask. It is very uncomfortable, and actually can cause MORE air leaks. It should be just tight enough to feel snug and not floppy, but still very comfortable on your face. If it hurts, it is too tight or the wrong mask for you.

I was required to bring my CPAP to the hospital with me. My Doctor required a 30 day download to prove that I was wearing my CPAP at least 4 hours a night before he would even do surgery at all. (He would have cancelled my surgery totally without that compliance because the risk of complications in surgery goes up with untreated sleep apnea.)

Good luck!

Edited August 7, 2019 by FluffySaysForkIt!

[Lynnem6 17]

Yes. My surgeon said to bring it when I have my surgery. He said that I could go into respiratory arrest without it.

[PEGGO 107]

11 hours ago, FluffySaysForkIt! said:

As a teacher, I am pretty sure what they meant is educators are putting off having their own surgery right away, after also doing everything everyone else also does requirement wise. They can then schedule during the summer to keep from interfering with their teaching jobs. This makes the summer surgery schedules tighter, and booked up earlier, by people already approved before you were is all.

If there was any form of "streamlined" WLS approval line for obese teachers anywhere on this planet, I promise you I would have found that sucker... 😁

I do understand your frustration in waiting, though. It is really hard. (((Hugs)))

I hope you get your surgery scheduled soon. Hang in there!

Hi Jennifer ,

thank you for your encouragement . A few days ago I emailed the specialist nurse , with a question about the diet and got an email from her , where she’d attached a copy of the diet . I couldn’t open it , but then today managed to , and now Im really panicking because the paperwork I was given, says a few different things from the diet she sent me , and I’ve been doing it for 4 weeks !😖 I weighed myself today and have only lost 3kgs 😢I’m so worried they’ll cancel my surgery. After 2 cancellations, and 2 and a 1/2 years of work and waiting , if they cancel it again , I’ll feel like giving up. I hope you don’t mind me venting. I’m just so worried . I rang the hospital to ask if it’s likely they’ll cancel, but had to leave a message , and I’m still waiting to hear from them . Thank you for listening to me . 🤗x

[jasmineinmymind 205]

I had to take mine and I needed it badly. With the morphine I was having really severe apnea. I stopped breathing every time I drifted off and that is with extra oxygen. I finally had them switch me to liquid Tylenol so I could actually sleep. At 5 months I stopped using it because it was making me more tired than when i did use it

[SlimChickadee 219]

jenforr108, I was told that I could sit up and watch tv while wearing mine as long as I got in 4hrs. I use the full nose and mouth gear d/t I tend to sleep with my mouth open and I also was having sores in my nose from the nose pillows. I wish you the best of luck with it but every time I go to the doctor they want to know if I am using it and how many hours a night and is it every night. I also bought my husband a SoClean and that is what I use to keep our cpap machines clean. Love it! Before, I wasn't compliant as I should be because I hated to clean it. This is a great investment for anyone with a cpap machine. Pop it in and forget it.

[MFaulk3 21]

Yes, I took mine and they used it in surgery and every night when I slept! I have lost 41 lbs since July 1 and noticed my mouth has been getting very dry. Wondered if the pressure was too high for me and I slept without it last night...no dry mouth... hmmmm. Have an appointment in September to see if I am needing a less amount of pressure or what!

[Frustr8 7,886]

In the meantime if you're still dry, dredge out the Biotene from your surgery supplies, you may turn out in September to no longer require it. I got the the SAD News mine is hereditary, intrinstic, and I am among the minority that weight loss and surgery DID NOT CURE- l8st obe- half of my puffy fluffy weight and Uncle Snuffely the C- pap and I will have a permanent relationship although my pressure settings have diminished and now Tomkitten, my son and the heir to my miniscule fortune, has joined me on the C- pap road, 8 to 5 odds he will also be having Bariatric Surgery in the not to distant future. Doubt he will bebthrilked that I tell you HE now weighs 70 pounds more than ME, oh he carries IT WELL but he admitted " I will not wait until I get much older for My Surgery" and our Mutual PCP,is very Gung-Ho about him seeking it. Reminded TK our local community hospital is. phasing in a program. Bullfeathers, said TK, I WILL GO TO Columbus and Ohio State University where Mom went. PCP can't disparage that, he was an Alumnus in 2000 of the Medical College there, even knew my Doctor Needleman personally, close to the Same Age. So TK. & I. go skipping down the same Road👸&👨Together!

[CanadianDreamer 7]

Hi, I just had my surgery last month. I have severe sleep apnea, and was required to provide proof of compliance (a one month report) to my surgical team before surgery. I have an "auto-PAP" machine that adjusts pressures as needed throughout the night. I wear a full mask, because I breathe through my mouth when I'm sleeping. I was told to bring my machine to the hospital when I had my surgery, and that they'd keep me in the recovery area longer because of my sleep apnea because it was dangerous to be asleep without it while recovering from the effects of anesthesia. They never put the machine on me there, but the nurse would often wake me when I was dozing and tell me to "breathe deeply". That night, they were delayed setting up my mask (they wanted oxygen added), so I slept without it for a few hours (with just an oxygen canula in my nose). I was awakened numerous times with the low oxygen alarm monitor ringing. Once awake, the alarm would stop. I probably drove my roommate mad! I was so happy when they set my machine up for me. I slept so much better for the rest of the night!

The sleep specialist doctor that I see has told me how serious it is to go without treating sleep apnea. It's really important to wear your machine if at all possible.

[MFaulk3 21]

Yes, I've had sleep apnea for about 20 years! As a nurse practitioner I have worn it religiously, understanding the problems it can give you if you don't. Tried it one night and no dry mouth. I'll go back to it until I hear otherwise from my sleep specialist.. Thanks for everyone sharing their experiences.