yobuck285 wrote:
Hi Chi,

Thanks... It's good to know I'm not the only one.  And thanks for being mature enough and brave enough to speak up about your own despair.  There's just a breaking point, I guess, and it comes on so suddenly.  Today, I am just so exhausted I haven't been able to get the simplest thing done.  I keep having to lie down.

A friend is urging me to get the sleep study but I've hesitated because I've heard that

    1.)  They don't pick up problems from ENS only register Apnea issues
   
    2.)  People on this site have mentioned how the CPAP dries them out even with a humidifier.

Trust me, I want to get better!  It's just that, well, I've tried everything and nothing really works.  So there's a point where I stop trying and just try to deal with it instead.

You say the BiPap has only made a slight difference but you still feel like crap during the day?  So, do you mean you only feel better in the morning and then you feel exhausted the rest of the day?  I agree that good sleep is important and that my outlook right now is pretty crappy in general..  lol...slightly obvious.

Thanks Chi

Yobuck,

Sorry, let me clarify, the bi pap has made a huge difference.  With the bi pap I've been able to function much better than without.  I couldn't sleep more than a few hours and even when I did, it was really bad sleep.  I was tired, depressed, anxious...my memory was horrid and my work performance was terrible.  Since I started on the bipap I wake up and feel refreshed and the fatigue/anxiety have lessened considerably.  I can actually function like a human being which is huge.  When I say I still feel like crap during the day means that during the day, I still have symptoms of pain/dryness, openness, suffocation/dyspnea and sometimes, just a malaise I can't quite explain.  I also get the paradoxical obstruction quite often, usually when I'm talking a lot so I try and limit my words.  Not a great way to live but I can get through the day.  I will say that the bi pap does dry me out some even with the humidifier cranked all the way up but I usually try and combat that by applying some saline nasal gel in my nose before I go to bed.  If it gets too uncomfortable (and I wake up after 5-6 hours), I'll ditch the mask and try and catch a few hours without it if I can.  Those first 5 hours are huge though and usually enough to get me through the day.  I had a hard time getting one at first but as luck would have it, a friend of mine had one he could no longer use so he let me try it.  I tried it and felt better instantly and told the sleep doc I would be using it from now on.  That's when he brought me back in and put me on one of my own.  I think bi pap is better because it's not constant pressure like CPAP.  It pressurizes when you inhale then relaxes when you exhale which I think might have some effect on how dry it makes you.  Believe me I know how you feel, it sucks all the time but this is just one way to try and make it better.  As far as your outlook goes, this is what I tell myself every day.  It's friggin' 2015!!   A cure has got to be just around the corner - maybe it'll be tomorrow and maybe next year, maybe in 5 years - but if it's tomorrow, how silly will you see yourself tomorrow knowing that you despaired when your life was just about to change.  Face every day courageously, have hope and hang in there.