My husband is FINALLY getting treated for sleep apnea!  

Hi dragon. What is it with these guys? I'd love to know what they're so afraid of and would rather live with sleep apnea than get treated. If it's an ego thing, I sure don't understand it. I'd be more proud of my good health than denying that it even exists (what my husband did for years).

My husband's snoring sounds the same as your ex's. Before I started sleeping in another bedroom, his snoring would actually hurt my head sometimes. It was so loud it felt like it was ricocheting around in my brain. This has gone on since November 2004 and it literally took my moving out of the bedroom for him to take me seriously. I can't tell you how many nights I've slept on the couch before I finally moved out of the bedroom completely but I have the feeling you understand completely. Even in the other bedroom, I STILL have to use earplugs!

Of course, then there is the gagging, which he does every morning or whenever he takes a shower. I think, because he's not fat, he thought his problem was not that bad. But, about 20 years ago, his niece gave him a coffee mug that says "World's loudest snorer" and, four years ago, I bought him a Halloween t-shirt that says, "The Snoring He-Beast". He just didn't get it!

I still don't think he'll live to a ripe old age, though. His poor eating habits and the amount of beer he consumes will put him in the ground prematurely. What is it with these men?????

I swear, I don't understand it! It's as if they have a need for self-destruction. My ex was a big beer drinker and even how, as a diabetic, he'll go off on a bender sometimes and he still indulges in other substances that have him disappearing for days at a time. He married a nurse and she can't do anything with him, either. I think there are some men (and some women) who just don't get it, don't believe it can happen to them. Kind of like teenagers that think they're immortal! They say that men are very late to mature and this proves it.

I think you're right about it helping me more than him. I have fibromyalgia and suffer from insomnia anyway. With his waking me up I've been getting even less sleep than normal. The less sleep I get, or I should say the less uninterrupted sleep I get, the worse I feel. I've been telling him this but it did no good. It definitely showed me how much he cares about me.

Gaining weight can cause sleep apnea in some people so it's logical that losing weight can get rid of it in these people. Unfortunately, that's not my husband's problem. Oh, he's getting a belly on him but, for the most part, he's still skinny.

My father snored. My room was at the other end of the house and I could hear him through their door and my door. It was a reassuring sound to me but I'm sure my nmother had other feelings about it. LOL

Sometimes I think the medical community is going overboard with all the new drugs on the market these days but I have to say that the CPAP is one of the best things to ever come from them, in my opinion. I'm glad to hear that your grandmother is being helped by having one. Maybe she would find a different mask more comfortable? According to my husband, there are "a gazillion" different styles to choose from.

He said the one they had him use in the sleep study was not uncomfortable. He's looking forward to getting one. He even called the doctor today to see if they've received the report from the sleep study. (Yep, he's VERY anxious. LOL) He's spent part of today looking into the different machines and different masks so he'll know what he wants once he gets the prescription for it from the doctor.

This is from a man who would probably need to be hog tied and dragged to a hospital if his legs were cut off! He hates doctors and medicine. It took me over 5 years to convince him to have these tests but now that he sees how nice it is to get a good night's sleep, he's more anxious than ever.

Ah, insurance companies. Don't you just love them? (NOT!)

My husband was told that he could have surgery to correct his problem but I know he won't go for that. The back of his mouth, where the uvula (sp?) is (that hangie-down thing) is lower than it should be, which not only causes his snoring and sleep apnea but also causes him to gag quite a lot. If it were me, I'd be sitting in the doctor's office until surgery was scheduled!

He hasn't gotten the CPAP yet. The sleep study results are being sent to the doctor and we all know how long those things can take. He called his doctor already to ask about it and was told they would be calling him as soon as they receive the results. Then, he can get a "prescription" for the CPAP machine and can order one. He's already picked out the one he wants and chose a mask similar to the one he used at the sleep study which he said was not at all uncomfortable.

I hope it's soon! Even if it is, it's not soon enough for me!

Now, if I were you, I'd look into any possible alternatives to the CPAP machines. Holding your breath while sleeping is never a good thing! Maybe you could try another doctor?

Wow, gabs! I used to have some really severe panic attacks, usually 2 or 3 every day but I never had one in my sleep! At least, not that I'm aware of. Medication for panic attacks has helped me. Maybe it could help you? (I don't have any attacks anymore, not even a tiny one. I take Savella, which was prescribed for my fibromyalgia, actually, but helps a lot with the panic attacks.)

Well there is nothing they can give me for it
They are saying it is due to my Breathing that it is happening but hey its ok I can deal with it lol

I don't understand these guys who refuse to see a doctor when there is a treatment for what they have. Oh, I can understand not going to a doctor because of a head cold or something like that but something like sleep apnea which can be very serious, I just don't get it.

I'm glad to hear that your brother in law is being helped by the machine. I can't wait to see the changes in my husband after he starts using his. Maybe he won't be so lazy! (He calls it lazy.)

Hi pye. He normally will not see a doctor for anything but I think he's anxious to get this machine because he's such an electronics geek. He loves "gadgets". I'm just wondering how often I'll have to wake him up to put the mask on. He'll say he's watching TV and lie down but he's asleep after only a few minutes. But, it'll be worth it to have him sleeping through the night without snoring or those sleep apnea episodes.

Well, Irish, I DID buy extra life insurance on him recently. LOL I told him that, since he won't change his bad habits, I may as well take advantage of it.

But, I wouldn't want to wake up some morning and find him dead from sleep apnea. Maybe I should have moved into the other bedroom a long time ago.

Hi uicbear. I actually do sleep better with a continuous noise, like a fan, so I'm sure this machine will be twice as helpful to me for sleeping well than it will be for my husband.

I just hope it will change his weekend habit of sleeping through most of it. He says he's "catching up" on the sleep he loses during the week. I hope he'll have more energy from not constantly waking himself up with the sleep apnea and snoring and will actually want to do more than sleep and drink beer on the weekends.

But, that's the next project I'll tackle once he's sleeping better.

That just sucks! Having to decide between one problem or another. I'm sorry to hear that you get headaches from the mask. According to my husband, there are a "gazillion" different kinds of masks out now so do you think maybe a different kind would help you without giving you a headache?

The one my husband used during the study obviously felt fine to him. He didn't complain about it and, since he's so willing to begin using his own machine now, I'd have to say it didn't bother him at all.

I'm not a mouth breather and all the rest I've seen have some kind of pressure on the sinuses, and I have shallow sinuses... so any kind of pressure on them hurts!