Sleep Apnea and CPAP

Well, I can tell you that those nasal strips didn't work for me. Neither did losing weight. I'm not aware of any other alternatives.

 

I was in the same spot as you...couldn't tolerate a CPAP machine. And my sleep apnea was severe. What they did was get me a Bi-PAP (Bi-level positive air pressure) machine. It's like a CPAP, but it has a lower pressure when you exhale. Makes it much easier to adjust to. Hope you have insurance though...where a CPAP runs about $700-$800 , a Bi-PAP can go as high as $3k. But if you have insurance you just pay a small monthly co-pay (mine was $40) until at some point the supply company just stops sending you a bill and it's yours. And trust me it's a lot better than surgery...the surgeon I went to said it's MAJOR surgery with only about a 50% chance to fix the problem. I'll stick with my machine thanks.

 

There was a recent article about a truck driver who had sleep apnea and drove too long then was involved in an accident which caused multiple drivers to be wrecked by him. I'm not a truck driver, but I use Cpap for sleep apnea and even with it there is fatigue and tiredness. Its hard to get comfortable with a long hose and mask on.

 

It is not my intent to switch the topic from sleep apnea,-although it might-but isnt a bigger problem with regards to sleeping, 1. waiting on some shippers and receivers hours to do their job & then have to keep moving.. 2.Greedy and or stupid dispatchers-brokers who set unrealistic appointment times..3.Of course getting jammed in traffic 4. Now that the silly season is here (winter)having to slow down to drive safely,mix some of these together along with the DOT & the stress that goes with the job like wrong directions etc etc,it seems to me EVEN IF EVERYONE is on a machine for sleep disorder,there will still be tired truckers out there,including me,as I got tired just typing this post......

 

There is also dental device you can get fitted for as well... it's supposed to re-align your jaw to hold the airway open (in theory anyway). Don't know the effectiveness, but it is another option if you can't deal with a machine and don't want to get surgery.

 

A thank you to Reverend Falstaff for his idea on a medical mouth device that I hadn't heard of yet. It sounds better than a pull on the hose and adjustment as needed. They've suggested I lose weight as well which at 44 is harder done than said. Someone mentioned something about hibernation:I do sound like a snarling bear without it. Someone who lived about 10 feet away woke me up years ago and said I thought you didn't snore.You never know how bad you are until someone tells you. I would be sleepy between 1 and 3 p.m., but never had a clue until then;with getting up early to let the dog out and the cats at the bedroom door I just thought it was early mornings and age progression. It always seemed like elderly people would want to nap and I thought I'm just getting older.I always have been stocky built. Everyone in the sleep lab that day was at least 50-100 pounds overweight.