[juliem]

My internist has been after me for at least 5 years to have a sleep study, and I just did. In spite of my ongoing insomnia I managed to sleep four hours and in that amount of time it showed I had severe apnea- mostly obstructive, but also slightly mixed, and leg jerks. I was brought back for a second night for a trial of CPAP, without any suggestions of how to manage the insomnia. After messing around with various masks and ending up on a bi-pap, I went to bed. I had an awful time, choking and struggling. I only slept four hours total. Two times I woke strangling, choking on nasal drainage and coughing until I started wheezing. I actually coughed until I vomitted. My O2 didn't really improve that much and they said they they were going to try supplementing with O2, but because I couldn't sleep any more they were not able to try it. In the morning the doctor came in and said that he couldn't recommend me getting a cpap or bipap machine until my nasal drainage and asthma was under control, and that I needed to see a pulmonologist that specializes in sleep disorders. I thought that was what I was doing! I don't even consider my nasal drainage or asthma to be that much of a problem.

Everyone has been telling me that I was going to feel great after this, more energy and stamina, and that it would lower my risk of stroke (I'm at high risk because of a heart problem) and my blood pressure, so I had high hopes. Now I'm so fightened, depressed and so exhausted I can hardly move. I have spent $7,000 and have gotten nowhere. Shouldn't somebody have checked for these problems before I spent all this money? How do you get around the problem of getting a good trial of the bipap if you can't sleep? Drugs?

What do I do now? Spend who knows how much on seeing another secialist, and another $7,000 on another sleep study?

[Brian249]

Hang in there. Some of what you describe reminds me of my experience with sleep apnea. I have heard from others with sleep apnea of problems using the CPAP devices until the nasal problems and/or asthma were treated. Sleep apnea wound up totally destroying my life as it went many years without being diagnosed. Please do as your doctor suggested and find that pulmonologist. Be grateful you have the money. Mine is gone, together with my health insurance, after years of deteriorating functionality and work performance.