Overall, now I sleep much better, although it took about 3 months for me to “pay back” the sleep debt I acquired from years of untreated apnea. I still have a few bad days, but the panic and anxiety has recently melted away, I can now be physically active, and my wife is so much happier with me and my demeanor.

The tough part was not adjusting to the mask, although that took persistence. For me it has been the ignorance about the condition. Even after explaining, people just think that you are just “tired” all the time. Well true, but I try to tell them think of the most tired you can get, say you are up until 3AM, and think about how that would feel to live your life like that. Could you get much done? What about the physical side effects of being that tired, headache, weakness, anxiety, shakiness, confusion, loss of focus, etc..etc…

Anyways if anyone reads this please do not resist treatment, it has changed my life and countless others.

Well, I made myself keep the mask on for two weeks just to see. OMG what a difference. For the first time in years I sleep through the night. And I mean deep sleep like I have not had in years. Trust me. If you are having trouble sleeping and your spouse says you snore to much, go. Go and get one of these things and you will never regret it.

I’m so excited for the hope of not waking up tired. Oddly enough, I do better sleeping 5-6 hours. Much longer and I wake with a wicked headache. Goes without saying that caffeine is a basic survival tool.

I’ve been snoring since I was a small child. The tiredness started around 13 or so, but I chalked it up to normal teenage stuff. It’s gotten so much worse in the last couple years.

I’m hoping better sleep will lead me to a better life. I want to do so many things I don’t do because I’m too tired; go back to college, work overtime, update my blog on a regular basis, fit in some physical activity.

Finally, I asked my doctor about the problem and he had me try out a CPAP machine. The doc said my airway was closing off up to 70 times each hour, and that I stopped breathing for as long as one full minute at a time! He strongly recommended I start using the CPAP machine, since I was risking damage to my heart due to lack of oxygen.

I had read about CPAP machines before and always thought I would never be able to sleep with one, since I am somewhat claustrophobic. Surprisingly, it only took me a few minutes to get used to, and I was able to sleep comfortably from the very beginning with no problem.

The mask portion is just a small apparatus that fits on the nostrils to blow in air that keeps the throat inflated, thus preventing any snoring. Straps over the head are a little annoying, but they are necessary to keep the nose piece in place. If one changes sleeping positions at night, it’s possible for these straps to move, causing the nose piece to slip off.

I have been using a Dreamhelmet, a combination sleep mask sound-muffling pillow for years now, for sleeping at night and for napping during the day. I always find it hard to sleep without the Dreamhelmet, and I was afraid I would not be able to use it with the CPAP mask, but I was wrong about that too.

After I slept with the CPAP machine and mask for a short while, I tried wearing the Dreamhelmet over the CPAP, covering up the straps – voila, it worked like a charm! I found that the Dreamhelmet actually helps keep the straps in place when I change positions, so now I can sleep all night in comfort, not being bothered by sound, light, or changing positions. The CPAP and the Dreamhelmet are the perfect sleeping combination for me.

I now wake up rested, and I have energy that lasts all day long. I don’t feel so run down all the time or feel like I need an afternoon nap, but I still carry an extra Dreamhelmet in the car with me just in case I do need a nap.