ptown said:

I've had a blocked, stuffy nose/congestion(?) problem for a long time that makes trying to sleep suck. It seems to be worse at night (but it could just be I'm more aware of it when I need to get to sleep) and it's like trying to breathe through a straw.

It has most likely negatively affected/caused all sorts of problems in my daily life (e.g. mental fogginess/difficulty with comprehension, poorer attention span, poor mood, feeling fatigued/lack of energy, etc.) that for some reason I never connected it to that condition.

Some nights (though rare) I have nightmares where I'm drowning and hoping that I wake up (often gasping for air when I do wake) from them as soon as possible.

I've not yet had any sleep tests done. The only issue is I'm unsure how expensive the costs are to have that done. At one point I was getting allergy shots, but I never completed those. I'm not currently taking any medication and prefer not to need to use them daily/rely on them.

Anyone else here deal with chronic nasal congestion?

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Croatoan said:

My copay for a visit to the pulmonologist was $60, but it will likely depend on where you live and what your insurance is.

Only a pulmonologist can actually tell you if you "might" have apnea. The tests might be completely covered by your insurance. IMO, if you can afford the visit, talking to the specialist is the only way to know for sure. In the US you have to get a referral from a General Practitioner to see a specialist though. So I would ask them when you go in for your next check up.

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Weevilone said:

Interestingly, my dentist had training and equipment to diagnose likelihood. He actually produced a 3D scan of my airway that was more sophisticated than anything the sleep doctors did. It was pretty neat.

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Croatoan said:

Wow that is interesting, and cool! Did you get to keep a 3d model?

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ptown said:

I've had a blocked, stuffy nose/congestion(?) problem for a long time that makes trying to sleep suck. It seems to be worse at night (but it could just be I'm more aware of it when I need to get to sleep) and it's like trying to breathe through a straw.

It has most likely negatively affected/caused all sorts of problems in my daily life (e.g. mental fogginess/difficulty with comprehension, poorer attention span, poor mood, feeling fatigued/lack of energy, etc.) that for some reason I never connected it to that condition.

Some nights (though rare) I have nightmares where I'm drowning and hoping that I wake up (often gasping for air when I do wake) from them as soon as possible.

I've not yet had any sleep tests done. The only issue is I'm unsure how expensive the costs are to have that done. At one point I was getting allergy shots, but I never completed those. I'm not currently taking any medication and prefer not to need to use them daily/rely on them.

Anyone else here deal with chronic nasal congestion?

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Razorback PT said:

Dying 45 times an hour? That's worse than Dark Souls.

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oneils said:

If you’re not breathing you’re dying. You’re not dead, but you are in the process of dying.

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prag16 said:

That's a silly way to frame it (as with the OP's doctor).

I can sit here and hold my breath for 30 seconds. In no universe would "I'm dying" be an accurate statement.

No more than all of us are one day closer to death than we were yesterday. We're all dying.

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prag16 said:

That's a silly way to frame it (as with the OP's doctor).

I can sit here and hold my breath for 30 seconds. In no universe would "I'm dying" be an accurate statement.

No more than all of us are one day closer to death than we were yesterday. We're all dying.

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Clinical death is the medical term for cessation of blood circulation and breathing, the two necessary criteria to sustain human and many other organisms' lives. It occurs when the heart stops beating in a regular rhythm, a condition called cardiac arrest. The term is also sometimes used in resuscitation research.

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LordOfChaos said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_death

Medical terms aren't what we use colloquially, but that doesn't make them incorrect. It was in a medical setting. So, no, doctor wasn't wrong.You just don't use medical terms.

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Croatoan said:

So I wanted to post the update I promised. I have been using the cpap for almost a week now and I can say that both my wife and I have noticed a big improvement in my attitude and alertness. It hasn't really been "Life altering" yet but I no longer am tired during the day and feel more "With it" if that makes sense.

My libido has gone way up, my wife says I seem much happier and light hearted, and my desire to work out has returned as well.

All that said there have been some weird things too.

Though I wake up alert and rested I kinda feel crappy in the morning sometimes. It might have something to do with having six foot of hose ratcheted to my face or just generally getting used to having a suction cup covering my nose and mouth all night long though. This usually gets better as the morning goes on and I feel great in the afternoon.

I am also yawning A LOT during the day, more than I ever did before, yet I am not tired? I guess it is due to the increased oxygen levels at night?

Lastly I have been getting hungrier, esspecially in the morning. I will wake up starving now, and I hope his is just my metabolism going back to normal and not the start of me gaining weight or anything. I seem to be eating less though, and not going back for seconds. Eating less is actually supposed to happen after you start the CPAP as lack of sleep can cause excessive eating. Something about hormons being out of wack or something.

Supposedly I will continue to see changes for the next 6 months so I will try to check in and let yall know how things progress. Again, I wouldn't say the CPAP has "changed my life" like a lot of people said, but it has made my QOL and enjoyment of each day much better.

Oh, and the wife is super happy lol

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Croatoan said:

So I wanted to post the update I promised. I have been using the cpap for almost a week now and I can say that both my wife and I have noticed a big improvement in my attitude and alertness. It hasn't really been "Life altering" yet but I no longer am tired during the day and feel more "With it" if that makes sense.

My libido has gone way up, my wife says I seem much happier and light hearted, and my desire to work out has returned as well.

All that said there have been some weird things too.

Though I wake up alert and rested I kinda feel crappy in the morning sometimes. It might have something to do with having six foot of hose ratcheted to my face or just generally getting used to having a suction cup covering my nose and mouth all night long though. This usually gets better as the morning goes on and I feel great in the afternoon.

I am also yawning A LOT during the day, more than I ever did before, yet I am not tired? I guess it is due to the increased oxygen levels at night?

Lastly I have been getting hungrier, esspecially in the morning. I will wake up starving now, and I hope his is just my metabolism going back to normal and not the start of me gaining weight or anything. I seem to be eating less though, and not going back for seconds. Eating less is actually supposed to happen after you start the CPAP as lack of sleep can cause excessive eating. Something about hormons being out of wack or something.

Supposedly I will continue to see changes for the next 6 months so I will try to check in and let yall know how things progress. Again, I wouldn't say the CPAP has "changed my life" like a lot of people said, but it has made my QOL and enjoyment of each day much better.

Oh, and the wife is super happy lol

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Croatoan said:

All that said there have been some weird things too.

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smoothj said:

It was starting to affect my heart and I would wake up with my heart pounding like crazy 2 to 3 times a night.

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t-storm said:

This sounds like me. I’m seeing my doctor this morning to see if I need to be referred to a sleep clinic or how I can go about getting one of these machines.

Were you waking up with headaches as well?

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