I’ve heard that the “normal marital bed life” comes from the silence of a partner not snoring anymore and gasping for breath.
As for the big hose, well, it’s really not that bad. It sure beats the alternative. I thought I was dying in 2005...I spent so much time having every conceivable test done to me.
I had no energy, and every time I went to bed I woke up worse than I was before. I suffered a TIA and was seeing a neurologist. I was to the point where I was going to need a cane to walk at the age of 26/27. I had no strength. Very scary.
I remember my lowest point was sitting in my living room with the blinds down during the day, trying desperately not to go to sleep, even though my body said I had to.
I was faced with a horrible choice between delirium by staying awake or a further downward spiral by going to sleep. It was like having a battery that wouldn’t charge but was drained more and more.
It was something that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone. I gladly choose the hose, especially since I was waking up 50 times an hour. Sometimes I wouldn’t breathe for a minute or more.
I tell people that the cpap saved and changed my life. I am pretty chubby but I had SA in college when I was thin and in great shape (my best friend was my rommie freshman year and he used to beat me with a pillow because my snoring was driving him nuts). Like you, I was getting worse and worse. Falling asleep at work while trying to write reports and while driving.
The wife talked me into taking a sleep study after bugging me about it for 4 or 5 years. The next day after I was done, the Dr called me and said they needed to get me a machine THAT DAY (normally it takes a couple of weeks for them to evaluate the study and make a diagnosis and then get a machine prescribed) because it was so bad. The dr called my wife and told her it was a miracle that I hadn’t died in my sleep.
It is such a gift to not be tired and fatigued all the time. I can go to the movies and not fall asleep in the middle and snore and stay awake at work without massive doses of caffeine.
Glad you are feeling better brother FReeper.