 UPDATED 6-22-06! UPDATED March 2007  
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I wasn't able to enjoy sleep before, but now I wake up feeling rested, a feeling I had forgotten. It's remarkable just how much better I am feeling with the machine at night. It took a little getting used to of course but I am not waking up with headaches or much pain at all. I still hurt of course but on a scale of one to ten it's in the realm of a three instead waking up with fives and sixes. I hope that it helps my mood and that after we're adjusted to the new place we're moving into and I have my own room that we can all start using the Total Gym we got last year. I have great hope for this year, that we're going to get in shape and that my sleeping pattern will normalize for the first time since childhood. If you snore or someone you love snores, you should encourage them to talk to their doctor about getting a sleep study done. If it's your loved one and their snoring is more then just snoring, like me, they actually quit breathing you've really got to get them to talk to their doctor about it because it can and is life threatening. It can increase risks for strokes, heart attacks and over time can enlarge the heart stressing it out mmore then it should have to work because of the lack of oxygen. Jackie had a diagnosis of OSA too, only his was because of his enlarged tonsils and adenoids. Unfortunately we had to have them removed but the good news is he healed up fine and no longer has the problem of stopping breathing. So it's totally possible for a child to have a diagnosis of OSA. It can be because of enlarged tonsils and adenoids so if you go to an Ear, Nose, Throat doctor and they tell you your child needs surgery, it can truly be the end of the problem, I am sure not all cases work out as well as Jackie's case, because I have heard that sometimes tonsils and adenoids can grow back. So in cases like that they might have to do more surgery. My mother also had a sleep study done earlier thie year and was diagnosed with OSA, and she got the same machine I have now. She uses a full mask while I use a nasal one with a chin strap. I was motivated because of her telling me how great she felt, I wanted to see what the difference was so during my study I stopped breathing over thirty times so they woke me up and put a mask on me which I found hard to sleep in because the technician had made the straps so tight it was hard on my head and I woke up with a headache. With my own headgear I have it tightened just enough to keep the mask from slipping but not so tight that I wake up with headaches. But the point about my mother I wanted to bring up is that she and I both have our tonsils still and that can be why our airways collapse, because we both slept with our mouths open and things just relaxed to the point where we'd stop breathing. I feel so much better it's like night and day, the machine has a carrying case so I will never go without it again. I can't say that I enjoy wearing it, it's not a fun feeling, but it is tolerable and beat the alternative of not breathing properly during my sleep cycle. Here is a link to the site of the manufacturer of the machine we both have:
 I hope that you are inspired by this page to look into getting one of these fabulous machines for yourself or your loved ones who might be suffering with OSA. It really can make you and anyone with OSA feel like a whole new you, one who is able to concentrate and be able to think clearer while feeling like a million bucks. I will be using the machine longer then my insurance will be renting it, they rent it for fourteen months because many people get discouraged and give up, so it's understandable that they don't outright purchase one for people. I know this one is mine though because I have had no trouble adjusting to the mask and chin strap and breathing with this machine is so much easier, it has a feature they call C-Flex and that somehow senses when you're exhaling so it lowers the pressure so that you can exhale comfortably. It's just a fantastic piece of equipment. Thank you for visiting my OSA page, if you have any questions or comments feel free to email me using this link. Thanks again for taking time to read over my Sleep Apnea page.
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