In researching CPAP-related issues, I’ve learned as much from regular folks as the experts.
  There are a wealth of support groups, message boards and online communities, such as Sleep Guide, that enable apnea patients to compare notes and bounce ideas off each other.
  Careful though, the majority of websites in the CPAP world are trying to sell you something.
  I’m sharing a recent email from John Matyskiel, who has been kind enough to read my blog and has used CPAP for about three years. I’m sharing his thoughts verbatim because he highlights successes and frustrations others have surely experienced.
  He doesn’t sugarcoat and keeps his expectations for CPAP therapy in check. Yet, he embraces the treatment as life improving much like I have.
  Take it away, John.
  “I’m on my third mask. Each has been an improvement over the last.  There is no substitute for trying a type of mask, and for at least a month or two. You learn what you are sensitive to, and how you like or hate things like how the hose must be placed, etc.
  You might improve without getting to sleep nirvana. I remember being disappointed in my first months with CPAP. Wasn’t I going to leap out of bed in the morning? Wasn’t I going to say goodbye to fatigue? Nope. But I have eliminated the worst symptoms, my energy level is better, and I would never ever go back.
  One of the things that delayed my adoption of CPAP was the idea of having to be attached to a machine. I was in my 50s, relatively healthy, and I was going to be dependent on a machine?? I don’t know if other people have that reluctance.
  My biggest CPAP problem right now is something that is rarely addressed. I swallow some of that high-pressure air. It sounds stupid, but it’s bad enough to give me cramps and other symptoms that affect my sleep.”