Hi everyone, I have been on BiPAP for a few weeks now. The symptom that led me to get checked out was that I was sleeping 11-14 hours most days when I didn't have to get up for school/work, and drinking a lot of energy drinks when I did have to get up. The sleep study said I had an untreated AHI in the 40s, and a treated AHI of around 8 (at maximum pressure) when sleeping on my side (much worse on my back - in the 20s even with max pressure).

I wasn't confident that getting treatment would be enough to start doing anything since I knew I wouldn't be able to get under 5 and many people report exhaustion in the 5-10 range, but lo and behold, I managed to get up today after about 6-7 hours on my own, not for school or work. (I'm a college student - on winter break atm.) I was still yawning a lot and didn't feel great, but I was awake enough that I didn't fall asleep when I sat down on the couch and went on my phone. My AHI last night was around 4, too :) It looks like maybe with practice using the mask (I wear a full face as my nose blocks up during the night a lot) my AHI is going to be better than I hoped :) I have another medical condition that prevents me for eating for an hour after I get up and take my meds for it, so normally the first hour as I get ready and start my commute is absolute hell before I can have my energy drink since I can barely keep my eyes open, but today I was functional during that hour even before knocking back a Rockstar, lol. Maybe someday I won't need to drink them at all :)

I normally stay up late so I can talk to friends in different timezones or do homework, so during the winter I miss a lot of sunlight since I don't get up until late, but I saw the sun for so long today. I'm so glad. And I've gotten better about always sleeping on my side too! Good luck everyone! I believe in you!