I have sleep apnea. Now what?

Not from my experience, but from my brothers: He had severe sleep apnea, stopped breathing 85 times a minute. His life is so much better now. He was always tired and could not sit in a chair for over 5 minutes before falling asleep, he couldn’t be in a car for 5 minutes without falling asleep, including when he was driving. Yes, he was a menace behind the wheel. He now sleeps the entire night, never falls asleep during the day and doesn’t need a nap.
My recommendation is to use the machine as prescribed.

I don’t have sleep apnea, but I work with a lot of patient’s that do have it. One thing I will tell you is to be patient with getting a set up that works well for you. There are various masks that can be used and finding one that fits you best may take a little bit of work. Once you find a mask that fits you well and you get use to the machine, you should be able to see a difference in the way your feel. Good luck!

Once you have the mask and machine that’s right for you, relax and use it. Your life will be pretty much normal. We traveled to the jungles of Borneo, on cruises, no where is off limits as long as there is electricity available at night. (I guess that leaves out wilderness camping) Get a set of plugs that will work in sockets all over the world (They come in sets and there are 3 or 4). No one questions you because the c-paps are so numerous and everybody knows about them.

Sleep apnea often effects the overweight. If this is you, losing weight is the easiest way to combat it.
Please do what you can. This was a contributor to my Mothers death.

@filmfann thanks for the advice, I could stand to exercise more, but I’m not overweight. It turns out I have an unusually tall tongue, a deviated septum, and some other minor contributors.

@Everyone: thanks

My mother had sleep apnea, and snored so loudly you could hear her from outside the house! Once she got diagnosed and got the machine, it was like magic. No more snoring, and better able to stay awake during the day. Sleeping with the contraption took some getting used to, but she adjusted fairly quickly. It makes noise, so you’ll have to get used to that, too.

Later on, my mother had gastric bypass surgery, lost a ton of weight, and her sleep apnea went away entirely. (I see that’s not your problem, but mention it for others who might read this.)