Anyone dealing with sleep apnea?

Ugh, your poor mom. I don't have any personal experience with CPAP, but my husband is a pulmonologist and sees lots of patients with sleep apnea. When she goes for her sleep study, ask if she can try different types of masks. There are lots of different designs, and some of them are surprisingly comfortable. A lot of patients really like the nasal pillow masks, for example.

The one thing I'd suggest is to keep reminding your mom how much better she'll feel if she can get a good night's sleep.

Good luck and hugs to both of you!

That's really great advice, Stephanie!  Thank you!  I had no idea (and I don't think she did either) that there were different types of masks.  That may ease her mind a bit.  And you're totally right - I am trying to get her to a place where she can look forward to feeling better.  For months and months she's been talking about being beyond tired.  I really hope she gets feels like it's all worth it quickly.

Thanks again!

I just googled "CPAP mask" and there are lots of different styles. Maybe it would ease your mom's mind if she could see what some of them look like? My husband was telling me last night about a patient who was incredibly anxious about wearing a CPAP mask, but after a night with the nasal pillow mask, he couldn't stop raving about how well he slept.

Please let us know how things go with your mom! I'll be sending you both good thoughts.

Andrew Sullivan, a blogger, has this condition. He wrote about it a lot on his blog.

My husband uses a CPAP and has for many years.  It transformed his life.  The key is the mask.  My husband recently got a new machine but kept his old mask because he liked it so much.  It does take a little adjustment at first, - have to really give it a few days to get used to it, but its super.  

Hey patrick....  what't the blog address.... sounds interesting.