Sleep Apnea Saga

I had my first appointment with my sleep specialist doctor person since getting my CPAP, and this is what I learned:

1. I stop breathing 25 per hour without the CPAP. The doctor said anything above 20 is bad and basically results in cutting your life expectancy by one half. So it's good I'm starting on the CPAP. I'd rather live past 40 years old, thank you very much.

2. I need to lose 50 pounds, which was basically my goal anyway, but this puts an exclamation point on it.

3. A surgery to aid the sleep apnea would be very painful and only work in 1 out of 4 people, so I might as well just keep the CPAP for now.

4. Weight loss could make the sleep apnea better, but probably not. Genetics and hereditary has gifted me with a certain size of body with another size of internal stuff (tonsils, etc) that don't match.

5. Skinny people have sleep apnea too.

6. Every once in a while, though not enough to freak out about, my brain forgets to tell me to breath.

7. My oxygen level in the blood stream was lower than it was supposed to be, but the lung tests they did today showed I'm not bad enough off to really worry about.

So basically, I just need to get used to the CPAP, lose some weight, and things should go well. My doctor has a "if it's not broke, don't fix it" mentality, which works for me. I don't want unnecessary treatments or procedures if I can cope with what I've got. I know the first doctor I saw was interested in surgical options, but why go through a painful procedure if I'm just going to have to keep the CPAP anyway?

I also learned that my behavior with the CPAP (taking it off during the night) is completely normal and I just need to get used to having it on. The doctor said I could use a mild sleeping aid if I thought I needed it, to get to sleep, but I declined for now. Even though it's not habit forming, I'd rather let my body try to adapt first. And I don't have trouble falling asleep with the CPAP, my problem is keeping it on, which, again, is normal for someone getting started.