Rebecca Stanford

Rebecca lives in North East Victoria and has severe Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA)

A long time ago I had a specialist mention that I should go back to my GP and get a sleep study referral. Nothing was ever mentioned of it again. I didn’t feel this was an issue as I slept 8 hours most nights, if not more, it only took a couple of minutes and I was dead to the world. I am a deep solid sleeper. Once asleep that was it.  After finishing my degree in Health Science (nutrition and exercise) I had a career change and took up a local position as a sleep apnoea consultant. As part of the job I brought a machine home to use on myself so I could understand more about the therapy to better help my clients. My husband loved it as my snoring, which had gotten worse in the last year or so was now gone, and he could sleep in peace (except for when my mask sprung a leak).

My first night was about 48 minutes. I couldn’t believe that people were able to sleep and wear a mask. I had a new found respect for anyone that could use it for 8 hours or even for those just using it EVERY night. I persevered with it and I found the settings that worked and a mask that worked for me. I also discovered that I could now sleep through the night. While I am a deep sleeper there was one thing that could wake me – my bladder. Interestingly, my need to go to the toilet several times during the night just disappeared. My aching muscles also over the next couple of months reduced. Oh and my sore throat, that I had had for years and was put down to silent reflux, gone

Fatigue was still a real issue and there are some mornings I wake up wishing I could have more sleep. About 3 months into full time CPAP therapy I went to see my GP as the fatigue was only getting worse. That’s when I got a referral for a sleep study, even though I said I was using a CPAP machine – he thought we should check it out anyway. So I put it down as another experience I could share an understanding with my clients. Surprise, surprise, severe OSA was the results.

I love partnering with my clients and making them aware of all their treatment options as there is more than just CPAP for OSA. I also love partnering with people to help make CPAP work if that is what they need to do. CPAP is not a one size fits all therapy. For me it took time to really settle in, but I’m glad I persisted and more importantly I have a great team helping me along this journey.