Why does the medical field react to OSA as if its a life sentence? I believe it rarely is. When I first had afib and nocturnal episodes, a sleep study was suggested. There is no doubt in my mind I would have failed it, as I believe most will. I declined to have one and instead researched how to naturally deal with my sleep issues. A few simple and not so simple, such as losing an extra 15 lbs and stopping caffeine and alcohol, remedies seemed to alleviate it most of the time. There is much misinformation from both sides on causes and treatments. My biggest concern for a CPAP is that as a symptom treatment only, it can become a "mask" for not only unhealthy lifestyles but possibly other serious underlying issues. Recently a good friend who has used CPAP for nearly 10 years found out his Thyroid was completely shot. Im not suggesting his mask caused this, but perhaps continual sleep issues gone untreated would have warranted further testing that may have caught it sooner. If your diagnosis is CSA instead of OSA, perhaps a mask is your only alternative, especially if it is imprinted on your nervous system. However you would still be ignoring the root cause of a possible past traumatic event which would warrant an emotional evaluation. Do doctors make that determination with a sleep study of physical or emotional? For some reason, this particular condition is generalized more than others. It is also apparent that once that mask is on the face of patients, most are hooked for life. Not for me.