Tonights NOT my first night!! *the Misty Story*

[wittymomma]

Any last minute tips? lol. I have read all the newbie stuff.. I have saved all the cleaning tips.. I still have a lot to buy lol. Not exactly sure how I am going to sit it next to my bed yet.. Stuff I guess I should get off the PC & go figure out lol.

With all that said.. anyone who Has my Machine or Mask.. any tips YOU have learned about our machines? I am not 100% sure I Have the same machine as in my profile.. But I tried to find it the best I could & it looks like mine.. I do have the heated Humidifier but I totally forgot to get Distilled water.. Will pick some up tomorrow. Not sure if I could use my regular bottled water tonight? I have the Purified drinking water bottles from WM (Sams club brand)

Thanks for everyones help on here!! Even if I never replied or posted to your posts, you have helped <3

Misty

** Just wanted to add that I will now use this as a sort of Journal for all who want to follow me lol. Not that I find myself incredibly interesting.. but whatever :-p I am also hoping that by posting my studys & what I have done or found or discovered, it may help other newbies! Thanks for all the help & I hope to get to know you guys more! I look forward to that day that I can help other people with my years of wisdom.. lol. until then.. **

[Pugsy]

If unsure about the model machine...look on the bottom of the blower...PR S1 Pro CPap is model DS 450.

You can use regular water without hurting anything. We use distilled water to lessen mineral buildup in the plastic tank. The mineral buildup gets kinda yucky looking. Just dump the tank in the morning and let it air dry. That will lessen any potential build up till you can get some distilled water.

[wittymomma]

Awesome thanks!!

Pausing for a second to run & check under my machine..

ok the bottom of my machine says: Remaster Pro 450p

[ozze_dollar]

Just keep in mind that this is now for the rest of your life so go into it very committed.No half hearted efforts.

[Pugsy]

Might want to get some Lansinoh ointment. Found in the baby section of Walmart. Used by breast feeding mom's to help with nipple chaffing. A little dab on and in the nostril just a bit will help with the tenderness that may develop from the nasal pillows pressing and rubbing on skin that hasn't ever had much contact with anything. Nasal pillows should not cause extreme pain though. If they do then the straps are too tight. Minor tenderness, yeah, maybe but extreme pain or abrasions...no.

[wittymomma]

Thanks Pugsy! I have some Green Can stuff here now from my last son (6 years ago LOL) Plus we use it for various things (healing reasons LOL) Bag Balm... thats it LOL. Would that work for tonight?

Oh & I have the Compliance modem thing on the back for the first 90 days (then my insurance will pay for it) Can I take the card out & save it to my PC before I go to the doctors? or will it screw it up for them? They are having me bring the whole machine in each time.. I am just nosy at what it shows lol.

@ozze I have been SOO anxiously awaiting this! I cant wait to be able to breath at night! I do have goiters on my thyroid so I am sorta hoping once I have my thyroid removed & can lose weight, I Will no longer HAVE Sleep Apnea.. but in the mean time, I am Def. Looking forward to this being a relief to me!

I am going to start knitting my hose cozy tomorrow!!

[Pugsy]

I forget how much petroleum might be in Bag Balm. In general we try to avoid petroleum based products because the petroleum can cause the silicone to degrade with prolonged exposure to petroleum. If it does have petroleum in it....just wash the nasal pillow really well in the AM. If no petroleum, then it won't hurt a thing. I know it has some lanolin in it and that is what the Lansinoh is...but Lansinoh is pretty much pure lanolin.

You can use SleepyHead to check your data on the SD card. The SD card is hidden by the modem. Check my signature for links to SleepyHead information. Unless your computer is a Mac..there isn't any way that the DME or doctor can know if you have peeked at the data. If your computer is a Mac..then just slide the write protect thing to make the SD card read only...Macs try to put a little file on the SD card.

Hurts nothing to look at your reports though. You will have to remove the modem while you remove the SD card though. Yes, you can save the contents of your SD card to your computer if you wish. SleepyHead will import from the SD card or a folder with files in it. You can even make a duplicate SD card if you wish.
Any generic SD card will work. Doesn't have to be brand name. I got a cheap Sandisk 2 GB card at Walmart for about $10. It works just fine.

[TinkRBell]

Wittymomma,
Welcome to the club
I started out with your setup--I have since had to change masks because of mouth breathing but I definitely recommend the Lansinoh...those nasal "pillows" can really tear up a nose.
Sounds like you're set up and ready to go, with a really positive outlook--that's half the battle. I'm about 90 days into the adventure, I can't promise you instant success or a life free of refinements and tweaking, but overall I am feeling more rested and hope you will soon too!

[wittymomma]

here is the info on Bag Balm.. I do wonder if I have a sample of the purple stuff around here some where lol. Other wise, I may use this tonight & pick up some Lansinoh tomorrow lol. But heres the bag balm stuff anyways lol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bag_Balm

The active ingredients of Bag Balm are 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate 0.3% (antiseptic) in a petroleum jelly USP and lanolin base

Guess that doesnt help :-p

[Pugsy]

I saw that also...petroleum jelly but lanolin is the base.. probably not much petroleum but we just don't know how much. It won't hurt to use it tonight though.

If you decide you like the Swift FX enough for it to be your main mask...I recommend this little comfort feature. If you are handy you can probably make one yourself. I am not handy so I buy stuff like this. I originally got it to help with rain out but I found I really liked the feel of it against my skin. Not that I really had any problems with silicone...I long ago quit using Lansinoh...it was just nice to have sometime soft against my nose.
http://www.padacheek.com/PACSwiftII_Barrel_cozy.html

[wittymomma]

Ok I am awake.. Well I have been awake since 6:30 (my kids get up for school lol) But man last night was rough.. I dont think I slept that bad in a while lol. I do feel like I can breathe better this morning lol. I am working on nose breathing during the day so tonight I will be more comfy at it.. I will def. use the chin strap tonight as well. I think that was one of my issues.. I kept conceintrating on keeping my mouth closed. Then it whistled at first.. that took another 10 minutes to try & get it right (had it on upside down lol) I also think the "Ramp" bothered me so tonight I am just going to turn it on full. When I got up for my (Only!!) bathroom run at 5am (Normally 3 & 5 lol) I googled how to get my mask on easily & read a tip.. SO I used that and it seemed to work great! (put the nose pillows up to your nose, then turn on the machine.. once it seals properly THEN do the head gear.. )

Anyways.. I am knitting my hose thing today since the noise of moving the hose was a pain. I am also buying the releasing hook things since we are in a rental & moving in 2 months.. Not sure if the hose is suppose to go up and over your head with this nose mask.. or if it is suppose to go down. More googling will be done today lol.

I am just SO tired.. *sigh* If I nap today I WILL be using my machine.. it will not defeat me lol.

thanks for listening

[LSAT]

Ok I am awake.. Well I have been awake since 6:30 (my kids get up for school lol) But man last night was rough.. I dont think I slept that bad in a while lol. I do feel like I can breathe better this morning lol. I am working on nose breathing during the day so tonight I will be more comfy at it.. I will def. use the chin strap tonight as well. I think that was one of my issues.. I kept conceintrating on keeping my mouth closed. Then it whistled at first.. that took another 10 minutes to try & get it right (had it on upside down lol) I also think the "Ramp" bothered me so tonight I am just going to turn it on full. When I got up for my (Only!!) bathroom run at 5am (Normally 3 & 5 lol) I googled how to get my mask on easily & read a tip.. SO I used that and it seemed to work great! (put the nose pillows up to your nose, then turn on the machine.. once it seals properly THEN do the head gear.. )

Anyways.. I am knitting my hose thing today since the noise of moving the hose was a pain. I am also buying the releasing hook things since we are in a rental & moving in 2 months.. Not sure if the hose is suppose to go up and over your head with this nose mask.. or if it is suppose to go down. More googling will be done today lol.

I am just SO tired.. *sigh* If I nap today I WILL be using my machine.. it will not defeat me lol.

thanks for listening

I don't use nose pillows, but, I don't think they should be put "up your nose".....

[wittymomma]

no not in your nose, up TO your nose. That is one of the mistakes the person said on the tip I read.. S/he said that a lot of folks try to put them IN your nose, but that they are suppose to just sit at the base of your nose..

[wittymomma]

ok downloaded my card just to see how many leaks I had lol. Not sure what all the graphs mean just yet.. but this is the text version.. Which of the graphs is the most important to keep an eye on (so to speak)?



Of course that is just 1 night.. Hopefully tonight I will get the leak number down.. lol.

k off to yet another dr appointment *sigh* (not cpap related lol)

[Pugsy]

Your posted image is the statistics page. Click on the daily tab upper left and you will see more graphs and data for the night in much closer detail. Several graphs including the leak graph where you can see the ups and downs of the leaks. Though an overall average of 30 L/min is good. Especially for a first night. Remember Respironics reports total leak so you have the intentional vent rate for your mask at your pressure..included in that line/number. This is different from ResMed machines that only report excess leak.
On the daily details you will also see what the AHI is broken down to in the different event categories.

Leak line (stay well below 90 L/min) and AHI (less than 5) are the 2 main things to watch for right now.
Event breakdown in AHI is important too.

The mask and hose routing......it goes whichever way suits you the best. Lots of people like to route it overhead and hang it by using something to keep the hose elevated and loose. I prefer just letting the hose lay next to me. It is all dependent on which you like the best.