my husbands diagnosis of OSA

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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Holli
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Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2015 8:56 pm

Re: my husbands diagnosis of OSA

Post by Holli » Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:11 pm

Other than the pics posted, we are on track for night 2. We have the resmart machine because we do not have insurance. I was really hoping to be able to use the sleepy head software I have read so much about but maybe someday it'll be compatible. My husband, James, still snores though just a little. I have learned that leaks can make the therapy not as effective and that snoring is a sign of either a leak or pressure issue. So I just ordered him a chin strap online, hopefully that will be here soon. I'm hoping that will help the airflow go where it needs to go to be of the most help.

He did sleep through the night with his mask last night. And he said that he slept a lot better with it on with the pressure changes in the settings yesterday. So he wants to leave it where it is and try another night.

I love the padacheek.com site I could spend a small fortune in there lol. I did not have enough funds to get him padding and the chin strap so I got him a chin strap and an offer to massage his sore neck for now. Lol.

Crossing fingers for tonight. I really don't care about the snoring keeping me up...I want his therapy to be what he needs it to be to help him. So I hope the strap stops any mouth leaks. I added a note to my order asking them to ship soon if they can.

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Additional Comments: iCode software

tedburnsIII
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Location: San Diego

Re: my husbands diagnosis of OSA

Post by tedburnsIII » Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:29 pm

Place some painter's tape over his mouth. I am finding it very effective, in lieu of a chinstrap. But I do them together with good results. Oh, sorry, FFM. Duh.

So, then, why does he need a chinstrap? Am I missing something here? You are saying that he snores with the FFM, yes?
Last edited by tedburnsIII on Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Machine - https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmart ... ducts.html
Setting: APAP, 10.5-14cm
Software: Proprietary
Mask- PR Wisp nasal (large); ResMed FX Nasal (wide);
Oximeter: CMS50D+

tedburnsIII
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Location: San Diego

Re: my husbands diagnosis of OSA

Post by tedburnsIII » Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:35 pm

JDS74 wrote:
Holli wrote:Thank you everyone so so much. It really helps to be understood and to be given some wisdom from his likely pov. I'm not tired so i offered to sit with him since he is used to me being with him at bedtime. I can get the make and model of his mask later I imagine it's on it. He has a resmart auto cpap with heated humidifier. ...
And here is a link to the Clinician manual for making changes to the settings if needed:
RESmart Clinician Manual
Thanks very kindly. apneaboard.com only had two pages of the Clinician Manual. It was enough to learn how to change pressure, etc. but your link appears to be the whole enchilada and is much appreciated!
Machine - https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmart ... ducts.html
Setting: APAP, 10.5-14cm
Software: Proprietary
Mask- PR Wisp nasal (large); ResMed FX Nasal (wide);
Oximeter: CMS50D+

yaconsult
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Location: "Silicon Valley", CA

Re: my husbands diagnosis of OSA

Post by yaconsult » Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:41 pm

That sounds really good, Holli - that's progress! We have to do the best we can with what we have.

Many of us keep an eye on the local craigslist for a good buy. I got the machine I'm using now there for $100 with only 95 hours on it and sleepyhead supports it. But it's a bit of a needle in a haystack. But you can always keep an eye out if you decide you'd like to upgrade in the future and ask for advice on what the good models are.

The better your hubby's therapy goes, the less important access to the detailed data is. So let's do the best we can with what we have to work with.

Getting used to using a machine all night long takes time for most people. So, be patient as the changes can be gradual. But it sounds like he is already seeing an improvement and that's very good encouragement. In a way, people with severe apnea, and I'm one, are lucky in that the treatment is such a huge improvement that we adjust to it more easily.

Take a look at the data online and keep us updated. We can show you how to post screenshots from the online system like the fellow above did - it's pretty easy. Those stickied posts at the top of the forum are a goldmine of information.

There are many little tricks and workarounds to solve problems that can arise - just search the board or ask us if you can't find anything.

I hope you both have a restful night!

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Mask: AirFit™ P10 Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: January 2015 Sleep Study Results: Apnea/Hypopnea Index (AHI): 80.2, Sleepyhead

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Holli
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Re: my husbands diagnosis of OSA

Post by Holli » Sat Apr 25, 2015 11:23 pm

tedburnsIII wrote:Place some painter's tape over his mouth. I am finding it very effective, in lieu of a chinstrap. But I do them together with good results. Oh, sorry, FFM. Duh.

So, then, why does he need a chinstrap? Am I missing something here? You are saying that he snores with the FFM, yes?
Yes he has a ffm but when his mouth is open the air can come out instead of staying in course down the windpipe. To where the apnea occurs. His tech mentioned this possibly when he brought the machine but this was all new to us so it was all Greek to us til we had a better idea of how the mask and pressure worked. Now I look back to that initial conversation with the tech and now I understand why he said a strap may be necessary with the ffm. Of course we d8by have the strap now so this is speculation atm. When the strap arrives and James has his first run with it, will tell for sure if it helps or not.

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Mask: Mirage Quattro™ Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear
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Papit
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Re: my husbands diagnosis of OSA

Post by Papit » Sat Apr 25, 2015 11:35 pm

palerider wrote:
in *my* opinion, we'd all be much better served if you and your vast two months of experience refrained from gibbering on incessantly and indeed quit attempting to show everybody how much you know.

yes, yes, we all understand that you're really proud of your air blowy thingy, and you're desperately defensive of it in an effort to convince yourself that it isn't just a horrible mistake you've let be foisted off on you... we get it.

now, run along and play.
YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR ASTRAY! That is no way to be running your mouth against members here, particularly fairly new ones.

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Mask: DreamWear Nasal CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Machine: AirCurve 10 ASV (37043), Software:ResScan 5.7.0.9477, SleepyHead V1.00BETA2, Oximeter:CMS-50i
Machine: AirCurve 10 ASV, Mask: AirFit N30i
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palerider
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Re: my husbands diagnosis of OSA

Post by palerider » Sun Apr 26, 2015 12:28 am

Papit wrote:YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR ASTRAY! That is no way to be running your mouth against members here, particularly fairly new ones.
if I understand you, you're saying that people should ignore his ignorant dribbling for longer before suggesting he should learn something before trying to act like he knows it all?

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wm_hess
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Re: my husbands diagnosis of OSA

Post by wm_hess » Sun Apr 26, 2015 2:23 am

Holli wrote:
Yes he has a ffm but when his mouth is open the air can come out instead of staying in course down the windpipe. To where the apnea occurs. His tech mentioned this possibly when he brought the machine but this was all new to us so it was all Greek to us til we had a better idea of how the mask and pressure worked. Now I look back to that initial conversation with the tech and now I understand why he said a strap may be necessary with the ffm. Of course we d8by have the strap now so this is speculation atm. When the strap arrives and James has his first run with it, will tell for sure if it helps or not.
Hi Holli

I think you might have slightly misunderstood something about the FFM. Since you're covering both the mouth and nose with the mask, they're both at the same pressure. If your husband opens his mouth there will be no loss of pressure because the air will go down the mouth and throat instead of the nose and throat, thus splinting the throat open.

Now this is assuming that when your husband is opening his mouth, the mask is still keeping the seal. You may very well need the chinstrap anyway to stop the chin from breaking the seal when it drops.

As far as the neck pain, I always noticed I had pain when the strap was twisted before I attached the end. Since the strap wasn't flat where the twist was always irritated the neck. I used to use a home-made strap cover. Bought a little bit of flannel cloth and some velcro. Cut it and attached velcro so it would stay closed. Without a doubt no where near the quality of Pad-a-Cheek but it worked.

Your husband is a lucky man! Hope this helps.

-Bill

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Machine: ResMed AirSense™ 10 AutoSet™ CPAP Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Mask: AirFit™ F10 Full Face Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: CMS-50I Wrist Pulse Oximeter, SP02 Review, Sleepyhead

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Holli
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Re: my husbands diagnosis of OSA

Post by Holli » Sun Apr 26, 2015 12:03 pm

Yes Bill thats exactly what happens. He has a lot of throat and cheek fat so opening his mouth does create leaks. He says he slept better last night but his snoring was worse. He feels he wants to adjust the pressure tonight as well as try to stay off his back when he sleeps. So that's the plan for tonight.

He woke up with the mask off and does not remember taking it off. I reminded him of the pad site and showed him the neck pads and said perhaps he subconsciously took it off bc of discomfort. So he is going to get a pad for that and for his nose which has a mark that's sore from the mask.

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yaconsult
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Re: my husbands diagnosis of OSA

Post by yaconsult » Sun Apr 26, 2015 1:21 pm

Hi, Holli. Finding the right mask is the single hardest part of cpap therapy for most people. And the doggone things are so damn expensive that we can't afford to just buy a bunch of 'em to experiment.

But feel free for either him or you to post about difficulties with a particular mask. We have people who have experience with many different masks and we can benefit from their experience. Sometimes, there are tweaks that can be made or accessories, like padacheek, that can help with specific problems.

Some machines have an alarm that can be set if the mask is taken off - I don't know if you have that available or not. How many hours does the machine say it was used for last night?

Not sleeping on the back is something that helps many people and has been discussed here many times, including here: viewtopic/t60655/How-to-avoid-backsleeping.html

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Mask: AirFit™ P10 Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: January 2015 Sleep Study Results: Apnea/Hypopnea Index (AHI): 80.2, Sleepyhead

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wm_hess
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Re: my husbands diagnosis of OSA

Post by wm_hess » Sun Apr 26, 2015 2:49 pm

Holli wrote: He woke up with the mask off and does not remember taking it off. I reminded him of the pad site and showed him the neck pads and said perhaps he subconsciously took it off bc of discomfort. So he is going to get a pad for that and for his nose which has a mark that's sore from the mask.
Hi Holli

A couple of ideas/suggestions for you!

Can you go to your User Control Panel (at top, light blue line), then click on Profile. Then fill out your equipment. It may be easier if you just type in the information in the box titled additional comments. This way we all can always know what your equipment is and makes suggestions easier to make. It looks like you could put RESmart Auto CPAP with Quattro Full Face Mask 5-15cmH20. (BTW I'm assuming it's a Quattro Full Face Mask, but I can't be positive)

The Quattro Full Face Mask caused me to have the same problems with the bridge of my nose. As a quick fix, I would wear a band aid on the bridge of the nose at night. If that didn't work I would use a piece of moleskin. For me the moleskin didn't work too good, but it did protect the schnozz! Long term though I used a gel pad to protect the bridge. See here: http://smile.amazon.com/Boomerang-Gel-P ... ap+gel+pad. If you look for CPAP gel neck you will find a couple of gel neck pads for around 35$. I've never used the neck pads but if the nose bridge works for you then you might want to consider them or the Pad-a-Cheek neck pads.



-Bill

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Machine: ResMed AirSense™ 10 AutoSet™ CPAP Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Mask: AirFit™ F10 Full Face Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: CMS-50I Wrist Pulse Oximeter, SP02 Review, Sleepyhead

tedburnsIII
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Re: my husbands diagnosis of OSA

Post by tedburnsIII » Sun Apr 26, 2015 3:38 pm

wm_hess wrote:
Holli wrote: He woke up with the mask off and does not remember taking it off. I reminded him of the pad site and showed him the neck pads and said perhaps he subconsciously took it off bc of discomfort. So he is going to get a pad for that and for his nose which has a mark that's sore from the mask.
Hi Holli

A couple of ideas/suggestions for you!

Can you go to your User Control Panel (at top, light blue line), then click on Profile. Then fill out your equipment. ...
-Bill
Re: equipment drop-down menu in Profile- I could not find it for our machine, eg., 3B RESmart APAP. So, I had to do it myself by means of a link to it.
Machine - https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmart ... ducts.html
Setting: APAP, 10.5-14cm
Software: Proprietary
Mask- PR Wisp nasal (large); ResMed FX Nasal (wide);
Oximeter: CMS50D+

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chunkyfrog
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Re: my husbands diagnosis of OSA

Post by chunkyfrog » Sun Apr 26, 2015 3:50 pm

The links are to machines offered by the forum hosts. The only Resmart they have is a bilevel.
Most put a different machine in their comment line.

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wm_hess
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Re: my husbands diagnosis of OSA

Post by wm_hess » Sun Apr 26, 2015 3:57 pm

As Chunkyfrog noted, and I mentioned, Holli can put her machine and other information in Additional Comments box.

-Bill

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Machine: ResMed AirSense™ 10 AutoSet™ CPAP Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Mask: AirFit™ F10 Full Face Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: CMS-50I Wrist Pulse Oximeter, SP02 Review, Sleepyhead

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Papit
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Re: my husbands diagnosis of OSA

Post by Papit » Sun Apr 26, 2015 4:01 pm

Yep, when our equipment is not on the menu, adding it to Additional Comments in your Profile under User Control Panel is a good way to do it. I did the same. Even the big name brand models are not all on the menu.

Btw, Ted, please understand that this is Holli's thread. She initiated it to get some help and advice for her husband and for herself in supporting him. What we do here is start a separate thread to address our own individual questions and guidance needs. And you can start new threads whenever you need, not just once or twice. I took a look at your lab report and machine data report. I'll give you a few comments fwiw (others here are more knowledgable) when you post them on a new thread of your own. So far it looks like you're doing well. Keep it up.
tedburnsIII wrote:
wm_hess wrote:
Holli wrote: He woke up with the mask off and does not remember taking it off. I reminded him of the pad site and showed him the neck pads and said perhaps he subconsciously took it off bc of discomfort. So he is going to get a pad for that and for his nose which has a mark that's sore from the mask.
Hi Holli

A couple of ideas/suggestions for you!

Can you go to your User Control Panel (at top, light blue line), then click on Profile. Then fill out your equipment. ...
-Bill
Re: equipment drop-down menu in Profile- I could not find it for our machine, eg., 3B RESmart APAP. So, I had to do it myself by means of a link to it.

_________________
Mask: DreamWear Nasal CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Machine: AirCurve 10 ASV (37043), Software:ResScan 5.7.0.9477, SleepyHead V1.00BETA2, Oximeter:CMS-50i
Machine: AirCurve 10 ASV, Mask: AirFit N30i
PulseOx Data-transfer to OSCAR4-23-12http://tinyurl.com/nzd64gu
Wireless SD Card Data-transfer to OSCAR 8-14-15http://tiny.cc/z1kv8x