N00B - CPAP STARTING TONIGHT!

[Cosmonaut.Chimp]

'Ello.

The basics - 39 Male in CNY with severe anxiety about having / developing heart issues-heart attack. High BP, High Cholesterol and Diabetic Type-II (All well controlled via meds) and now it's discovered I've got a pretty case of Sleep Apnea.

I was diagnosed as Index 13 with 350 apnea incidents over the course of a 6 hour sleep study.

I just got my machine today so already I have some anxiety because as it is I have a difficult time getting to sleep.

I took it for a test run (nap) earlier and found I felt like I was suffocating, but when I did get sleepy, I'd spring awake. My arms got numb and tingly very similar to hyperventilation.

So... does it get easier?!

[Julie]

Definitely! However, we may be able to help a bit more if we knew what your pressure settings are...

And download SleepyHead (first 'Announcement' on pg) so you can show us your results and we can have them to go by.

[PoolQ]

Short answer, yes. It does take some work on your part. There are several settings that are referred to as comfort settings that only you can decide what you like and adjust them. The basics are: (assuming you have a humidifier)
humidity-do you like high or low?
temperature- again warmer air to breathe or cooler
There should be a ramp time setting if you have problems exhaling into pressure

set these above or below center depending on what you think you will like and tweak as required.

[PoolQ]

he has the A10 elite, is that data capable?

[jim22]

I love your avatar! Yes, it will get easier. No, probably not this week. Can you fill in your profile and tell us about your equipment and pressure settings? If your machine is an APAP and your starting pressure is low, say below 8 or so, you may be uncomfortable because the pressure is a bit low. The ramp feature also lowers it. You may want to skip the ramp and raise the pressure to somewhere in the 8 to 10 range.

You will soon become accustomed to sleeping in the mask, but expect to be annoyed for a few days. People here can and will help!

[Cosmonaut.Chimp]

D'oh!

Pressure prescribed is 12, which I was told was Medium-Low.

I dunno if I can adjust it myself as it's a "rental" for 90 days until I prove compliance.

[OkyDoky]

Here is the link to the Clinical Guide for your machine. You might check your EPR setting which makes it easier to exhale. https://sleep.tnet.com/home/files/resme ... -guide.pdf

[Cosmonaut.Chimp]

And download SleepyHead (first 'Announcement' on pg) so you can show us your results and we can have them to go by.

Here you go!

[Julie]

Ahhh - that's great, except I didn't realize you'd be so fast ! The machines generally have a noon to noon day schedule, so it could explain why you only show 2.whatever hrs rather than e.g. 7 or 8. In other words check your stats before noon (tomorrow) and you'll see how you slept tonight. Plus 4 hrs is generally the min. the machines recognize as meaningful, again 2 hrs won't do it, so results aren't really valid. Please come back to this thread tomorrow with 'real' results... but wow, you did catch on quickly, which is terrific!

I will say that your min. pressure setting of 4 must be a problem - most of us can't breathe at that # (the default low for most machines), so raise it at least by a couple of cms which also lets the machine catch up to 'events' better when necessary. Except you're on a 90 day compliance thing and may not be allowed to tweak things yet... and you don't want to mess up your insurance.

[Cosmonaut.Chimp]

Please come back to this thread tomorrow with 'real' results... but wow, you did catch on quickly, which is terrific!

I'm kinda' tech-savvy.

Yeah - I didn't think the results would be stellar because I've only used it for a nap and during the set-up at the Health Aid store.

[OkyDoky]

A short nap might not give a good picture of your AHI because you can have events as you go asleep and as you wake up that may be normal, especially if you are using a long ramp. You really need to use the machine for a few days to get a better picture. I did see that Sleepyhead says you have an Autoset set in CPAP mode and not the Elite that you have pictured in your profile.

[Cosmonaut.Chimp]

I did see that Sleepyhead says you have an Autoset set in CPAP mode and not the Elite that you have pictured in your profile.

Fix'd it.

[OkyDoky]

I will say that your min. pressure setting of 4 must be a problem - most of us can't breathe at that # (the default low for most machines), so raise it at least by a couple of cms which also lets the machine catch up to 'events' better when necessary. Except you're on a 90 day compliance thing and may not be allowed to tweak things yet... and you don't want to mess up your insurance.

Julie, He is on straight CPAP pressure of 12. The 4 must be where his ramp starts, not sure of the length of time, if he has difficulty with this pressure he may want to increase the ramp pressure as you suggested or decrease the time used.

[Julie]

Oh, makes sense... I'd ditch the ramp altogether.

[mariejeanne]

Just wanted to jump in and say I'm also a n00b on my 5th night and to say that improvement happens fast! So don't be discouraged if your first night sucks.