Frustrated newbie

[Stefernie]

Been on CPAP for a month now. Not compliant yet though.

The most I've ever been able to wear it is about 6 hours. And I can count those nights on one hand.

I wanna wear it all night, cuz when I do wear it for even for just 5-6 hours, I feel much better.

Any suggestions?

[Snoredog]

why do you think you only get 6 hours and not longer?

Is there something that wakes you up besides an alarm?

How LONG you sleep can have just as big an impact on your daytime fatigue as OSA does. Comfort being a big issue for most people.

The added comfort of Cflex features can help with that, know I sleep longer with it than without.

My suggestion:

Try and isolate exactly what the problem is that is either preventing you from falling asleep sooner OR not allowing you to sleep longer in the morning. If enabling Ramp helps you fall asleep faster, then use it. If you are being awaken before any alarm or get up time, try and recall what woke you up. Was it the blowing pressure? Was it possibly an apena where pressure wasn't high enough?

What is your AHI looking like?

[Stefernie]

I haven't seen my sleep study report yet. My pressure's at 9 cm.

It seems like I get REALLY close to falling asleep, then tend to wake back up. Then I start watching the clock. *sigh*

I don't think it's the pressure waking me up. I've tried ramping 5 minutes and 45 minutes. Trying 15 these days. Maybe it is the pressure waking me up. I'll try a little bit longer ramp tonight and see if that helps.

[andyomega]

What is your problem? swallowing air? is it the mask that is bothering you?

If you are swallowing air and wake up feeling bloated, go back to your doctor and try to swtich your machine to somthing with C-flex, it worked wonders for me.

Cflex is also good for tolerating pressure because the machine breaths with you.

If you find you open your mouth and have been a mouth breather before CPAP then I suggest you get a full face mask like the ResMed quatro.

those were my problems, hope you find success !

[Stefernie]

What is your problem? swallowing air? is it the mask that is bothering you?

If you are swallowing air and wake up feeling bloated, go back to your doctor and try to swtich your machine to somthing with C-flex, it worked wonders for me.

Cflex is also good for tolerating pressure because the machine breaths with you.

If you find you open your mouth and have been a mouth breather before CPAP then I suggest you get a full face mask like the ResMed quatro.

those were my problems, hope you find success !

I don't think I'm swallowing air, and the mask is quite comfy. When I had my titration study wearing the mask she said once I got to sleep I was OUT..

Hmmmm...I was a SERIOUS mouth breather...might be time to dig out that chinstrap.

[Snoredog]

[quote="Stefernie"]I haven't seen my sleep study report yet. My pressure's at 9 cm.

It seems like I get REALLY close to falling asleep, then tend to wake back up. Then I start watching the clock. *sigh*

I don't think it's the pressure waking me up. I've tried ramping 5 minutes and 45 minutes. Trying 15 these days. Maybe it is the pressure waking me up. I'll try a little bit longer ramp tonight and see if that helps.

[Stefernie]

I think my machine is set to ramp from 4 cm to prescribed.

And I have the Swift II Nasal Pillow Mask.

[cwsanfor]

I had terrible compliance the first month, and never really isolated one single cause. I expect having a "love-sick octopus" strapped to your face just generally takes some time to adjust to.

You might want to try a full face mask. I'm in the minority, but I found I prefer them to nasal interfaces.

I also used Benadryl and Ambien the first month or so, although I've essentially eliminated the latter.

[momadams]

You say that you watch the clock. I used to do that til my doc suggested getting rid of the clock. It was REALLY hard to do, but made all the difference.

Now I keep a "flip clock" from Bed Bath and Beyond on the bed next to me and have to make a reasoned choice to open it and see what time it is.

[jabberwock]

I second Momadams' suggestion... ditch the clock. What do you need it for while you are sleeping? Turn it around.

The chin strap sounds like a really good idea to me. Since you can "almost get to sleep", it is possible that as the jaw/muscles slacken with sleep onset, your mouth is falling open. If this happens, you are losing the air pressure in your nose and may either be having an apnea that wakes you or starting to snore, which also wakes you.

Keep at it. Good luck.

Bonnie

[sleepyWI]

It took me 3 months to be able to get through the night regularly. Now I sleep all night, every night. My problem was a combination of adjusting to the therapy and finding a mask that did not drive me absolutely buggy. The real factor, however, was just time. Be patient...you can do this. I agree with everybody else....ditch the clock. If you wake up and its dark, roll over and try to go back to sleep. Knowing that it is 1 AM will just frustrate you. Good Luck!

Tim

[darthlucy]

One insanely simple thing I read here that has really helped me: If I wake up during the night, don't try to fall back to sleep at full pressure. Hit ramp again. And again if you need to. And again....

[Patrick A]

[quote="darthlucy"]One insanely simple thing I read here that has really helped me: If I wake up during the night, don't try to fall back to sleep at full pressure. Hit ramp again. And again if you need to. And again....

[Stefernie]

Thanks for the advice you guys!!! I'll try wearing my chinstrap and ramping again if I wake up.

[golmos]

Check out the following 10 tips for cpap. You may find it useful.

http://aboutsleepdisorders.blogspot.com ... ccess.html

best,

Golmos