Last night was my first night and...

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
User avatar
kteague
Posts: 7768
Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 8:30 pm
Location: West and Midwest

Re: Last night was my first night and...

Post by kteague » Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:02 pm

Congrats on getting off to a great start. About the sounds, is your machine sitting below mattress level? That seems to muffle the sounds of the air going in and out of the hose at machine level for me. Also, what is it sitting on? When mine has sat on a hollow table the space below seems to amplify the sound. Sitting the machine on one of the old style rubber mouse pads does a pretty good job of muffling. Your hubby's sleep is important too, so maybe a bit of effort will help him out. Looks like you're getting ready to show the family just how this thing is done.

_________________
Mask: TAP PAP Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Improved Stability Mouthpiece
Humidifier: S9™ Series H5i™ Heated Humidifier with Climate Control
Additional Comments: Bleep/DreamPort for full nights, Tap Pap for shorter sessions

Scootergirl
Posts: 109
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2014 5:28 pm
Location: New Jersey

Re: Last night was my first night and...

Post by Scootergirl » Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:36 pm

Sharrykb wrote:It could be all in my head but I think I *might* feel slightly better this morning than I usually do first thing in the morning. I managed to make it 7.7 hours with the machine!!! So proud of myself!!! I was tempted to take it off after 4 hours but I told myself that isn't an option. My nostrils feel a little sore this morning but I expect that might be normal with nasal pillows?

I haven't done a SleepyHead report yet but the info on the display says:

Mask fit was good
AHI 1.5
Pressure 11.2
Leak 3L/min
Max Pressure is set to 20
Min Pressure is set to 5
Ramp 45 minutes
EPR Ramp only
EPR Level 2

Am I correct that "Pressure 11.2" means that is the highest pressure I required last night? If so, I am SO GLAD I insisted on getting an AUTO instead of accepting the titration results which said "straight pressure of 8". With an AHI of 1.5, how necessary is it for me to do the SleepyHead report today? Would I be okay waiting a day or two and then doing it?
That's wonderful! I don't think it's strange to feel good after a good nights sleep - I felt great after just a few hours that I wore a mask at my sleep study! Keep up the good work!

_________________
Mask: AirFit™ P10 Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: DS460S with C-flex+

Stevoreno_55
Posts: 369
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2014 10:28 pm
Location: MS Gulf Coast

Re: Last night was my first night and...

Post by Stevoreno_55 » Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:29 pm

Pugsy wrote:
Stevoreno_55 wrote:Is your maximum pressure 20cm? Quoting you: I routinely sleep through changes from 8 to 20 every night. My current pressure is 18cm which to me is a lot.


When I was using the APAP machine my maximum pressure setting was indeed 20 cm and the reports told me that I was pushing it fairly often on a sporadic basis..didn't stay there all the night but maybe 20 minutes or so and usually in what appeared to be REM stage sleep where it is documented that my OSA is worse and that I often need more pressure than at the other sleep stages.

I am now using the S9 Adapt.. with the maximum of 25 and I see it hit 22 or so pretty much every night and my IPAP minimum is around 8.6...so it goes from EPAP 5.6 and IPAP 8.6 to IPAP 22 in about 20 seconds. Doesn't stay there horrible long though.
So it's up and down often during the night and I never know it until I see the report.

The regular APAP machines don't increase the pressure so fast..takes much longer than 20 seconds both going up and down.

18 cm pressure on a fixed cpap machine ...that is a LOT of pressure to have to deal with on a continual basis. I know people do it on a cpap machine but I think that a bilevel machine would be hugely more comfortable at pressure needs like you have.
Well I saw my doctor last week; he would not agree to write me a script for a new CPAP machine but he did agree to write me an order for a new 2 night sleep study; his exact words were a new 2 night sleep study; he did not use the term split night study. My doctor is not a sleep doctor but he did tell me he's done this before. That was good to hear and I would assume that he did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once. Paperwork on the test is already in the works. Let's assume after I'm tested this time my pressure does increase from 18cm to say 20cm, which doctor will determine that I go from straight CPAP to a BIPAP? The doctor who is with the lab where I'll be tested and who will interpret my test results or will my primary care doctor who is not a sleep doctor be the one who will make the final determination on whether I will be switched from a CPAP to a BIPAP if my pressure has increased from 18cm to 20cm?

I know nothing about BIPAPs except after looking at some on CPAP.com they are much more expensive than a CPAP. I've been using a one year old CPAP loaner from my DME, a ResMed S9 Elite straight CPAP with a heated humidifier but it does not have a heated hose while the DME is having my old PR DS400S checked out by Philips Respironics. Philips Respironics would not let me ship my machine back to them; a DME had to do it. I agreed to pay the DME the < $20.00 it cost to ship my old machine to Philips Respironics since they're letting me use one of their ResMed S9 machines; it's the least I could do. Except for the ResMed S9 Elite being much quieter than my PR DS400S the ResMed S9 is a very nice machine although I've had it for only a week.

I almost ordered a ResMed heated hose for the loaner the other day from CPAP.com for $40.00 + shipping so I could experience sleeping on a machine with a heated hose but I decided not to order one because I might end up getting a Philips Respironics machine instead; a PR DS460S would be nice unless I have to switch to a BIPAP then I don't know what I might get. Any recommendations for a good BIPAP? Do BIPAPs come configured straight or are they going to be like an auto-set CPAP? I don't think I could tolerate a pressure of 20cm all night long. Final question; what kind of doctor is a sleep doctor? Is a sleep doctor a neurologist, an ENT specialist, a pulmonologist? Just thought I'd ask you since you probably would know because you do post very informative posts on this board.



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
04/18/14

_________________
Mask
Additional Comments: Newly diagnosed pressures as of June 05, 2014 are 22cmIPAP and 18cmEPAP; first diagnosed with OSA in 1999.

User avatar
Pugsy
Posts: 63942
Joined: Thu May 14, 2009 9:31 am
Location: Missouri, USA

Re: Last night was my first night and...

Post by Pugsy » Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:44 pm

Stevoreno_55 wrote: Let's assume after I'm tested this time my pressure does increase from 18cm to say 20cm, which doctor will determine that I go from straight CPAP to a BIPAP? The doctor who is with the lab where I'll be tested and who will interpret my test results or will my primary care doctor who is not a sleep doctor be the one who will make the final determination on whether I will be switched from a CPAP to a BIPAP if my pressure has increased from 18cm to 20cm?
It can come from either doctor...any doctor or anyone who can write a RX.
Stevoreno_55 wrote:Any recommendations for a good BIPAP? Do BIPAPs come configured straight or are they going to be like an auto-set CPAP?
Either the ResMed or Respironics..and both offer models that will do fixed bilevel pressures as well as auto adjusting bilevel pressures...and the auto adjusting capable model also offers fixed bilevel mode as well as plain old cpap mode.

Sleep doctor specialty who makes a good sleep doctor? Beats me. Mine was a Pulmonologist but it sort of depends on where you live and your options available and what other ailments you might have. Ideally someone whose main specialty is actually sleep disordered breathing and not some other specialty with a sub specialty in sleep apnea stuff.
Where I live...I pretty much had the one choice.

_________________
Machine: AirCurve™ 10 VAuto BiLevel Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Additional Comments: Mask Bleep Eclipse https://bleepsleep.com/the-eclipse/
I may have to RISE but I refuse to SHINE.

If you want to try the Eclipse mask and want a special promo code to get a little off the price...send me a private message.

Stevoreno_55
Posts: 369
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2014 10:28 pm
Location: MS Gulf Coast

Re: Last night was my first night and...

Post by Stevoreno_55 » Sat Apr 19, 2014 12:00 am

Pugsy wrote:
Stevoreno_55 wrote: Let's assume after I'm tested this time my pressure does increase from 18cm to say 20cm, which doctor will determine that I go from straight CPAP to a BIPAP? The doctor who is with the lab where I'll be tested and who will interpret my test results or will my primary care doctor who is not a sleep doctor be the one who will make the final determination on whether I will be switched from a CPAP to a BIPAP if my pressure has increased from 18cm to 20cm?
It can come from either doctor...any doctor or anyone who can write a RX.
Stevoreno_55 wrote:Any recommendations for a good BIPAP? Do BIPAPs come configured straight or are they going to be like an auto-set CPAP?
Either the ResMed or Respironics..and both offer models that will do fixed bilevel pressures as well as auto adjusting bilevel pressures...and the auto adjusting capable model also offers fixed bilevel mode as well as plain old cpap mode.

Sleep doctor specialty who makes a good sleep doctor? Beats me. Mine was a Pulmonologist but it sort of depends on where you live and your options available and what other ailments you might have. Ideally someone whose main specialty is actually sleep disordered breathing and not some other specialty with a sub specialty in sleep apnea stuff.
Where I live...I pretty much had the one choice.
Thanks.

_________________
Mask
Additional Comments: Newly diagnosed pressures as of June 05, 2014 are 22cmIPAP and 18cmEPAP; first diagnosed with OSA in 1999.

User avatar
Julie
Posts: 19898
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2006 12:58 pm

Re: Last night was my first night and...

Post by Julie » Sun Apr 20, 2014 1:28 pm

There is no sleep doctor 'degree' like there is for other specialists... it's something any doctor can decide to pick up and pass on to patients, part of the problem we have when the MD's haven't done it very well. There are courses, etc. that they take, but there's no one regulatory 'sleep' board that I'm aware of, though there are organizations, associations, etc. that may oversee local MDs.

User avatar
OboeVet
Posts: 92
Joined: Fri Jan 17, 2014 11:53 pm
Location: La Mesa, California

Re: Last night was my first night and...

Post by OboeVet » Sun Apr 20, 2014 5:38 pm

Glad you are off to good start! My initial response to my wife's untreated OSA was foam ear plugs for several years. Her response to my OSA was to wake me up when I snored too loud or stopped breathing. I got the flu in early 2013 and coughed away in the living room. Even when sick and pre-OSA diagnosis I woke much more refreshed! So, we still love each other very much (since 1972!) but now I sleep in the spare room.

Now my response to her OSA is gently reminding her of risks and rewards. Her response now to my OSA is not hearing me gag and snore anymore, but alas, her sleeping has not improved like mine. My response to my OSA is wearing ear plugs for the machine noises and getting the best sleep since I can't remember.

Best wishes as you and your husband work into your "New Normal."

Don

_________________
Mask: Simplus Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: I only look at little screen on machine, let doc analyse details. Now machine set up for me.
Using Tapatalk

User avatar
Julie
Posts: 19898
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2006 12:58 pm

Re: Last night was my first night and...

Post by Julie » Sun Apr 20, 2014 9:12 pm

You would have access to Carolyn if you became a member...