advice for newbie

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
STW
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed May 17, 2017 10:41 am

advice for newbie

Post by STW » Wed May 17, 2017 11:33 am

After 15 nights I'm getting used to it and feeling better. Went from getting up every hour to maybe once per night or not at all. What other improvements should I be feeling?

Biggest challenge was getting used to irritation of the nostril opening where the P10 nasal pillows touch. The nasal pillows felt very comfortable at first and I've gotten consistently 100% good mask fit and seal numbers, but there must be chafing or irritation because my nostrils have been irritated and painful enough that it was waking me up with some pain in the night first few days. That has decreased as I apply coconut oil to the nostril edges when I first put on the mask, and presumably my skin is getting used to it. Not noticing pain during the night or on waking anymore and nostrils only mildly irritated now. I didn't consider trying a different kind of mask because I imagine any mask involves some irritation(?) and requires adjustment, and I like everything else about this minimal mask.
Have others experienced this with P10 or other nasal pillow masks? My skin is not normally sensitive to such things but apparently my nostril edges are.

Couple nights ago I had issues with water in the hose--enough dripping that some blew into my nose occasionally. Couldn't tell if it was condensation or malfunction of the humidifier. I think what happened is the hose heater somehow was turned off, called "pre-heat" in the dream station set up software. Next day I managed to turn on "pre-heat" from the off position and the problem went away. I wonder how it managed to get turned off? I don't remember messing with those controls but perhaps did.

This also made me wonder about ordering spare hoses, masks, and other routine replacement. The fellow at the medical supply shop said this had to be a routine process. Now that I'm in the swing of it and it's sinking in that this is a lifetime treatment, I'm wondering what kind of schedule I need to put myself on to replace hoses and masks so I'm ready and do not miss nights.

thanks for providing active community support on this forum!

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Cardsfan
Posts: 1509
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2015 3:02 pm
Location: Close to St. Louis, MO

Re: advice for newbie

Post by Cardsfan » Wed May 17, 2017 12:44 pm

I will address the replacement schedule;
You should have one spare of everything because of unexpected breakage or damage of your items: You can get these as your insurance allows.
Long hose
complete mask kit
water tub for humidifier
a few spare nasal pillows.
a few spare disposable filters.
You will find out how much life you can squeeze out of each item. Believe me, it is much more than what the schedule allows.
Don't start buying stuff because the schedule says it is time. I did that, and have a dresser drawer full of unopened, unused, expensive stuff.

*the fellow at the medical supply shop makes his profit off selling you items.

_________________
Machine: ResMed AirSense™ 10 AutoSet™ CPAP Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Mask: AirFit™ P10 For Her Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments:  CPAP 10 cmH20., User since 1/1/15.

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Goofproof
Posts: 16087
Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2005 3:16 pm
Location: Central Indiana, USA

Re: advice for newbie

Post by Goofproof » Wed May 17, 2017 1:32 pm

STW wrote:After 15 nights I'm getting used to it and feeling better. Went from getting up every hour to maybe once per night or not at all. What other improvements should I be feeling?

Biggest challenge was getting used to irritation of the nostril opening where the P10 nasal pillows touch. The nasal pillows felt very comfortable at first and I've gotten consistently 100% good mask fit and seal numbers, but there must be chafing or irritation because my nostrils have been irritated and painful enough that it was waking me up with some pain in the night first few days. That has decreased as I apply coconut oil to the nostril edges when I first put on the mask, and presumably my skin is getting used to it. Not noticing pain during the night or on waking anymore and nostrils only mildly irritated now. I didn't consider trying a different kind of mask because I imagine any mask involves some irritation(?) and requires adjustment, and I like everything else about this minimal mask.
Have others experienced this with P10 or other nasal pillow masks? My skin is not normally sensitive to such things but apparently my nostril edges are.

Couple nights ago I had issues with water in the hose--enough dripping that some blew into my nose occasionally. Couldn't tell if it was condensation or malfunction of the humidifier. I think what happened is the hose heater somehow was turned off, called "pre-heat" in the dream station set up software. Next day I managed to turn on "pre-heat" from the off position and the problem went away. I wonder how it managed to get turned off? I don't remember messing with those controls but perhaps did.

This also made me wonder about ordering spare hoses, masks, and other routine replacement. The fellow at the medical supply shop said this had to be a routine process. Now that I'm in the swing of it and it's sinking in that this is a lifetime treatment, I'm wondering what kind of schedule I need to put myself on to replace hoses and masks so I'm ready and do not miss nights.

thanks for providing active community support on this forum!
Waking up every morning not dead #1, not having you body damaged more than age normally does #2, maybe even a little repair of previous damage #3. Three good reasons to make Sleep Apnea treatment a #1 goal. Jim
Use data to optimize your xPAP treatment!

"The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease." Voltaire

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Hopeful50
Posts: 177
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 3:50 pm
Location: Cupertino, CA

Re: advice for newbie

Post by Hopeful50 » Wed May 17, 2017 7:03 pm

The water in the hose is called "rainout."

Two things will help - warming the hose to reduce the amount of condensation (keep the humidity IN the air); and keeping your machine and hose lower than your head (so any condensation runs back down to the humidifier, instead of into your face.

If there's a heated hose available for the Dreamstation, consider getting one. If not, you can wrap the hose in a hose cover: http://padacheek.com/PAC_Hosecover.html

Good luck!

_________________
Machine: ResMed AirSense™ 10 AutoSet™ CPAP Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Mask: Bleep DreamPort CPAP Mask Solution
Additional Comments: Pressure 13-20, EPR 3

STW
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed May 17, 2017 10:41 am

Re: advice for newbie

Post by STW » Fri May 19, 2017 12:10 am

Hopeful50 wrote:The water in the hose is called "rainout."

Two things will help - warming the hose to reduce the amount of condensation (keep the humidity IN the air); and keeping your machine and hose lower than your head (so any condensation runs back down to the humidifier, instead of into your face.

If there's a heated hose available for the Dreamstation, consider getting one. If not, you can wrap the hose in a hose cover: http://padacheek.com/PAC_Hosecover.html

Good luck!
Thanks for new term "rainout" and the tip on keeping the machine lower than the head. My nightstand is even with the head or a little higher so that's something I can change. My new machine, Dreamstation Auto, came with a heated hose and it was set up for heat at the med supply store when new, couple weeks ago. That feature seemed to not be on the night I had trouble with water dripping. Searching the machine's software, I found a feature called pre-heat that was off, turned it on, and it fixed rainout problem the next night.

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