CPAP journey begins

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
USMCVet
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Re: CPAP journey begins

Post by USMCVet » Wed Dec 06, 2017 1:06 pm

Josiah wrote:Have you been satisfied with VA so far?
Getting in to see respiratory therapist was fairly easy and quick. Wish they gave me heated hose to start but bet I could probably get one when I go back to them in 2 months. They had the mask I wanted which was nice too.

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Re: CPAP journey begins

Post by USMCVet » Wed Dec 06, 2017 1:09 pm

Pugsy wrote:After sort of seeing your report from last night...I stand by my suggestion to try minimum of 6 with Flex at 2 or 3 or 1 (whichever feels good).
I think you will be more comfortable and more comfortable usually means greater chance of getting to sleep and staying asleep.
The first few nights are rough because the brain will want to poke you and wake you up to tell you "hey dude, there's an alien plastered on your face"....so the brain needs to learn that the mask is its new best friend and that can take some time for some brains.
Took my brain probably a month..
Flex is already set at 3. I have also been practicing today with just breathing through my nose and having some issues catching my breathe at first unless I'm exhausted. I'm so tired today. I think I probably got 5.5hrs of actual sleep. Hoping tonight goes better.

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Re: CPAP journey begins

Post by Pugsy » Wed Dec 06, 2017 2:16 pm

USMCVet wrote:Flex is already set at 3.
Yes but Flex doesn't kick in until the pressure reaches at least 6 cm so while you are awake and the pressure is at 4 cm Flex isn't even working.

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Re: CPAP journey begins

Post by Okie bipap » Wed Dec 06, 2017 3:24 pm

You did better than I did on my first night. I could only stand the machine for two hours. I managed to add two hours each night after that until I was sleeping with it all night long.

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Re: CPAP journey begins

Post by MrsRinPDX » Wed Dec 06, 2017 3:37 pm

Okie bipap wrote:You did better than I did on my first night. I could only stand the machine for two hours. I managed to add two hours each night after that until I was sleeping with it all night long.
I agree with Okie. 5.5 hours of actual sleep is great in my book!

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Re: CPAP journey begins

Post by Pugsy » Wed Dec 06, 2017 3:43 pm

I want to add to what OkieBipap said.
Don't beat yourself up because your first night didn't go as smoothly as you hoped or planned. That's why I said to try to avoid that little devil on your shoulder tempting you to "sleep without the mask" and I wouldn't have beat you up to much if you had. Just wanted to warn you to not yield to his temptations if at all possible and at first sometimes it simply isn't all that possible.

I know you read about people putting the mask on and taking to all this like a duck to water but those people are really in a very small minority.
I thought for sure I would be one of those who took to it like a duck to water but I wasn't. The mask never was a real issue except that is was just there sitting on my face and annoying my brain who kept poking me to wake up and check out that alien on my face and blowing air up my nose.
It's just plain weird and takes a bit of getting used to for some people even when we have zero problems with the mask or inhaling or exhaling or whatever. Once my brain got used to the alien then it had to deal with "is the machine even on" because I was so adjusted to the pressure that the brain was worried the machine was even on and blowing air up my nose. Used to wake up half a dozen times just because the brain was concerned that the machine wasn't on and I would have to reassure the brain that all was good.

It's part of the reason I stress the comfort side of things so much because if a person isn't comfortable that just gives the brain more to think and worry about and keep us from sleeping. This therapy isn't "natural" but we have to try to make it feel natural and anything that needs to be done to accomplish that feat is fair game IMHO. We gotta get the sleep first before we can start worrying about fine tuning things for optimal therapy.

Too many times people start this therapy and are so focused on "getting the right numbers" that they forget that sleep is number one goal and without sleep the best numbers in the world don't mean much.

5.5 hours of sleep...my butt would be dragging all day long and my Magic 8 ball would be predicting a nap in my future for sure...even if it was really good 5 1/2 hours. I envy those people who can do great with less than 7 hours....I am not one of them.

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Re: CPAP journey begins

Post by USMCVet » Wed Dec 06, 2017 4:42 pm

Yea I'm definitely tired! Wearing the mask itself is only like a 15% annoyance. I don't even worry about leaks like I thought I would at first and for the most part it's really comfortable.

I think my big issue is just trying to get breathing right at first. Feels like I can't breathe. I almost wonder if I move up next size in cushion if it will help? I'm right on border between the 2 sizes and currently using the smaller of the 2.

Once I get my breathing tempo down though I'm fine. Even if I wake up I'm fine. It's just right in the beginning that's tough.

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Re: CPAP journey begins

Post by Pugsy » Wed Dec 06, 2017 4:50 pm

You could try a larger pillow but I really think you should try the suggestion of 6 cm starting point just to see how it feels.

I put my sister on one of these machines just to screen her and started it at 4 cm and she ripped that sucker off after about 10 seconds yelling at me that I was trying to kill her by suffocation. She wasn't comfortable until I changed it to 6 cm.
What you are experiencing at 4 cm...very common and the fix is easy..just a little more air moving with the higher pressure.
Trust me...try it and see.

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Re: CPAP journey begins

Post by USMCVet » Wed Dec 06, 2017 6:49 pm

Ok I'll try that tonight lol. I'll also try to get better data next time zoomed in to show the right times and more data!

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Re: CPAP journey begins

Post by loggerhead12 » Wed Dec 06, 2017 9:22 pm

Pugsy wrote:I put my sister on one of these machines just to screen her . . .
Is there a write-up somewhere about how best to do this?

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Re: CPAP journey begins

Post by Pugsy » Wed Dec 06, 2017 9:36 pm

ImRealPleezApproveMe wrote: Is there a write-up somewhere about how best to do this?
Not that I know of in terms of an official how to list. There might be one some place and it's been discussed here on the forum in the past when talking about self diagnosing and self treating.

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Re: CPAP journey begins

Post by USMCVet » Thu Dec 07, 2017 11:26 am

Raising pressure seemed to help breathe easier. Nose was a little dry today so I am going to try fixed humidification tonight and see how that goes.

Here is my data from last night and hopefully I present it better this time.

Image

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Re: CPAP journey begins

Post by USMCVet » Fri Dec 08, 2017 10:50 am

I was only able to use mask for 2 hours last night. I tried fixed humidity of 3 last night. 2 hours later mask it's making loud noises because of all the condensation inside.

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Re: CPAP journey begins

Post by Pugsy » Fri Dec 08, 2017 11:52 am

You need to get that heated hose sooner than later...and in the meantime fix up some sort of homemade hose cozy.

Trust me....old socks with the toes cut out and slid over the hose and bunched up to provide insulation will help in a pinch. Been there and done that many years ago.

Anything laying around the hose that can be wrapped around the hose and secured so that it insulates the hose.
An old fleece sweatshirt cut up and wrapped around the hose...and I used scotch tape to secure it. Doesn't have to be fancy.
Back when I started therapy we didn't have the integrated heated hoses...I did do a lot of DIYing trying to figure out how to prevent the condensation.

You could reduce the humidity choice but 3 isn't very much on your machine anyway and your nose might not like even less moisture.

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Re: CPAP journey begins

Post by MrsRinPDX » Fri Dec 08, 2017 12:09 pm

USMCVet wrote:I was only able to use mask for 2 hours last night. I tried fixed humidity of 3 last night. 2 hours later mask it's making loud noises because of all the condensation inside.
Bummer! I hope you can get that heated hose soon.

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