New to CPAP

F&P is express shipping me a new pillow. Said they even called my DME with the number and gave them a run around. So I will have it soon and my leaky large can go back in the box. And I'll just keep using it and have the replenish tucked away when it shows up as well as I be on the F20 trial for a month and hopefully if I need the ASC machine i can coax the new DME into getting me the F20 when I'm eligible for a new mask. It's a decent mask but the forehead part hits me before making a nice seal on my narrow nose but the liners are helping. I just need to make the nose hole a bit bigger and the overall size a bit bigger so I can wrap a rubber band around it to aid in putting it on and taking it off easier. With all my tossing around and the mask shifting last night it wadded up the liner and caused a huge leak at 4am as the chart shows above. But the bineural music and now melatonin. Seemed to help knock me out fast but I now sleep for an hour and was up for an hour or so then I fell asleep again. I'll eventually get the cycle going in my favor.

RestlessinWoolley wrote:Well, it was neither a Filter Or a Mask issue, I popped in the old filter from last month and switched back to my large mask and fought it all night as seen on how many sessions i had waking up.

it's very simple, your pressure is too low.

The Doc thinks so as well but didn't want to change it till after the ASV Titration Study. So another month plus a week of lousy sleep unless I can get in earlier. Wednesday Nights are the only nights they can do the ASV Extended Night. So hope there's a cancelation. I just some sleep. Even my counting sheep have all died it's been so long.

RestlessinWoolley wrote:The Doc thinks so as well but didn't want to change it till after the ASV Titration Study.

that makes no sense at all. of course, your doctor isn't the one suffering.

Exactly, but that's been the story of the last 20 years of my life with the condition I live with. Watch and wait yet let me be in 8/10 pain 90% of the time and have me so tired I can hardly function. First it was the drugs now it's just total lack of sleep. I'm lucky enough to get to the store for a few items and make it home. Heck just driving the 60 miles to the clinic Monday and I wanted to take a nap in the clinic.

Here is her notes from my visit.






She's is the top sleep doctor in Seattle and worth the wait but yeah. Hopefully now that I know when the ASV Hits to relax and let it work. I fought it during the test untill the tech called the room and said to relax. It was far worse then my gasping.

I put my machine in Auto Mode for tonight with the high and low both set at 6cm. What do I have to lose, gotta wait over a month for my ASV test so why not try. All the doc said is not to change my pressure as it could actually compound my centrals. Just has a different sound to it as well as it has more relief to it as I exhale. The Aflex is on set at 2 from the factory.

Interesting that you mention the exhale relief. I have used a Respironics machine and I have used both CFlex and AFlex and I felt like AFlex was more natural and easier.
I didn't really think CFlex was all that exciting and finally turned it off but when I was able to use AFlex I fell in love immediately.
Same relief setting number...same pressure used and AFlex was just more to my liking.
It's a subtle difference in the timing of the reduction and the increase after the reduction.

While it is possible that the centrals could worsen with more pressure...I doubt that a small change (like setting the max to go to 8 so that the machine could go from 6 to would make much of a difference if any.
I suspect that your centrals are related more to the pain medications suppressing respiration than the cpap machine pressure causing them. You had them prior to the beginning of cpap therapy.

When you changed it to apap mode...that turned Flow limitation flagging on...did you see any FLs get flagged?

Just changed it for tonight. So will see tomorrow when I drop the card into Sleepyhead.

A Flex is on and set at 2

Optistart is off and ez start is off as well. If things look better tomorrow maybe I'll bump high to 8. Like I said all Lincare can do of the complain is reset my machine and if they do I'll turn off the modem.

I'm so tired tonight I'm gonna try reading a bit, which I never do while listening to the BiNeural track and take my Melatonin a bit early. For once I'd love to fall asleep and not see 2am to 4 am tick by. Or even stare at the clock till 3 am and not sleep.

Just funny how different the machine sounds when it's relieving a bit. Scared me at first till I realized what it's doing. So hopefully we see some flags tomorrow.

Thanks Pugsy.

Here is the download from last night switched to Auto, I do remember waking up a ton of times, but my awake periods lasted less than 5-10 minutes. I really thrashed around, my beds torn to pieces, I have a heck of a headache. but hey 3.99 AHI? Lowest I've seen. I woke up once with my mask full of condensation and when I exhaled with the pressure relief the holes in the mask still had fluid in them so it make the mask squeal loudly. I am sure I will get used to Auto CPAP, so if Lincare tries overriding it remotely ill shut the modem off for now till I have my ASV study.

Not to mention I havent seem my SpO2 level at 98 when I wake up in over 6 months when I was told to buy the device to measure it.

LinCare may not even check your data or even notice you changed the settings slightly.
Most of the time all they ever look at (when they look) is hours of use.

I still have my doubts as to if those snores are real or not...if they are real the machine would increase the pressure (if it could) and try to kill them...so....if you change the max to say 8....if they are real the machine will increase the pressure and it will show up on the graphs.
If they aren't real the machine won't try to fix them. Don't ask me how it decides if they are real or not...I just know it does because I had it happen when I got a lot of snores show up from my dog snoring next to me...the machine never increased the pressure even with a truckload of snores.

I can safely say the snores are not real, I hardly snore, usually only when I am congested or on my back, in my case I rarely end up on my back. I am thinking ts due to the ill fit of the mask. If the disappear when I start the product trial on the F20 we will know. I am still stumped to why Philips is conducting the test on their competitors mask, but maybe so they can make a knockoff by our list of we like/ we don't like list. all I know when the fitter at the clinic let me try one it was like a pillow on my face and not this plastic solo cup strapped to my face. Norco has already told me if I don't end up with an ASV machine, they will file a thing with medicare saying i need a better fitting mask as I was not properly fitted by LIncare, which is super common apparently. And he hinted that Lincare may be losing their CPAP license. All rumors though..

My only complaint of last night was the huge increase of mask condensation and flood back, all which would be alleviated by the heated hose I am supposed to have. My mask is filthy this morning. And I do remember being blasted by cold air when i was awake, humidifier is set at 4 and hardly any water use as well which is odd..

Thanks again, changed the max to 8 for tonight. and will try again

I wish I knew if you were going to be using a DreamStation machine long term...I know someone with a heated hose for a DreamStation they aren't using and would probably just give it to you for cost of postage.

RestlessinWoolley wrote:My only complaint of last night was the huge increase of mask condensation and flood back, all which would be alleviated by the heated hose I am supposed to have. My mask is filthy this morning. And I do remember being blasted by cold air when i was awake, humidifier is set at 4 and hardly any water use as well which is odd..

What's the humidity been at ...raining or close to raining?
That might explain the lack of water usage...if the air is already fairly humid it won't use much water...setting of 4 on the DreamStation without a heated hose doesn't really crank out all that much moisture.

Short term cheap fix for moisture in the mask or hose...got some old socks laying around???
Cut the toes out of the old socks (probably will need 3 or 4 or more of them depending on how long they are) and slide them on the long hose and secure with rubber band, scotch tape, or bread ties.
Cover the entire long hose up to right where the mask attaches to the long hose.
Hopefully the socks can insulate the air in the hose enough so that condensation is prevented. Can't do much about in the mask itself but sometimes if you can keep the air in the hose warmer it isn't as likely to cool as much in the mask.

I've got a fleece Snuggy on it now, I never had it that bad till switching to auto last night and woke up with a soaked face. It was clearing off with light showers last night and about 45-50 degrees. Member with hose contacted me as well and I said pass till I know what I'm ending up with. By the time I get done with the ASC plus the wait for results I'll be at my 3 month hose interval. I fired lincare today as well. Contacted Sunset about the horrible filters and I have more filters on the way free. Theirs and some OEMs and the OEMs I ordered and my mask should be here today to replace the ripped one. So if I end up with spare parts I'll be sure to donate them to the cause as well Pugsy.

I got up after my last post been tearing my rig apart toady adding a small speaker in the back and surprised I have a bit more energy then most mornings that I'm.usually still in bed at this time. Will see in a few hours if I collapse like usual.

Oh and yes Lincare did reset my machine back to normal so I disconnected the modem uplink if they want it they can call me and I upload it.