My first night went pretty well. I had some issues, but I should be able to resolve them:
- No humidification - I didn't have any distilled water, so for the first night, I used the CPAP with the humidifier turned off. My nose got dry, and my throat is a little hoarse this morning, but I plan on buying a gallon today and I shouldn't have this problem anymore.
- Sleep onset - It took me longer than normal to fall asleep, though it really was not too bad. I'm sure that will improve as I get used to CPAP.
- Repeated waking - Ok, so I have UARS, not OSA, and repeated waking is what I do. Most of them I don't remember, but I always have a few total awakenings each night. Last night there were more than usual, but most were caused by mask leaks (see last bullet). One was caused by a neighbor's domestic dispute (yes, loud yelling, outside, at 3 in the morning, sheesh!) I am confident that with time I will grow more acclimated to CPAP, and awakenings will taper off.
- Itchy nose - Several times my nose got itchy and I had to pull off the mask to scratch it. This sent air blowing, and made noise. (I hope it didn't bother my husband too much.) Obviously, it only happened when I was awake, and I am hoping that as I grow accustomed to the CPAP, that I won't wake as often. The itchy nose may also have been another side effect of no humidifier.
- Mask leaks - I had several leaks. Mostly I could fix them by adjusting the mask a bit, but the last one I couldn't get right. By then it was only an hour until my alarm was supposed to go off, so I just took off the mask altogether and slept the last hour without CPAP. I will spend some more time adjusting the straps before I go to bed tonight, and see if I can cut down on leaks. The DME has a comfort guarantee, so if I can't get this mask to work for me, I can call them and try another one. So, while it was troublesome, this issue should be one that I can overcome in time.
Other things to do:
- Clinical Menu - One thing I noticed is that the tech turned the machine away from me as she entered certain settings, like my prescribed pressure, what kind of mask I have, and how much exhalation relief to provide. I want to be able to control those myself. So, this morning I looked up online how to access the clinical menu. My insurance rents the machine and requires compliance with therapy for one month before purchasing it outright, so I'll leave the settings alone at least until then in case modifying them would influence the insurance at all. But after that, I own the machine, so I'm taking charge. CPAP machines can't accurately measure RERAs, so the auto setting may not work for me like it could for someone with OSA. I want to be able to set the pressure according to my symptoms, not just according to some algorithm in the machine. (I'm a computer scientist - I know the limitations of software!)
- Software - This is another thing I have to do. I plan on downloading the software for reading my own sleep reports.