37 weeks pregnant and new to CPAP

I’ve been struggling so much! I have the Philips dream station. I’ve been using it for about a week now. It doesn’t seem like it’s gotten any easier. I feel like I’m suffocating. And I can’t help but breathe through my mouth so I can catch my breath. It always seems like one nostril is clogged, which makes it even harder. Not to mention I’m almost 38 weeks pregnant...my lungs are crunched up by the baby and I pee every hour at night. I started sleeping on the couch and recliner to get more comfortable. The only way Medicaid will cover this machine is to see that I’ve been using it. Some times I’ll wake up in the morning and it says I’ve used the machine for zero hours.
So I’m just miserable and nervous that it’s not going to get any better. Anyone else pregnant with a CPAP? Or have any encouraging words? Does anyone else feel like their suffocating or isn’t getting enough air?
-Meghan

What pressures are you using?


We can help but posting up some sleepy head graphs will help us advise

Ladybird12 wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 15, 2018 1:19 am

oes anyone else feel like their suffocating or isn’t getting enough air?

People who's pressure is too low.

My pressure is 9. And of course it felt fine at the fitting but not at home. I’m going in Monday for a two week check in. Hopefully I’ll get some help and maybe a pressure change. Thanks

Hi Ladybird ~~~

How AWFUL!!! I hope the baby doesn't feel like it's suffocating too.

I only suffered that feeling a very short time (hours) before someone helped me turn that stupid ramp off and got me to the right pressure immediately. I still remember that horrible feeling when I thought "omg is this cpap?" (I had the WORST medical / DME help. Thank God for cpaptalk and the people who share insight here.)

mmmmmmmm - *THAT* is how it's suppose to feel with your mask on ... like "mmmmmmm" (smiling happy) .... there's nothing like having as much air as you need and breathing beautifully. The OPPOSITE of suffocating. So something is really wrong if you feel you need to open your mouth and gasp for air!

(However, I did have a touch of chest pain for the first week as my lungs weren't use to the wonderful feeling of expanding and contracting fully for hours). Everything is strong and limber now.

Ladybird, don't wait another minute. Get help and get your pressure (and anything else, mask etc.) optimized. You're at the right place. These people know as much about cpap as anyone on the planet. It just depends on how quickly you can absorb and implement the information.


Good Luck.

~~~grace

On the bright side, now you are closer to giving your baby enough oxygen.

Wow! It turned out that the humidifier was messed up and wasn’t kicking out nearly enough air. I brought the machine to the equipment specialist. He started by saying I may need another mask to try. Then he turned on the machine and said “whoa! It should not be this loud. Somethings not right here”. I used the fixed machine last night and had NO issues. It’s a big weight off of my shoulders. I thought it was all in my head or just because I was pregnant.
So happy that this problem is solved. And I can start to get the sleep and oxygen I’ve been needing for so long!
I’ve been dreading going to sleep with the machine for two weeks and now I’m excited!