Newbie-1st night was the pitts

[LittasGabby]

I was so excited. I received my new Rem Star Pro and a full face mask-a Fisher Paykal Forma. I must admit, I went to my appointment convinced I was just going to need a small mask covering my nose and even wanted to move quickly into Nasal Pillows. Not a good choice for me, at least not at this point. So, I left the doc's office with machine and full face mask in hand. Went home, vacuumed like a banshee determined that there would not be a single speck of dust in my bedroom to clog my filter. Set up the machine and called all of my friends. So excited that my machine was so quiet, and I bragged that it made a soft swooshing sound as I wore it that I told everyone would lull me into the deep, beautiful slumber that I had been longing for for soooo long.

Reality check-here's what really happened---I became ill. Violently ill! I have medical conditions that sometimes cause me to have to RUN to the bathroom frequently. Not good, as I had to keep taking off the mask for each run, then put it back on and get it set back up on my face, checking for leaks at level 13 (my "prescribed" level), then pushing the ramp button to get it down to level 4 for the gradual increase back up to level 13. As I became more ill, I had to contemplate a trip to the ER-and dreaded breaking down the equipment I had so lovingly set up a mere 6 hours prior, but knew that if I went to the hospital I needed my machine with me. I also dreaded my first night on CPAP being in the hospital. I decided to stay home and wait it out. After about 4 trips to the restroom, "things" settled down and I was relieved to try to go to sleep with my beloved CPAP. UMMMM-no! That lovely swooshing sound quickly became my enemy!! Deciding it was better to not lay in bed unable to sleep, I headed upstairs to surf the internet (gotta get me a laptop!). After an hour and a half, I headed back to bed. Got all snuggled up with my hose under the covers, and rolled over and promptly pulled the hose out of the back of the machine!! Turned the light on, attached the hose, adjusted the headgear, pushed my Ramp button, layed down and began to hear a whining noise. Sat up and realized that it wasn't the machine-it was my dog!! She was terrified of the machine and the image of me with the face mask on. I sat up, removed the mask for the million-ith time, reassured my dog and settled back into bed making all necessary adjustments AGAIN! We layed there-my dog and I-and I began to really resent the swooshing sound of the machine!!! I made a deal with myself that if I was still awake at 3:00 am I would take lots of meds that state "may cause drowsiness" on the label to force myself to sleep. I made it to 2:58!! Popped the pills and waited again for sleep (after all of the before mentioned adjustments of course). Thought seriously about throwing the machine out the window-as I could no longer tolerate the freaking swooshing sound!! Finally fell asleep around 4:00 am! Hubby came home from work at 5:15am and I woke up when he walked through the room. Tossed and turned as he took a shower and watched television down the hall from the bedroom. Fell asleep AGAIN at 6:30 am and made it a full 4 hours with my CPAP! Dang, not what I had planned at all.

The good news-I'm determined to hang in there and do this again tonight!! Prayer is appreciated!!

[jdm2857]

Look at the good news! You slept with your machine for four hours straight on the first night. That's an accomplishment.

What equipment do you have? If you go to the user contorl panel (in the light blue bar below the cpaptalk.com logo) and click on the profile tab and then the equipment tab, you can enter your machine/mask etc., and it will appear at the bottom of each post you make. Just do everyone a favor and select the text display option at the end. The icons are too small to tell the machines within a company's line apart.

And there are ways to make your machine quieter. Locating it lower than the mattress helps, but keep it off of the floor due to dust. A mousepad under the machine can help, and also helps to stop the machine from getting pulled off of it's perch. Others have dampened the sound in other ways. Just be sure not to block the air intake.

But focus on the good. CPAP gets easier with time and experience.

[LittasGabby]

Thanks so much for your reply! I'm going to list my equipment now. Have a great evening!!

[danw61]

Welcome to the xpap club LittasGabby!

You just described most people's first night I think. (Except for the violently ill part.) Excited, ready for a good night's sleep, and then realizing that it isn't easy to sleep with a leaf blower attached to your face. You will get used to it. You will get to the point that you look forward to sleeping with your xpap. It sometimes takes a while.

Keep posting your problems and people here will help you. I love your humor. I look forward to reading more of it.

Dan

[junie]

Welcome to our forum, Best of luck to you.

[timbalionguy]

What struck me from reading your account is that things improved as the night wore on. I think all the problems you have been having, even the illness part, you will quickly overcome.

Be encouraged!