My first night w/CPAP

[TSSleepy]

Well, I'm still waiting for official diagnosis from health care provider. But I acquired a cheapo, used CPAP and tried it out for the first time to see if I could sleep without oxygen deprivation.

I chose 10 cm H2O, based on feel. I also set the C-Flex to 3, so that my mask wouldn't leak on every exhale. I did not have any distilled water, so I left the humidifier off.

Here are my first impressions:

Noise
The machine was quieter than I anticipated and didn't bother me at all. The mask was louder than I anticipated and bothered me a little.

C-Flex
The C-Flex exhalation relief really helped me cope this first night. Trying to exhale against pressure was a little disorienting, but it was actually the mask that made the C-Flex nice. The added system pressure of exhaling without C-Flex tended to mess with the cushion of my Ultra Mirage FFM. The only problem with the C-Flex is that I had to breathe slowly and deliberately, preferably with a pause before exhale. Otherwise the pressure felt "jumpy". I might turn it down to "2" tonight.

Side effects
1) The pressure bothered my ears a little. I have that "pressurized airplane" feel, where I feel like I need to chew some gum to get my ears to pop.
2) Definitely could use some humidification. I'm a mouthbreather, and always wake up with a dry mouth. But I usually keep a cup of water by my bed for sipping through the night, and that's a pain with the mask.
3) Being a mouthbreather with a FFM sort of disturbed me. My cheeks would inflate like a trumpet player's, and I'd keep sucking them in. Closing my mouth and breathing through my nose was a lot more comfortable, but my nasal airway is limited and quickly closed up when I tried to use it. I might have to get that septoplasty and turbinate reduction just to let me use a nasal mask.

Benefits
I didn't sleep all that great, but I also didn't deprive myself as oxygen anywhere near as bad.

Here's my O2 level, desats, and pulse without CPAP:


Here's last night with the CPAP:


Bottom line:
I desatted a LOT less with the CPAP, but I'm not sure how many times I entered REM and how long I stayed there. I feel like I didn't sleep very well, but I didn't suffocate near as much.

Tonight I'll try again, with some humidity. I have a feeling I'm going to need more pressure (like 12-15 range), and I'm not sure I can keep my FFM sealed that high. Oh well, baby steps.

[SharkBait]

I notice you have the software, will that machine show you AHI or just hours of use?

[Guest]

How were you able to get a readout of your session? Thanks!

[Linus]

You will get used to the side affects. The ear thing is okay. One of the benefits about the pressure is that a lot of your sinuses and tubes to your ears remain open, and this allows draining. I have allergies and I wake up clear every morning.

Use the humidifier. Having CPAP without moist air is not very fun.

The question I have is do you feel any better?

[TSSleepy]

I notice you have the software, will that machine show you AHI or just hours of use?

I bought the software and card reader, when I thought the used machine I was buying was an "auto w/a-flex". Unfortunately, the machine doesn't have a smart card. So I'll have to wait until I can get my hands on a better Respironics model.

How were you able to get a readout of your session? Thanks!

Those oxygen and pulse read-outs are from the SPO PulseOx 7500 recordable pulse oximeter I wore on my finger. I don't really have any idea what type of AHI (apnea hypopnea index) I have. I'm just trying to treat my oxygen desaturations while I wait for my health care provider to actually provide some health care.