First Nite Results: Ummm....Hmmmm...? *Blink*

K I had my first nite on the CPAP last nite. I put the mask on and turned to my cat and I said in my best Darth Vader voice, "Reiki...I am your father..."

Then when I woke up, I took the mask off and I said to her, "Who was that masked man?"

She really didn't seem to care.

So as for results......clinically I didn't do so well.

Leak: 0.52L/s (ACK!)
AHI: 18.4
AI: 6.1
HI: 12.3

I am using an Elite II with H4i humidifier and liberty mask. I am wondering if maybe this mask isn't right for me. I will readjust it tonight and see if I can get some better results. The pressure is set at 12, so I know to expect some leak, but that still seems high to me.

Now in terms of how I feel, I suppose I do feel a bit rested.

I don't recall waking up a gazillion times last nite like I usually do. And the AHI went from the 51 without the mask down to 18, so that is a definite improvement. It isn't really enough that I am happy with it, but for a first nite, I will take it.

Usually I get up much later than this, so it appears I have a f ew extra hours today. I have recently been exploring photography (yew can see some of it here)...

http://www.thomasamckean.com/gallery/index.php?cat=36

...and I just got a 3-D photography kit so I think I will use those hours today to see if I can get some 3-D photography action going. That would be kewl.

Oh yes one more thing. And this one surprised me. It usually takes me forever to get to sleep. But what with the mask it really took no time at all. I used the "Clear" scent from Pur-Sleep. Tonight I may try a different one.

Anyhoo...it seems traditional to post first nite results here, so I am following. Mask was quite comfortable after the 1/2 hour ramp from 4 to 12.

Maybe this might not be so bad after all.......?

YAY!~! the first night is under your belt and you've lived to post about it!

Seriously though, your numbers dont look so great (but what do I know) but sleeping like that for the first night is AWESOME!

Some tweaks and twacks with the help of the forum and you'll be a new man.

Thomas,

How do you find the scents? When I first read that some of the machines had a 'scented' option I was a little skeptical. We had a company out here cleaning the heating ducts a few months back, and they tried to upsell me to some scented anti-bacterial "crystals" they spray in the ductwork. The guy told me "It'll take pollutants out of the air and make the whole house smell like cherries!" I thought about it and said "Well, what happens when I get sick of everything smelling like cherries? Will I ever get the smell out of the house??". Needless to say, I opted out of the option. I was a little worried when I read about scented CPAP options and that, no matter how attractive the scent, you'd be stuck with it in your sinuses all day!

Hope you're using your CPAP forces for the light side!

ChrisC wrote:Thomas,

How do you find the scents? When I first read that some of the machines had a 'scented' option I was a little skeptical. We had a company out here cleaning the heating ducts a few months back, and they tried to upsell me to some scented anti-bacterial "crystals" they spray in the ductwork. The guy told me "It'll take pollutants out of the air and make the whole house smell like cherries!" I thought about it and said "Well, what happens when I get sick of everything smelling like cherries? Will I ever get the smell out of the house??". Needless to say, I opted out of the option. I was a little worried when I read about scented CPAP options and that, no matter how attractive the scent, you'd be stuck with it in your sinuses all day!

Hope you're using your CPAP forces for the light side!

The scent is gone by morning...

Thomas, you might try spice. It's kind of a love it or hate it aroma, but I really like it...

Good work Thomas, from the heart of the Blue Ridge.

Photos are wonderful. I'm in the heart of the Blue Ridge also. (Bedford is 30 miles from where I live)
Been here in ole Virginny as far back as I can trace my kin. (some say we migrated over from England, but were cast out
because we were hooligans, and they wanted to get rid of us.)

What kind of machine ya using there, Thomas?
You may want to do some adjusting and tell us your mask also.
We may be able to offer some advice, if we knew the equipment.

Keep up the good photography, and show us some more, sometime soon.
Jay

Sorry about that, I see you're using the Resmed Elite. That's a very good machine.
Waht are your settings?
Jay

Thomas,
If you slept through the whole night, you have the worst part licked. Trying to get used to having something plastered to my face all night is something I haven't been able to do in a year and a half. The rest will come easy. You are doing great!!

Bev (Hanover, Virginia)

Way to go dude! You made it through the first night. Don't worry about the numbers, as you tweak your mask and get settled in, things will improve. That may not be the right mask for you, but give it a while first before changing too much.

You're off to a good start, Thomas! My first night the AHI was 17 . . . I turned my pressure up and the second night it was 3.4. It's a process . . . and you are safely connected now to "Tweakers Anonymous".

Keep with it and watch what happens over time. There are so many variables involved (position changes, mouth opening, and just daily changes) that you need to observe for a while. Pay heed to how you feel & what your numbers are doing on the software readings to the right of the screen. Then you can begin tweaking - which you can read about here. (Hopefully you have software like Encore Viewer.)

Remember, the CPAP machines are great, but they're not perfect or completely accurate. (The manufacturer's don't release full info on the machines so even medical researchers don't understand how they are set up to work.) HOW WE FEEL is the bottom line, even though monitoring software is very helpful.

Joy

ThomasMcKean wrote:K I had my first nite on the CPAP last nite. I put the mask on and turned to my cat and I said in my best Darth Vader voice, "Reiki...I am your father..."

Then when I woke up, I took the mask off and I said to her, "Who was that masked man?"

She really didn't seem to care.

So as for results......clinically I didn't do so well.

Leak: 0.52L/s (ACK!)
AHI: 18.4
AI: 6.1
HI: 12.3

I am using an Elite II with H4i humidifier and liberty mask. I am wondering if maybe this mask isn't right for me. I will readjust it tonight and see if I can get some better results. The pressure is set at 12, so I know to expect some leak, but that still seems high to me.

Now in terms of how I feel, I suppose I do feel a bit rested.

I don't recall waking up a gazillion times last nite like I usually do. And the AHI went from the 51 without the mask down to 18, so that is a definite improvement. It isn't really enough that I am happy with it, but for a first nite, I will take it.

Usually I get up much later than this, so it appears I have a f ew extra hours today. I have recently been exploring photography (yew can see some of it here)...

http://www.thomasamckean.com/gallery/index.php?cat=36

...and I just got a 3-D photography kit so I think I will use those hours today to see if I can get some 3-D photography action going. That would be kewl.

Oh yes one more thing. And this one surprised me. It usually takes me forever to get to sleep. But what with the mask it really took no time at all. I used the "Clear" scent from Pur-Sleep. Tonight I may try a different one.

Anyhoo...it seems traditional to post first nite results here, so I am following. Mask was quite comfortable after the 1/2 hour ramp from 4 to 12.

Maybe this might not be so bad after all.......?

Keep at it. No matter what your numbers were your first night I bet they were a lot better than your numbers before CPAP.

ChrisC wrote:Thomas,

How do you find the scents? When I first read that some of the machines had a 'scented' option I was a little skeptical. We had a company out here cleaning the heating ducts a few months back, and they tried to upsell me to some scented anti-bacterial "crystals" they spray in the ductwork. The guy told me "It'll take pollutants out of the air and make the whole house smell like cherries!" I thought about it and said "Well, what happens when I get sick of everything smelling like cherries? Will I ever get the smell out of the house??". Needless to say, I opted out of the option. I was a little worried when I read about scented CPAP options and that, no matter how attractive the scent, you'd be stuck with it in your sinuses all day!

Hope you're using your CPAP forces for the light side!

The scents came from pur-sleep.com. Yew can go there and check them out. There are also a ton of posts in this forum about them.

packitin wrote:Keep up the good photography, and show us some more, sometime soon.
Jay

I *was* able to shoot some really good 3-D photographs today. But they require the red and blue lens glasses and I don't know if many people here have those?

Thomas

Glad the 1st night proved so interesting & from what you say, beneficial.

Am intrigued at the 3-D photography. Obviously a special 3-D camera is used ?

Cheers

DSM

PS Your 'Bedford in Autum' makes me want to visit there

dsm wrote:Thomas

Glad the 1st night proved so interesting & from what you say, beneficial.

Am intrigued at the 3-D photography. Obviously a special 3-D camera is used ?

Cheers

DSM

PS Your 'Bedford in Autum' makes me want to visit there

Not so much a 3-D camera, but a hardware 3-D accessory that screws into the tripod port. They made that way so yew could use any camera.

Second night I am not even going to post the numbers because they are so bad. I don't think the mask likes me. It keeps leaking at the nose. I didn't want to go with one of those huge full face masks, but it looks like it may be necessary. I can't switch until Monday, though, so that gives me two more nights to try to get it going.

Glad yew like the Bedford in Autumn. This place where I live is very beautiful. I know I am living in the right place for me because I really don't want to live anywhere else.