[KevinAC]

I had been looking forward to CPAP. But after two days I want to throw the thing out the window. When I do fall asleep, it's only for about 30 minutes before I wake up in a panic so intense I rip the mask off and drop it on the floor. When my mouth pops open, the noise and oddness I don't know why this is happening. In the sleep center with CPAP I did no such thing.

The health center support line told me that I'm going through the same thing all patient go through but gave me very little guidance in coping with this thing other than to stick with it. Stick with what? Waking up in a panic every night?

I thought I would find information here but I must be missing it.

_________________

Mask: Quattro™ FX Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear

Humidifier: PR System One Heated Humidifier

[Lizistired]

Welcome, You've come to the right place.
Please go to the user control panel and list your equipment in TEXT format so it shows in your signature.
Do you know what the setting are on your machine? Pressure, exhale relief, humidity?

_________________

Machine: S9 AutoSet™ CPAP Machine

Mask: Swift™ LT Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear

Humidifier: S9™ Series H5i™ Heated Humidifier with Climate Control

Additional Comments: Swift FX sometimes, CMS-50F, Cervical collar sometimes, White noise, Zeo... I'm not well, but I'm better.

[greatunclebill]

seeing its been 2 whole days i completely agree with what the support line told you. this is easy for no one in the very beginning. you have to learn to adjust to it, the sooner the better, because you will be on the mask til death do you part. there is no magic pill or no one size fits all easy answer.

_________________

Machine: PR System One REMstar Auto CPAP Machine with A-Flex

Mask: Quattro™ FX Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear

Humidifier: PR System One Heated Humidifier

Additional Comments: model 550P. sleephead & encorebasic software. cms-50D+. (2009) remstar plus m series model 200M. (2001) remstar plus domestic model 1005960.

[KevinAC]

How? Why am I waking up in a panic? Do I breathe my way or the way the machine seems to want me to breathe?

_________________

Mask: Quattro™ FX Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear

Humidifier: PR System One Heated Humidifier

[Lizistired]

seeing its been 2 whole days i completely agree with what the support line told you. this is easy for no one in the very beginning. you have to learn to adjust to it, the sooner the better, because you will be on the mask til death do you part. there is no magic pill or no one size fits all easy answer.

Sorry, but you don't know that. The OP can get tough love from the help line.
Sometimes there is a very simple solution. Sometimes it takes a combination of things.

_________________

Machine: S9 AutoSet™ CPAP Machine

Mask: Swift™ LT Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear

Humidifier: S9™ Series H5i™ Heated Humidifier with Climate Control

Additional Comments: Swift FX sometimes, CMS-50F, Cervical collar sometimes, White noise, Zeo... I'm not well, but I'm better.

[Lizistired]

Let's start over.

Welcome, You've come to the right place.
Please go to the user control panel and list your equipment in TEXT format so it shows in your signature.
Do you know what the setting are on your machine? Pressure, exhale relief, humidity?

_________________

Machine: S9 AutoSet™ CPAP Machine

Mask: Swift™ LT Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear

Humidifier: S9™ Series H5i™ Heated Humidifier with Climate Control

Additional Comments: Swift FX sometimes, CMS-50F, Cervical collar sometimes, White noise, Zeo... I'm not well, but I'm better.

[azpilgrims]

Are you on straight CPAP or an Auto Machine? If you cannot tolerate the straight pressure CPAP, an Auto Machine might work much better.

Does your machine have a Ramp in Pressure button to push to ease you into the pressure? If so, use this as it will gradually increase the pressure over a period of time.

I have been on my machine now for almost a month, it does get better, you will go through frustrations but the health benefit is worth it in the short and long term

_________________

Machine: PR System One REMStar 60 Series Auto + Heated Tube Humidifier Core

Mask: Mirage Quattro™ Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear

[Bons]

Kevin,
Welcome to the board. I'm sorry you are having so much trouble, but that isn't too unusual.

First of all, the cpap does not make you breathe, and it should not change how you breathe. CPAPs blow a steady pressure to splint your airway open. If your machine is set for c-flex (respironics machines) or the equivalent, it will decrease the pressure somewhat when you start to exhale, and then increase again as you inhale. If your machine is an apap, then the pressure may go up when it senses you are having an apnea event. We can tell you more once you register and let us know which machine you are using.

Panic usually comes from feeling out of control, such as when you sense the machine is trying to control your breathing. Plus it takes a bit of psychological adapting to knowing you are dependent upon the darn thing, and to sleeping connected to a hose, and wearing a mask, and the whole shebang.

One way to deal with it is to use the machine while you are relaxed (good luck with that!) and awake, possibly in a room other than your bedroom. Use it while watching tv, or listening to music, just to get a feel for it, to realize that you ARE still in control, and that it's not the end of the world to have to use it. When you put it on at bedtime, and if/when you wake up during the night, do some relaxation exercise (meditate, pray, repeat a mantra, sing a song in your head, etc.). If you have a panic attack during the night, DO NOT give yourself permission to sleep the rest of the night without it. Do you have children or know any? Remember how they have to learn to sleep alone through the night? It's the same principal learning to sleep with cpap - just keep plugging away, with a little reassurance and reminding yourself that it's for the best.


If yourmouth keeps popping open, you may want to consider a chin strap.

_________________

Mask: Mirage™ FX for Her Nasal CPAP Mask with Headgear

Humidifier: PR System One Heated Humidifier

[OrangeLily]

I'm new too, just diagnosed last month & started using my machine about 2.5 weeks ago. I'm on my 2nd mask & not sold on the new one either. I can fall asleep fairly easily, its the waking in the night that bugs me. I like to side sleep & thats difficult with the mask on, so I keep trying different masks. I'll find one eventually I'm sure. I do like the ramp feature on my machine, helps to fall asleep before the air is going full force. Hang in there.

_________________

Machine: S9 Escape™ CPAP Machine with EPR™

Mask: Mirage Liberty™ Full Face CPAP Mask with Nasal Pillows including Headgear

Humidifier: S9™ Series H5i™ Heated Humidifier with Climate Control

[KevinAC]

Thank you. I updated my profile. My max pressure is set to 14. The C-Flex+ setting is set to 3 right now but since I don't completely understand what it does I don't know if another setting is better or worse. I have used the ramp feature and actually raised the start point from 4 to 7 and the time period to 30 minutes; I generally suffer from initial insomnia. As for the humidification setting, 1-5, it's too soon for me to know what setting is most comfortable for me.

I want to add that I do not mind the machine while I'm awake. My time in the sleep study with the machine was generally OK.

_________________

Mask: Quattro™ FX Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear

Humidifier: PR System One Heated Humidifier

[Lizistired]

Your equipment is still not showing up.
If your ramp is set for 30 minutes and you said you are waking up in 30 minutes, then that's when you hit full pressure.
You said the machine is telling you when to breathe. Exhalation relief can cause that, your flex.
I'm not familiar with the PR machine but I would try reducing the flex.
Have you tried wearing the mask while you are awake, reading or watching tv while it is at full pressure?

_________________

Machine: S9 AutoSet™ CPAP Machine

Mask: Swift™ LT Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear

Humidifier: S9™ Series H5i™ Heated Humidifier with Climate Control

Additional Comments: Swift FX sometimes, CMS-50F, Cervical collar sometimes, White noise, Zeo... I'm not well, but I'm better.

[Drowsy Dancer]

Thank you. I updated my profile. My max pressure is set to 14. The C-Flex+ setting is set to 3 right now but since I don't completely understand what it does I don't know if another setting is better or worse. I have used the ramp feature and actually raised the start point from 4 to 7 and the time period to 30 minutes; I generally suffer from initial insomnia. As for the humidification setting, 1-5, it's too soon for me to know what setting is most comfortable for me.

Can you set your profile so that it displays in your signature? That will help people. EDITED: OK, you got that.

Is your machine set at a fixed pressure of 14 (once you are done with the ramp)? I have the same machine as you and I really like mine--now after 13 months).

You might have too long a ramp at too low a pressure. You >might< be feeling a sense of panic because the ramp isn't pushing very much air at you. Try not using the ramp at all and see if that helps. I abandoned the ramp very quickly after starting CPAP.

To get some idea of how the different C-Flex+ settings "feel," try using them when you are awake. C-Flex+ eases up on the pressure when you start exhaling to make it easier to exhale (especially when you're getting used to the machine, or if you have a high pressure setting, exhaling against pressure can be uncomfortable without pressure relief). Supposedly, the higher numbers don't drop the pressure lower on your exhale, it's the timing of the relief in pressure that differs among the settings. I've asked my respiratory people and they can't give me any more detail than that.

I have to second (third or fourth?) the recommendation to use your machine for a while at full pressure when you are awake just to get used to it (although I think you said it didn't bother you, which makes me wonder if the ramp isn't the problem).

You can figure out the humidifier settings when you get everything else worked out.

_________________

Machine: PR System One REMstar Auto CPAP Machine with A-Flex

Mask: Swift™ FX Bella Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgears

Humidifier: REMstar Heated Humidifier

Additional Comments: Software: SleepyHead. Pressure: APAP 8.5 min/9.5 max, A-Flex x1

[Drowsy Dancer]

PS what do you mean you "generally" suffer from "initial" insomnia? You've always had trouble falling asleep?

_________________

Machine: PR System One REMstar Auto CPAP Machine with A-Flex

Mask: Swift™ FX Bella Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgears

Humidifier: REMstar Heated Humidifier

Additional Comments: Software: SleepyHead. Pressure: APAP 8.5 min/9.5 max, A-Flex x1

[Lizistired]

Under the Profile tab, Edit Equipment, Display in TEXT.

_________________

Machine: S9 AutoSet™ CPAP Machine

Mask: Swift™ LT Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear

Humidifier: S9™ Series H5i™ Heated Humidifier with Climate Control

Additional Comments: Swift FX sometimes, CMS-50F, Cervical collar sometimes, White noise, Zeo... I'm not well, but I'm better.

[KevinAC]

Your equipment is still not showing up.
If your ramp is set for 30 minutes and you said you are waking up in 30 minutes, then that's when you hit full pressure.
You said the machine is telling you when to breathe. Exhalation relief can cause that, your flex.
I'm not familiar with the PR machine but I would try reducing the flex.
Have you tried wearing the mask while you are awake, reading or watching tv while it is at full pressure?

Equipment not showing - fixed that.

I'm still awake and OK with the machine for at least 30 minutes so guess the ramp up isn't of much use to me. I don't even notice the ramp up, so I guess that feature does its job. I walked around with the mask yesterday morning w/o hose and really can't pull enough air in through my nose to do that for long.

I'm usually a mouth breather. I may contact the doctor to have a full face mask Rx written so that I can try that.

_________________

Mask: Quattro™ FX Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear

Humidifier: PR System One Heated Humidifier