last few nights have sucked :(

Last night, again, just tore the mask off around 1:00. I hate these masks. I'm going to just order something else at either cpap.com or find a different local DME today. I will deal with trying to return the 2 masks I have from my current crap provider another day or next week. I had started off (last week) pretty good. Making myself keep the mask on as long as possible but maybe the fight of it is just wearing me down b/c my tolerance has gotten worse, not better. Going for part 2 of a test today on my thyroid and will hopefully have some answers after this scan. That can't be helping things. I go to bed all confident that THIS will be the night I sleep through, but its not happening and I don't feel like I'm getting closer.

Hate to be a downer but this has just been such more of an ordeal than I'd anticipated. I guess I wasn't really as prepared as I'd thought.

Just bit the bullet and spent the 100 bucks to buy the Aloha at cpap.com (with return insurance since I don't know how I'll like it). I figured its just quicker to do that and if the idiot people I'm dealing with right now can find me something that works then I'll have a back up.

LOL been there, done that!

I ripped off my mask several times intially out of frustration with leaks from my higher pressures.... But less than an hour later, it was back on my face. I used it every night until I could get another mask to try. Naps on weekends helped me make it through the weekdays.

Fortunately, it only took 3 masks before I found the right one for me... some folks go through many more before they find the right one.

keep plugging away at it!

I think at some time, your body will give up and "allow" you to wear the mask all night. It's putting up a ferocious fight. Keep going... you will win out.

Sheriff

Yeah what Sherriff said. There is nothing natural about this...until you adapt. Then you will not be able to sleep without it, LOL. Hang in there. I am anxious to hear how you like the Aloha as I am considering that as my next trial.

Amy?
I have surmised from previous threads you may be in the panhandle. I'm in Abilene, and we're having some high winds and blowing allergies. I've had fits keeping either of my two masks on lately. So take heart, it may be more than your personal adjustment at work.
Hope the new mask does some better.. but don't expect immediate miracles. Success usually comes in itty-bitty steps, with a few back-slides along the way.

I too fell down last night on my resolve to keep the mask on all night. I made it to 3.5 hrs only. This is the first time I've been under my goal of at least 4.1 hrs in a long time. All you can do is pick yourself back up and try again tonight.

Thanks everyone. You have no idea how much having you here means to me. I'm not feeling good right now and trying to get used to this at the same time is wearing thin. It really does encourage me to hear that what I'm experiencing isn't all that unusual.

n0hardmask, I'm in the Dallas area and hell yes the allergies have been horrendous. We've had non stop days of 25+ winds. You're right. That may be a factor too.

xoxoxo
Amy

Sometimes you have to post those downer threads. You have a good outlook and seem committed to making this work. Have your vent and get back on it (you've ready came up with a different plan, so your covered here). Stick with it. You WILL find something that works.

Hello Panda and good morning!

Never a downer to hear things didn't go as planned. Just a little more work to do. Glad you are still working at it for sure.

I'm on board with Denial Dave and the Sheriff, if the machine is for you, eventually you will find a way. And it will work, I've seen this situation so many times I couldn't count them all if I tried.

Not sure if this is helpful, but I have swapped masks for some people over a dozen times. Would start with one style, try a different size, move to another, go back to the first and on and on. I remember one patient came in so often, whenever she would stop by our RT would say, "Jim! Here comes your mom again!" I didn't care, I think that patient took a few months to adapt, but it finally worked. Not saying it will take that long in your case, but the fact that your still stoically going at it will work in your favor. That I promise.

Thanks for posting, keep 'em coming and tell the pugs hello!

Jim

pandatx wrote:It really does encourage me to hear that what I'm experiencing isn't all that unusual.

Well, "IMHO", where you're at now after about 2 weeks of therapy is unusual, and a closer look at the diagnostic NPSG (to see exactly what form of OSA you have) and machine downloads (including breath-by-breath analysis) might offer some clues as to the source of your difficulties (such as fixed nasal flow limitation- see prior posts by RestedGal and -SWS on the saga of FL1 on a PB420E).

if I'm not mistaken Pandatx has been on CPAP just shy of a month...

it took me 45 days to find a mask that I liked and wasn't ripping it off of my face in frustration over leaks.

I'd have a good night or two, but then leaks would get frustrating and the mask would be tossed across the room.. only to be recovered and start the process over again.

IMHO 30 days of using CPAP is a mere blip on the radar of life.

Denial Dave wrote:if I'm not mistaken Pandatx has been on CPAP just shy of a month...

It looked as though as of March 26, therapy had yet to begin.

Denial Dave wrote:it took me 45 days to find a mask that I liked and wasn't ripping it off of my face in frustration over leaks.

Perhaps you should have bought The Carpetbagger's pamphlet.

With the resources available here, I would be flabbergasted if mechanical issues were allowed to persist undetected and/or unaddressed for more than a few days (although admittedly, there will be a few exceptions).

I've been on therapy 11 days

Well, lemme know when you want to get back to the CPAP thing.

Based on the information presented thus far, one hypothesis is that you don't have any OSA at all, and the sleep fragmentation (which as you may now know, could be caused by G.D.) has been misinterpreted as respiratory events.

Interestingly, a lot of RG's "respiratory events" were caused by PLMs.

If diagnostic NPSG showed only flow limitations, and the current D/Ls only show (fixed) flow limitation, then xPAP therapy is ("IMHO") just a BFWOT.