First night: not impressed. Does it get better?

I've been diagnosed with mild sleep apnea. I am not overweight, having intentionally lost 30 pounds over the last 2.5 years. My doctor has told me that I am at my ideal weight for my height. I am a mouth breather, due to a deviated septum.

So anyway, here's what's going on:

Okay, so I get this Philips System One CPAP with a Quattro facemask today. I think it's in A-flex mode.

First of all, my wife laughs at me with it on. Joined by my kids. I'm sure she didn't mean to, but I'm not off to a good start here. I almost packed it up right then and there. She said I sounded like E.T. Now mind you, my first question to the tech was, "Am I going to sound like Darth Vader?"

I'm thinking, "I had better get the best night's sleep ever if I'm going to keep this thing."

But I'm determined to use this thing. Namely because a co-worker offered me his because he didn't use it anymore. A week later, he died of a heart attack. The tech said he might be alive today had he used it. (I have a new unit, not my co-worker's, just to make that clear.)

I sleep on my side. And I feel like I'm not breathing naturally. I try to relax. I finally start to fall asleep and all of a sudden wake up because I feel like I can't breath. I finally get control of my breathing. But I can't get back to sleep. This has NEVER happened to me before that I would wake up feeling like I couldn't breathe.

Also, my mouth is feeling dry, but I am also slobbering in my sleep. I know it sounds contradictory, but that's what's happening. I turned up the humidity to 4. Still feeling dry. Still slobbering. When I slobber, I try to wipe it with my tongue or hand. Then my mask shifts or something and I lose my breathing rhythm.

Is this going to be worth it? Is it worth the 40 or 50 dollars a month that the tech said will be my part of the bill? This is money I don't really have.
I'm going to have to sleep without it tonight. I am driving a long trip tomorrow and have to be alert. As it is, I will only get about 4 hours sleep (5 is normal for me). I think I'm settled down enough now that I could sleep if I didn't have to fight the machine/mask.

I need somebody to convince me that this whole thing isn't a bad idea.

This whole thing isn't a bad idea!

You may have inadvertently set yourself up for a frustrating experience by thinking:

I had better get the best night's sleep ever if I'm going to keep this thing.

because precious few of us are lucky enough to have that happen. For most, it's a journey, with a fair amount of trial and error along the way to better sleep and better health.

If you enter your equipment in your posts like you see in mine and others, you can get a lot of help with the settings on your machine including some of the comfort settings. You mentioned struggling with the feeling of not being able to breathe -- knowledgeable people here can help you figure out what pressure(s) your machine is set to, and if you need, to help you make some adjustments to help with that not-enough-air feeling. Many people come home with auto-adjusting machines and the lower pressure is just too low for comfortable breathing. If you stay on the forum and keep reading, you'll see this come up fairly often as a newbie issue.

You'll also find lots of discussions on remedies for dry mouth and for drooling (see, you're not alone ). A lot of people use Biotene products for dry mouth, also turning up the humidification. Even with a full face mask, if you're mouth breathing a lot you will have the challenge of dry mouth. If you type "drooling" and/or "slobbering" in the Search box above, you'll find lots of threads on these issues and you can always ask your own questions here too.

Noise -- can be from mask leaking, moisture trapped inside the hose, and even the surface that your machine is sitting on. There will likely be some things you can experiment with to reduce noise, and/or to get more desensitized to it. Lots of people use white noise machines and fans to help with machine noise but first it's good to eliminate unnecessary noise.

Did you get to try on several masks or were you just handed one and sent home with it? Most people have to trial several before finding the best one for them.

These are just some examples of how many ways there may be to get you to a more comfortable place with this therapy. But don't conclude anything after one or two nights.

You said you were determined to make this work, so welcome to the forum (a "club" which none of us aspired to join, lol!). Enter your equipment and ask away, you'll get all kinds of good help here.

p.s. -- You don't sound at all like a v-idiot !

vidiot wrote: First of all, my wife laughs at me with it on. Joined by my kids. I'm sure she didn't mean to, but I'm not off to a good start here. I almost packed it up right then and there. She said I sounded like E.T. Now mind you, my first question to the tech was, "Am I going to sound like Darth Vader?"

Welcome to the group. Sorry to hear that you are getting laughed at. I am single, so mostly only my cats see me with it on. But I do travel and share hotel rooms, and nobody has laughed at me. It feels weird enough. We don't need the extra feelings of being made fun of.

I sleep on my side. And I feel like I'm not breathing naturally. I try to relax. I finally start to fall asleep and all of a sudden wake up because I feel like I can't breath. I finally get control of my breathing. But I can't get back to sleep. This has NEVER happened to me before that I would wake up feeling like I couldn't breathe.

What are your pressure settings, and are you using the ramp feature. Most doctors and equipment providers have never used a machine themselves. They think that starting at a low pressure is easier, but often it feels like we are suffocating. If your pressure is starting at 4 or 5, you may want to change it to start at 6 and see if that feels more natural.

Also, I remember when I started, I felt like I was trying to keep up with the machine. I realized that the machine works for me, and it is designed to keep up with me. I had to stop trying to comply with it and just breath normally and let it do its thing. That takes awhile to get used to.

Also, my mouth is feeling dry, but I am also slobbering in my sleep. I know it sounds contradictory, but that's what's happening. I turned up the humidity to 4. Still feeling dry. Still slobbering. When I slobber, I try to wipe it with my tongue or hand. Then my mask shifts or something and I lose my breathing rhythm.

I do this too. I don't drool every day, but some days, I drool badly AND have a dry mouth at the same time. I have no idea why, but it doesn't bother me as much as it used to. I do keep a kleenex box within reach, and I can use a kleenex to get in under the seal and dry my face.

Is this going to be worth it? Is it worth the 40 or 50 dollars a month that the tech said will be my part of the bill? This is money I don't really have.
I'm going to have to sleep without it tonight. I am driving a long trip tomorrow and have to be alert. As it is, I will only get about 4 hours sleep (5 is normal for me). I think I'm settled down enough now that I could sleep if I didn't have to fight the machine/mask.

I need somebody to convince me that this whole thing isn't a bad idea.

It gets better. Lots better. Some people +have +improvements right away/. Some take a lot longer. (Sorry about the extra punctuation, my cat is taking a nap on my number kepypad). There are a few things to remember. One, i+t is very unnatural to sleep with an alien stuck to your face. It isn't normal, so it will take awhile to get used to it. Two, as beginners, we will often have trouble with the fitting of the mask and seal. And it may take several tries to find the right mask. I got the same mask that the sleep tech used on me. She fit it perfectly the first time, and I slept 5 hours straight. I got my new mask at home, and it took me 6 weeks to master fitting it well enough that I could leave the velcro in teh same spot for days on end, let alone more than an hour. We aren't experts, so we won't get it right, and that means it won't be as comfortable as it could be.

And a really big third concept. Most people have sleep apnea for years before being diagnosed. Our brains have spent years working hard all night, waking us up repeatedly, so that we stay alive. Even when we are asleep and not aware of things directly, our brain is making decisions and doing stuff. It is not going to suddenly trust a machine to do the job it has been doing for years. So, even though you KNOW this machine will do its job, your brain isn't ready to relax, sleep deeply, and let it do all the work. That will take some time.

The good news is that there are a variety of symtoms that tend to improve with most people, so you should hopefully experience some of those soon. For example,

fewer bathroom trips during the night
fewer headaches
more cheerful (less grumpy)
maybe not energetic, but not needing so much coffee, energy drinks, etc
fewer acid reflux issues
fewer choking / gasping issues
not getting yelled at or whacked during the night due to snoring
starting to fall asleep faster
fewer awakenings
fewer nightmares (I used to get chased a lot, some people have drowning dreams)

I noticed all of these within the first month and continue to experience these a year and a half later. Do I have lots of energy? Not really, but I still have some partial nights as I do take it off in my sleep sometimes. I am also a severe night owl, so going to sleep early enough to get 8 hours doesn't always work for me. I frequently get 6 or 7 hours of sleep. And I have some weekend events that put me on some really short nights. So, I know that I am not getting the full benefit of a great night's sleep on a regular basis. I do consistently feel a lot better than I did before I started cpap treatment. And on rare occasions, I have had an awesome night of 8-10 hours with the machine with 7+ before a bathroom break. And those days felt like I had tons of energy. Those days have been rare for me, but so good that I have to keep trying. I would love to feel like that on a regular basis.

One thing that I really noticed is that I used to have a standard reply to "how are you?" and that was, "Tired." I don't know when I stopped saying that, but it was within the first month. And I haven't gone back to it. Even after a short, crappy night (by current standards), it is still better than before treatment.

vidiot wrote: I finally start to fall asleep and all of a sudden wake up because I feel like I can't breath.

Without knowing more about your setup, I can't say for sure but some machines have a ramp period, where the machine starts lower and builds to the prescribed pressure. If you are feeling like you are suffocating as you are falling asleep, it could be you are using the ramp feature and it's set too low for your comfort. If that's the case, the ramp can be set to a higher pressure and/or a shorter time, or turned off. If this does happen to be your issue, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much an adjustment helps. It totally turned my CPAP treatment around and enabled me to fall asleep comfortably. The ramp is a comfort feature that you can feel free to change to your own using pleasure without seeing a doc or provider

When time permits, the thread at the top of the main page with success stories might be encouraging reading for you.

Are you a mouth breather during waking hours also? Some CPAP users have opted to fix their deviated septum in order to be able to stop mouth breathing and use a smaller style mask. Hopefully that won't be necessary, but take it a step at a time to see if you can achieve comfortable treatment through tweaking and adjusting.

Fellow newbie here (I've used my CPAP for 16 days):

Yeah, it feels weird. Someone in another thread made the comparison to a diabetic needing shots. If people laugh, look at it like someone is laughing at you for taking your insulin. CPAP is medically necessary and saves lives. People can laugh at me all they want, but I'm not going to die in my sleep if I wear it.

YES, it gets better. I've already become addicted to mine. Granted, I'm one of the lucky ones who adapted right away. But I look forward to putting mine on each night. No kidding, I've been going to bed at 8pm well before my wife and kids just so I can get started, because I'm getting the best sleep of my life. NOTHING wakes me up at night. Lots and lots of people will tell you that this is not the normal path (takes a lot of people, maybe most, longer to find their groove), I just want you to know that better days are ahead.

Two things that have helped me: this forum, and software that lets me see results right away. This forum is amazing. I've found tons and tons of questions about my machine, about CPAP generally, and about apnea that have been asked and answered by searching the archives. And when I haven't found an answer, these kind people have been more than willing to answer my questions.

And if you like such things, there's free software that will allow you to see what is happening while you are sleep-- your machine is recording lots of information all night long. I found it motivating to see how well this amazing technology is monitoring and correcting problems. That happens right away. So peace of mind (knowing I'd see another daybreak) came first, then came waking up and feeling like I'd actually gotten a full night's rest. ZooCrewPhoto did a great job of describing the other things that follow.

There's a "sticky" at the top of the forum that has stories of newbie experiences. I found that really helpful as well.

From the day I put mine on, I just said to myself "I'm going to wear this every minute I sleep for the rest of my life. I just have to get used to it, and make it work." It is NOT an option.

Hang in there.

zoocrewphoto wrote: They think that starting at a low pressure is easier, but often it feels like we are suffocating. If your pressure is starting at 4 or 5, you may want to change it to start at 6 and see if that feels more natural.

That is the first thing to look at. Find out what your pressure is, download one of the software products and learn how to use it.

First night: not impressed. Does it get better?

No. It never gets better.

But you can make it better. It sounds like you have determination so get educated about the process and work on making it better. That's what most of us did.

Good luck.

You're taking your first steps. Don't become impatient or discouraged if you meet up with some obstacles (you will meet up with some obstacles). We've all been there. You may get everything ironed out in a few days time, but more than likely it will take somewhat longer. For me it took a period of months, but the support and information offered by forums like this can be a lifeline. Even though your family may not appreciate it right now, the good that you're doing for yourself and your family will prove to be invaluable.

Please don't give up. I think I was more concerned about feeling self concious than any discomfort, and fortunatly, my family gave me a lot of privacy until I got used to therapy. My husband loves the machine as he no longer has to listen to the "woodchipper" or "revving up the v8" any longer. My masks are now so normal, the rest of the family is curious about them and wants to see all my new gadgets.

Hang in there,

Maureen

Thanks to all! As I mentioned, I've been travelling so I haven't had a chance to get on until now. Thanks for your collective advice! I'm sure you'll see it woven through down below. I apologize for not thanking individually, as my time online is limited. Also, I haven't had time to read everything yet.

My machine info is below (I hope).

Last night went better. I did wake up several times; but I didnt suffocate. Here's what I did: I set the ramp higher, but didn't use it. The auto function started me at 5.5 and I saw by the end of the night that it ended at 7.0 I couldn't find a way to set it higher.

I set the humidifier to 5, which is max. My mouth was still dry and it woke me up. I had a kleenex box by my night stand, but couldn't reach it, due to the way the hotel had things arranged. So I slilpped my finger in the mask and managed to take care of it.

I also didn't let the machine dictate how I breathed, but started breathing the way I needed to.

I did take the mask off for a couple of hours. I think I did it because my mouth was dry. My wife said I snored when my mask was off.

Odd thing: It only registered an hour, but I know I had it on for about 5 hours. Maybe somebody can explain it.

Thanks to all for the advice. I'll read some of the newer posts. Everyone has been an encouragement to me.

PS: Vidiot should be spelled "Videot". But I was tired and aggravated when I registered. Any way, it's kind of a trade nick name for a Video Broadcast Engineer, which is what I am by trade.

You last post indicates you still may be feeling "air starved".

I had a client tell me the other day that she used a small drop of eucalyptus in her humidifier chamber and she felt she could breath much easier. Maybe it isn't your pressure needing to go up, it could be you are experiencing flow limitation from your airway reacting to more airflow.

Even mild apnea is probably slowly killing you without CPAP. Apnea usually gets worse over time with or without treatment.

A lot of the problems can be worked out if you work on it. Unfortunately, you often have to take charge of your own therapy.

Welcome to a wonderfully supportive community.

It took me 5 nights before I was breathing normally and sleeping through the night. Having done some SCUBA diving, I was somewhat used to the practice of learning to breath with a mask.

Ive been on the machine for a bit over a year. Most nights are really good. I read in bed for a few minutes, slip the mask on, turn off the light, and fall asleep just as quickly as I did before I was on the machine. There are some nights where the mask is a bother, but those are few are far between.

Give yourself five full nights before you give up. New habits are hard to create, but the ability to oxygenate your blood is so key to good health.

Good Luck!

John

What is your Aflex setting? That's an individual comfort feature and you may have to experiment with it to see which setting suits your inhale/exhale better. Welcome and keep us posted.

I was diagnosed then my resp tech and DME did little to help me thus after a couple of months gave up on the machine. Then within a year had three friends or friends close relative die of sleep apnea issues. One died when went out of town and since only going for one night left machine at home. Hotel house cleaning found her dead next morning. Another friend fell asleep in bis recliner and wife discovered he had stopped breathing a few hours later. I am going to work out all my issues and use the darn machine. Once we get me stable plan to buy a second machine to put next to my recliner.

I too expected miraculous results after my first night...and, like you, was less than thrilled with the results.

I have come to learn it is a work-in-progress that may take many weeks to feel the benefit.