Failed with CPAP, trying Provent

Provent is, IMHO, snake oil and a waste of time and money.

Please Circle around and try cpap again, using this site as a resource.

Good luck!

The EPR setting is at 3. Should I turn it higher or lower?

EPR can't be set higher than 3. That's the most reduction available depending on pressure used.
So what pressure(s) were/are you having trouble with?

Don't. Try an oral appliance (covered by insurance)

I don't intend for this to sound harsh, but here goes. My wonderful SIL has a saying...'Can't Never Did Anything' & by that she means to keep telling yourself You Can!!!

I know starting CPAP therapy can be very hard for some, but if you keep telling yourself you can & keep searching for a way to make it work for you. There is a mask out there that will work for you, as well as finding the right method to fall asleep. Have you tried other sleeping aids, like melotonin or another sleeping pill?

Pesser has a great method, wear the mask & use the machine while awake so that it feels familiar when you go to bed. Another possible idea is to try without the ramp, maybe that will help you adjust to what your pressure will feel like after you fall asleep. The ramp works for some people & not others. When I started therapy 14 years ago I started with the ramp, struggling each night until I realized I couldn't fall asleep until after the ramp shut off. That was an easy fix, just turned off the ramp feature.

Bottom line is to try again to commit to therapy. So many here on this forum have struggled & then with time have succeeded that I believe in you. Tell yourself 'yes I can' & eventually you will realize one night that wow, you made a whole night with therapy!

I guess what I'm trying to share with you is that if I, a total stranger can believe in you, you can believe in yourself. I believe in you. Now prove me right & show yourself you CAN do this.

Jen

I'm just 10 nights into CPAP myself and falling asleep is the worst part for me. I get a little anxious and when I'm anxious I tend to want to yawn/sigh. Not always easy to do with nose pillows. It's really a result of anxiety.

I have found that I am getting more and more used to CPAP and have been backing away from using the ramp feature. I started at 20 minutes andI now have it set to 5. I think I would use the ramp longer if I could change the minimum setting.

I second the suggestion to have a go without the ramp feature enabled.

CPAP hasn't done anything for me after 4-5 months now either. I didn't want to use it on the weekend, but found I couldn't fall asleep without it now. Still on the fence about discontinuing usage... Doctor said I should just to prevent the cadio risks.

Keep trying the CPAP though, once you get used to it you'll probably feel a lot better.

I think your biggest hurdle right now is learning to fall asleep with the mask on.

Right now you put on the mask every night and suffer for 90 minutes. As you lie there, all you are thinking is that you are never going to be able to use this stupid machine. After 90 minutes you tell yourself "I tried", shut off the machine, and go to sleep.

Your sleep trigger is removing the mask.

Your sleep trigger needs to be putting on the mask.

You've never said what your settings are, but here is what might work for you.

Lower the pressure down to 7. If you are still having trouble, try 6 or even 5. You probably won't be getting effective therapy, but who cares. You aren't getting therapy now.

Do not allow yourself to sleep without the mask!

Learn to sleep with the mask on at the lower pressure. If you lie down to sleep the mask goes on. If you can't fall asleep, get up and do something until you are ready to try again. You can and will do this. You may have difficulty for a few or several nights, but you must teach your mind and body that it does not sleep without the machine.

Within the first week or two, at some point you will wake with the mask on and check to see if the machine is running. That is when you will know you have mastered your machine.

At this point, you can start to slowly increase your pressure to where it is effective/prescribed. Maybe an increase every 3-4 days. If you have an auto leave your minimum where it is and increase the max pressure a couple of cm. On straight cpap I would increase .2-.4 every few days.

This is the process that worked for me. I was put on a machine at 7 to get used to it before my titration study. I was on that pressure for 6 weeks before I finally got my real prescription at 10. Even then I had an auto set at 5-15 for 4 months before I started raising the minimum pressure. Now I'm at 10-12, but I got there slowly. If on day one I had put on the mask at

I tried it without the ramp and got to 2.5 hours. Yay!! And the comment about the trigger is very perceptive. Thanks. Hopefully I am on my way to success.

2IIAJ wrote:I tried it without the ramp and got to 2.5 hours. Yay!! And the comment about the trigger is very perceptive. Thanks. Hopefully I am on my way to success.

I think you're on your way! The ramp might have been messing you up. Now, you just need to let yourself sleep If you can get almost 3 hours in you can certainly get more. Keep up the good work - and I agree the comment about the trigger is right on.

2IIAJ wrote:I tried it without the ramp and got to 2.5 hours. Yay!! And the comment about the trigger is very perceptive. Thanks. Hopefully I am on my way to success.

Whoa! That's a big improvement.

I applaud you. You were getting some pretty "tough love" and I'm glad it didn't cause you to give up completely.

Here's another suggestion. As you start trying various things (1) try not to change too much at once (so you can get an idea about what's helping) jot down notes, nothing fancy (e.g.: "tried without ramp 4/28 -- slept 2.5 hours YAY!").