Pillow and Pressure Problems

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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BuddhaCat
Posts: 108
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2014 7:32 am
Location: Burlington, Vermont area

Pillow and Pressure Problems

Post by BuddhaCat » Thu Jul 31, 2014 7:00 am

Last week, in this thread viewtopic.php?f=1&t=99437&st=0&sk=t&sd=a , I got great advice that helped my sleep. I've got two remaining issues:

(1) Pillow Problems: I wear AirFit For Her size medium, the largest I can tolerate, because it helps my air seal and air flow. Usually, that is. For the past 3-4 nights, the seal on my left nare keeps breaking and I had to adjust it a million times. Even though the pillow looks good to the naked eye, I started to wonder if it's "out of shape" and outliving its usefulness. (I do wash it every day in mild soap and water, and put a small amount of lanolin on it at night.) Keep in mind, though, that the pillow has only had 3 weeks of use.

Yesterday I visited my DME in hopes of a) getting a new medium pillow for the P10 For Her; b) getting a new nasal mask for those nights I get too congested for a pillow mask; c) getting a new fine white filter for the machine. (Those are supposed to be replaced monthly, and my month is almost up.)

No surprises. The DME rep was pretty clueless (or more likely uncaring). I brought my daily CPAP diary that I write in faithfully every night; he didn't want to see it. He didn't look at my numbers on the computer. I walked out of there with a) nada on the medium pillow for the P10 For Her; b) a Quattro Air FFM rather than the AirFit N10 that I wanted; c) not even a damn tiny white filter for the machine.

This paltry result is not because I didn't self-advocate. It's because I read the man's affect (which I kinda do for a living) and knew what he was capable of giving me (i.e, not much). I also knew that his bean-counter of a boss was hovering over the proceedings and making it less likely that I'd get what I wanted. I walked away knowing what many of you know -- the DME is NOT there to help but to obstruct. To get the therapy I need, I have to go around them most of the time.

Anyway, I still need a medium pillow for the P10 For Her. Any suggestions about the cheapest place to get it? (Same question for the tiny white filter for the machine.) As for the Quattro Air FFM, at least I'll have it if I ever need it.

(2) Pressure Problems: The thread noted above suggested that I try a higher starting pressure than 5.0 when I was starving for air. I raised the minimum pressure to 6.0 last week and felt terrific. It's still working for me at bedtime, but I woke up around 4:00 am today and felt like I was starving for air again. The pressure was on 6. I manually raised the starting pressure to 7.0, then 8.0, but I still felt like I was starved for air. I lowered the pressure just for kicks -- same result. I didn't go above an 8.0, just eventually took the mask off after 5 hours' sleep. Then I briefly tried the Quattro Air FFM and asked myself "How do people do this every night?" The leakage was startling and, worse, there was too much tension on my jaw (I've got TMJ). I think the pillow mask is really my best option all around. Now to find the elusive sweet spot that will allow me to sleep 7-8 hours every night with low AHIs!

_________________
Machine: PR System One REMStar 60 Series Auto CPAP Machine
Mask: AirFit™ P10 For Her Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Bucky Duo (Buckwheat/Millet) Bed Pillow
To someone with OSA, this saying takes on a whole new meaning:
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

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palerider
Posts: 32300
Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2009 5:43 pm
Location: Dallas(ish).

Re: Pillow and Pressure Problems

Post by palerider » Thu Jul 31, 2014 8:53 am

BuddhaCat wrote: Anyway, I still need a medium pillow for the P10 For Her. Any suggestions about the cheapest place to get it? (Same question for the tiny white filter for the machine.) As for the Quattro Air FFM, at least I'll have it if I ever need it.
I like ebay for things like that, or amazon, or even cpap.com compare prices, I've gotten most of my mask parts/filter stuff off ebay.

also, post 1000, and it wasn't even a blowoff post.

_________________
Mask: Bleep DreamPort CPAP Mask Solution
Additional Comments: S9 VPAP Auto
Get OSCAR

Accounts to put on the foe list: dataq1, clownbell, gearchange, lynninnj, mper!?, DreamDiver, Geer1, almostadoctor, sleepgeek, ajack, stom, mogy, D.H., They often post misleading, timewasting stuff.

User avatar
BuddhaCat
Posts: 108
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2014 7:32 am
Location: Burlington, Vermont area

Re: Pillow and Pressure Problems

Post by BuddhaCat » Thu Jul 31, 2014 9:54 am

palerider wrote:
BuddhaCat wrote: Anyway, I still need a medium pillow for the P10 For Her. Any suggestions about the cheapest place to get it? (Same question for the tiny white filter for the machine.) As for the Quattro Air FFM, at least I'll have it if I ever need it.
I like ebay for things like that, or amazon, or even cpap.com compare prices, I've gotten most of my mask parts/filter stuff off ebay.

also, post 1000, and it wasn't even a blowoff post.
Palerider, I feel honored to be your 1000th post!

Hadn't thought about ebay. I'll check it out, thanks!

_________________
Machine: PR System One REMStar 60 Series Auto CPAP Machine
Mask: AirFit™ P10 For Her Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Bucky Duo (Buckwheat/Millet) Bed Pillow
To someone with OSA, this saying takes on a whole new meaning:
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."