Week 3 struggles

snorin747 · Post by **snorin747** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 4:34 pm

Week 3 with the CPAP.

I was put on CPAP about 13 years ago and did not tolerate it. I had surgery and things went quit well. Was able to get a good nights sleep, had more energy than I knew what to do with. Last summer I got to the point that I could not add 2+2. I went to my doctor who sent me off for a sleep study and in the short they said I have mild sleep apnea. I got my CPAP about 3 week ago.

At first I seemed to be doing okay. I would wake up several times, but I would stick with it. But recently I find that my nose is getting very dry. The last few nights I have taken my mask off after a couple hours due to the dryness.

I've tried saline nose spray and Ayr gel, but it does not seem to be helping.

Any ideas on how to get back into a full night of CPAP?

bdp522 · Post by **bdp522** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 7:23 pm

What do you have the humidifier set on?

Brenda

cookie246 · Post by **cookie246** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 7:35 pm

Try setting your humidifier higher. I have only been on my machine for four nights and have found my maximum setting and dont have the dry nose. Last night i had more moisture I needed. So tonight I will lower it a bit.

pedroski · Post by **pedroski** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 8:06 pm

Hi 747 (Sounds like you're a big snorer!!),

If you have mild sleep apnoea, do you have a low pressure? Is your humidifier working properly and what do you have it set on? Why don't you try cranking it right up for a few nights and see if it makes any difference?

Peter

snorin747 · Post by **snorin747** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 8:21 pm

It was set on 2, so I bumped it up to 4.

Pressure is set to 10. It ramps from 4

About 14 years I was at a sleep over and a couple of people complained that I snored like a 747 at take off. Didn't bother me any.

About two years ago I spent a few nights at a friends house and my friend said I never snored. The only problem I had was the cats dislike of my taking their half of the bed. We worked things out, as long as I was twisted in a position humanly impossible, we got along fine. ..and I was allowed to sleep.

pedroski · Post by **pedroski** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 8:31 pm

The only problem I had was the cats dislike of my taking their half of the bed. We worked things out, as long as I was twisted in a position humanly impossible, we got along fine. ..and I was allowed to sleep.

Big of them!!

Good luck with the higher setting on your humidifier.

snorin747 · Post by **snorin747** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 3:27 am

4 was too much so I woke up and bumped it down to 3.

I normally fall asleep on my back and then usually roll over to my right side. I have the hose of my mask running up the left side of my head. I woke up to a lot of air nosies. I think that the mask and my nose were not sealing correctly, so I took the mask off and went back to sleep. *sigh*

Later I took a nap (at least tried) and found that there was a problem with the mask to nose connection. I decided to stay with it and wake up and figure out what was going on. It seemed that if I moved my head I could make the mask seal better with my nose. I remember doing it a few times, I think I hit the ramp button and later took the mask off. *sigh*.

Is there a proper way to get the mask and nose to work better? It seems as long as I am on my back I'm okay, but if I move over to my side, I start having air leaking. The problem seems to be more pronounced once I have ramped up.

I really want this to work. The first few nights it was great!!!! But once my nose dried out, it had been a fight. I'm getting back to being tired all the time.

kteague · Post by **kteague** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 4:06 am

A ramp pressure of 4 may be too low to be comfortable for you. A sleep tech I spoke with recently said they don't consider 4 adequate for anyone to breath comfortably, and they start their testing at 5. As it is now, every time you stop and start over during the night, you are starting the ramp again for the designated period of time. You may be spending a great part of your night at 4, while you need more that twice that much pressure to control your obstructions.

Now, I'm not up on the differences in machines, but it is my understanding that during the ramp time any obstructions are NOT treated or recorded. So, if for instance you have a 30 minute ramp and woke up three times during the night and hit the ramp button to restart your machine, that's 2 hours of your night at an insufficient pressure with probable untreated events. I'm going to start another thread on this topic to see if my understanding is correct or not.

As far as those leaks when you move, have you tried stabilizing your headgear with an extra strap or tie of some sort? Rested Gal has been successful with the leg of pantyhose tights, and others have used everything from stretchy headbands to a strip of t-shirt. Just don't block the exhaust vents.

Good luck with the nose gels or sprays to help moisten your nose till you can find the best humidifier setting.

Kathy

oldgearhead · Post by **oldgearhead** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 4:17 am

By design, I would think the Swift to not be a good "side-sleeper".

As for the other problem:
1) How much water is going through the HH each night?
2) I would start the ramp at a much higher pressure, so that, mask sealing
adjustments can be made before falling asleep.

snorin747 · Post by **snorin747** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 4:22 am

I'll have to see if I can bump the ramp up a notch. I think I saw a setting when I scrolled through the panel. I do find myself sometimes trying to catch my breath. I figured it as more of a panic attack due to this thing attacking my nose! I am a chronic pain sufferer so the tools (non-medicinal) I have to get the pain under control have been useful with the nose hose. Which I haven't tried the last couple of nights now that I think about it. *sigh*

Tonight I'm going to try to go to sleep on my side. See if I can get the head gear situated before I dose off.

Lyza · Post by **Lyza** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 4:28 am

Turn the ramp feature off. You will never get the mask adjusted properly at a low pressure only to fall asleep and then wake with it leaking everywhere once you hit full pressure..

snorin747 · Post by **snorin747** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 4:40 am

Any recommendations for a back / side sleeper?

I've tired it without the ramp, it is too much for me to sleep with. I'll look at upping the starting ramp pressure.

What is HH (newbie alert)? and how do I figure it out?

blarg · Post by **blarg** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 6:12 am

HH means Heated Humidifier.

snorin747 · Post by **snorin747** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 6:44 am

I've never really measured. I think I am adding about 1/4 cup a night.

Hurricane · Post by **Hurricane** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:04 am

I use a duck down pillow, which fo me is very forgiving for my Swift nasal pillow system, If I try my wifes foam pillow, the stiffness of it makes my mask shift, just one more idea for you. Stay with it and beat this problem.
Hurricane

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