On day 4 . . . wellllll . . . :|

Started using my BiPAP on Friday night. I was quite a bit disappointed to see today a reference to the BiPAP not treating sleep apnea, but I'm going to trust the prescription because I know the night I slept at the clinic with cpap didn't stop my apnea events, but the night I slept with the BIPAP did and my oxygen level didn't get below 91% whereas before, it was down to 66%.

Anyway, started using my BiPAP ( I have the Respironics BiPAP Pro 2 I think with an UltraMirage FF mask.) Night 1 was great . . . although the cat really didn't like it. I woke up a couple of times during the night and I slept on my side most of the night without losing the seal . . . it was great. I didn't feel like running a marathon on Saturday, but I didn't fall asleep during the sermon and I mused at 6:00pm that I usually would have had an extensive nap by that time, but I wasn't sleepy. Sunday morning was the same way, although I really missed that hour I lost. The fascinating thing was I woke up once during the night then the next thing I knew, the alarm clock was going off. I can't remember the last time the alarm clock woke me up and not the other way around.

Okay, the honeymoon ended Sunday night. Perhaps I didn't clean it from the night before well enough, but first the air was too warm, which was odd since I had the humidifier up to the highest setting the last two nights and it still seemed cool to me, and I couldn't get it to seal, it kept whistling and no matter how much I adjusted the mask, I couldn't get it to stop. Eventually I took it off to just take a breather for a moment and slipped off to sleep propped up on the bed (NOT . . . a good idea). A couple of hours later I roused myself enough to turn the space heater in a different direction, realize I had the head straps hooked upside down, but my mask back on and slept peacefully . . . for the TWO hours I had left before the alarm went off. Anyway, on the whole I'm pleased with my adjustment so far. I was curious to know a couple (okay, more than a couple) of things . . .

1. Does the condensation in the humidifer ever go away. Ever since that first night, there has been a bit of condensation on the roof (inside) of the water container.

2. Is there anyway to turn the unit off (I know it has start and stop, but it's always on when it's plugged in.) or does it have to be unplugged every morning?

3. Any alternative to using the vinegar/water solution to soak the mask/hose weekly?

4. In reality, what's the BEST way to clean the mask each morning to prevent oil/residue buildup and preserve the seal?

5. What happens when the electricity goes out . . . am I just up a creek??

That's all for now.

Well, divajojo, that sounds like a really good start Don't worry about the minor setbacks, they will happen, but it sounds like you're already noticing a positive benefit, so do persevere with it.

Some comments on your questions:

1. Condensation inside the humidifier is nothing to worry about, it's only when you get it in the hose and mask (ie drips on your face) that it becomes a problem. There's lots of info in other threads about dealing with it, including turning down the humidifer a little or increasing the room temperature a bit, but the gold standard seems to be the Aussie heated hose that many people rave about. Search on the term rainout

2. Don't know that particular machine, but I would guess there is. If not, just unplug it.

3. Lots of different opinions about cleaning regimes in the forum. I use warm water and a mild soap about once a week on my mask, never clean the hose or humidifier as I'm using distilled water only.

4. Again, lots of views elsewhere in the forum but warm water works for me!

5. Unless you have a generator on stand-by (which I guess is unlikely) then you can use battery power. Search through the forum and you'll find lots of info from the outdoor people!

Good to hear about your success and good luck.

With the Ultra Mirage you need to remove the seal and wash it really well or the facial oil will keep the mask from sealing. Your mask should have come with a cd showing you this.

As to BIPAP VS CPAP, if it works for you that is what matters. What Dr Rappoport was saying was that for comfort / compliance it is not the best treatment, but if you have centrals or other breathing issues that REQUIRE BIPAP, then that is what you need.

Dr. Rappoport also said that if something was working well for you, then that's what you should have. Or words to that effect. Sounds like your BiPap is doing a good job for you, Jo.

I agree with littlebaddow's easy cleaning ideas. With clean distilled water in my humidifier, I don't worry about cleaning the humidifier chamber or hose either. I just add more distilled water as needed. Mild soap and water (not hot) cleans skin oils off the cushion surface fine. I never take any mask apart to clean it. There's a chance I don't want to take - that once you take a mask apart, it just might not seal back together quite as tightly as it did from the factory.

RG, on the Ultra Mirage, the only way to really get it clean is to take the seal off... (I tried the washing it off bit, didn't work, my complexion is too oily ) That or dump the whole thing in soapy water, but then I would be concerned about it drying completely.

I understand, Mike. Sorry you have to do all that. Maybe Jo will be lucky and can keep hers clean without taking it apart. By the way, I'm reading the message boad during pause/buffering of the lecture. Can't thank you enough, Mike, for the "pause" hint! I had no idea it would keep loading while paused. So neat.

Thanks so much for the responses. Last night was a little ruff, but overall okay I guess. I have a strange phenomenon (or is it "na?) taking place. For the past two nights I have had trouble with the seal in the early part of the night, but after 3:00 in the morning, some slight adjustment I make resolves that and I sleep fine. I guess it'll just take some more experimentation.

Those of you with cats out there, please help . . . I have tried to be so careful, keeping the cat away from my machine so I won't get hair in the vent, hose or humidifier. I haven't inhaled any hair yet, but I have notice that it constantly gets stuck to each end of the hose and I have seen some on the seal of my mask. How do I combat this???

divajojo wrote:Those of you with cats out there, please help . . . I have tried to be so careful, keeping the cat away from my machine so I won't get hair in the vent, hose or humidifier. I haven't inhaled any hair yet, but I have notice that it constantly gets stuck to each end of the hose and I have seen some on the seal of my mask. How do I combat this???

We have 3 cats and the only effective way I've found is simply to keep them out of the bedroom. Otherwise, clean the filters in the machine more often than recommended and put your mask where they can't get at it

Diva,

I have given up on trying to keep animal hair off the hose, etc . I have 7 cats and 2 dogs, all of which hang out in the bedroom at various parts of the day. Whenever I nap, there's usually 3 or 4 cats in the bed and at least one dog.

In the mornings I clean the mask (Resmed Ultra FF) and hang it in the shower to dry. The hose goes in the nightstand drawer and I take the smartcard out of the machine and put it in the drawer also. My cats have a tendency to accidentally turn on the machine and I don't want a false reading on my data.

I hope things progress well for you. Has your cat adjusted to seeing you in all your gear? It took my cats a few days to come around, and one of my dogs would actually growl at me when I had it on. Now they just consider it normal I guess.

Well, the first night, she was not happy and kept wanting to get in my face, but since then, she's been okay. I was pleasantly surprised. It's just the two of us, so I guess if it's not another animal, she's cool. I haven't taken the mask apart yet, the technician was a bit discombobulated (is that spelled right??) at my session - she had difficulty getting the mask back together and kept telling me that it's not as difficult as it looked (hmmmn??). Also, when she first connected the cords, she had the humidifier plugged into itself. I had to point it out to her repeatedly, she kept telling me that both the humidifier and the machine had to be connected to the power sourse (duh!!), but I had to repeatedly point out to her that they were not with the way she had them plugged in . . . if the humidifier is plugged into itself and the machine is plugged into the power source, where is the humidifier's power coming from.

She didn't fix it until she turned on the machine, programmed it to show me that it was plugged in correctly . . . and it DIDN'T work. Didn't leave me with a whole lot of confidence in them. Anyway, I think I've got a good start and I'm going to keep on truckin'

I have six cats. I don't worry about cat fur on the hose and I change my filters once a month. I haven't noticed any cat fur on them. First thing in the morning when I get up, I put the whole mask or nasal interface (whichever I'm using at the time) in a 2 1/2 gallon size Hefty One Zip Baggie. I just drop the mask in it still hooked up to the machine and slide the zipper seal to the hose where the hose is hanging out and the rest of the mask is sealed inside the baggie. It keeps my curious cats from sniffing and licking on my mask when I don't have it on. I bought a box of the 2 1/2 gallon size baggies in November and haven't used them up yet so it's relatively inexpensive. Hope this helps.

Thanks so much, I'll try that.

yup - exactly what I do - the mask goes in the bag in the morning, and comes out clean at night. Even with 2 cats!

As to BIPAP VS CPAP, if it works for you that is what matters. What Dr Rappoport was saying was that for comfort / compliance it is not the best treatment, but if you have centrals or other breathing issues that REQUIRE BIPAP, then that is what you need.

I hope I did that right. I was just curious to know how do I know if there are centrals or other breathing issues requiring the BiPAP? All I know is that the cpap didn't stop the apnea events, but no other disorders, etc. were referenced to in my study results.