New here..

Hi everyone, I got my Cpap , and used it for the first time last night,...I don't know if it is because I am congested with a cold , but woke up @1am gasping for air , and at 4am in a coughing fit , and took it off . my pressure is 11 , and I have the gradual thing on my machine to work up to that pressure, and had to turn the humidifier off , cuz it seemed to make it harder than the cool air....god I hope I can make this work!!

I'm new to all this myself. Been at it for about a month and a half. Stick with it. It gets better.

Ive already been thru a couple of "ups and downs" cycles myself. Some days the mask and all seem as natural as breathing itself. somedays I wake up in a frustrated fit and want to fling the *&^! thing at the wall.

The frustrated days are growing fewer and the good days are becomeing the norm for me already.

Had a better night last night, thanks damac100! Was it the Hot toddy I had before bed? *L* I adjusted the mask to where I didn't feel like it was suffacating me , slept through the night! Feel like a milliion bucks today!

mokeyx2,

Glad to hear you had a better night last night. It does take awhile to get adjusted for some of us.

I did have a thought that may help - if you're waking up gasping for air - you may not be getting enough pressure. The ramp feature can be great to help us get used to it - but for some like me, I quit using it because I felt I wasn't getting enough air and going straight to my 10 pressure was more comfortable.

As to your congestion - do you have a heated humidifier? What type of machine/mask do you have? If you tell us more specifics, there's probably more tips we can pass along. Many find heated humidification very helpful with congestion. There are also quite a few that use sinus rinses to clean out their noses before bed and that helps with breathing as well. Basically it's a saline rinse - can't remember all the specifics, but you can find several posts about it on here in search.

Anyway, hang in there - post your specific questions and the great folks on this forum wiill be very quick to jump in with suggestions and encouragement!

Karen

I'm new to this group but have had my cpap for about 8 months or so. It took me the first full month before I went the whole night without taking the mask off in my sleep. Once I finally got used to it and learned which things made me most comfortable, I began to feel better than I had in years and years. And to think I was so close to completely giving up after about the third week.

When I had my first mask (I forget the brand, but it is the type that goes over the whole nose), I couldn't sleep with the heated humidifier on because it felt too "hot and sweaty" to me, and felt harder to breathe. But using my nasal pillows mask, I can't sleep withOUT the heated humidifier on, because the colder air is uncomfortable.

Anyway, what I am trying to say is, don't give up, and keep trying different things until you land on the combination that works best for you.

Thanks for all your support, I went to the Dr. for my congestion, and have pnemonia again, so am on meds for that. I am not comfortable with the humidifier on , cuz like you said , it is hot and steamy, I did ok last night , didn;t wake up gasping , slept though the night again, I think I need to just spend more time at night getting it on jsut right. I am now not doing the ramp , and it is better. I think I would like to find just a nose one. I have no idea what machine I have or mask. Thanks again everyone!