Suffocating!

[Semily]

Well, I feel bad to be posting for help, when I've been absent from the forum for so long. I've been on therapy for about a year now, and overall have been doing really well. So I guess I just haven't felt a need to hang out here. I have straight pressure at 7. I honestly haven't looked at my data lately, but my AHI is always under 2, and sometimes is even under 1. So for therapeutic purposes I don't think anything needs to be changed, but I am frequently having a suffocating sensation, like I can't get enough air through my mask. Admittedly this often happens when I am having a bit of sinus congestion, and I know that adds to the air constriction. For those times, I can just switch to a FFM.

But the suffocation sensation happens other times too for no apparent reason, and once it starts it feels like I can't catch my breath. So my question is would it would be warranted to increase my pressure just for comfort purposes? I'm on the same settings I was started out with, so I've never tried playing around with the machine. And if I do try to change the settings, where's the best place to find a how-to for my machine? Thank you in advance. I really do appreciate the wisdom you all share here!

[MarylandCPAPer]

I would discuss this with your doctor. There may be a medical issue unrelated to sleep apnea that may be causing your feelings of suffocation, if you are saying it happens at times other than when using CPAP. If the feelings of suffocation only occur when using CPAP, adjustments to your ramp (if used), pressure or other settings may be helpful.

[chunkyfrog]

What size nasal pillows do you use? You might want to try the next size up.
I also had a feeling of not enough air, and the right size pillow was the solution.
Even now, I sometimes need to wiggle them around until they line up right.

[BleepingBeauty]

Well, I feel bad to be posting for help, when I've been absent from the forum for so long. I've been on therapy for about a year now, and overall have been doing really well. So I guess I just haven't felt a need to hang out here. I have straight pressure at 7. I honestly haven't looked at my data lately, but my AHI is always under 2, and sometimes is even under 1. So for therapeutic purposes I don't think anything needs to be changed, but I am frequently having a suffocating sensation, like I can't get enough air through my mask. Admittedly this often happens when I am having a bit of sinus congestion, and I know that adds to the air constriction. For those times, I can just switch to a FFM.

But the suffocation sensation happens other times too for no apparent reason, and once it starts it feels like I can't catch my breath. So my question is would it would be warranted to increase my pressure just for comfort purposes? I'm on the same settings I was started out with, so I've never tried playing around with the machine. And if I do try to change the settings, where's the best place to find a how-to for my machine? Thank you in advance. I really do appreciate the wisdom you all share here!

Personally, I wouldn't go changing my pressure unless the data indicated it was needed (and I certainly wouldn't change it without first looking at the data if my machine produced it - and yours does; if I had a brick with no data to access, I would gently experiment with the pressure). But excess humidity can exacerbate congestion, and maybe you need less humidity during the summer months. I would try turning down the humidifier (and/or your heated hose) for a few nights and see if that helps. (Some people don't use humidification at all. I need it here in AZ, but my humidifier is only ever set between 1.5 and 2. But we're all different and have different humidification needs.)

I would play around with the humidifier/heated hose settings before I played around with the pressure. And I would start doing a nasal rinse before bed (with a neti pot, for instance) and/or use a scent (like menthol) to help while asleep: Put a drop or two of the scented oil on a cotton ball and place it near the filter on the machine.

My $.02, FWIW...

[Sleeprider]

I'm with the Chunkyfrog on this one. With the Airfit P10 pillows, the sense of not getting enough air flow can be acute when you use too small of a size. Try the next one up and see how you do.

[yaconsult]

+1 for looking at data with SleepyHead! Why fly blind when you don't need to?

[Worldwar2]

Agree with checking SH and your humidity. However, I can't see that upping your pressure a little would hurt anything. I'd go to 8 (not more than that) and see what happens. I had a similar issue and raised the pressure a little - made all the difference. Of course, checking with your doctor wouldn't hurt either.

[PoolQ]

+1 for pillow size
+1 for humidity, either way
I also was impacted by exhale pressure and feeling like I was not breathing

Could your body have shifted your needs? Well could be and the data will show you. If you still have the setup from a year ago, break it out and look at the last couple of nights.

[Wulfman...]

Well, I feel bad to be posting for help, when I've been absent from the forum for so long. I've been on therapy for about a year now, and overall have been doing really well. So I guess I just haven't felt a need to hang out here. I have straight pressure at 7. I honestly haven't looked at my data lately, but my AHI is always under 2, and sometimes is even under 1. So for therapeutic purposes I don't think anything needs to be changed, but I am frequently having a suffocating sensation, like I can't get enough air through my mask. Admittedly this often happens when I am having a bit of sinus congestion, and I know that adds to the air constriction. For those times, I can just switch to a FFM.

But the suffocation sensation happens other times too for no apparent reason, and once it starts it feels like I can't catch my breath. So my question is would it would be warranted to increase my pressure just for comfort purposes? I'm on the same settings I was started out with, so I've never tried playing around with the machine. And if I do try to change the settings, where's the best place to find a how-to for my machine? Thank you in advance. I really do appreciate the wisdom you all share here!

Here's a link where I posted most of the setup section from the provider manual.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=101747&p=951212&hil ... ng#p951212

I would suggest a couple things. If you're using quite a bit of humidity, try turning it down.
And, if you're feeling "adventurous", try bumping your pressure up a little. You're at a pretty low pressure and maybe a little more would bring your AHI down to more consistent sub-1.0 AHI numbers.


Den

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