Newbie intro and first month impressions

[Violet West]

Hi, there, CPAP forum. So much info to go through here; I'm looking forward to picking y'alls brains (I live in Texas, or close enough, anyway). Kind of a long rambling post, but appreciate the opportunity to "talk" to people about the "nose blowing machine." (At first I called it the "face sucking machine" a la Alien, but that's obviously not correct!)

59 year old woman -- had what I now realize was a heart attack in October 2015 and spent 4 days in the hospital with atrial fibrillation. (By the way, that thing about women's heart attacks being different -- so true. I didn't even have chest pain. Feel dumb, now, because I waited 4 days to go to the doctor.) Had a cardioversion in November which has fixed the AFIB -- for now.

No coronary disease, so the first thing Dr. said was "sleep apnea." I was sooooo skeptical. If asked, I would have said I had no sleep issues at all (except for night sweats). Don't feel sleepy during the day, etc. And besides, it all seemed like a scam to me -- the sleep center right next to the cardiologist -- veerrry convenient! Am being treated now by sleep/critical care doc, cardiologist, and GP -- all swore to me I needed it.

So, I did go in for a sleep study and was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. (Don't have my numbers handy). I was given (bought) an APAP machine; I've used it for about a month now. I believe it's the Resmed AirSense 10 with a Swift FX mask with the nasal pillows (I'll check later and fill out my profile with the correct stuff).

My first month's impressions:

--I cried the first night I put it on. I just keep telling myself, this is keeping me alive (because of heart and blood pressure issues).

--but -- it's not too bad. I think I got lucky with the machine and mask -- they are relatively unobtrusive. There's a "sweet spot" where I don't even feel the air blowing (how is that possible?). The hose and the headgear are PITAs, but not sure there's anything I can do about that.

--I'm directionally/spatially challenged, so it took me a while to even figure out how to assemble the headgear so it wasn't twisted around and that there's a right way up for the nasal pillows. Wish my sleep tech guy had explained that.

--lots of fiddling with the nasal pillows. I habitually use Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm at night on my lips, so I just extend that around my nose area; seems to help keep the nasal pillows in place. The worst is when I wake up in the middle of the night and have to readjust when the air pressure is going hard. Couple of times I've resorted to turning the machine off and on again so it would ramp up again. This probably messes up my data, but don't care.

--I've been wiping the nasal pillows down well with saline solution every night. Lately, I've put a drop of essential oil (Peaceful Sleep) on my paper towel, diluting it with water and saline, and using that to wipe the nasal pillows down. I know you are not supposed to use essential oils in the apparatus itself so as not to inhale them, but this just leaves me with a faint, faint, pleasant odor to smell, because the smell of the plastic, etc. was bothering me. Now I love it!

-- I find the water reservoir to be hard to pull out for refilling. Not sure there's any fix for this. Haven't replaced the filter yet, but I'm kind of dreading it. I clean the reservoir, the nasal pillows, and the short hose weekly with soap and water. I haven't cleaned the long hose yet -- is it necessary to soap-and-water this too?

Guess this is all for now. I see my doc later this week -- should be interesting.

[Fresh_air]

Hey Violet, I'm a relative newbie, too. I started my therapy in January. I don't feel the air pressure either, which is nice. Your nasal pillow mask sounds like a bit of a hassle compared to the one I'm using: the Respironics DreamWear. The mask interface simply rests under the nose, but there are no nasal prongs or pillows to irritate the mucosa. I also like how the hose is up and out of the way, by attaching at the top of the head. You might want to consider this mask to make therapy even more seamless. I don't even feel the mask touching my face after 30 seconds now and I cannot imagine ever sleeping without it.

[Fresh_air]

Oh, and my water reservoir slides out rather easily, but maybe it is because I have large hands to fully grip the machine with my left and put the reservoir out with my right.

As for cleaning, I only clean the "pillow" portion of the DreamWear mask with soap and water each morning. I use distilled water in the reservoir and made a conscious decision not to clean it based on what I have read on this forum and from personal experience. Tap water (and the faucet) can possibly introduce bacteria that would not otherwise contaminate the materials. So I will keep a close eye on my equipment, but it still looks pristine 2.5 months later.

[Mudrock63]

Sounds like you have a great attitude, enjoyed the funny post, and that is probably most important. I clean all my stuff roughly once a week, including the hose. There are those that say there is no way it could get contaminated. But I'm pretty sure I have sneezed into my mask at least one. And I am a mild germaphobe, so it is just part of the routine.

[Violet West]

yay and thanks for replies!

I'm starting to notice diminished hand strength (difficulty in opening jars, etc.) so that could very well be the issue with removing the reservoir.

@ Fresh Air -- thanks for the recommendation on the mask; I will keep that in mind.

I've started to go through some of the basic info on here -- very helpful. and come on, I'm sure I'm not the first person to make the "Alien" comparison!

[Violet West]

Since I have my appointment with my doc (and DME?) this week, do you guys have any recommendations on what questions I should be asking?