Howdy! Recently diagnosed, now being treated.

[griff0n]

My name is Griff! For as long as I can remember I've been snoring, feeling exhausted and fatigued, most of my adult life. I've been described as spastic, absentminded and forgetful. But then I got on the ACA bandwagon last year, and this year I decided to go see my PCP, who said I most likely have sleep apnea, so he sent me to a Sleep specialist. I have moved through this system at a fast pace -- went from referral, to sleep study, to diagnosis, then CPAP in one months time. I was recorded as having 70 AHI during my study. And my sleep doc. says I have chronic nasal congestion, then proceeded to tell me to use Afrin before bed time until I can get the nose surgery (been a mouth breather my whole life, afaik). Yoinks!

It's been ten days since I have started using my CPAP machine, and my girlfriend says she has seen a change in my attitude and energy (most of my friends say I seem to be far more energetic than usual), so that has been keeping me positive about this whole experience. Personally, tho, I have been feeling wary. My MyAir data says I am doing well, with scores between 87 to 100. Last night was the worst tho, I feel like I woke up feeling exhausted. Most days I do feel like I was up and ready to take on the day, but the excessive daytime sleepiness stuck around. When does that fade? If at all?

I am using the AirCurve 10 VAuto and the Airfit F20 mask. The machine has been set to 14-18 PS 4. That mask seems to do pretty good, even with my short beard, but the it irritates the bridge of my nose a lot, so I wear a band-aid on the bridge of my nose. Will my nose get used to this thing?

I guess I am just here to introduce myself and talk about my therapy. I was keeping up with the positivity but today I feel like I am in the dumps about this. Blorp~

[Pugsy]

Welcome to the forum.

How many hours of sleep did you get last night?
Did you find that you happened to wake often last night?

Sorry, not much help with the nose and mask stuff since I really have no experience with full face masks but I always tell people that no mask should ever cause anything more than very minor discomfort.
If a mask causes skin abrasions, significant pain, blisters or anything like that then it is either the wrong size, wrong fit or simply the wrong mask for a person and maybe they should consider changing.
We shouldn't have to accept scar tissue on our nose to "toughen the skin up".

If it doesn't seem severe pain...you might consider using a mask liner. You can make your own or buy ready made.
Search the forum for "mask liners" and you will get lots of discussion and ideas.

[mesenteria]

Your pressures are relatively high for the time being (?), and with facial hair the mask you are using may need a fair whack of pressure against your tissues to keep the readings next morning showing substantial air leaks. Just a thought, not suggesting that it IS the case....

I have about one not-very-great night every two or three weeks, so if I am typical, you may have just had something similar. One night in 14 does not much of a statistic make, IOW. Even then, we all have minor leaks each night at various times, sometimes when we turn on our sides and our heads collapse a bit toward our chests, or we tuck them in for some reason. Happens for me...

Apart from leaks, I think you should be looking ideally for a consistent AHI under 5-ish. I found that mine didn't change, and may have stabilized, when I adjusted my headgear to lighten the pressure against my face after about a week. I did this on my own as an experiment, and was gratified to have it result in improved comfort and no degradation in performance.

I did get a slightly sore and scabby nostril early, and the advice from the provider was to acquire a tube of Barrier Cream (actual name of the brand), and to apply a slight coating of it to the affected area for a few nights. It worked, and I have not had to repeat it.

[griff0n]

Welcome to the forum.

How many hours of sleep did you get last night?
Did you find that you happened to wake often last night?

I am getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night. MyAir says I got 8:08 hours of sleep, and I do remember waking up 3 times, twice to pee. My usual has been to be aware of waking about 2-5 times a night. Since Cpap, maybe once a night, again to pee.

Sorry, not much help with the nose and mask stuff since I really have no experience with full face masks but I always tell people that no mask should ever cause anything more than very minor discomfort.
If a mask causes skin abrasions, significant pain, blisters or anything like that then it is either the wrong size, wrong fit or simply the wrong mask for a person and maybe they should consider changing.
We shouldn't have to accept scar tissue on our nose to "toughen the skin up".

If it doesn't seem severe pain...you might consider using a mask liner. You can make your own or buy ready made.
Search the forum for "mask liners" and you will get lots of discussion and ideas.

Yeah! I noticed on my first two nights I was getting reddish skin and white blisters on the bridge of my nose, so I worked on fitting my mask for a bit of time. That seemed ok for the next two nights, but I was still getting a reddish nose, tho not as sore. That's when I decided to try using a band-aid over the bridge to help. The pain hasn't been severe, really, not since the first two nights, anyway. (using a search, I just found RemZzz's. Maybe worth a shot.)

I am trying to not have to shave my beard. I love it, my friends love it, and most of all my girlfriend loves it. Ha!

I am also guessing that a good pillow is going to matter a lot here. I'm not liking this pillow I am using now while wearing a mask.

[griff0n]

Your pressures are relatively high for the time being (?), and with facial hair the mask you are using may need a fair whack of pressure against your tissues to keep the readings next morning showing substantial air leaks. Just a thought, not suggesting that it IS the case....

I have about one not-very-great night every two or three weeks, so if I am typical, you may have just had something similar. One night in 14 does not much of a statistic make, IOW. Even then, we all have minor leaks each night at various times, sometimes when we turn on our sides and our heads collapse a bit toward our chests, or we tuck them in for some reason. Happens for me...

Apart from leaks, I think you should be looking ideally for a consistent AHI under 5-ish. I found that mine didn't change, and may have stabilized, when I adjusted my headgear to lighten the pressure against my face after about a week. I did this on my own as an experiment, and was gratified to have it result in improved comfort and no degradation in performance.

I did get a slightly sore and scabby nostril early, and the advice from the provider was to acquire a tube of Barrier Cream (actual name of the brand), and to apply a slight coating of it to the affected area for a few nights. It worked, and I have not had to repeat it.

Hello, mate! About the pressure... I suppose so? I am probably a lot like most folks when beginning this, I didn't ask a lot of questions. They moved me through this whole thing pretty fast, and the specialist and techs I've been with have all sounded compassionate about it, at least. I didn't even ask for my studies/test/etc papers, and I'm thinking about calling my sleep doc to get them sent to me. Maybe some folks with beards on this forum will have a bit o' advice for me?

I shall check this cream out of things persist as they do, as well.

As for my AHI, myair is reporting for each of the nights I've used this thing:

6.1, 5.5, 8.6, 3.7, 5.8, 4.7, 5, 6.2

And last night was 13.

[Pugsy]

And last night was 13.

Ahhh...no wonder you don't feel so great. AHI way too high.

Get SleepyHead software and let's see what's going on with that AHI...what kind of events and when they are happening and what the pressure is doing and what the leaks might be doing.

https://sleep.tnet.com/equipment

And if you want member input about what you are seeing see this thread for examples and how to share images.
viewtopic/t158560/How-to-post-images-for-review.html

[Okie bipap]

When I was having problems with the mask causing irritation of my nose, I used a piece of moleskin on my nose every night. You can find moleskin in the foot health department of CVS, Walmart, etc. If you decide to continue using it, you can find it on the internet in large rolls. I would unroll about a 1 inch piece, cut it off, and put it on my nose. The technician I worked with when I first started using a machine told me about the moleskin. She said her husband used it every night.

[zonker]

It's been ten days since I have started using my CPAP machine, and my girlfriend says she has seen a change in my attitude and energy (most of my friends say I seem to be far more energetic than usual), so that has been keeping me positive about this whole experience. Personally, tho, I have been feeling wary. My MyAir data says I am doing well, with scores between 87 to 100. Last night was the worst tho, I feel like I woke up feeling exhausted. Most days I do feel like I was up and ready to take on the day, but the excessive daytime sleepiness stuck around. When does that fade? If at all?

hey, griff. welcome aboard!

when does it fade? it's different for each of us. every now and then, you'll see some lucky so 'n' so post here as to how they took to therapy immediately and it's all roses for them. but those people seem to be in the minority. or maybe it's just those of us that take longer who stick around here longer? dunno.

the two things that cleared up for me straight away, like within months, was not having to get up for pee breaks in the night. then gradually noticed my headaches went away. for ME, within a year i started feeling better with no day time sleepiness.

now, that's ME. not saying it will take that long for you. but it will certainly take less time the quicker you get your therapy optimized!

there are good people here who can help you out. pay close attention to what they say and you will be on your way!

[Barbee]

Welcome! I’m new, too. I have learned so much in the short time I’ve been here. These people know their stuff!
I have the same mask as you. One night it put a sore spot on my nose. I think I had it too tight.

[Cryssied]

I'm glad you brought up the red mark from the Resmed Airfit F20. I also have the Airfit F20 and I have the red mark on my nose. Right now, I just cover it with makeup. I think it may be from rubbing and movement of the mask at night because my mask is super comfortable for me and I don't feel much pressure on the bridge of my nose. The mark itself is only noticeable when I press on it, and even then I wouldn't classify it as painful. Before I read your post I was planning to try kiddy bandaids and see if that will clear it up. I suspect that they won't make me break out or be hard to take off. If that doesn't work I might try the moleskin idea. The only concern I have is that being acne prone I may break out from an adhesive that wasn't designed with faces in mind. Sorry, I don't have answers for you, just commiseration.

[Okie bipap]

I am normally quite sensitive to adhesives, but the moleskin did not bother me. I recently had hip surgery, and the large, open sores caused by he tape adhesive caused more pain than the actual surgery did.

[yourbrokenoven]

My mask was incredibly painful when I first started. In fact, when I had to start wearing glasses, that also hurt my nose. Anyway, I finally found a mask whose headgear doesn't make me feel like I'm getting a pressure ulcer. It took me almost 4 years.

I recently heard of people being allowed to come back multiple times and try on a dozen different masks, and I wonder how that works because the option was never given to me.

[griff0n]

And last night was 13.

Ahhh...no wonder you don't feel so great. AHI way too high.

Get SleepyHead software and let's see what's going on with that AHI...what kind of events and when they are happening and what the pressure is doing and what the leaks might be doing.

I have some bad news, I don't have a PC/MAC. I have a chromebook, so I can't make use of the sleepyhead data. I do have the theory that maybe I need to clean my mask and turn down the humidifier, because I noticed an oily/wet feel to the sides of the mask this morning. I have been washing my face before bed, too.

[edit] Sorry, I meant sides of the silicone/rubbery part, haha

[edit 2] Also, I had 2.9 AHI last night, but I only had 5:48 hours of sleep. =/

[griff0n]

When I was having problems with the mask causing irritation of my nose, I used a piece of moleskin on my nose every night. You can find moleskin in the foot health department of CVS, Walmart, etc. If you decide to continue using it, you can find it on the internet in large rolls. I would unroll about a 1 inch piece, cut it off, and put it on my nose. The technician I worked with when I first started using a machine told me about the moleskin. She said her husband used it every night.

Fantastic idea! I will give it a try tonight.

[griff0n]

Hi!
Sorry it took me so long to get back to this, I've been trying to learn me on my own til I could get access to a PC or MAC... and, I finally got a friend with a MAC to come over.

It's now been 28 days (ish?) since I started treatment. I still stand by that on most days I've seen a bit more energy, and I don't pass out when I sit down after clocking out at work. I also don't pass out in front of the TV much anymore. However...

These past 6-7 days, my leaks have been awful. Last week I began using unscented baby wipes on the cushion to clean it, and two days ago I finally got to using hot, soapy water to clean the equipment, daily. So, now I have used my friend's MAC to use SleepyHead, and I took screenshots of the past 5-6 days, in case you all wanted to see those.

I've had 14.8, 21.7, 26.5, 13.4, 17.8, 6.4 AHI in the past 6 days. Here is the latest SleepyHead screenshot: