New User to the world of CPAP
5 posts
• Page 1 of 1
New User to the world of CPAP
Howdy Neighbors, This is my first posting, a friend suggested I get on this forum to see what problems other people are having. I have used the CPAP (REMstar)only two nights so far and I was expecting better results. There are some subtle changes, sleeping a little longer before waking up to toss & turn the rest of the night, things like that. I don't think I have a problem with the mask, but the air flow seems a little high, it is set at 13 cmH2O. Anyway, I was expecting to have more energy and stop nodding off at the computer. I do think I have stopped nodding off at the wheel, though it seems to soon to tell.
Willy,
You have come to the right place. There are a lot of experienced people here.
The one thing you have to have with this treatment, is patience. It will likely take some time before you get everything dialed in just right and start getting better rest and feeling better. That's not to say it can't happen fast, but it's best to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.
I have been on CPAP for over two years. The first couple of weeks were very trying. When I finally got fitted for the right mask, it was great!!! Now I sleep through the night, don't use my ramp any more, wake up well rested and actually look forward to going to bed most nights. But it wasn't without some struggles at first. Mostly, as I've said were mask problems.
Stick with it, be patient, and READ, READ, READ. This forum has an abundance of postings with some great information.
Good luck.
Later,
Tater
You have come to the right place. There are a lot of experienced people here.
The one thing you have to have with this treatment, is patience. It will likely take some time before you get everything dialed in just right and start getting better rest and feeling better. That's not to say it can't happen fast, but it's best to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.
I have been on CPAP for over two years. The first couple of weeks were very trying. When I finally got fitted for the right mask, it was great!!! Now I sleep through the night, don't use my ramp any more, wake up well rested and actually look forward to going to bed most nights. But it wasn't without some struggles at first. Mostly, as I've said were mask problems.
Stick with it, be patient, and READ, READ, READ. This forum has an abundance of postings with some great information.
Good luck.
Later,
Tater
-
rested gal
- Posts: 12881
- Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2004 10:14 pm
- Location: Tennessee
Hi Willy,
Welcome to the message board! If you're already sensing even some subtle improvement after only two nights on cpap, you're doing great! Not nodding off behind the wheel is a BIG plus.
For some, improvement is obvious after the first night. For others it takes weeks or months or a year to feel better. For most, it's anything in between. How's that for a "cover most of the bases" answer?
The improvements can seem almost imperceptible at first. And often so gradual that many people wonder if the treatment really is doing much good, since they still don't feel "great". Pohtaytoh's great post described it well! Finding a comfortable mask is a huge key to using this kind of treatment.
Often it's only when they spend a night without their machine or mask that they realize, "Hey, this awful grogginess is the way I used to feel all the time...this machine really does help."
As one woman's wise doctor told her - in words to this effect - "It took a long time for you to get this way. It will take awhile to feel better." I think that's more realistic advice than the well meaning (they mean it to encourage) but overly enthusiastic cpap chatter some doctors and DMEs dispense - "CPAP will make you feel great!"
I saw dramatic results the first morning. Some do. But it's much more common for it to be a gradual process of the body catching up on "good sleep" for the first weeks. So gradual that it might not be perceptible for awhile, until one day you realize you haven't been getting as sleepy as often during the day.
Also, I think this is important to keep in mind. CPAP treatment is such a dramatically different way to try to sleep. Machine, mask, noise, "something on your face"...all those things conspire to disturb your sleep too. A different kind of disturbance, and one we can gradually get used to as we tweak things to make it all more comfortable. But disturbing to sleep, nonetheless.
Getting used to this whole new way of trying to sleep can leave a person just as tired as before, or even more so for awhile. It's worth getting over that hump. Digging into the message boards and reading as much as you can about how to make things more comfortable can help smooth it all out faster.
Down to brass tacks now. I'm not a doctor, but I'd be pushing right away to get your doctor to let you change your straight cpap that's set at 13, for the Respironics REMstar Auto with C-Flex and heated humidifier.
I'd set it for 7 or 8 as the low pressure and 15 for the high pressure. And I'd set the C-Flex at "3" for the most relief c-flex can give during exhalation. An autopap will vary the pressure throughout the night, giving you only the amount of pressure that's needed to prevent most apneas and hypopneas from happening. In other words, it will automatically sense from your breathing what pressure is needed to keep the throat from collapsing.
A sleep study is a one night snapshot. A very thorough snapshot, since the tech is trying to arrive at the best pressure to use during worst case scenario. You might really need 13 cm H2O most of the night. Or, you might need that much only for very brief periods during the night, or even not that much at all during most nights.
For many people an autopap preemptively finding the best pressure throughout the night allows them to sleep most of the night at pressures much lower than the single "worst case scenario" pressure prescribed from a sleep study. Lower pressure usually means more comfort and less chance of mask leaks. Can you tell I'm a big fan of using autopap instead of straight cpap? LOL!
If you really want to become an active participant in your own treatment, autopap with software is the way to do it. You don't need a prescription to buy online the Encore Pro software and card reader to use with that particular autopap.
Good luck.
Welcome to the message board! If you're already sensing even some subtle improvement after only two nights on cpap, you're doing great! Not nodding off behind the wheel is a BIG plus.
For some, improvement is obvious after the first night. For others it takes weeks or months or a year to feel better. For most, it's anything in between. How's that for a "cover most of the bases" answer?
The improvements can seem almost imperceptible at first. And often so gradual that many people wonder if the treatment really is doing much good, since they still don't feel "great". Pohtaytoh's great post described it well! Finding a comfortable mask is a huge key to using this kind of treatment.
Often it's only when they spend a night without their machine or mask that they realize, "Hey, this awful grogginess is the way I used to feel all the time...this machine really does help."
As one woman's wise doctor told her - in words to this effect - "It took a long time for you to get this way. It will take awhile to feel better." I think that's more realistic advice than the well meaning (they mean it to encourage) but overly enthusiastic cpap chatter some doctors and DMEs dispense - "CPAP will make you feel great!"
I saw dramatic results the first morning. Some do. But it's much more common for it to be a gradual process of the body catching up on "good sleep" for the first weeks. So gradual that it might not be perceptible for awhile, until one day you realize you haven't been getting as sleepy as often during the day.
Also, I think this is important to keep in mind. CPAP treatment is such a dramatically different way to try to sleep. Machine, mask, noise, "something on your face"...all those things conspire to disturb your sleep too. A different kind of disturbance, and one we can gradually get used to as we tweak things to make it all more comfortable. But disturbing to sleep, nonetheless.
Getting used to this whole new way of trying to sleep can leave a person just as tired as before, or even more so for awhile. It's worth getting over that hump. Digging into the message boards and reading as much as you can about how to make things more comfortable can help smooth it all out faster.
Down to brass tacks now. I'm not a doctor, but I'd be pushing right away to get your doctor to let you change your straight cpap that's set at 13, for the Respironics REMstar Auto with C-Flex and heated humidifier.
I'd set it for 7 or 8 as the low pressure and 15 for the high pressure. And I'd set the C-Flex at "3" for the most relief c-flex can give during exhalation. An autopap will vary the pressure throughout the night, giving you only the amount of pressure that's needed to prevent most apneas and hypopneas from happening. In other words, it will automatically sense from your breathing what pressure is needed to keep the throat from collapsing.
A sleep study is a one night snapshot. A very thorough snapshot, since the tech is trying to arrive at the best pressure to use during worst case scenario. You might really need 13 cm H2O most of the night. Or, you might need that much only for very brief periods during the night, or even not that much at all during most nights.
For many people an autopap preemptively finding the best pressure throughout the night allows them to sleep most of the night at pressures much lower than the single "worst case scenario" pressure prescribed from a sleep study. Lower pressure usually means more comfort and less chance of mask leaks. Can you tell I'm a big fan of using autopap instead of straight cpap? LOL!
If you really want to become an active participant in your own treatment, autopap with software is the way to do it. You don't need a prescription to buy online the Encore Pro software and card reader to use with that particular autopap.
Good luck.
Re: New User to the world of CPAP
Hi WillyB:
Listen to RG, and others on here, they are so knowledgeable and understanding, and remember no question is too insignificant. We've all ''been there'' ''done that'' w/regard to treatment, problems, masks, you name it. This board is great and you'll be helped a lot.
Hang in there.
Listen to RG, and others on here, they are so knowledgeable and understanding, and remember no question is too insignificant. We've all ''been there'' ''done that'' w/regard to treatment, problems, masks, you name it. This board is great and you'll be helped a lot.
Hang in there.
WillyB wrote:Howdy Neighbors, This is my first posting, a friend suggested I get on this forum to see what problems other people are having. I have used the CPAP (REMstar)only two nights so far and I was expecting better results. There are some subtle changes, sleeping a little longer before waking up to toss & turn the rest of the night, things like that. I don't think I have a problem with the mask, but the air flow seems a little high, it is set at 13 cmH2O. Anyway, I was expecting to have more energy and stop nodding off at the computer. I do think I have stopped nodding off at the wheel, though it seems to soon to tell.
-
notbigenuf1
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2005 9:38 pm
- Location: IN.
5 posts
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