Who else has experienced this one?

[geoDoug]

I've noticed a trend of waking up in the middle of the night wondering if my CPAP is even working.

I don't mean the mask--of course I felt that! I'm talking about the pressure and sound from the machine. Since I couldn't feel the pressure, I had to lean over and put my ear right next to the CPAP to even hear it. Even though I could hear it, I wasn't convinced it was delivering the correct pressure. The first couple of nights this happened, I was so sure the machine wasn't working that I just took off the mask in frustration and turned it off. That frustration is all my fault because...well because I didn't get around to checking my data in the morning for a few days.

When I finally looked at the data, everything said that the machine was working fine all night--delivering the correct pressure--and my numbers were in line with the past. (The numbers themselves aren't important. The actual numbers were more-or-less consistent, which is what matters.) Has anybody else here experienced this phenomenon?

My conclusion: I'm getting so used to the machine that I don't notice it when I wake up in the middle of the night. I just assumed that "getting used to the CPAP" translated as "getting comfortable with going to sleep with a glorified leaf-blower strapped to my face." However, it also has meant "not noticing it's there when I wake up in the middle of the night." All I can say is...Kewl.

...the padacheeks don't hurt either.

Doug.

[odawa]

Unbelievable as it seems, I do believe that I got used to the machine. I sometimes check the air hole on the mask to see if its blowing air. Whodathunkit?

[Slinky]

Yup, yup. I can tell the machine is running when I first done my mask and turn it on, cause there is some difference in off or on. But once I've had it on a short while, especially if I've dozed off or actually slept for awhile, the only way I can tell the machine is running is because I can breathe w/the mask on whereas if it isn't running I'm struggling to get enough air.

[drummergirl410]

I've been on xPAP for a couple of weeks now and I'n already noticing the same thing. Usually the light "swish" of my breathing through the mask is enough to tell all is well. I had my autoPAP exchanged for a stright CPAP this mroning (different story, another post) and now I'm anxious to see what the "working" difference will be between the machines.

[lilsheba]

Yup, yup. I can tell the machine is running when I first done my mask and turn it on, cause there is some difference in off or on. But once I've had it on a short while, especially if I've dozed off or actually slept for awhile, the only way I can tell the machine is running is because I can breathe w/the mask on whereas if it isn't running I'm struggling to get enough air.

That right there is how I feel too, after 3 and 1/2 weeks. Not bad.

[RiverDave]

Same thing here. It's kind of amazing going from thinking your eardrums were going to explode the first night to wondering whether or not you should take your machine in for servicing a few weeks later

[geoDoug]

I can breathe w/the mask on whereas if it isn't running I'm struggling to get enough air.

<slapping forehead> Why didn't I think of that? Something I've learned about myself is that I get very little air through my nose. I have a FF mask (which I love, BTW) that holds my mouth closed. The result is that after I put the mask initially on in front of the mirror and before I'm "hooked up" I gasp for air. As soon as the machine is on, I'm good.

Thanks.

Doug.

[canyongirl]

occaionally i wake up and it seems like the machine is not blowing hard enough, or working properly. I then realized it was....i had just gotten used to the pressure. My sleep was still restful, but i know how you feel.

I only noticed a problem when I felt little pressure at start up and lots of noise.. the stupid exhaust port had fallen out. I order another which took 2 weeks, because they don't come separate. of course i found it in my bed two weeks later. I had washed the sheets and remade my bed twice.. it was so weird. Now i have the quattro and the exhaust is built in.

i think you are ok,a dn the mask/machine is fine. You just get accustomed to the pressure at night...

[geoDoug]

Same thing here. It's kind of amazing going from thinking your eardrums were going to explode the first night to wondering whether or not you should take your machine in for servicing a few weeks later

I think you owe me a new keyboard. I'm literally LOL. You nailed it. I suppose I shouldn't drink coffee while reading these boards.

Doug.

[Daddysaur]

If the pressure control was a knob on the top of the machine, I would have worked my way up to a higher pressure by now from the effect you describe. Getting up in the morning I wonder what got tangled around my head and neck, forgetting the cpap hardware I put on the night before. All are "good problems" to have in this business.

[Nitro Dan]

I don't notice mine anymore, haven't for umteen years, it's just a ritual before I go to sleep.

[cabhoney]

Me too! That's why I like the Pur Sleep that I'm using because the smell reminds me that it is on.
Cindy

[Jirel]

I noticed that when I first go to bed I need to use the ramp (I'm on a fairly low pressure) but that when I get up in the middle of the night for the bathroom I don't.

[j.a.taylor]

My wife was laughing at me the other night, because I kept reaching my hand up to the mask, to check the airflow from the exhaust.

But it seemed like the air wasn't blowing.

[Videoshade1]

I've experienced the same thing. I just raise my mask enough to break the seal and feel the air rushing out to show myself it is working.

I've been on my system for about 2 1/2 weeks. I have a follow up with the sleep doc tomorrow.