Pressure in chest on awakening

cabhoney · Post by **cabhoney** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 10:36 pm

I feel like I've read this somewhere on this forum before, and didn't pay any attention to it. But now that I'm experiencing it, I have to ask - does anybody experience any pressure or uncomfortalbeness in their chest when they first take off their mask in the morning? This is new for me for about a week now. I don't know if it's a build up of air pressure or what.
cabhoney

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 10:39 pm

I had significant chest discomfort for the first couple of weeks on CPAP. You've been at it for awhile, though, so that's not the same.

echo · Post by **echo** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 7:15 am

If my HH is up too high then I get congested, in the sinuses and well as the chest. But that's just me.

Could also be a pressure that's too high, and you're fighting on the exhales.

I assume as part of the sleep study they did a full respiratory check on you, including breathing function, chest x-rays, etc?, to rule out any pulmonary disorders?

echo · Post by **echo** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 7:16 am

Hm just noticed your c-flex is on 5. I remember reading some posts somewhere about the c-flex settings getting screwed up for some reason or another (but I dont have that capability so i didn't follow that discussion really). You might want to check that it's still enabled and on the correct setting.
Maybe others will have some better feedback....

sleepycarol · Post by **sleepycarol** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 7:18 am

Echo

I assume as part of the sleep study they did a full respiratory check on you, including breathing function, chest x-rays, etc?, to rule out any pulmonary disorders?

It would be interesting to see the number that had a full respiratory check and those that didn't.

I know they didn't check mine at all.

echo · Post by **echo** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 7:29 am

sleepycarol wrote:It would be interesting to see the number that had a full respiratory check and those that didn't.

I know they didn't check mine at all.

Yeah, I find that VERY strange, especially when you see the many disclaimers in the xPAP manuals about "do not CPAP if the patient has this,,, this,,, and this,,, (pulmonary) disorder".

But I had my study done in Europe, and the general consensus seems to be that in Europe they care about the patient, and in the US they care about the $$$. I must say it's not all pearls and roses in the healthcare system here (and it really depends a LOT on WHICH european country you're talking about) but so far my experiences have been much more positive than when I was in the U.S. (and told I had to wait 6 months for a sleep study, and here I got it in 2 months. Costs were also less than half of a study in the U.S.).
The morning after my sleep study, I had a cardiac measurement, something like 10 different pulmonary measurements, IV blood oxygen test, and a chest x-ray. Took hours, but I was glad they did it.

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 7:43 am

C-Flex is a exhale comfort setting, it's only adjustable for Off, 1, 2, or 3!

Maybe you are talking about the HH setting whitch goes Off to level 5. Jim

cabhoney · Post by **cabhoney** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:36 pm

Sorry! The cflex is set on 3, I ramp up starting at 5. No, I did not have a pulmonary work up, however, I have had several chest xrays the past few years. If it continues, I will check in with my doctor.

Kharris · Post by **Kharris** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 9:13 am

My pressure is 16 with a nasal mask.
I had the same problem, I am less than 2 months into my usage.
I had to get a larger size mask in the same style I am using. Even
with the c-flex on 3 the pressure inside the smaller mask made
exhaling pretty tough.
The larger mask has helped alot, I do have a few more leaks, but
it is getting better.

mch441 · Post by **mch441** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 3:54 pm

you might want to ask your doctor about getting a bipap machine instead .my last machine which sat in a closet for 8 years before i started using it 11 months ago was a straight cpap with no cflex or anything like that at a pressure of 17 and ild wake up in the morning feeling like i was kicked in the chest ,my new bipap machine is set at 15 and 8 and i have no issues like that at all i actually sometimes wake up and have to think for a second or 2 about whether its working right. i really dont think a leaking mask is the answer your looking for

sharon309 · Post by **sharon309** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 4:30 pm

I just got my cpap and I can't wear it .It is set on 9.
I don't know what a c-flex setting is.
It feels like I can't exhale.
I have the jel nose cap,it does seen a little small but the guy that fit me said the medium looked too big.
Also when I had my sleep study when I woke up I couldn't opeb my eues thet had to bring a wet rag and they stayed swollen for most of the day and I felt awlfull when I asked the lung doctor about it he said he didn't know why.All I know is I can't breath with it and my eyes nose started stopping up right away for the few mins. I did have it on also had chest pain.

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 2:40 am

Sharon,
Sometimes starting out is difficult, and has to be done gradually.

Exhaling agains pressure is easier for some of us, others find if terrifying, even when the pressure is not considered hight objectively - I belong to the second group.

Ask your pulmonolgist if its ok for you to start threrapy at a lower, more comfortable pressure - tell him you want to raise it gradually as your muscles get used to breathing against this pressure.

Tell him that you have every intention of using the cpap, but simply can't start out at 9.

Some machines have a ramp - which means they can be instructed to start out at a lower pressure, and rise to the targer pressuer within 30 -45 mins. I didn't like the ramp - I was too tensed up waiting for the higher pressure.

What you're describing about your eyes sounds to me like outright negligence. Someone wasn't paying attention to the fact that the air was blowing into your eyes - air leaks into your eyes should not happen. If your pulmo belongs to the lab - I would say he's covering up for them - not a good sign. I'ld look for another doc an lab. If he doesn't belong to the lab, maybe he doesn't know enough about the nitty gritty of sleeping with cpap.

Air leaks into your eyes are simply unacceptable.

Give us some details of your machine and mask - and don't let trouble at the beginning discourage you. Together, we here have got thousands and thousands of hours of experience in sleeping with cpap successfuly - and we're here to help.

Welcome, and good luck
O.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Nov 09, 2007 1:16 am

Try lowering your ramp to 4.5. When I first started, 3 months ago and was in the trial period, they started me with a remstar pro on a straight 9 pressure and it caused my chest and lungs in my back hurt really bad and I was also swallowing air so it felt like a heart attack, not to mention the painful gas that came with it to! My auto is set to 4.5/20 so I am totally relaxed with the air flow, not to much air, gives the perfect amount. At the end of the trial, I purchased a REMSTAR AUTO with cflex and I really love it... If you have an auto and it's running on regular cpap, change it to apap setting to where the auto will kick in. Wulfman can help you do that! Goodluck

Pressure in chest on awakening

Pressure in chest on awakening

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