Doin' pretty darned good for a newbie

[rippersmom]

Hi All,

Decided it was time for me to get out of lurk mode and let y'all know how things are going for me and maybe provide some encouragement to the new folks who are struggling a bit with getting things to work for them.

I've been on my CPAP for 2 weeks now. Took me about a week to figure out just how to get my Quattro FF to fit without squeezing my brains out of my head.

Tighter is NOT better with this mask, as others have already reported. I have had 0.0 leaks 4 out of the past 7 days. The only modification I have made is to attach some moleskin to the forehead cups. I learned that, for me, I have to move the mask up higher on my nose to get it to seal. As soon as I moved it up, no more sore nose.

The info and suggestions from you all have been tremendously helpful in getting me settled into my therapy. THANK YOU!! My setting is 10.0 and seems to be fine for me. I slept 8hrs and 15 minutes last night, which is longer than my normal 5-6hrs.

It is such a relief to know that I won't be suddenly awakened with a pounding heart, gasping for air. Or, sitting bolt upright in the middle of the night, trying to breathe. Instead of prolonging bedtime, I am eager to go to bed and get some real sleep and not worry whether I will have a nasty apnea episode.

I am fortunate to have acquired a high-end pulse oximeter (Datex Ohmeda 3800), but it was missing the finger probe. I got lucky and found the one I needed on Ebay at a decent price. (they are expensive!). Just waiting for it to arrive and get it hooked up. The pulmonologist recommended 2 liters of O2 (because I smoke) with the CPAP, and I have followed those instructions. But with the suggestion you gave me to do an overnight pulse ox to see if I really needed the oxygen. I'm hooking up this machine to do my own testing. My DME said it would really be helpful to use it for monitoring.

Sorry for the long post. Newbies, don't give up....keep adjusting your equipment a little bit at a time..you'll figure it out and be lovin' life before you know it.

rippersmom

[Wulfman]

Congratulations on your success!

It's always good to hear these stories.

Best wishes,

Den

[jnk]

Very nice post--educational AND encouraging!

[rested gal]

Sorry for the long post. Newbies, don't give up....keep adjusting your equipment a little bit at a time..you'll figure it out and be lovin' life before you know it.

rippersmom

Please don't apologize for such an inspiring, encouraging post! Good to see you in posting mode now, rippersmom, after being in lurk mode. Glad to hear such good news about your treatment and how you're feeling. Good job!!

[RipVW]

Good for you, rippersmom! May your success continue!!

[rippersmom]

Thanks to you all for your positive comments and encouragement. I know my transition to the world of "hoseheads" would have been more difficult without this great site and the caring, sharing people on here.

A rested Rippersmom

[Debjax]

Sorry for the long post. Newbies, don't give up....keep adjusting your equipment a little bit at a time..you'll figure it out and be lovin' life before you know it.

rippersmom

I have also been on CPAP for just a short time, and before I started I was really apprehensive. I am an "unencumbered sleeper", can't stand anything that binds me up when sleeping. Heck, I can't even sleep well with pajamas, how in the WORLD Was I going to sleep with some mask on my face hooked to a hose. The first night was everything I imagined, and I got virtually no sleep, that darned hose was a nightmare.

The next day, hubby and I rigged a hanger using a plant hanger and some flexible plumbing type tubing, (did not even see the posts here about using plant hangers until later), and "hung" the hose over my head. That night, I didn't even know the hose was there, and I have not looked back. When I woke up on Thursday morning, my 54th birthday, I got the best present I could have gotten: the feeling, for the first time in decades, that I had actually gotten a good night's sleep the night before. OMG, I was actually chirpy! I am NOT a chirpy morning person. I"m blessed that there have been no difficulties to speak of, and with the help of this forum, we are tweaking things out such as insulating the hose for the rainout. BTW, I double insulated last night, the resmed zipper cover with heavy knee sock tubing over that....Cool bedroom NO rainout....wooohoooo!

Thanks all for your help, and other newbies hang in, it is SO worth it....

[SheZAAM!]

Thanks for your post. I'm in my first week of Cpap. I gave up on the same mask you have and exchanged it today. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep better with it. I'm still not happy about having to wear something on my face while I sleep, but I'm also tired of being soooo tired all day.

[goodfellatuddy]

Congradulations Rippers.... I'm a newbie also and my first thought was "oh i hate you". But not really. A friend of mine who's a vet just said this Sunday "the first month is hell" so i'm keeping my head up and trying to get as much info from here as i can to make that transition. But I'm truly glad you've seemed to have made it to the other side. I just hope to join you sooner rather than later.

[Nealbopper]

Reading these posts made me smile. How encouraging to see the new people with positive attitudes about their condition. You are half way there already my friends. The sooner you accept your machine as your best friend. The better off you will be. You may require some tweaks here and there and soon you won't even think about it prior to headding off to bed. I have been using my cpap for 14 years and the only thought i give prior to going to sleep is if i have enough water in the humidifier to last the whole night. I am so used to the mask I don't even know it's there. I know i will never sleep a full night without my machine so I have my back ups and batteries ready just in case but all in all life is the best it can be! Neal

[Debjax]

I have been using my cpap for 14 years and the only thought i give prior to going to sleep is if i have enough water in the humidifier to last the whole night. I am so used to the mask I don't even know it's there. I know i will never sleep a full night without my machine so I have my back ups and batteries ready just in case but all in all life is the best it can be! Neal

One trick I have figured out with my Mirage Micro mask is that I need to do a minor "adjustment" after the machine comes on, by just pulling it out a bit from my face and letting the "second" cushion, the part that looks like a little membrane on the outside of the cushion inflate a bit. That gives me a better seal without having to tighten the mask down. Once I put some cloth type of stuff on the forehead brace (it's bothering my forehead exzema a bit), I too won't even know it's there.