On CPAP for 1 month

CPAPLady56 · Post by **CPAPLady56** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 5:50 pm

I have had my CPAP machine (Respironics Plus with C-Flex) for one month. I struggled at first with claustrophobia. But I now actually look forward to going to bed, putting on my mask (Mirage Swift) and going to sleep. I feel like I have come back from the dead! I am actually able to do something besides sleep, go to church and go to work (where I did a great deal of sleeping waiting for my sleep study and CPAP machine - thanks goodness for very understanding bosses - Jesus mightily blessed me!).

My pressure is set at 8 and my ramp is on 4. But I find myself not using the ramp some nights since I have gotten so used to my machine that 4 doesn't seem to be enough air sometimes.

I also have a heated humidifier which was set at 4 when I first got it. Since I don't like warm air, I turned it down to 1, but that seemed too low. I have now settled on 2, which seems to be the right balance.

My mask no longer bothers me. I have had a little (very little) soreness in my nose, but reaching up and adjusting it a tad seems to take care of it.

I finally saw my sleep doctor (also a pulmonologist) last month and got my numbers. In one hour I had 47 hypopneas and 5 apneas. When they adjusted my pressure to 8, it took care of all of them.

I also got pneumonia about 4 days after I started using the machine, but he doesn't think it had anything to do with it. It was the 7th time in my life that I had pneumonia. I first had it when I was under 7 years old. He said when you have pneumonia very young that it causes that part of the lung to never develop correctly - it still resembles your childhood lung, even after you grow up (I am now 49).

He said I'm doing great with the machine. He said I am still in my recovery period from sleep deprivation (which lasts about six weeks). He said if I lose 25-30 pounds that my 47 hypopneas will go away and my 5 apneas will turn into 5 hypopneas, which will be an insignificant number, and I will be able to come off the CPAP machine. This makes sense to me, since I have gained 25-30 pounds in the last year and had no trouble before I gained the weight.

How does this compare with others' experiences? I read so many stories regarding people who have so much continuing trouble with CPAP. But I think these people have sleep apnea caused more by physical problems than by weight. Also, I'm sure they have many more apneas than hypopneas (if they have hypopneas at all).

I wish everyone could experience wonderful benefits from CPAP. Thanks to everyone who posts on this board. You have all helped me through a hard and scary time. Thanks to everyone on here, by the time I got my machine and mask, I was familiar with them and they were in fact the very ones I had already decided I wanted to use. The only thing that was different from what I wanted was the fact that the machine was not an Auto and had no software. I talked to my sleep doctor about this and he said they usually only prescribed those for patients who had difficulty with CPAP. I trust him on this since my sleep study went great and everything he has said so far has proved to be 100% right. Not to mention the fact that I am reaping great benefits from the CPAP machine.

I hope this post hasn't been too long. I think it has been building up inside me ever since I started CPAP. If you actually read this whole post, thank you!! I'm very proud of you!

Best wishes for everyone,

Michelle

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 6:03 pm

Michelle,

A delightful outcome and great to read.

I too messed about with the h/h setting and settled on 2. Also I too stopped using ramp but recently I set my ramp to 13 & my pressure is at 15 so that works well for me.

I run my machine in CPAP mode having tried it in AUTO mode. I prefer to keep my pressure up to maximum but will soon be experimenting with another brand of AUTO (ResMed Spirit). I am interested to compare it to the RemStar AUTO.

I stopped using CFLEX (the facility that eases exhalation) It was great when I started CPAP therapy as it greatly eased the feeling of claustaphobia & also the minor pains in my chest. But later all it seemed to achive was

- keeping my wife awake as the motor ran up & down
- mouth 'pops' - when running up air would often ecape from my mouth
- waking me up
- Aerophagia - I am in little doubt that it was CFLEX that was the major contributor to me swallowing so much air. This stopped when I stopped CFLEX

Cheers

DSM

Fatigue Fighter · Post by **Fatigue Fighter** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 6:16 pm

Great news Michelle! I am glad you are settled in after only a month of CPAP use. I too found the Swift to be easy to adjust to. I also quit using the ramp after the 1st week. I don't use it at all and I am now at 17cm. Amazing what we can adjust to, isn't it! I had much more hypopneas than apneas and consequently a significant dip in my oxygen level (to 62%). I am glad you are doing so well. Congratulations!

FF

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 1:37 am

Hi Michelle
Great to hear you are going so well!
I am also happy with my second mask, Swift, but glad I have a back-up. I was diagnosed with very severe apnea but I'm doing great on CPAP at a steady pressure of 10, unheated humidifier, but I do use the ramp for 5 minutes for Swift (I don't need it for the 407 nasal mask). Jesus mightily blesses us both.
Love from Margaret