8hrs and 2 attempts

[khemicals]

If it were me, I would bump the pressure to 8 - 20 tonight. But waiting for the software is also a reasonable approach if it is coming soon.

I don't know how long it takes them to mail it from cpapaustralia.com to me. I used normal shipping so probably longer than I want to wait. I may bump it to 8 but for now would like to keep at 6 since the lower pressure should be easier to get used to in theory (assuming the min pressure is above that of the sipping your air through a straw feeling). I may bump it up if I see more consistent pressure avg's in the 8 range, but its only been 2 nights so far, so trying not to change too much.

I would also keep the humidifier at 1 unless dry nasal passages are present.

The reason for upping the humidity is actually to help clear the nasal passages. Not that its been a problem though.

If you slept five hours then you have no problem breathing out against the pressure. Typically we have that sensation only when we are awake due to our focus on and anxiety about CPAP and breathing. When I was a newbie CPAP there was one thing that helped me when I got that sensation. I would take several strong exhalations as if to clear my lungs of all air. After each exhalation, make a normal inhalation. It doesn't work for everyone but for me it seemed to release my mind from focusing on breathing.

I'll give that technique a shot. I do think the majority of my issue is falling asleep with the gear on. I typically am a pretty heavy sleeper so hopefully that bit will stay consistent. However once I do wake up, I am back to the trying to fall back asleep phase, which I don't find easy yet... but I'll get there.

Again, I can't say it enough. Thank you and everyone else for both their encouragement and suggestions here along with the large knowledgebase that has been generated here. Without that I would feel a lot less in control of my treatment, and I am given great hope and belief in long term success and compliance with all my new friends here.

Cheers,

David

[khemicals]

Just got up from my third night. Pressure display is listed as 9 and change, AHI of 13.2. Makes me think the bottom pressure should be upped another 2 notches, but I think I'll wait another day or so before I play with it more. I slept for just shy of 7 hours. I could have slept more, but needed to get up for work. I'll allocate more sleeping time tonight. I woke up twice in the middle of the night but was able to fall back asleep pretty readily. Falling alseep last night also was a lot easier.

Now if only those stupid allergies didn't start acting up yesterday maybe by throat wouldn't be sore and I'd be able to differentiate between sleep grogginess and claritin.

[roster]

7 hours on the third night. You are mastering CPAP quickly.

You mention sore throat. What about leaks? Need to watch out for mouthbreathing which can cause dry mouth and sometimes sore throat.

If your leak is OK you are going to need at least 2 cm additional pressure.

[khemicals]

7 hours on the third night. You are mastering CPAP quickly.

You mention sore throat. What about leaks? Need to watch out for mouthbreathing which can cause dry mouth and sometimes sore throat.

If your leak is OK you are going to need at least 2 cm additional pressure.

I've been watching leaks carefully. They are showing as 0.00 on the interface, so that's good. I did notice some leakage around the mask last night though as it ramped the pressure up at one point (and perhaps that's why I woke up at one point). It didn't seem like a major leak though, just non-zero. The sore throat is due to allergies, not mouth breathing. It onset during the day. I'll probably follow your suggestion and up the pressure 2 notches, my only hesitation is that I'd like to make sure I stay comfortable and able to sleep with the current settings and then bump them, but I guess last night proved that.

[DoriC]

Perhaps you could bump the pressure up in smaller increments, maybe 1cm at a time, and try each one for a few nights.

[tattooyu]

K, you are making really good progress. I agree about waiting at least a week between changes, so you can see if a trend is developing. The motto I developed from here is: "One night does not a trend make!"

For me, a good portion of the adjustment period (2-3 months) was mental. First, I was coming off of years of stress hormones which caused anxiety to skyrocket in the form of panic attacks. Second, I'm a bit claustrophobic when it comes to breathing (getting a good breath), so exhaling against the pressure was very scary for me. I now have my EPR off, because I no longer need it, and I get better numbers. [EPR lowers your average pressure upon exhale.]

So, my suggestion to you is use the ramp/settling time to your advantage. Set the ramp so it's a little longer than you think you'd need to fall asleep. Lie quietly with the machine on, knowing that you will not suffocate (just the opposite!) and imagine your muscles slowly relaxing, starting with the top of your head, then your face, then your neck, then your arms and hands, then your pelvic area, then your legs, then your feet and finally end on your abdomen, since that's where breathing should be occurring.

You'll dial in your pressure soon, and your AHI will come down.

Remember... EVERYONE has bad sleep nights on occasion, even those WITHOUT apnea.

[khemicals]

I'm gonna bump the min up to 8. My AHI got worse again last night. Anyone know if there is a correlation between antihistamines and apnea (e.g. claritin or zyrtek)?

[roster]

I'm gonna bump the min up to 8.

Good. If you are suffering, don't listen to those who say wait a week between changes.

...... Anyone know if there is a correlation between antihistamines and apnea (e.g. claritin or zyrtek)?

I have never read that those two will worsen apnea. I took Claritin and Zyrtek for a long time and kept AHI < 1.0.

Bendaryl is another animal. Since it also performs as a sedative, it can "hold" you in a deeper sleep causing you to have more and longer apneas. Of course once you get the CPAP therapy optimized, this would not be a problem.

Good luck tonight,

[khemicals]

So,

I've been on it for 2 weeks now, hit or miss. I think the misses were due to 2 primary reasons:

1. Getting used to it
2. Making too many tweaks too fast and being uncomfortable with the changes

So, I started trying something 4-5 days ago. I changed my set pressure to 8 and have left it there until today. My numbers have been everywhere from ok to what I consider great while using these settings. Last night was the best with an AHI of 4.5 (all HI events).

Given that the software came in and I got it setup today, I can get a bit more useful data. I noticed that some of my apnea events correlated directly with mask leaks. Mask leaks aren't common for me but they do happen. I find the correlation interesting and it makes a lot of sense -- since leaks are essentially making the therapy useless. That said, I tweaked my pressure up by 1cm (from 8.0 to 9.0). I'll let that go a week or so and see if things look better in the HI range, since its been going between today's best of 4.5 to 11 at the current setting of 8cm.

Regardless I think being so new to this, the big lesson is -- don't ramp up your pressure very fast. Even if you need the additional pressure the data generated appears to be pretty useless if you cannot fall to sleep at all on it. Further, as noted elsewhere, too high a pressure can be detrimental to therapy.

My sleep quality has been generally improving daily now. My wife enjoys the lack of snoring. I don't feel a whole lot different, but I am working on reducing my caffeine intake given how high it was to correct for the lack of sleep. That may be impacting my ability to tell how well the therapy is working I figure.

--David

[Ganesha]

Welcome khemicals,

I have the same rig you do. One diference is that I don't put the hose over my head. I don't like the hose in front of my face. Since I like to sleep with my hand over my head I run the hose under the covers next to me. It also helps prevent rainouts. A hose cover makes it more comfortable.

As a diver I can see why you might like a full face mask.

Mark