Second Sleep Study done (With mask) AAARRGGGGGG

[livemix]

Ok.. I have been on Cpap for a month at a pressure of 10. I was just getting to where I didnt wake up and have to hit the ramp button every hour.. I had my second sleep study (I think you guys call it a titration) when they woke me in the am (and i didnt sleep long.. trust me) they told me they can't discuss anything with me... BUT I DEFINATELY have to be on 15. I can barely take 10.. So I learned from U guys how to set my own machine.. I changed it to 13. (start slow..lol) ((I was told it takes 1 or more months for everything to filter through the doctors then to the DME people so they change it)) I wake up all the time again and now I have that sneezing feeling allll day (and do sneez quite often.. Is that normal??

ALSO. would a Bi-pap help me (I think thats the right term..) a machine that adjusts the pressure depending on need?? If so I am just going to buy one.. Any recomendations? My insurance is charged 120.00 a month just for the machine and 40.00 a month for the mask.. I have a super cheapo humidifier but would like to try a heated one.. The air is too cold.. I have to pay 45.00 a month of that bill..

Sorry to ramble..
thanks guys. I have been helped tremendously from this site. MUCH more info than my doctor has given me.

Mike

[casey2]

I'm with you. I would like to get the setting down to about 7 (from 9), to see how things go, but I cannot find out how to set the machine pressure myself. What is the big mystery about this? Seems like a matter of overcontrol by the MDs and their PAs. Everything I've read says that the correct setting--not too high and not too low--is like getting Goldilocks porridge just right. I'm on a PBG 420G with a humidifier. The humidifier seems to help some, but getting a good night's sleep with a hurricane blowing into my nose is hard to do. The whole reason I wanted to try this was to get a good night's sleep. Ambien seemed to work much better for me.

Every post says hang in there, but I'd sure feel better if I had some info on how to set the pressure to try to find a good setting FOR ME.

[yardbird]

The problem I had with my cheapo passover humidifier was that here in the northern states, when it gets cold outside our homes get very dry inside. The air blowing across the UNheated humidifier was acting like a swamp cooler. After a few hours the water was ice cold and I would wake up feeling like someone was pouring a slushie up my nose. The heated humidifier was absolutely the answer for me on that score.

livemix, I think the machine type that you're referring to is an APAP (an auto-adjusting CPAP machine). You set a RANGE on it... say... from 8 to 18... and the machine will automatically raise or lower pressure within that range depending on what it feels you need.

For instance... my titrated pressure is 8cm. I have my auto set from 6 to 10. I spend most of the time below 8 but occasionally I must roll into a position where my airway starts to close and the machine pressure goes up to compensate. Then I roll back into a position with less restriction and the pressure falls back down again. So if I NEED 10cm it will deliver that, but if I don't need as much pressure as my titration study said, then it will drop off pressure. It's very comfortable.