Wind Tunnel

[awjensen467]

First off I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Adam and I've been on a cpap machine for a little over a week now and up to this point am having a bad experience. Have you seen those shows on Discovery where the guy gets into a wind tunnel to show the effects of high speed wind on the face. This is how I feel about half way thru the night.I put the mask on when I go to bed and the pressure is fine and I fall sleep okay. I wake up to the cpap blowing air so hard that my cheeks fill up with air just like the guy from the wind tunnel and no matter what I do the pressure won't let up. I finally either hit the button to reduce the pressure our I just rip the mask off so I can get some sleep. This doesn't seem like it is working like it should. I haven't called my doctor yet but I am close because it has done this every night I have worn the mask. I don't know about you guys but it doesn't make sense that the cpap should be waking me up every night when the reason I was put on the machine was to help me sleep through the night. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

[MaxDarkside]

Hi awjensen467,

Sometimes happens to me too. It did last night as a matter of fact.

First, show us your equipment so some of the experts here can offer some advice. Go to "User Control Panel" in the upper left of this web page, go to the "Profile" tab, then click "Edit Equipment". Set it to show the equipment as text.

I have an Auto-PAP which varies pressure at night depending on the events I am having. Last night apparently I was having a few and the machine went to max pressure (about 15 cm H2O) with my full face mask which caused my cheeks to balloon and the mask started leaking and squealing. It woke me up briefly. Knowing that I was awake and was going to change sleeping positions and no longer would need the high pressure for the time being and knowing that my ResMed machine takes its merry time lowering pressure on its own, I punched the OFF button for a brief moment, then punched it ON again, rolled over and went back to sleep (for a nice period of deep sleep, thank goodness).

Sometimes I just have to "punch 'er off and on again" to control/override my therapy myself.

[Julie]

Hi - what is your prescribed pressure and what pressure(s) is your machine set at?

[chunkyfrog]

My titration night was like that; and the first few nights with my machine.
---Like a dog on a car trip
Luckily, I did get used to it--and that was at 14 cm. pressure.
I would get ready for the pressure by mentally picturing myself getting ready for a long space voyage,
where I would be in suspended animation over unimaginable distances, to awaken in an amazing future.
It would have made for some exciting dreams, but I slept so well, I never remembered even one.

[hades161]

Welcome to the Forums =)

Adjusting to Pap use is unnatural and takes a good bit of time to get use too. You have been using it for a week so far and that's awesome =)

Many people find they have the urge to pull off the mask. Sometimes because of too high a pressure that they aren't use too( and you get what your experiencing ) or to low and they feel starved for air. Sadly though a week may seem like a long time but really it's not, its just 8 episodes during the week where you put on a mask. It takes practice to get use to high pressures, mine is 16 and my Apap is set 14-18 and I have been as high as 24 in a Sleep Study. The best thing you can do is put the mask on lay down and read or do something in bed for an hour before going to sleep. This will slowly train your body and mind to adjust to the gear and the pressures. The activity is to take your mind OFF the breathing and the Mask your wearing while giving your body and mind a chance to adjust and calm down about it before bed.

Some people have taken years to figure out exactly what they need to do to treat the sleep issues they have. I hope your not in that boat, but keep in mind most doctors need see what happens with your treatment over months not weeks. There are sleep disorder events that can cause the Apap to "run away" with pressure and take you to very high pressures and then wake you. Like with what MaxDarkside related. Whether or not you have something like that can't been seen with just a weeks use of the gear.

I would practice like I said an hour is about enough per night any more and it will effect the data being collected too much, and I would give it another week or 2. If by the end of another week or so and you still cant adjust call your doctor and have him review things with you.

[lostmary]

I agree with the others. I'm on week 3 of mine, and when I spoke to the sleep dr. he said that I stopped breathing 56 times an hr. he then told me that if I didn't use it I would die. that simple. My average runs about 11 hrs a day.. I do take ambiance to help me sleep, but after having a grand mal seizure, heart attack, and massive brain swelling, all at once, and being in a coma for 3 days, I'll do what ever I have to do to live. so when I put on my "lovely" full face mask, I know that I should make it one more nite. the dr wants me to be on a type of ventulator but as long as I'm doing so well on the bipap he may let me stay on it a bit more. So hang in there. it is worth the alternative.

mary

[Bama75]

I have had mine for about 2 month. If I let my mouth open I get the wind tunnel effect but I have learned to keep it shut (I have a chin strap) and my tounge with slight pressure againt the top of my mouth keep the air from coming in my mouth and down my to my lungs like it should. Every now an then I get an air bubble in my mouth that I have to open my mouth to get rid of. I still wake up every night at 2-2:30 and it takes me a few minutes to go back to sleep.

Also I have noticed in the morning when I wake up, it is almost like the machine is not even on in how the pressure feels. I had to look at it the first day to see if it was still coming out at the right pressure. Mine is at 13 but during my test I had 61 occurrances per hour (on my back). So I definitely think your body adjusts to it. Most of the time I start out full bore and don't even ramp up. It usually only takes me 2-3 minutes to get used to it.