Another New-Bee!

[Grumpygus]

Hi all,
I'm so glad I found this forum and hopefully will learn more about my dreaded CPAP face huggin full mouth and nose blowing machine.

I was issued the CPAP from the military 2 years ago, (diagnosed Severe Sleep Apnea, stop breathing on average 30 times an hour) and tried my darndest to get used to it, but couldn't. So I put it away and never thought of it again.
3 months ago I woke up in the middle of the night, got out of bed and was hit with a wave of nausea/dizziness/cold sweats/confusion/ OMG Im dying feeling. My wife called 911 and I was rushed to the ER who blamed it on a case of bowl issues. A month later it happened again, and since then Ive been getting dizzy spells, waves of nausea throughout the day. Of course we googled the heck out of it and the closest thing we found was a glutton intolerance. So I changed my diet to wheat free, but still have the "I need to sit down before I fall down" dizzys.

Fed up, I made an appointment with the VA hospital and during the questioning, they asked how I was coming along with my CPAP. I hadn't even thought of that thing in forever!
They recommend starting it back up to see if my problems change. Apparently there was a possibility that by starving my body for Oxygen all night, Im beginning to have serious adverse effects.
Last night I cleaned it all up, plugged it in and after fighting claustrophobia, air leaks, was able to get about 2 hours of sleep at a time with it on. ( I slept in the recliner with an airline neck wrap pillow so I wouldn't roll over on the hose)

Today, woke up feeling much better. Had one bought of the dizzy's at walmart, but it passed pretty quickly, nothing like the last 3 months.
So tonight Im strapping it on again, hopefully to get more than just 2 hours of snooze and will continue reading this forum as I get used to the new thing in my life.
But Im wondering if Im going to be stuck recliner sleeping from now on. (wife's not complaining yet since she got to hog the whole bed last night...lol)

[Suzjohnson]

Welcome grumpygus! You made the right decision to resume your cpap therapy. I'm glad you are feeling positive results already. It will only get better. Why are you sleeping in the recliner?

Suz

[kaiasgram]

I hope you're not stuck on the recliner too! Is there a reason you slept there to begin with?

If you fill in your equipment and mask in your signature line (see your user control panel), the good and knowledgeable folks here will be better able to answer questions as you set out trying to make friends with the dreaded machine.

Welcome and best wishes!

[pats]

Last night I cleaned it all up, plugged it in and after fighting claustrophobia, air leaks, was able to get about 2 hours of sleep at a time with it on. ( I slept in the recliner with an airline neck wrap pillow so I wouldn't roll over on the hose)

Welcome to the group.

Why are you worried about rolling over on the hose? Did that happen a lot before? If hose management is a problem, consider making or buying a hose holder.

Are you using your old mask, or did you get a new one? If you had a lot of leaks, your old mask may not have been a good choice for you, or may not have been fitted correctly. In any case, I think mask design is advancing, so you may be able to get a mask that works better for you.

[JohnO]

I was issued the CPAP from the military 2 years ago, (diagnosed Severe Sleep Apnea, stop breathing on average 30 times an hour) and tried my darndest to get used to it, but couldn't. So I put it away and never thought of it again.

Welcome - you've come to the right place!

I'm a relative newbie myself. Only 29 days on the Blower. If you've been toting this CPAP and stuff for a couple of years, I'm guessing your mask seal may be dried out. You may find that getting a new mask makes the machine easier to take, and have fewer leaks. There are many styles to choose from, depending on your sleep habits. Take a look through the notes here and get a sense of what is out there.

The folks here on the cpaptalk forum have been incredibly open and welcoming to newbies such as myself. Lots of good advice. I hope the CPAP will be easier on you this time around!

John

[Grumpygus]

About the recliner..lol
When I first started trying to get used to it about 2 years ago, I woke up constantly with the hose wrapped around my head, or the noise it makes as it moves around as I moved would wake me up. So I figured that since Ive fallen asleep in the chair about a hundred times while reading, I might as well try and be comfy on my "first" night as it were. I draped the hose over the lamp arm next to the chair and it worked out fine.

I went out today to home depot and picked up supplies to make a hose holder, which I'll build tomorrow, but the chair is comfy and the wife said she finally felt like she got a full nights sleep last night.

Im using the mask they gave me with the machine, once I got it adjusted with no leaks (especially around the nose...hate air blowing on my eyes!) it worked out fine. The only problem I had with it was it started off great, then I guess I quit breathing and the machine ramped up the air so I woke up not being able to catch my breath and extremely claustrophobic. So I got up, took a break, calmed down and put it back on until the air pressure woke me up again.

Thanks John! I hope so too, with the turn around in health issues, I dont think I have a choice anymore but to make this work.

[chunkyfrog]

Hose hangers can solve the "I'm being swallowed by a boa constrictor" blues.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/flexib ... -lift.html
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/pursle ... ystem.html
There are many others.
Mine is home made.

[Grumpygus]

Hose hangers can solve the "I'm being swallowed by a boa constrictor" blues.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/flexib ... -lift.html
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/pursle ... ystem.html
There are many others.
Mine is home made.

Thanks Chunkyfrog!
Ive been cruising through CPAP.com and looking at those for ideas. I turned my garage into a wood shop and will be making mine tomorrow.

[Grumpygus]

Well I survived the second night with my face hugger, last night went much better than that first and was able to catch about 4 hours of snooze before being woken up with hurricane force winds driving into my nose.

Today so far, all signs of dizziness/nausea are gone, no headaches, and even the usual morning after taking an advil PM dragging arse feeling is no-where in sight.
For the 1st time in months I woke up feeling ready to take on the day...

It simply amazes me that all this time spent wondering what was going on, was I dying, was I starting my mid-life crisis early, fearing driving any long distance, wondering if I was going to be stuck a home-body, feeling helpless and out of control and at times scared to go to sleep at night...and the simple fix was a face hugger all the time.

I for one am so glad I found this forum with all its support, and now that I've seen dramatic improvements in my life, I'll be wearing that CPAP from now on.

[Pugsy]

You are showing a M Series humidifier in your profile but I don't see a mention of which model M series machine.
Depending on model you may have some data available to look at.
Which model is it?

[Grumpygus]

You are showing a M Series humidifier in your profile but I don't see a mention of which model M series machine.
Depending on model you may have some data available to look at.
Which model is it?

I'm using a REMstar Auto M-Series with A-Flex
I didnt see it in the drop down menu.

[Pugsy]

I'm using a REMstar Auto M-Series with A-Flex

It's there...forget the Remstar part and just look for "M series grouping"...M series Auto CPAP with Aflex..
That was my first machine. It offers a good bit of data beyond what is available on the LCD screen on the machine.
It uses the Smart card...and you have to have a special card reader to communicate with the software.
Check out my signature line for PR S1 Software options but disregard the SleepyHead stuff and only look at the Encore reports. You can get similar reports...with a couple of exceptions...no clear airway, no RERAs and no waveform.

If you don't have a smart card in the machine you can buy one for about $10 and the special card reader is $40.
Send me a private message and I will point you to where they can be bought.
Also tell me if your computer is Windows or not and 32 or 64 bit. I can point you to some free software.
Otherwise you do have AHI 7 and 30 days averages on the LCD screen along with average leak and average pressure.
If you have an interest in actually seeing what it going on you might find the software stuff interesting. Some people care and some people don't. Up to you but if you want access to the data I can help you get started.

[Grumpygus]

Thank you Pugsy for sending me the info!
Today I set up the hose holder (self built, not bad at all) and tonight will be night 3 and in bed! (Not the recliner...lol)
Cant wait to annoy the wife with my Darth Vader impression