Here is a link to my first post. I didn't want to re -type everything.
viewtopic.php?t=8382
I'm finally going in for a re-test after approx. 10 years. . . .any thing I should ask the tech tonight? Any advise? I will follow up tomorrow to let you people know how it went. Thanks for all the support. . . .I need it.
Going in tonight. . . Do I have questions?
6 posts
• Page 1 of 1
MrSleepy-
I can relate ... I went almost 5 years in denial with the machine sitting there next to my bed. Here's what it all boiled down to....
the mask
This is THE HARDEST part of this whole thing to get right. The new autotitrating machines might be a godsend for you. CFLEX might be wonderful (pressure relief on exhalation), but the MASK... man that mask is key. Pressure adjustments are just air. No... seriously.. pressure adjustments are relatively easy compared to getting a mask that you like.
ASK about claustrophobia. TELL them your experience with waking up choking and gasping. TELL them that the difficulty has made you appear uncooperative when in fact you KNOW you need to get this right. Many of the techs you'll encounter (and doctors and DME folks) have never slept with a mask on. Keep THAT in mind as well.
ASK EVERYTHING... but make sure they are aware of your past experience and how your doctor gave up on you.
This is NOT your failure. This is THEIR failure in not staying with you to find the solution. And YOUR solution may be quite different from MY solution and so on and so on... but THEY are supposed to know how to help you get to where you know you need to be.
And of course, we're all here to help when and how we can and to cheer you on.
I can relate ... I went almost 5 years in denial with the machine sitting there next to my bed. Here's what it all boiled down to....
the mask
This is THE HARDEST part of this whole thing to get right. The new autotitrating machines might be a godsend for you. CFLEX might be wonderful (pressure relief on exhalation), but the MASK... man that mask is key. Pressure adjustments are just air. No... seriously.. pressure adjustments are relatively easy compared to getting a mask that you like.
ASK about claustrophobia. TELL them your experience with waking up choking and gasping. TELL them that the difficulty has made you appear uncooperative when in fact you KNOW you need to get this right. Many of the techs you'll encounter (and doctors and DME folks) have never slept with a mask on. Keep THAT in mind as well.
ASK EVERYTHING... but make sure they are aware of your past experience and how your doctor gave up on you.
This is NOT your failure. This is THEIR failure in not staying with you to find the solution. And YOUR solution may be quite different from MY solution and so on and so on... but THEY are supposed to know how to help you get to where you know you need to be.
And of course, we're all here to help when and how we can and to cheer you on.
_________________
| Mask: Swift™ FX Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear |
| Humidifier: S9™ Series H5i™ Heated Humidifier with Climate Control |
| Additional Comments: original pressure 8cm - auto 8-12 |
YardBird
Thanks,. . . . ..I'm only 31 but I have learned alot. The doctors are their to assist. . . .I'm hoping that when I explain to them what I'm experiencing they may actually listen and understand. I just got to get this under control. If it means me getting just a prescription and paying for what I think I need then so be it. I refuse to let myself give up on me, my wife or my 22 month year old boy!
Thanks,. . . . ..I'm only 31 but I have learned alot. The doctors are their to assist. . . .I'm hoping that when I explain to them what I'm experiencing they may actually listen and understand. I just got to get this under control. If it means me getting just a prescription and paying for what I think I need then so be it. I refuse to let myself give up on me, my wife or my 22 month year old boy!
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Guest
Mr Sleepy:
I can understand your problems and frustrations. If I were you, I would sit down with the sleep tech before you start and BRIEFLY explain your prior problems and history such that you may require special handling. There may be some high-tech minimizer or solution for what you experience that they didn't have when you last did a sleep test.
When I say briefly, I mean summarize enough to get your point across--please understand that it can be really hard to follow a chapter-and-verse rendition of your prior experiences, and all the detail is not necessary. Just hit the highlights. Tell them that you are telling them this both to calm your nerves and more importantly, to maximize the value of this test for both of you, in view of the fact that prior sleep tests have just been exercises in frustration for both parties. Enroll the sleep tech in helping to find a way to make this work, but don't let him/her pooh-pooh you with vague generalities about how everyone gets nervous, etc.
That's pretty much what I did after I had had some disastrous sleep tests at one center years before going to another center. I don't need to go through the details but the first sleep center pronounced me their first failure, and the tests there were traumatizing. When I explained that to the sleep techs at the second place, they were so much better. They took it one step-at-a-time, asked for my feedback, hid any frustration, nicely admitted i was a tough case when they had to go get the sleep doc towards the end, but were empathetic during the whole process. And it worked out.
DO NOT walk out, no matter how frustrated you get. I hate to say it but there is a difference between a patient with a difficult problem and a difficult patient. If you walk out, you just fuel the idea that you are the latter, and you make the techs/docs not want to help you. Please do not confuse this distinction. I am not taking sides here. There are lousy sleep techs just as there are lousy patients. Just try to do everything you can to make this go easier for everyone.
Good luck, and please let us know how it goes!
Caroline
I can understand your problems and frustrations. If I were you, I would sit down with the sleep tech before you start and BRIEFLY explain your prior problems and history such that you may require special handling. There may be some high-tech minimizer or solution for what you experience that they didn't have when you last did a sleep test.
When I say briefly, I mean summarize enough to get your point across--please understand that it can be really hard to follow a chapter-and-verse rendition of your prior experiences, and all the detail is not necessary. Just hit the highlights. Tell them that you are telling them this both to calm your nerves and more importantly, to maximize the value of this test for both of you, in view of the fact that prior sleep tests have just been exercises in frustration for both parties. Enroll the sleep tech in helping to find a way to make this work, but don't let him/her pooh-pooh you with vague generalities about how everyone gets nervous, etc.
That's pretty much what I did after I had had some disastrous sleep tests at one center years before going to another center. I don't need to go through the details but the first sleep center pronounced me their first failure, and the tests there were traumatizing. When I explained that to the sleep techs at the second place, they were so much better. They took it one step-at-a-time, asked for my feedback, hid any frustration, nicely admitted i was a tough case when they had to go get the sleep doc towards the end, but were empathetic during the whole process. And it worked out.
DO NOT walk out, no matter how frustrated you get. I hate to say it but there is a difference between a patient with a difficult problem and a difficult patient. If you walk out, you just fuel the idea that you are the latter, and you make the techs/docs not want to help you. Please do not confuse this distinction. I am not taking sides here. There are lousy sleep techs just as there are lousy patients. Just try to do everything you can to make this go easier for everyone.
Good luck, and please let us know how it goes!
Caroline
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Guest
I agree with Yardbird, getting a comfortable mask is the hardest part.
Take what you get from the sleep lab techs with a grain of salt, just because they work there, they don't usually know squat about OSA especially masks unless they have OSA themselves.
They seem to be trained to fit a mask on you that may even be smaller than you actually need (smaller masks leak less according to them). They think adjusting one is placing the knee in the center of the patient's chest and pulling on the straps until your face turns blue.
When you go back for a titration, take a TylenolPM, melatonin or anything to help you sleep in the parking lot before you go in the lab (forget what they say not to take).
The most important thing is that you fall asleep and reach REM. If you fail to fall asleep or reach REM then that study will be flawed. Hopefully, you will get an experienced sleep tech this second time around (you should ASK for one).
Most sleep labs use a Syncrony Bi-pap machine (or similar model), that machine can be set to run in any mode they want it to remotely. As for masks, use caution if selecting a pillow style mask until you are used to using cpap regularly. A pillow mask is more noisy than other style masks and can make it more difficult for a newbie to become accustomed to cpap.
Take what you get from the sleep lab techs with a grain of salt, just because they work there, they don't usually know squat about OSA especially masks unless they have OSA themselves.
They seem to be trained to fit a mask on you that may even be smaller than you actually need (smaller masks leak less according to them). They think adjusting one is placing the knee in the center of the patient's chest and pulling on the straps until your face turns blue.
When you go back for a titration, take a TylenolPM, melatonin or anything to help you sleep in the parking lot before you go in the lab (forget what they say not to take).
The most important thing is that you fall asleep and reach REM. If you fail to fall asleep or reach REM then that study will be flawed. Hopefully, you will get an experienced sleep tech this second time around (you should ASK for one).
Most sleep labs use a Syncrony Bi-pap machine (or similar model), that machine can be set to run in any mode they want it to remotely. As for masks, use caution if selecting a pillow style mask until you are used to using cpap regularly. A pillow mask is more noisy than other style masks and can make it more difficult for a newbie to become accustomed to cpap.
6 posts
• Page 1 of 1