Panic-stricken newbie is calmer this morning

[ellen1159]

Wasn't able to keep the mask on last night for more than 5 minutes. I was already over-tired and I panicked big-time, couldn't breathe, thought it was the mask being too small (found a template on line thanks to you guys and the size is okay), got freaked out by the sides of the mask flapping in and out, freaked out about the constant pressure of air after an inhalation but before an exhalation. I called the DME service to ask about resetting the pressure (my high is 25/15) but they won't touch anything without the doc's Rx.

Called the doc and while leaving a message for him, the office manager told me to come in this afternoon with the machine and one of their techs would work with me to adjust the mask and see what's going on, before they fool with the pressure settings. She was very sympathetic, said three people in her family are hoseheads and that it's the minority of patients who are able to make it through the first night without a problem. She said she tells patients that it's a four-month process of learning to breathe differently.

That makes me feel a bit better. I know you folks have been saying the same thing, but hearing a warm human voice say it is very reinforcing. Still doesn't help my short-term sleep deprivation, but it gives me hope that I can make this work for me too.

[RandyJ]

I'm glad you are getting help today!!

25cm is such a blast of pressure, but if you were using ramp the first 5 mins of therapy should not have been that high (or dramatic) ... I thought you said you were using ramp, but maybe it somehow got turned off.

Make sure the RT verifies ramp settings, and works with you long enough for you to get up to full pressure so you can see how mask reacts.

Good luck!!

[stage0]

That flapping is an irritation..could be some high cheekbones or some such curve. Look into a liner custom to your mask. It will not only cushion the mask to your skin, but take up the space. See Padacheek posts

[RandyJ]

That flapping is an irritation..could be some high cheekbones or some such curve. Look into a liner custom to your mask. It will not only cushion the mask to your skin, but take up the space. See Padacheek posts

I highly recommend Padacheek. The liner for the Quattro FX is liner "B" on this page: http://www.padacheek.com/PAC_Maskliners.html

[Kenwood]

You will get used to the pressure. Now...after about a couple mins of masking up - I can't even notice the pressure anymore. Use the ramp feature if you need more help you get used to the pressure.

[Denial Dave]

once you get your machine, try wearing the mask with the machine on full pressure while watching TV, read a book, etc.....

It really helped me get accustomed to wearing the mask and also overcome claustrophobia issues that I had.

I started out at 21/15, so I have some understanding of the higher pressures..... a good tip is to set your mask straps while laying down on the bed...

At our higher pressures, doing it while laying down makes the process easier... It doesn't work to well if you do it while sitting on the edge of the bed.

Also while it is for the Quattro, there are some great tips that apply to the Quattro FX here on this blog. Please take the time to read them at this link

http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/taming ... e-quattro/

Good Luck!!

[pootsie]

Are there relaxation exercises that people use to help the initial panic?

Concious, focused-breathing type stuff?

[DEXSUZ]

Ellen:

'Denial Dave' and I both have the same advice: follow a slow, gradual path to wearing your Quattro FX. Took me over a month to finally get to the point where I looked at it and thought, "This thing is my path to sound sleep". In the first few weeks I looked at it as if I were seeing a monster that wanted to harm me. After I became accustomed to the sounds and feelings of the machine and mask I came to view it as a godsend.

On Monday night I slept non-stop from 10:30 p.m. to 8 a.m. and last night (after the Black Hawk win over Minnesota) I went from 11 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. For two DECADES, I never had back-to-back nights like these until I began using my gizmo at the beginning of March.

One further tip: a few weeks ago, a gal (I think her moniker was "Simply Me") on this forum gave instructions as to how to fabricate a small strap that would connect the two lower ones under the chin that would stabilize the FX and prevent movement leaks. My wife made one of these and I no longer the few whooshes of air I once had.

A final time, Ellen: please take your time and give your brain and body a chance to readjust to being a CPAP person. Words can not describe how use of this system has improved my life in the last few months.

God bless!

[Janknitz]

Are there relaxation exercises that people use to help the initial panic?

Concious, focused-breathing type stuff?

Simplest relaxation technique ever, but it works best if you practice, practice, practice when you are NOT stressed:

Sit or lie in a comfortable position, feet supported, arms supported, a quiet spot.

Breathe in SLOWLY while you count to five VERY slowly.
Breath out SLOWLY while you count to five VERY slowly.

Breaths should be slow and deep.

Focus on the counting, not the breathing. In, 2, 3, 4, 5, Out, 2, 3, 4, 5

Repeat as long as you can hold your focus.

This works even better if you give yourself a physical cue. Mine is touching each thumb to the middle finger of the same hand. I've practiced this so much that just placing my hands in that position will start the relaxation process. I can put my hands in this position and take a good breath in anytime I need to relax a little, and nobody but me notices.

[sawinglogz]

Breathe in SLOWLY while you count to five VERY slowly.
Breath out SLOWLY while you count to five VERY slowly.

Breaths should be slow and deep.

The ASV in my titration didn't like that.

Fortunately, JohnBFisher gave me the solution for home: turn the machine off and back on so that it starts calculating "normal" breathing based on what I'm doing now (not how I was breathing over the last 3 minutes).

Can't really do that to their machine in the lab, though...

[jencat824]

Ellen,

I haven't used this relaxation exercise with CPAP, but I use it as the dentist, when they drill my teeth WITHOUT novacaine or any other numbing drugs. First time my current dentist had to fill a tooth he said this was not possible. I told him to drill & I'd worry about 'possible' and after he finished he said 'I stand corrected'. I also use this when having a MRI and I'm claustrophobic. Maybe this could help you:

Before starting pain/panic causing event, breathe deeply & mentally take yourself to a special place you have visited, for me it is the beach, with lovely soft waves. I take myself there, when pain/panic starts, I focus on the waves - the sound, the smell, the feel of those waves on my feet while I'm sitting in my beach chair in the sand with those waves hitting my feet. As the pain/panic intrudes, I focus more on the sound, smell & feel, it helps take me there and focus on the place in my mind, cutting off what is physically happening to me. I continue with this process until the pain/panic causing event is over or until I fall asleep. I have fallen asleep during dental drilling/filling and most always fall asleep in the MRI machine.

I would think it might work best for you to go to that place before you mask up, then mask up, turn machine on & try to go right back there. I'm just guessing on this, since I've not used this on CPAP. You can use the technique any way you think it might work for you. Think about at what point do you panic & start just before the panic occurs.

My dad taught me this because he was allergic to novacaine too. I've used this in several painful & panic causing situations. I use it for pain at night, so thought it might help you adjust to CPAP with such a high pressure. The goal of this technique is to take you out-of-body mentally & make you fall asleep, hence removing your mind from the pain/panic event.

Now for some folks, this may seem to be hogwash. I'm only offering the suggestion because it works for me for various pain/panic events. Because most people in my life think I'm crazy when I fell them this, I don't share this with folks easily, I just hope it may be of some help to you.

Jen

[BlackSpinner]

A "relaxation exercise " I usually recommend is this: ahead of time comb through your memories for a lazy sleepy happy time. For many people that is a day at the beach.

recreate that memory in all your senses
See what is around you
feel the sand, the warmth on your skin
smell the ocean, the sun screen, the sweat.
taste the cool drink
hear the ocean, the birds...

repeat as necessary.

Mine is in the shade in a hammock once when I was camping.

[ellen1159]

I will try the breathing and visualization cues. My favorite mental image go-to is a Caribbean beach! If any of you have ever been to Elbow Beach in Bermuda or Hawksbill Bay on St. John USVI, or Luquillo in Puerto Rico, those are my mental postcards. Wish I were there now.

I stopped by the sleep doc's office on my way home from work yesterday with my machine and had a staffer show me the correct way to put on the Quattro FX IV full face mask. It's got a built-in seal that has to be inflated before you clap it against your skin or it won't seal properly, and you can't tighten it too much. Made a big difference: comfortable, quiet, no leaks. It had it sitting way too high on my face, no wonder the sides were flapping!

Having the mask fit properly allowed me to focus on my breathing alone. A coughing fit ended my session, but at least I know the mask is the right one for me.

[pootsie]

I am new to this whole thing--no machine yet, even.

But I have had success using focused breathing in other areas of my life, so I plan to use it to help me adapt to my new alien face-hugger friend

http://www.mskcc.org/videos/focused-breathing-exercises

This video is from a medical facility, but many spiritual traditions make use of it, too.