i smother on my cpap

[neworleans49]

i cant breathe on my cpap. when i put on my mask i cant breathe. i used a cpap, bipap , dozens of diff types of masks , min to max pressure, been to 6 doc, 3 sleep studies, tried sleeping pills, melotonin, warm milk, dark light therapy, nasal liquids, nasal strips, deviated septum and turbinate surgery. etc. they did say i have a narrow passage way which is true but i still cant get enough air in. so what can i do about it. how can i make it bigger. what other treatments besides these machines.

[LSAT]

Can't help without knowing what machine...what mask...what pressure etc. We are not mind readers.

[Elle]

I don't think the machine makes much difference and he tried many settings. Dozens of masks would be difficult to list.

Welcome to the forum. I struggle to get enough air as well but I don't think you will find anything comparable to treat OSA. It sounds like you are pretty frustrated so I hope you find a solution soon.

[Goofproof]

Using all the different masks, machines, and setting, maybe you didn't have time left to breath. How do you breath during the day, the machines are capable of supplying more air that without, if set correctly. Jim

[robysue]

i cant breathe on my cpap. when i put on my mask i cant breathe.

It would help us help you if you told us more details.

People use the phrases like "I can't breathe" and "I feel suffocated" and "I feel smothered" to describe two very different problems that many people encounter when trying to use a CPAP machine:

1) Some people feel as though there is not enough air coming through the mask to breath comfortably. They feel "air hungry" as though they need to take in a very deep inhalation and the machine doesn't seem to "feed" them enough air.

2) Other people feels as though there is too much air coming through the mask to breath comfortably. They feel that they cannot fully exhale the current lung full of air against the pressure. They often feel as though the machine is rushing their inhalations---making them inhale before they're done exhaling. In short, they feel as though the machine is "force-feeding" them more air than they can handle.

Which description fits what you mean when you say that you can't breathe? It's important to distinguish what you mean because the fixes of these two problems are very, very different:

1) If the problem is not enough air coming through the mask, the usual fix is to stop using the ramp (if you are using it) and increasing the pressure setting(s) by a small bit.

2) If the problem is too much air coming through the mask, the usual fix is to make sure that exhalation relief is turned ON, to use a ramp (if necessary), and to possibly decrease the pressure setting(s) by a small bit. (The problem with decreasing the pressure is that if you decrease the pressure below what you need, the OSA is then not fully treated.)

And finally there's another thing that also comes into play when people say "I can't breathe", "I feel suffocated" and "I am smothered" when using a CPAP: The humidity setting and the setting on the heated hose if you use them. Too much humidity at too high of a temperature can make it feel like you are sleeping in a damp, hot jungle, which can feel suffocating. Too little humidity can make your nose very dry and that can lead to nasal congestion, which can make it very difficult to breathe.

[archangle]

Welcome. Sorry you're having trouble.

We definitely need to know what machine, what type of mask, and what settings you're using.

Tell us what you know and we'll help you figure out the rest.

[BlackSpinner]

go see a psychiatrist because it is all in your mind.

[palerider]

go see a psychiatrist because it is all in your mind.

blunt, but accurate.

fact is, even at 4cm of pressure, there's plenty of air, nobody is going to smother at that level, otherwise the lawyers wouldn't let the manufacturers sell the machines, for fear of huge lawsuit payouts.

and breathing out against higher pressure is also, not going to kill anybody, you work MUCH harder to blow up a balloon.

however, it's easy to get all wound up mentally about the whole thing due to the strangeness of the whole situation, and freak out due do the instinctual "need to breath", and having to mentally overcome the primal reflex responses....

that said, people do it every day, mentally overcoming something that is 'unnatural'... scuba diving, sky diving, climbing towers, crawling through caves, the list goes on and on.

[robysue]

go see a psychiatrist because it is all in your mind.

blunt, but accurate.

however, it's easy to get all wound up mentally about the whole thing due to the strangeness of the whole situation, and freak out due do the instinctual "need to breath", and having to mentally overcome the primal reflex responses....

that said, people do it every day, mentally overcoming something that is 'unnatural'... scuba diving, sky diving, climbing towers, crawling through caves, the list goes on and on.

Yes, a lot of us over come "unnatural" things everyday. But most of us are not forced into doing mental gymnastics every night while trying to fall asleep ....

While it's true that there's plenty of air coming through the mask at 4cm (and I should know since I *use* pressures that low), a lot of folks don't feel particularly comfortable breathing at pressures in the 4-7cm range. And bumping the pressure up a cm or two can make all the difference in the world in terms of comfort.

And while it's true that "breathing out against higher pressure is also, not going to kill anybody, you work MUCH harder to blow up a balloon," most of us don't expect that we will have to *consciously* work on exhaling fully while we're trying our hardest to get to sleep. And using a bit less pressure via a ramp or exhalation relief or lowering the pressure a cm or two can make all the difference in the world in terms of comfort.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that telling folks to just suck it up and *do* the damn CPAP thing can be counterproductive. There's a place for tough love, but there's also a place for troubleshooting and problem solving.

In terms of the OP's posting: I saw a whole lotta of "I've tried lots of things that don't work" without any *thought* being put into exactly what was *wrong* and hence there had been no suggestions specifically targeted to address the OP's actual difficulties. If the OP is one of those people who suffers because 4-6 cm makes it feel like there's not enough air, but all the OP has ever been told (by the docs and DMEs) is "Use the Ramp, it will make it easier" or "Make sure EPR is at it's max setting" or "let's see if you do better if we reduce the pressure a bit", then I can see why the OP might be at wits' end and desperate for something else. Similarly, if the OP is someone who is struggling to exhale against the prescribed pressure, but all his/her complaints have led to the doc or DME saying "let's bump up the pressure a bit if you can't breathe comfortably" or "don't use the ramp if you feel suffocated", then again I can see why the OP might be at wits' end.

I don't see much point in reacting only to the OP's last sentence ("what other treatments besides these machines. ") without offering any insight in to actually solving the OP's real problem of finding CPAP intolerable. But maybe that's just me: Lord knows I found PAP intolerable for the first 9-12 months, but since I was willing to keep sticking the damn mask on my nose each night in spite of the growing insomnia monster, folks around here were pretty tolerant of my whining.

[poppi2]

snip snip snip

+1

[Nick Danger]

snip snip snip

+1

+2

"Suck it up" is generally only effective in works of fiction.

[Hosehead4ever]

While I agree with RobySue in general, I also agree with Blackspinner's advice. OP sounds like a hypochondriac who needs a shrink, not more surgeries, doctors or sleep studies.

[Elle]

And another one bites the dust.

[BlackSpinner]

I used to work with dye stuff and wear a mask for that - A big multi canister industrial mask where you have to suck the air through those canisters. It felt like hell when you put it on, it felt like you were going to pass out from lack of air any moment. By the end of the hour you forgot it was on your face until you tried to talk.

If you feel like you are smothering while there is fresh air blowing in your face - it is all in your head.

[palerider]

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that telling folks to just suck it up and *do* the damn CPAP thing can be counterproductive. There's a place for tough love, but there's also a place for troubleshooting and problem solving.

I don't disagree with anything you said... for what it's worth I rarely disagree with anything you say