My First Time - Tonight!

[Royzzzzzzz]

Hi All,

Well it's been just under a week since being shipped from the UK and my machine has arrived today. I'll be using 'Noddy' for the first time tonight. I believe I'm well prepared for most eventualities solely because of the advice that I've got from this excellent site.

Obviously, like everybody else, I'm not happy that I need to use the equipment, but on the other hand I am pleased that the specialist found out why I feel tired all the time, so it feels very much a good news and bad news situation. I've no idea what tonight holds for me, (and my better half) but I'm going to follow tips that you people have supplied, the main one being that I'll be using the equipment about an hour before I hit the sack.

I will let you know tomorrow how I got on. Wish me luck.


Roy

[Violet West]

luck!

[yippeekia]

Sweet dreams and good luck!

[Hopeful50]

Hope it goes smoothly and comfortably!

[Hexfly]

Good Luck! I just started about 3-4 weeks ago. It seems I have learned little tricks of how things work by reading this site and trial and error. I feel much more confident about not leaking at night and believe the CPAP has really helped me with some areas of my health that I never imagined.

[chunkyfrog]

We will try to be gentle.

[Royzzzzzzz]

Hi All,

Not a complete disaster, but disappointing all the same. Luckily because I use your forum I'm not too concerned because it's early days.

Everything on my machine was set to default and I followed the mask fitting instructions to the letter. I used the apap for about a half hour before going to bed and felt reasonably comfortable; it wasn't actually reasonably comfortable, but It was bearable! I used the ramp feature and luckily went to sleep within a few minutes, so far so good. Several times during the night I was forced awake with pressure that seemed way too high; so much so that it was pushing my mask off and creating leaks and plenty of air noise. Didn't matter how I breathed or pushed at the mask or adjusted straps, It just stayed way too high. Eventually I tried the ramp button and it settled down to ramp pressure. This happened several times. On the plus side, my AHI dropped from the test result of 36 down to 14.5 which is a good start, but when I was tested I didn't wake at all so I guess the improvement is not as good because if I'm awake the Apneas wont happen!

So, I've been in touch with the good people that sold me the equipment and they have now seen my report too. Apparently I have a leakage rate of 7% and the highest acceptable rate is 3%, so they think it may be a leaking mask. The logic is that apap is not feeling any resistance so it increases the airflow to compensate. I only noticed leaks when the pressure went too high but it was my first night with something strange stuck to my face, so I've got a lot to get used to. BUT, the really great news is that I only attempted to snore once or twice, (according to my better half who shared my bad night), but very quickly stopped, whereas before I would win prizes for snoring. Now that I am very pleased about!

So anyway, I'm looking forward to trying again tonight armed with the advise I have been given, so we will have to see how it goes for night 2 with Noddy.




Cheers



Royzzzzzzz

[Cardsfan]

It's a process and learning curve. There are mask liners that help with leaks. http://www.padacheek.com has them. Congrats on your first night. Consider it a success because you are learning what works and what does not work.