newbie soldiers on

hehcsh · Post by **hehcsh** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 7:49 am

So, I bought a contoured memory pillow and suspended the hose above my bed; I now appear to be tethered to the wall. The ComfortCurve might work, although I still sometimes feel whisps of air blowing past the mask, usually near my cheekbones. I shaved my moustache back from the base of my nose--no more Santa Claus gigs for me.

One of my problems is that I don't think I felt that sleepy before all of this. True, whenever I reclined to read, I fell asleep--but who doesn't? My wife fingered me for gasping for breath and snoring. My diagnosis after a sleepover (not exactly calculated to provide much sleep) was severe OSA. My pressure number is 13, plus I'm overweight. Oh, and did I mention, a bypass patient with high blood pressure (all treated)? So, of course, I am getting less sleep (or seem to be) than before. Like many of you, I lie there thinking: "Is this working? Is this working? Is this....?

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 11:44 am

You are a good canidate for software and reader, then you could see. It sounds like we traveled some of the same ground, I hope your by-pass faired better than mine. Jim Welcome!

WillCunningham · Post by **WillCunningham** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 2:45 pm

Howdy,

I can totally relate to the "is this working" thoughts. I went through the same thing when I first got going with cpap. I would try to analize how I felt each morning and was getting nervous that I wasn't noticing big changes. I eventually noticed a bunch of little changes that over time added up to a signfigant change. The thing that really convinced me I was being effectively treated was that I was able to stop abusing caffiene and still remain awake. I also noticed that I was not tired in the morning and had more energy, but that was more difficult to judge because it happened so gradually.

Good Luck!

Will

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 7:46 pm

I wish I knew what a good night sleep was. I have had my cpap for about a month and have not slept more than 3 hours with it and most nights only use it for an hour. I have a difficult time falling asleep with the mask on. My pressure is 15 but it ramps so it gives me a chance to fall asleep before hitting 15. I only hope over time I will get comfortable so I can get a good night sleep. When you have to get up early you can't lie there for 2 hours trying to get to sleep. Did this happen to anyone else when they first started. Any advice would be great since frustration seems to be settling in.

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:28 pm

Guest wrote: Did this happen to anyone else when they first started. Any advice would be great since frustration seems to be settling in.

It has happened to quite a few folks, some of whom have posted here. If it's simply the pressure that's keeping you awake, then some of the solutions folks have found are:
1) Cflex (available on many Respironics machines),
2) APAP (depending upon your apnea pattern, you could see much lower pressures for much of the night)
3) BiPAP (lowers the pressure when you breathe out)
4) BiPAP-auto (my personal favorite, combines all three items above into a single unit)

Then again, you could simply tough it out, but considering that you have been essentially non-compliant for a month, that doesn't sound promising. I'd recommend discussing your non-compliance with your physician and considering getting your prescription changed to the BiPAP-auto.

Of course, if it's not the pressure that's a problem, like say the mask fits poorly, then you should attack that problem instead. Can you provide more info? What sort of machine do you have? What sort of mask are you using? How do you feel when you go to sleep? How do you feel when you awaken an hour or so later? Answers to some of these questions could prompt a quite different solution for your particular problem.

Regards,
Bill