Newbie here! Have a couple questions...

[kittyk4y]

Hi all!

Started CPAP therapy in March and have lurked a couple threads here, but I decided to make an account because I have some questions of my own.

I did my sleep study at home, and it showed 13 events per hour. When I'm able to use my CPAP, I get 2 or less.

I've been struggling to meet the 30% usage (# of nights over 4 hours) as required by my insurance for a few reasons: 1) a deviated septum (which just got fixed! woo!) causing stuffiness, 2) cat hair issues (it gets under my mask and is unavoidable... one of my cats insists on sleeping on my pillow with her face touching mine and there's no amount of moving her or removing her from the room entirely that will help... she's clingy. ) 3) air swallowing, and 4) general skin irritation with the mask (sensitive skin).

I currently use the Airfit N20, but have an appointment for a fitting for a nasal pillow style. If I get a choice (I didn't for the nasal mask, but we'll see with the pillows...) would you recommend the Swift FX or the Airfit P10? I was looking more at the P10 because it's less plastic touching my face which causes skin irritation issues. I've seen some complaints about the straps not staying, but I wear my hair in a bun all the time, so that should help keep the straps where they belong. I'm hoping nasal pillows will help with the cat hair issue too - right now the issue is, the cat hair gets stuck to my face or is on my pillow, and I sleep on my side so I don't get a perfect seal. The mask ends up sucking in some cat hair and I wake up to it tickling the sides of my nose and end up ripping my mask off for the rest of the night.

As far as air swallowing goes, my pressure setting is set to a minimum of 6.4 and a max of 15. I had started at a minimum of 5, but felt like I was suffocating, so my doctor raised it originally to 7, but I was constantly swallowing air, so it was dropped to 6.4 (as 6.5 isn't an option?). I was doing fine for a while, but since I started using it again after my nasal surgery, I've started swallowing air again. Could it just be because I could be laying differently now? Or should I see if we can drop the minimum pressure again? My thoughts with dropping the minimum pressure, though, are that it'll be too low again - I've had a few experiences the past few nights where I feel like I'm suffocating again. I'm just not sure what to do.

Thanks for all your help

[Pugsy]

Welcome to the forum.

Can you tell me exactly which model machine you are using? The one you have chosen is a fixed pressure machine and won't do what you are saying your pressures are. If you couldn't find your machine exactly....look down in the Rs in the equipment menu list. The AirSense 10 AutoSet got stuck in the Rs.

If you like the looks of the P10....get it and try it. It's much quieter than the Swift FX. Yes, the headgear will sometimes stretch out too much too soon but it's fixable and the diffused venting of the P10 is so much better than the Swift FX.

For the air swallowing (aerophagia) issues.....are you using EPR? If not, turn it on and use it.
If you are already using EPR....what setting?

Have you looked at the detailed software reports to see exactly what the pressure is doing? It might not be so much the minimum pressure as the maximum that is feeding the aerophagia monster....meaning if it can go to 15 maybe it is staying up around 12 and it's the 12 that is the problem. If that is the case sometimes we limit the maximum a bit and not let it go higher...we make compromises.

[Midwest_non_sleeper]

...this is going to sound bad to some people, but as far as the cat is concerned, I would remove it from the room for now. At least until you can get the CPAP situation figured out. If the cat hair is causing a problem of sleep, then it's time to remove the source of that problem. The cat will be fine sleeping without you for awhile, you however, will not be fine with terrible sleep.

See, told you it would sound bad.

[Julie]

As a 50 yr cat owner (of many) and a long ago allergy 'patient' who's since got control of that problem, I find it almost childish for someone to say they can't take care of the cat hair (cover the pillow until bedtime with something and clean your face well), and/or keep the cat out. You need to be responsible for things and not expect magic from others.

[zonker]

...this is going to sound bad to some people, but as far as the cat is concerned, I would remove it from the room for now. At least until you can get the CPAP situation figured out. If the cat hair is causing a problem of sleep, then it's time to remove the source of that problem. The cat will be fine sleeping without you for awhile, you however, will not be fine with terrible sleep.

See, told you it would sound bad.

not as bad as julie!

[dieselgal]

It's been a long time since I have checked into the board which generally means that my CPAP has settled in with me. I just saw this post though and wanted to throw in my two cents. I use the AirFit P10 for her and I absolutely love it. It is so light and comfortable that I almost forget I have it on. Before I found it I could only stand the Mirage Activa and it was sometimes suffocating even though it was pretty comfortable, but once I stumbled on the AirFit P10 I would not go back to anything else.
It does have a couple of things that could use tweaking but you can't have everything.
Good luck with the CPAP and hopefully you get some sleep!

[zonker]

Hi all!

Started CPAP therapy in March and have lurked a couple threads here, but I decided to make an account because I have some questions of my own.

welcome to the zoo! in my opinion, it's the p10. mind you, i haven't tried any other nasal pillow mask. but the p10 saved me from the clutches of sleep apnea, i'm convinced.

your machine changes pressure in increments of .2. weird huh?

you need to do what you can do to take charge of aerophagia. even if it means having not sterling numbers. i went through quite a bit of this for a number of years. for ME, i ended up keeping the min low and ever so gradually raising that minimum.

also, are you using the EPR setting on your machine?

good luck!

[kittyk4y]

Welcome to the forum.

Can you tell me exactly which model machine you are using? The one you have chosen is a fixed pressure machine and won't do what you are saying your pressures are. If you couldn't find your machine exactly....look down in the Rs in the equipment menu list. The AirSense 10 AutoSet got stuck in the Rs.

If you like the looks of the P10....get it and try it. It's much quieter than the Swift FX. Yes, the headgear will sometimes stretch out too much too soon but it's fixable and the diffused venting of the P10 is so much better than the Swift FX.

For the air swallowing (aerophagia) issues.....are you using EPR? If not, turn it on and use it.
If you are already using EPR....what setting?

Have you looked at the detailed software reports to see exactly what the pressure is doing? It might not be so much the minimum pressure as the maximum that is feeding the aerophagia monster....meaning if it can go to 15 maybe it is staying up around 12 and it's the 12 that is the problem. If that is the case sometimes we limit the maximum a bit and not let it go higher...we make compromises.

I have the AirSense 10 AutoSet... Fixed it .

I'm not sure if I'm using EPR. How do I check?

I've looked at the detailed reports on SleepyHead but I'm not sure how to make sense of them.

...this is going to sound bad to some people, but as far as the cat is concerned, I would remove it from the room for now. At least until you can get the CPAP situation figured out. If the cat hair is causing a problem of sleep, then it's time to remove the source of that problem. The cat will be fine sleeping without you for awhile, you however, will not be fine with terrible sleep.

See, told you it would sound bad.

As a 50 yr cat owner (of many) and a long ago allergy 'patient' who's since got control of that problem, I find it almost childish for someone to say they can't take care of the cat hair (cover the pillow until bedtime with something and clean your face well), and/or keep the cat out. You need to be responsible for things and not expect magic from others.

As I said, removing the cat from the room is not an option. There will be carpet ripping and yowling. I'll be kept awake the entire night. I'm not "expecting magic" from others, I found a possible solution to the problem myself and am taking steps towards that solution. I was asking for opinions on the masks I mentioned. The background was to explain why I was considering switching masks. Calling me childish and irresponsible is quite off-putting as a "welcome to the forum".

[jimbud]

Calling me childish and irresponsible is quite off-putting as a "welcome to the forum".

That's just Julie. I believe she is a good person.
She can be a little rough when she thinks someone is not taking care of business (as she sees it).
She helps a lot of people on here. And turns a few off at times.
I truly thinks she means well.
I kind of like her mostly, most of the time.

That is my opinion, for what it is worth.
You are most welcome here.
JPB

[NoOnesPerfect]

Regarding the cat - i had to hug a small pillow where my cat preferred to snuggle at night in order to keep her away from my face. I ended up needing another pillow to cover my groin when she decided the first approach was not to her liking

[Julie]

Thank you JB! I know I can come off a little hard some times but I suppose there can always be circumstances I haven't thought of that impact others. My current cat likes to wake me early (in the spring of course, when it's lighter out early) so I get up, close the door and he gets it... but then he's 12 and has had all those years to train me well.

Katy I do think you need to come up with a little more useful stuff tho', like e.g. a towel on the pillow during the day... or something. I didn't call you 'irresponsible', but do think you can commit to a somewhat better way to deal with things than just saying you can't change.

[jimbud]

I'm not sure if I'm using EPR. How do I check?

Exhale Pressure Relief
EPR is in the clinical menu.
Press and hold the Dial and the rectangular button with the house on it for ten seconds to enter the clinical menu.
Then turn the dial to EPR.
Then push dial to highlight the EPR level.
Then turn the dial to the level you wish to try.
Then push the dial to set the pressure.

Good luck,
JPB

[bjhunt01]

kittyk4y: Welcome from one newbie to another. I too am a cat lover and have had them all my life - always sleep on the bed with me. I don't have one now so I don't know what it would do to the CPAP. However, I do have Texas allergies all year long and this year rather than suffer even more I deeply researched air purifiers and have one running in my bedroom. I got through March, a bad season here, with a lot less misery! One with a HEPA filter is good for getting the pet hair and dander out of the air so I'd put it close to the bed on kitty's side.

Re: masks - I started in September last year and am on my 9th mask. I understand it is common to go through many to find the right one for you. For me it's been a little more difficult as I have narrow nostrils that collapse, allergies, the deviated septum, and am a mouth breather and having trouble keeping it closed internally - tongue drop - even with tape, Scuncis, cervical neck brace thingy, just understanding all there is to settings, breathing, etc. All of which is to say, as you start out if you find something's not working, keep on keepin on til you find one that does. It's great you got here as that can help and I wish I'd gotten here sooner!

Don't be discouraged by the various personalities. The same ones that are out in the "real" world are here too. The bottom line though is that in here everyone IS trying to help even if they don't "type tactfully!"

[kittyk4y]

I'm not sure if I'm using EPR. How do I check?

Exhale Pressure Relief
EPR is in the clinical menu.
Press and hold the Dial and the rectangular button with the house on it for ten seconds to enter the clinical menu.
Then turn the dial to EPR.
Then push dial to highlight the EPR level.
Then turn the dial to the level you wish to try.
Then push the dial to set the pressure.

Good luck,
JPB

Thanks! I'll try that out tonight.

kittyk4y: Welcome from one newbie to another. I too am a cat lover and have had them all my life - always sleep on the bed with me. I don't have one now so I don't know what it would do to the CPAP. However, I do have Texas allergies all year long and this year rather than suffer even more I deeply researched air purifiers and have one running in my bedroom. I got through March, a bad season here, with a lot less misery! One with a HEPA filter is good for getting the pet hair and dander out of the air so I'd put it close to the bed on kitty's side.

Re: masks - I started in September last year and am on my 9th mask. I understand it is common to go through many to find the right one for you. For me it's been a little more difficult as I have narrow nostrils that collapse, allergies, the deviated septum, and am a mouth breather and having trouble keeping it closed internally - tongue drop - even with tape, Scuncis, cervical neck brace thingy, just understanding all there is to settings, breathing, etc. All of which is to say, as you start out if you find something's not working, keep on keepin on til you find one that does. It's great you got here as that can help and I wish I'd gotten here sooner!

Don't be discouraged by the various personalities. The same ones that are out in the "real" world are here too. The bottom line though is that in here everyone IS trying to help even if they don't "type tactfully!"

Thanks for the air purifier idea! Any recommendations on a brand or anything? It might help my snuggly one's seasonal allergies too... she gets quite the snot rockets going in the spring. Blech.

Thank you too for the reassurance on the masks. My DME store that I use (because I work for the hospital so its easier, plus they take my insurance and I hit my out of pocket max for the year already... so free supplies for the rest of the year!) just basically shoved the N20 at me and said "this is the best mask!" with no explanation or anything. I'll probably be switching to an online supplier at the start of next year, at least until I hit my OOP max again. They also only allow mask returns in the first 30 days of USE of the CPAP, and only allow one mask swap during that time. If you switch on your own, you're "stuck" with the mask (and I saw the online suppliers usually give you 30 days per MASK to test it out).

[palerider]

I've looked at the detailed reports on SleepyHead but I'm not sure how to make sense of them.

Post them: wiki/index.php/Sleepyhead:Organize