some problems on second night

jsmith1984 · Post by **jsmith1984** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 6:14 am

Well the first night I had the cpap went pretty good. Last night though is a different story. I was extremely tired and looking forward to going to sleep, so I fell asleep quickly. I woke up this morning and my girlfriend said I snored for about 15 minutes, and then really early this morning she said the machine got quiet, almost like it had cut off. I did notice that when I woke up the cpap was quiet. I think the reason I snored is I was breathing heavy when I went to sleep, cause I noticed it felt like I was having to pull air more. I forgot to check for rainout this morning, but I thought about it, I did turn my humidifier up last night, but I had no wetness on or around my face. Does anyone have any advice? I dont know how to look at the data from my machine, and I dont know how to turn the pressure up. It is set at 5-15 auto. I'm wondering if I would benefit from bumping it to 7-15 (seven is what I stopped snoring at during my titration) what do ya'll think??? I really dont want to have another night like last night.

jsmith1984 · Post by **jsmith1984** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:23 am

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 12:09 pm

Well, to access your Efficacy and Usage data simply press the Left and Right buttons down for 3-4 seconds. You then just follow the cues, its pretty self explanatory: Up and Down arrows and Left and Right arrows.

I'm a bit of a newbie, only started CPAP last October so just into my fifth month on CPAP, so obviously its not for me to tell you what pressure range might be best for you nor how to alter your pressures.

Given you know what ranges you responded to best during your titration study why not call your sleep doctor and discuss changing the pressure w/him. Its a simple matter to take your data card in, have the tech change the pressures via the smart card, take the card home, insert it in your Vantage and voila! your new pressure settings.

Just two nights on xPAP isn't gonna tell you much. You've got a lot of adjusting to. Some nights the same mask will give you a good fit and then very next night, same mask, a lousy fit. I've found when I've finally hit good sleep and then wake that I can't hear my Elite either and yet I can hear the changes in "speed" between inhale and exhale when I first start the night or am not sleeping good. And I don't use Ramp or EPR. I think its just our breathing becoming more regulated and relaxed thru the night.

My first 30+ nights on CPAP sucked big time. I was more exhausted than I'd ever been in my life. Then I would have a good night here and there and then it suddenly occurred to me I wasn't exhausted, just tired, then I had some pretty good days, and things just keep getting better, with an occasional setback.

I don't have an Auto and only slept 42 minutes the first titration study so had to do a second titration study and only slept 98 minutes that one so "we" only had barely 2 interrupted hours to guess-timate the best pressure for me. We still have some tweaking to do. Without an Auto that is much more difficult and takes longer.

bdp522 · Post by **bdp522** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 5:23 pm

I am certainly no expert but I think your low of 5 is too low. I tried breathing at 5 and felt like I couldn't get any air at all. If it were me, I'd bump the low to 7 and see what happens.I think the reason you snored is because the machine wasn't giving enough pressure to keep the airway totally open.
Here are the instructions for settings;
1. Accessing the Clinical Menu

Turn on the device and wait until the standby (RAMP/SETTLING) screen appears on the LCD.
At this stage you can adjust the ramp/settling time.

Press the DOWN and RIGHT keys simultaneously for 3 seconds to access the clinical menu.

2. Changing Options and Settings.

Press the LEFT (menu) key to access the SETTINGS menu screen.

Use the UP and DOWN keys to scroll through the RESULTS, OPTIONS and SERVICING menu screens.

From a menu screen, use the LEFT (enter) key to access the parameters in that menu.

Use the UP and DOWN keys to scroll through menu parameters.

Use the LEFT key to view or change each parameter setting as required.

Press the RIGHT (exit) key until you return to the standby (RAMP/SETTLING) screen.

Hope it helps
Brenda

snoregirl · Post by **snoregirl** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 6:09 pm

Two days on CPAP is not much, but any days at 5 for me would be too low. I wouldn't start less than 6 or 7. Range is pretty wide too. I would narrow both sides closer to your titration study.