Frustrated with CPAP machine

brodon38 · Post by **brodon38** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 5:46 am

diagnosed couple of years ago & cant seem to get used to the machine, I tried different masks & even bought a new machine recently that has auto pressure feature. Now I have 2 resmed machines & still can't get used to them. Anyone interested in buying a like new resmed elite 7 with humidifier?I feel like I am smothering ( also have asthma) ..... any suggestions?

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 6:33 am

Hi Brodon38!

Welcome to cpaptalk.

brodon38 wrote:I feel like I am smothering ( also have asthma) ..... any suggestions?

The usual reasons folks here cite for that are starting pressure too low (e.g., 4 cm or 5 cm), and sinus congestion. The solution for low pressure is obvious, simply raise your minimum pressure to a higher value. Resolving sinus congestion takes a little more effort sometimes. I found relief with the Grossan irrigation system, but that takes a little getting used to . . .,

Can you provide more details on your therapy, such as current pressure settings, and what changes you may have made? If you have info from sleep study, that would help too.

Regads,
Bill

brodon38 · Post by **brodon38** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 6:48 am

Starting pressure is 12 & max pressure is 20 ( on autoset), I have switched from a nasal mask to full face hoping that would remove the sinus issue, I dont have the info on the sleep study. I have played with the starting pressure increased to 14 but it didn't seem to help. By the way I did have surgery to correct cpap based on dr's adv but that only worked for about 6 mon, it was not worth the pain for 6 mon of releif

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 3:36 pm

Well, does your APAP have EPR capability? That's something you could easily try, if it does. Does your machine provide data, either on-screen or via software? There could be important clues in the data.

The only other thing which comes to mind involves trying a different machine to see if one of the other machines might work better for you; either a different manufacturer's, or a BiPAP. That's kind of an expensive option though. Not sure I'd be so quick to try a different machine until I'd exhausted other possibilities. This is important though, so I'd do whatever it took to get CPAP therapy working right.

Regards,
Bill