Desperate Ready to Throw in the Towel 2

[jj62]

Hi,

I am new to the forum. But not to sleep apena or cpap.
When I first started on the cpap. Things were going along
fine. Then I got were I couldn't tolerate the mask. So I changed
to the nasal pillow and was doing well. Up to about a year ago and
has gotten progessively worse where I am considering throwing in th
towel like one of the other posters mentioned.
My nose runs all day long my eyes weep and I sneeze a lot.
Never had anything like this before.

Please help desperate........

PS. I did notice the H2o setting was at 7.5, what does that mean?????

Thanks,
Joe

Machine; REMstar M series w/humidifier.
Mask; Nasal Pillow

[echo]

Sounds like your humidifer setting might be up too high, causing congestion and allergy-like symptoms. (Or it could be allergies too).
I don't have your machine so I don't know your humidifier settings, but 7.5 does sound a tad high. Try lowering it a few notches and see if that helps. A morning sinus rinse with a neti pot can also help.

Welcome to the forum! Please don't quit, don't forget how horrible the effects of sleep apnea are - brain and heart damage, increased risk of stroke and heart attacks, daytime tiredness, more likely to fall asleep at the wheel, etc etc etc!!!

[wil]

Sounds like a possible sinus infection... How long have you had these symptoms?

I'm no expert here, but the first thing I would try would be to change the humidifier settings... I don't know what 7.5 means on your M-series, so I can't suggest a setting... I would try less humidity, though.

Bacteria and organisms love warm, wet environments... I would also suggest that you take apart the entire system and thoroughly clean EVERYTHING that you can in a 10 part water, 1 part vinegar solution. Replace all the filters with brand new ones. Get the system squeaky clean...

I never like to suggest that anyone skip a day or two, because for many it's the beginning of the end... People who aren't happy tend to stop by first skipping a few days, and then never getting back to it. However, you do need to get over whatever bug you've got. Hopefully cleaning the machine very well will allow you to do this...

[jj62]

Sounds like a possible sinus infection... How long have you had these symptoms?

I'm no expert here, but the first thing I would try would be to change the humidifier settings... I don't know what 7.5 means on your M-series, so I can't suggest a setting... I would try less humidity, though.

Bacteria and organisms love warm, wet environments... I would also suggest that you take apart the entire system and thoroughly clean EVERYTHING that you can in a 10 part water, 1 part vinegar solution. Replace all the filters with brand new ones. Get the system squeaky clean...

I never like to suggest that anyone skip a day or two, because for many it's the beginning of the end... People who aren't happy tend to stop by first skipping a few days, and then never getting back to it. However, you do need to get over whatever bug you've got. Hopefully cleaning the machine very well will allow you to do this...

I don't want to quit. I feel a lot better when I use it. But something got to give.
I'll clean it like you suggested and I am going to turn the humidifier off and try
that. Looking at the machine screen I notice the H20 setting at 7.5. So I notched it
down to 5.5. I don't know what that means either, but I do know it's not connected to the humidifier
and it's not covered in the manual that I have.
I have never had allergies or sinus infection before and if I stop they seem to stop.

Thanks for you help...

Joe

[montana]

clean mask and tubing....especially mask
get a heated hose
use a prescription nose spray every night
turn humidifier down somewhat

my two cents

[Sleepy Taz]

Joe,

I experienced the same thing every fall and spring. What I found out was that I wasn’t keeping my Passover humidifier full of water and thus was drying out my nasal passages. For the last 2 years I have maintained the water level and had my newer heated humidifier set at 4 and have yet to have any more problems. You may want to play around until you find what is right for you and in the meantime I would also run a room humidifier at the same time until your nose heals up. For years I thought it was allergies and struggled just as you are now.

Taz

[cpapernewbie]

just want to point out that your pressure was set at 7.5.

Yout did not indicate what exactly the M series CPAP you are using.

If after 1 year, you are unaware of your CPAP, it is not really commendable = we all have to work harder to succeed in this treatment

1. know your settings and CPAP devices very well
2. know how to change settings (it seems that you now how to change the pressure - from 7.5 to 5 but what is your reason for doing this? Do you have data to back up your pressure change?)

[echo]

that. Looking at the machine screen I notice the H20 setting at 7.5. So I notched it
down to 5.5. I don't know what that means either, but I do know it's not connected to the humidifier
and it's not covered in the manual that I have.

A hah! That's NOT your humidifer setting, that sounds like your pressure setting (7.5 cm of H2O, the standard measure of CPAP air pressure). The humidifer setting should be on the humidifer itself - there should be a humidifer knob on the unit itself to adjust the heating - see page 6 of the manual: http://www.respironics.com/UserGuides/U ... difier.pdf ... and the heating setting should go from 0 to 5.

So please put your CPAP pressure back to 7.5 and lower the humidifer setting using the knob. it sounds like somehow you managed to get into the clinical menu. Or it's your Ramp pressure, in cm of H2O .

Sinus infection is a possibility.

my apologies if this isn't your unit , but I think it is...

[montana]

yes do not lower machine pressure...just humidifier settings

[jj62]

that. Looking at the machine screen I notice the H20 setting at 7.5. So I notched it
down to 5.5. I don't know what that means either, but I do know it's not connected to the humidifier
and it's not covered in the manual that I have.

A hah! That's NOT your humidifer setting, that sounds like your pressure setting (7.5 cm of H2O, the standard measure of CPAP air pressure). The humidifer setting should be on the humidifer itself - there should be a humidifer knob on the unit itself to adjust the heating - see page 6 of the manual: http://www.respironics.com/UserGuides/U ... difier.pdf ... and the heating setting should go from 0 to 5.

So please put your CPAP pressure back to 7.5 and lower the humidifer setting using the knob. it sounds like somehow you managed to get into the clinical menu. Or it's your Ramp pressure, in cm of H2O .

Sinus infection is a possibility.

my apologies if this isn't your unit , but I think it is...

I admit I don't know much about the unit. However I did dig the manual out and the
7.5-5.5H2o I refered to was the ramp startup pressure not the doctors setting.
I don't know how to get to that or change it. So what I lowered was the ramp setting.
My manual doesn't indicate an access where I can read it the doc settings.
So for tonight I am going to do the following and see how it works.
Clean the unit throughtly and turn the humidifier off.

Mach: REMSTAR M series/humidifier
Mask: Mirage Swift II nasal pillow
Pressure Settings ??

[wil]

A hah! That's NOT your humidifer setting, that sounds like your pressure setting

Excellent call, Echo... Did not even occur to me. Joe, DON"T change that setting!

[jj62]

A hah! That's NOT your humidifer setting, that sounds like your pressure setting

Excellent call, Echo... Did not even occur to me. Joe, DON"T change that setting!

Wil, you don't think that is my ramp start pressure????????????

[echo]

jj62, no no you're right, it's most likely the ramp setting. You have to know the 'secret handshake' to get into the 'clinician's menu' or what you call the doctor's settings. you will figure that one out in time too. Now, get to know your machine, how it works, and its settings!!

[wil]

Can I echo Echo? not sure how that works...

She's definitely on it. It certainly can't hurt to clean everything really well, though. You should be cleaning it like I described about once a week, and changing those filters on a regular basis as well (don't know the schedule for your machine). If you haven't been keeping it clean, that could be causing problems. Very important.

[echo]

i love to be echo'd