Was: Ugh, not so good, Now: Better!

[Janknitz]

Well, this cold has morphed into my annual case of Christmas bronchitis. Whoppee! At least we don't celebrate Christmas, so I don't have to feel disappointed and like I'm missing out on things. Hopefully I will not be hacking too much so I don't have to miss a movie and Chinese

To make sure I DO miss out on my annual ER visit (which I can tell you is REALLY fun on Christmas! NOT), I went in today to the urgent care clinic--BEFORE this turns in to full-blown bronchitis verging on pneumonia--to up my dose of inhaled steroid and get a prescription for Prednisone in case I need it. So I'm all set there (and exhausted from the effort!).

The big problem is the most I've been able to use the CPAP during the night is about 2 hours. I just cannot get along with the Quattro at all, and my nose is too congested for any nasal masks or nasal pillows. Last night I steamed my nose open in the shower, hit it hard with saline spray, and got about 2 hours sleep before I woke up unable to get any air through my nose. I had to leave it off and just snore all night (plus one episode of reflux--yuck). I know I was having apneas up the wazoo because I'd wake up every 1 --2 hours sweating and my heart pounding and wheezing. So I'd hit the rescue inhaler which made my heartrate go up even more. One hell of a night.

I can't do anything about the Quattro this week--all of the RT's in the sleep lab at Kaiser are out, and since they ARE the DME I can't ask for something else to try. But when they return, I'll make it a priority so I have something in reserve for times like this. The Quattro FX sounds like it might be good, but even when it comes to the US it will probably be a long while before Kaiser puts it on the formulary.

So I was wondering if anybody had any ideas for a FF mask --something not too rigid, not gel (for some reason that really hurts me), easy to seal, good for small facial features with no chin? HA! It probably doesn't exist. Somebody could get really rich making one that actually works.

I just cannot figure that "float the Quattro on your face" thing. I have to clamp it SO tight to stop the leakage that it's a wonder my nose doesn't turn blue and fall off.

[Hawthorne]

Sorry to hear that your cold has worsened and is interferring with your sleep. I'm glad you got yourself prepared for the worst, given the time of year.

Maybe, just maybe (I HOPE!), it has hit it's peak and will start to get better now - no not "get better" - begin to go away!).

I can't offer any suggestions to help, just sympathy!

[LSAT]

What I do to make my Quattro 'float'.....Once it is on my face with no leaks, I let the CPAP run for a couple minutes to make sure that the mask is fully pressurized. Then I very carefully pull the lower part of the mask away from my face until I feel the seal fill with air. I then have some float. I have not had to re adjust my straps in months. I have also moved the mask down slightly on my nose so it is at a wider part to avoid nose/eye leaks. Good Luck!

[BlackSpinner]

I put a layer of tissues under the forehead to give it couple of more millimeters tilt so it closes at the bottom and relieves my nose. This way I can pull it down my face a bit. I just came down with a cold too.
My daughter is organizing dinner on Friday and she suggested masks and hand sterilizers as dinner accessories as my other daughter is sick too.

[Julie]

Janknitz - PM'd you.

[Laurie1041]

JK,

I hope you feel much better soon! Is there anything that your doctor recommends that you can take to help with your nasal congestion? The only thing I can offer is tea and sympathy. Be sure to rest and drink a lot of fluids. Hugs, Laurie

[kteague]

Hopefully you've headed off the worst of things and you feel better soon. When I was sick a few weeks ago I just resigned myself to sleeping upright for a few nights. Couldn't fight with an unfamiliar mask while so miserable. Hope I make it a point to not wait till I'm sick again to figure it out.

LSAT, good description on your mask technique for floating - thanks.

[Muse-Inc]

Jan, I can't remember if you've tried it or not, but the RespCare Hybrid FFM is pretty comfortable and allows mouth breathing. I was just getting over my laryngitis & cough when I caught an awful head cold with occasional bloody crud that's been just miserable. I'm back using my Grossan nasal irrigator, the whole works with nasal steroid spray, saline, even occasional shots of generic Afrin. I can even cough with the Hybrid on, of course if it's a fit of coughing the only fix is to sit up, remove mask, & cough for a bit. I'm also taking much higher doses of D3 and C, added Elderberry capsules, using lots of oregano in foods and eating more spicy Mexican too.

[Diplomacy]

Well, this cold has morphed into my annual case of Christmas bronchitis. Whoppee! At least we don't celebrate Christmas, so I don't have to feel disappointed and like I'm missing out on things. Hopefully I will not be hacking too much so I don't have to miss a movie and Chinese

To make sure I DO miss out on my annual ER visit (which I can tell you is REALLY fun on Christmas! NOT), I went in today to the urgent care clinic--BEFORE this turns in to full-blown bronchitis verging on pneumonia--to up my dose of inhaled steroid and get a prescription for Prednisone in case I need it. So I'm all set there (and exhausted from the effort!).

The big problem is the most I've been able to use the CPAP during the night is about 2 hours. I just cannot get along with the Quattro at all, and my nose is too congested for any nasal masks or nasal pillows. Last night I steamed my nose open in the shower, hit it hard with saline spray, and got about 2 hours sleep before I woke up unable to get any air through my nose. I had to leave it off and just snore all night (plus one episode of reflux--yuck). I know I was having apneas up the wazoo because I'd wake up every 1 --2 hours sweating and my heart pounding and wheezing. So I'd hit the rescue inhaler which made my heartrate go up even more. One hell of a night.

I can't do anything about the Quattro this week--all of the RT's in the sleep lab at Kaiser are out, and since they ARE the DME I can't ask for something else to try. But when they return, I'll make it a priority so I have something in reserve for times like this. The Quattro FX sounds like it might be good, but even when it comes to the US it will probably be a long while before Kaiser puts it on the formulary.

So I was wondering if anybody had any ideas for a FF mask --something not too rigid, not gel (for some reason that really hurts me), easy to seal, good for small facial features with no chin? HA! It probably doesn't exist. Somebody could get really rich making one that actually works.

I just cannot figure that "float the Quattro on your face" thing. I have to clamp it SO tight to stop the leakage that it's a wonder my nose doesn't turn blue and fall off.

Best wishes this holiday season from CPAP.com!

[Janknitz]

I actually had success with the Quattro last night! I'm quite amazed.

The nasal congestion is less, so I started out with my FX, but after 1 1/2 hours I woke coughing, gasping for breath, and congested. I blew my nose, took my inhaler, and settled down without a mask to suffer the rest of the night. But my snoring drove my hubby out of bed the night before, so I decided to give the Quattro one more try, meanwhile fantasizing about all the things I was going to do to it when it failed me yet again (anybody have an incinerator handy???).

Besides the seal, I was finding the slight movement with AFlex bothersome. I wanted to turn AFlex off, but that requires the clinician's menu and a lot of beeps and my husband was fast asleep (this was about 1:30 a.m.). So I turned it down to 1. This is a bit risky with asthma and bronchitis at my higher pressures, but my chest hurts already from coughing, so I figured out I didn't have too much to lose.

So this is what I did for fitting the Quattro. I won't know whether or not this was just a lucky fluke until tonight, though:

1. I loosened all the straps.
2. I lay down in bed. On my back--not my usual sleeping position, but the pillows arranged the way I normally have them.
3. I put the mask on VERY loosely.
4. I turned the machine on while holding the mask away from my face, and then let it settle on my face. To my amazement, the area around the nose--always a big leak area for me--sealed right up against my nose.
5. Using a slight pressure on the front of the mask to hold it in place, I adjusted the BOTTOM straps to stop the huge leaks in the chin area. Then I very lightly adjusted the top straps. The forehead piece was BARELY TOUCHING my forehead! After all was adjusted, I could actually slide my finger between the pads and my forehead without interrupting the seal.
6. I had to fiddle a bit with the lower straps to contain the worst of the leaks. There were still a few little leaks, but nothing too bad, and all at the lower part of my face--nothing into my eyes.
7. I was surprised that I could then roll over onto my side, with the mask hanging off the edge of the pillow, and no additional leaks sprung. As a matter of fact, the pressure of the pillow seemed to close one of the small leaks near my chin. I could cough if I needed to and it didn't dislodge anything. It literally WAS floating on my face. Whoopee!

I still cannot believe it! I managed to sleep about 8 1/2 hours from there without interruption--that NEVER happens when I have bronchitis--2 -3 hours is usually the most I can expect. I haven't checked my card yet, but I think my AHI's were actually good.

I just took my first dose of the higher level inhaled steroid last night at bedtime (I'm holding off the Prednisone for now), and as I move around this morning I can tell I'm still having a lot of bronchitis symptoms, so it's not the bronchitis getting better that made the good night--it's actually the Quattro.

In the mornings when my CPAP therapy is going well (most mornings nowadays) I wake up and feel so good I hate reaching over to turn off the machine. That has never happened with the Quattro until today. I am totally amazed.

Nix the incinerator for now. We'll see if this is repeatable tonight.