Suffocating Or?

[turnerk]

Hi all, first time poster here. Been on the CPAP trail since December. This site is way better than any help the Dr or DME has been. Thanks for that. Anyway, lots of people post how they feel suffocated by their machine/mask. I can see that happening, but even on my ramp starting at 4 cm, I do OK there if I stay calm. Wouldn't want to run a sprint that way though. My more likely feeling is hyperventilated by being so conscious of every breath and having the air pushed in (90% = 10.7). It ends up feeling like you can't catch a deep breath. It may be counterintuitive, but it helps me to slow down a couple minutes until I can get one of those good deep breaths in. Kind of like breathing in a bag. Anyone else feel this?

Thanks again for this site and to everyone who participates. I think I'm a lucky one in that CPAP's been going pretty easy for me and has produced immediate improvements in my life. But without this site, I don't know if that'd be true. Lot's of people must be out there suffering needlessly.

[HoseCrusher]

An interesting and informative "game" to play is to locate the exhaust vent on your mask and feel the air coming out of it. Set your machine at 4 cm H2O, put your mask on, then try and inhale fast enough to stop the flow of air out of the vent. If you can't stop the air flow out of the vent, you aren't suffocating.

Still, the sensation of breathing at that low a pressure is uncomfortable.

[Julie]

Why don't you put the ramp pressure on a higher starting number and not go through all that? No one can breathe at 4 (just the machine's default low pressure) and few people even bother with the ramp at all after a short while.

[Muse-Inc]

I was one of the rare ones who used ramp for a long, long time, actually until I got my APAP. I had the ramp pressure changed as it was too low, then changed again for the same reason. My ramp duration was initially 45 mins, then 30, then 20, then 10, then 5 as I started falling asleep faster...that was back in the days when I slept an uninterrupted 8 hrs/night...ah well, change

I could not breathe well at 4 (initial ramp pressure); with claustrophobia and an intense fear of suffocation, 4 is just all wrong for me! When I had a loaner APAP for 5 nights collecting data, they set it wide open (4 -- 20); I had to do 20-30 mins of meditation before bedtime to get my metabolism slowed down enough to handle 4 without freaking out!

My CPAP pressure was 11 and it was an issue at first. I had to get to the point where I realized there was only so much pressure and no more...took awhile to acclimate to 11.

[DoriC]

Welcome! What is the setting for your Aflex? It's a comfort feature that may need some adjusting to match your breathing pattern. If it's set to 3 you might change it to 2 or 1(or vice/versa) and see if that makes a difference.

[turnerk]

I wasn't clear. I am not having any problem with claustrophobia even at 4 cm. Lots of people do however. I was just wondering if some people experiencing claustrophobic feelings might actually be hyperventilating. By slowing down their breathing the feeling might pass.

[gac914]

You should be able to go into "settings" and adjust the ramp number up -- I believe that it goes from 4 to at least 7 -- when I did this I felt a lot better at start-up. When I first got my machine, I had the same short-breath feeling, until I adjusted it up.

Now in the last week the doctor's office re-programmed my A-Flex to be a C-flex, and the pressure to 12 (which basically means you could fill a truck tire with the pressure, so I don't have to worry much about not enough air in the beginning, but instead worrying that the mask won't blow off my face when I put my mask on!!)

Previously, I was able to set the "auto-on" feature to "off," and it would stay that way. When they re-programmed the card, it now defaults the "on" feature back to "on" every time I turn on the machine, unless I remember to go into "settings" and turn it back off!! Ugh!!!!