My little story - New on Cpap-Talk

[Fossy]

Hey everyone, I'm a 29 year old male living in Denmark. Size-wise I'm fairly big, going on nearly 300 lbs and standing 6'0" tall.

So, my little story started around 4 months ago when a friend of mine slept over and the next day told me that i freaked him out since I'd kept him awake with my loud snoring and scared him since I at several points stopped breathing for a long period of time. I off course didn't remember any of it but i went to my doctor who directed me to a hospital that dealt with Sleep Apnea. I got an appointment after 1 month (yay for having our own choice of free private clinics if we have to wait for more than 1 month in a public hospitals in Denmark ) and was handed what i believe was called an "ALICE PDx" to sleep with at home to test if i indeed had sleep apnea.. which it turned out i did, Central as well as Obstructive

Well, i got handed a RemStar Auto A-flex and a Philips full-faced mask and was told to come back in a month so they could see if it'd helped or not and NOT TO TOUCH THE MACHINE EXCEPT FOR THE ON/OFF switch. (All the different people I metat the hospital sleep apnea clinic basically didn't tell me much other than "Sleep with this, use this mask, don't touch the device, don't even look at it funny cause you'll ruin everything.")

During that month i managed to fall asleep with the mask on ONCE.. for 20 minutes before tearing it off since i felt like i was drowning in air.. after that i struggled with even falling asleep, getting more and more awake each time i put on the mask. Basically each night turned into an "Oh no.." moment before bed, simply cause I couldn't manage to face putting on that damn contraption..
A month went by, i went back to the clinic and was given a new mask, an "OptiLife Mask with Nasal Pillows", at my own insistance which i'm currently trying to manage to fall asleep with (Nurse wanted me to try a "EASY LIFE NASAL CPAP MASK").

Now, annoyed with my own ignorance I've looked up everything i could on CPAP-machines and masks online and found this forum which i hope will be a source of inspiration and.. well, to be honest - Hope. Hope that I'll be able to lead a normal daily life without having to wake up each morning with a headache, without feeling like my mind is clouded and without falling asleep each time i lay down.. (except when i'm wearing the damn masks apparently )

Now, seeing that i'm new to all of this i have some questions for all of you that i hope you might be able to help me with So here goes:

1) Is this something worth checking out? The "CPAP PRO" mask.
http://www.nomask.com/

2) If i end up with nasal pillows in the end, is there some sort of regiment i should put my nostrils through? Like, clipping the hairs in your nostrils to prevent blockages, using a nasal spray or similar?

3) How long does it usually take to get used to a mask? And how much time should you wait to fall asleep with the damn thing on in the beginning before you take it off if you feel like you just can't sleep with the mask on? an hour? two?

4) Anyone have any experience with the "EASY LIFE NASAL CPAP MASK"? If so, how does it compare to the "OptiLife Mask with Nasal Pillows"?

I think that's it for now, i hope my post havn't been to "rant'y" xD and i do apologize for any bad grammar. English isn't exactly my first language.

Thanks in advance for any and all answers

[GumbyCT]

Hey everyone, I'm a 29 year old male living in Denmark. Size-wise I'm fairly big, going on nearly 300 lbs and standing 6'0" tall.

So, my little story started around 4 months ago when a friend of mine slept over and the next day told me that i freaked him out since I'd kept him awake with my loud snoring and scared him since I at several points stopped breathing for a long period of time. I off course didn't remember any of it but i went to my doctor who directed me to a hospital that dealt with Sleep Apnea. I got an appointment after 1 month (yay for having our own choice of free private clinics if we have to wait for more than 1 month in a public hospitals in Denmark ) and was handed what i believe was called an "ALICE PDx" to sleep with at home to test if i indeed had sleep apnea.. which it turned out i did, Central as well as Obstructive

Well, i got handed a RemStar Auto A-flex and a Philips full-faced mask and was told to come back in a month so they could see if it'd helped or not and NOT TO TOUCH THE MACHINE EXCEPT FOR THE ON/OFF switch. (All the different people I metat the hospital sleep apnea clinic basically didn't tell me much other than "Sleep with this, use this mask, don't touch the device, don't even look at it funny cause you'll ruin everything.")

During that month i managed to fall asleep with the mask on ONCE.. for 20 minutes before tearing it off since i felt like i was drowning in air.. after that i struggled with even falling asleep, getting more and more awake each time i put on the mask. Basically each night turned into an "Oh no.." moment before bed, simply cause I couldn't manage to face putting on that damn contraption..
A month went by, i went back to the clinic and was given a new mask, an "OptiLife Mask with Nasal Pillows", at my own insistance which i'm currently trying to manage to fall asleep with (Nurse wanted me to try a "EASY LIFE NASAL CPAP MASK").

Now, annoyed with my own ignorance I've looked up everything i could on CPAP-machines and masks online and found this forum which i hope will be a source of inspiration and.. well, to be honest - Hope. Hope that I'll be able to lead a normal daily life without having to wake up each morning with a headache, without feeling like my mind is clouded and without falling asleep each time i lay down.. (except when i'm wearing the damn masks apparently )

Now, seeing that i'm new to all of this i have some questions for all of you that i hope you might be able to help me with So here goes:

1) Is this something worth checking out? The "CPAP PRO" mask.
http://www.nomask.com/

2) If i end up with nasal pillows in the end, is there some sort of regiment i should put my nostrils through? Like, clipping the hairs in your nostrils to prevent blockages, using a nasal spray or similar?

3) How long does it usually take to get used to a mask? And how much time should you wait to fall asleep with the damn thing on in the beginning before you take it off if you feel like you just can't sleep with the mask on? an hour? two?

4) Anyone have any experience with the "EASY LIFE NASAL CPAP MASK"? If so, how does it compare to the "OptiLife Mask with Nasal Pillows"?

I think that's it for now, i hope my post havn't been to "rant'y" xD and i do apologize for any bad grammar. English isn't exactly my first language.

Thanks in advance for any and all answers

First welcome to the best forum on the internet.

2nd stay away from cpap pro for now.

3. Everyone is diff but give it an honest try each nite for as long as you can. Took me about a month to be able to wear the mask all nite.

4. I wear nasal pillows and use a spray of nasal saline and a dab Lansinoh each nite to help.

Get busy reading, lots of good info here so get going.

Good Luck

[Mr Bill]

Hello Fossy and welcome to the forums!
My advice is, if you can tolerate the nasal mask even for a while then stay with it. The only reason for going for full face masks is if you are a hard core mouth breather. There are plenty of people here who prefer the nasal pillow mask like you linked. Its all a matter of preference.

When you get ready to sleep lie down and get comfortable within reach of the on button. Have your mask off and unattached to the hose. Have the hose on the machine. Now relax and try the mask without the hose attached. If you can breath like that for a minute or so then you are calm enough to hook up. That is the critical thing. These machines do not pump out the air required by a slightly panicky anxious person.

Once you can do that minute, then turn on the machine, and when it starts blowing, then hook up to the mask. Leave the light on if it helps. I have lights right at the head of my bed and I left them on every night for at least a month before I started feeling I could turn the lights off.

It may help to sit hosed up in the living room and read a book. It gets the body used to the idea that there is enough air when you are in a calm state.

A nasal mask like mine has dual silicon seals that are inflated by the pressure and seal to the face. Don't make the mistake of tightening the mask too much. That increases your anxiety and it makes sealing less possible. You will find you can keep it just barely snug and the internal pressure will do the rest.

Good Luck!

[Starlette]

Welcome to the forum Fossy! *waves*

I'll respond to two items:
2 - Pillows - There really isn't a regiment for most folks from what I've read. Since I recently started using pillows in March this is my nightly ritual:
* Blow nose regardless of the mask of choice for the night. I make sure that nothing is blocking air passage ways.
* Rub a light dab of Lanolish around each nostril which will give you two benefits: 1) From what I've read (can't tell for sure), it assists in providing a better seal; and 2) Keeps the inner part of nostrils from chaffing. I've noticed that bigtime!!! Nares won't feel so raw the morning after. It's non-scented so you don't have to worry about tolerating a scent. You'll find this at Walmart in a purple tube in the infant section. It's used for nursing mothers.
3 - Used to mask - What Uncle Bill told you is great advice. What he's suggesting to you is called desensitization. The whole world of cpap can be daunting considering that it is a major lifestyle change at night. I've had my cpap for I believe three years. The first year I was using it two hours a night until I had a chat with Hubb's friend. I had to go through a process to get where I'm at now: Wearing the mask the whole night, and keeping the AHIs fairly low, which is the primary goal of anyone using a cpap. It will take some time Fossy to get used to this new world. When you find yourself frustrated Fossy check out the forum and post what's going on. There are really cool folks to advice you in getting over these new hurdles.

My suggestion? Start keeping a sleep journal. This is mine that I started March 30th. This way you can track what's working and what's not working.

Sending positive energy your way!

Starlette

[Mr Bill]

LOL here I was thinking "what is this sleep journal business"? But yeah, I have a spreadsheet I have kept from the very first day I realized I had sleep apnea. If I ever figure out an easy way to host photos that is secure, I will post some pics.