Help sinus pressure!!!!! First night

[proctor78]

Hello,
First night of treatment is it normal to have alot of sinus pressure??? also the mask presses so hard against where my sinuses are is that how it is suppose to feel?
One more thing was is an ok leak percent?
Oh ya and will i get to the point and can sleep straight thru because i am waking up at 3 hours in???
Thank you

[Pugsy]

First night of treatment is it normal to have alot of sinus pressure??? also the mask presses so hard against where my sinuses are is that how it is suppose to feel?

Mask should NOT press hard enough to cause any discomfort on sinus area. If it is it is too tight.

I do not understand the first part of your question unless it is referring to the pressing against the sinus area.

One more thing was is an ok leak percent?

Your machine reports unintentional leak. ResMed says leaks at 24 L/min or higher are so bad that therapy will be impaired.
Personally, I wouldn't be happy unless I saw half that.
BTW mask that is too tight might actually leak more.

Oh ya and will i get to the point and can sleep straight thru because i am waking up at 3 hours in???

Yes, but it will take time and likely come in stages. It took me about 6 months to work up to 6 hours from 2-3 hours.
Also, sometimes other factors affect sleep time and sometimes some help is needed.

Do you have the software to monitor therapy in detail?

[don56]

Finding the right mask for you is the most critical part of your treatment. It usually takes trying several masks before you settle into one that is comfortable. It gets easier with time. There are a lot of good people on this site that can guide you along the way.

Don

[BlackSpinner]

The quatro works like a hover craft. The skirts need to inflate under full pressure.
Padacheek sells really good liners that keep sensitive skin or bony noses intact, they also help with leaks. In a pinch cut out a liner from an old t-shirt or if truly desperate use panty liners.

[pollyanna40]

hi ,it is my first wk on the Horrible mask,and i also had pressure to my head,thought i was gonna explode,made me really really ill,and 10 times more tired!! iv not got the pressure now but im still more tired than pre-mask..also i did wear my mask tight as i was paroind it would come of,but really slacken it of loads theres a seal on it and it wont come off...(noway get me)im begining to sound like i know wot im on about,i dont but i am very new and im struggling very much!! Good luck and i hope we both feel better soon x x

[ozze_dollar]

Dont worry you will get used to the equipment. As time goes by you learn lots of little tricks to make things easier. You will be surprised how loose the straps can be and still function ok. At present I am having problems with a stuffy nose. Seems like its an allergic thing. Sure something like Sinutapp will clear it but you really shouldnt keep taking that stuff. I am now trying a nasal irrigation. Lets see how it goes.

[bayourest]

I have lots of problems with stuffy nose, particularly this year. I do use flonase but even the effects of flonase are being minimized this year....I have found 2 other products that seem to help.
One is bioAllers sinus and allergy nasal spray. You can use it every 4 hours. it is homeopathic and it does seem to get me through the crisis of a stuffy nose at bedtime (I feel crazy and claustrophobic if my nose is stuffed up and it's time to put on my mask. I use a FFM but I do hate to knowingly/deliberately breathe through my mouth.) This product has helped me to resist all temptations to reach for the afrin. The other is an oil called Super Nasya Oil. It's an herbal oil and it was recommended to me to use it 2x day after neti pot. I have used it 1x day for a couple of days and it really seems to help.

I think that a padacheek liner will be a terrific help too, as Pugsy suggested. I am 7 months in now, on my 3rd mask and last night for the 1st time ever I had a leak of 0.0
I have done nothing different that I know of.....so hang in there and keep posting,. some suggestions will be right on the money for you and some may not be so good but you will get more help here than most of us get from the doctor or DME supplier.

[msradar65]

For sinus problems...you have been given the tips on mask fit. I can't help you there are I use a nasal pillow mask. However I do you my neti pot 1-2 daily. Especially before bedtime. Flonase twice a day, morning and bedtime after use of the Neti pot.

Let me add to that I use a sudafed when I need it at bed time....plus I use Pursleep Peace aromatherapy to help keep me clear through the night.

You may also have to play with the temp of your humidifier. I have auto temp with heated hose....so in the summer I am set at 65 degrees. It can get to dry when you run central AC all the time.

[Paper_Nanny]

Hello,
First night of treatment is it normal to have alot of sinus pressure??? also the mask presses so hard against where my sinuses are is that how it is suppose to feel?
One more thing was is an ok leak percent?
Oh ya and will i get to the point and can sleep straight thru because i am waking up at 3 hours in???
Thank you

As others have said, you may have your mask too tight. If you try different things with that one and it still isn't working for you, try a different one! And keep trying different ones until you find one that is comfortable and not leaking too much. I don't even know how many masks I tried until I found my Happy Mask. The important thing is to not give up.

I turned the humidifier heat off on my unit and use only passive humidity now. That completely eliminated the nasal and sinus congestion I had initially.

If you keep at it and don't give up, you will get to a point where you can sleep all night connected to your machine. It might take awhile, but again, the important thing is don't give up!

Deborah

[robysue]

To the OP:

Mask issues: If the mask is putting enough pressure on your sinuses to hurt, it's too tight OR it's not the mask for your OR both. Use the mask exchange program from the DME liberally while you're at the beginning of your CPAP adventure.

Sleeping through the night: For many new CPAPers, this will resolve itself. For others, there are things you can choose to do to help the problem. As someone who's been unfortunate enough to have had a several month-long battle with insomnia, I've learned and written a lot about learning how to sleep through the night. You might want to wander over to my blog at http://adventures-in-hosehead-land.blogspot.com and click on the Taming the Insomnia Monster if you want some tips that might help speed up the process of learning to sleep through the night.

Nasal congestion and sinus pain: It is critical to deal proactively with these things. I've found I have to have a zero tolerance policy towards nasal congestion that I never needed before in dealing with my seasonal allergies. For me, I need a multipronged attack: OTC Zyrtec in the AM when I get up, a saline rinse in the late afternoon or early evening, and a prescription nasal steroid spray called Flonase at bedtime. For insight into the relationship between nasal congestion problems and problems using CPAP, these sites are well worth perusing:

• Nasal Breathing Video Series is from Dr. Barry Krakow's web pages
• Unstuff Your Stuffy Nose is from Dr. Steven Y. Park's web pages. Dr. Park is a forum member who posts under the name sypark