Not adjusting

[Elsh]

I have been a CPAP user since June 22nd. I'm simply not adjusting. Every night it's so disheartening to have to put crap on my face and try to sleep with it on. Thankfully I take a sleeping pill, or I'd never get any sleep with the thing. However, once the pill wears off in the morning, I wake up and can't tolerate the mask. The pressure up my nose and the feeling of the mask on my face is just too much to handle when I just want to get some restful sleep. I realize I'm doing the opposite of getting restful sleep when I take it off, but when I'm taking it off, it just feels like such a relief, and then I go back to sleep for hours. In the end, I feel worse than if I had not used the mask at all. Using it all night and then sleeping without it in the morning is somehow worse. I also think I wouldn't be removing it if it had actually started making some difference before I started removing it (I was good about keeping it on unless I took it off in the middle of the night by accident when I first started with it). It just doesn't seem to help me feel less tired or sleep less even when used properly. I'm becoming so disheartened by this experience that I just want to quit using it altogether. Another concern I have is that I have a low blood pressure and I read that CPAP can lower your blood pressure. I haven't asked my doctor about it, because my doctor's PA told me that my DME controls my CPAP pressure (when I wanted to ask about changing it), which is not true. So it feels like my doctor doesn't want to communicate with me or explain anything to me. I see a sleep specialist on the 18th, but I'm not sure if there will be any point if I can't get myself to use the mask properly by then.

[Slartybartfast]

You're likely not using your mask because it's either the wrong mask for you (doesn't fit your face) and/or the machine isn't set at the proper pressure. It's too bad they gave you a non-automatic machine. That makes finding the correct pressure for you much more difficult. What your PA told you is likely true. Your doc will write a note to the DME, who will adjust the pressure per the doctor's directions. You're just along for the ride. That's usually the way it works. It may take you several trips to the Doc and/or DME to get you set up correctly. Is it any wonder so many CPAPs can be found on closet shelves?

You can either go along with that program or you can think outside the bun and take control of your own therapy. It IS your therapy, after all, isn't it?

Sounds like your sleep doc isn't the best, either. Or perhaps the doc perceives your passive attitude and is treating you paternalistically.

But whatever the case, you need to buck up and take a more proactive attitude about your treatment. After all, it is YOUR therapy, isn't it? You've got a decent machine, and it appears you have the software. So what's it telling you? Don't be passive. Learn all you can before the 18th and when you see the new doc, have some opinions and ideas formed so you can respond from an informed perspective.

Read, learn and engage the enemy (your sleep apnea, not your physician) and beat it into submission!


Pithy quote: "Go! Confront the problem! Fight! Win! --Edna Mode, The Incredibles

[TalonNYC]

A couple of points here:

1 - you definitely need to work on getting a different doc, yours is not willing to help you =(
2 - CPAP can lower *high* blood pressure by controlling sleep apnea, which is a condition that increases blood pressure. When you get the new doc (or see the specialist) you can have them confirm this.
3 - Have you tried other masks? Based on how bad your doc is, I'm going to guess it was never offered to you. DME's have sample masks that you can try out, and they have to take back any mask less than 30 days old. Since you only started on June 22, you're in the zone for this! Not everyone likes the nasal pillows, so you may do better with a nasal mask or even full-face. Also try gel vs. silicone seals, as they feel very much different on your face.

It's only been a couple of weeks, and many people in this forum (myself included) didn't feel better for a month or more. Add to this that your mask isn't working for you, and it's not a shock that you aren't getting benefits just yet. Hang in there, demand different options and remember that it does get better over time.

That said, if you find a mask you can live with, and after a month of low AHI numbers you're still not feeling better, then I'd indeed be concerned about efficacy of the treatment. So I'm not saying "shut up and keep going," I'm saying that we've got to get you using it well, then we can see if it's working well. The worst thing you can do is give up without trying some options, if you do that you'll never know if it'll work for you at all.

[Pugsy]

Did you get the software? If not, get it now and learn to use it. See if there is anything that needs work, like leak.
We already know if you are removing the mask and sleeping without it so that hours of use aren't adequate. Until you can use it all night you cannot expect improvement. It just doesn't work that way.

[tony72]

Does your cpap have the ramp feature turned on?it allows you to set how much time it takes to reach your set pressure.it was a nightmare my first night with cpap,now I go straight to my pressure without ramp feature turned on.