New to Sleep Apneoa

[tigerruud]

Hi,
Newly diagnosed with Sleep Apneao (SA) and was told I have severe SA at 75 AHI's.
I'm now trialling some mask and for the first time used the CPAP resmed S9 autoset last night with the nasal fx mask.
I think I slept well for the first 2-3 hours but then woke up for an hour or so before sleeping again.
I did remember I woke up a few times due to the mask and turning on my sides.

Felt a little headache this morning and still feel sleepy. Not sure if the CPAP machine worked for me.
Will only see the sleep specialist again in 2 weeks to check my data.
Was given a 2nd mask to try which is the Mirage FX also nose coverring only.

Hope things improve for the 2nd night.
Nice to know there is a community to share problems and success stories here.

cheers
Ruud

[Slinky]

Stick w/us, Ruud. Very few of us take to CPAP therapy like a duck to water and experience a miracle the first night or even the first week. Usually it is a somewhat gradual improvement for most of us and for some of us it can be a difficult journey to comfortable and successful therapy. Patience, persistence and a good sense of humor will get you thru.

[Pugsy]

Welcome to the forum.

Those people who have the one night miracle...those are very rare people and very lucky.
Most people will take a longer time to adjust to things and then start feeling better.

You need to get the software so you can see for sure that things are at least optimal on the reports. SleepyHead will work you your machine and I have all the links for it in my signature line. There is also ResScan and if you want it Uncle_Bob has it in his signature link.

Before we start telling you "it just takes time" let make sure that things look good on paper...like leaks aren't a problem or whatever.. fragmented sleep can mess with how a person feels so if you wake up often that will impact things...
You have had this problem for a long time and as much as we want a quick immediate fix...it isn't that easy and often means a lot of work.

[Guest]

The current S9 is on loan to me for 2 weeks and then I'm suppose to see them again and get some fixed pressure readings and possibly try another machine.
I kinda like the S9 and its fairly quiet.

Will have to see where the SDcard is and I'll try to download the software and try it.
Just hope I don't muck up any data on the card as the specialist will be needing it in 2 weeks.

[Slinky]

During this next 2 weeks be sure to bone up on the various CPAP models that are available. Not all are fully data capable and just because they have an SD card does NOT mean that that model is fully data capable. Since they've provided you w/a Resmed S9 AutoSet temporarily, they most likely prefer to provide Resmed models. You do NOT want any Resmed w/Escape in the name, not even the Escape Auto. You would want the Resmed S9 Elite or the Resmed S9 AutoSet.

[Mary Z]

I have found that there seems to be two elements important in success with CPAP. First of all time- for some of us it can take up to six months though that's rare. The second factor is good sleep hygiene. I know this is very boring, but some of us need to learn to have a good nights sleep. Quality restful sleep is so important, though frequently overlooked. I used to think 100% compliance insured success, but if you're not sleeping well you won't feel rested. Good luck

[robysue]

Seconding what Mary Z said since I've learned and relearned that lesson the hard way!

[tigerruud]

2nd night on the CPAP. Only used it for about 4.5 hours and I took it off as felt I wasn't getting into deep sleep.

1st night - the S9 indicated 9 hours of use and AHI of 6
2nd night - 4.5 hours use and AHI of 1.5

I'm in the process of buying the S9 autoset from STL Mark. Great service from him so far.

[BlackSpinner]

2nd night on the CPAP. Only used it for about 4.5 hours and I took it off as felt I wasn't getting into deep sleep.

1st night - the S9 indicated 9 hours of use and AHI of 6
2nd night - 4.5 hours use and AHI of 1.5

I'm in the process of buying the S9 autoset from STL Mark. Great service from him so far.

What kind of mask do you use?

It can take up to a month for your mind to trust the thing on your face and sleep deeply. Remember that it has been keeping you alive for years by waking you up (somewhat) to get you breathing again.

I suggest you wear the mask durring the evening while watching tv. Let your mind get used to that it is a safe way to live. It is sort of like toilet training a toddler or a dog, lots of firm but gentle correction and rewards. However do not take the mask off at night, that is rewarding failure.

[tigerruud]

Was using the Resmed Swift FX nasal pillow masks.

Initially I tried the 2nd mask they let me trial, which is the Mirage FX nasal mask. Used it for 10mins but it felt to tight on my face and I switched back to the Swift FX.

[tigerruud]

Just over a week in with CPAP usage. Missed 2 nights as we went away on a weekend holiday and I didn't bother to bring the unit.
For the last 3 nights, I managed to use it almost till I woke up. I think I took it off around 6am and woke up at 7am. And the other 2 days, I took it off when I woke up at 7am. About 8 hours sleep each night.
Trying not to think about the uncomfortable mask or something straped to my face. Thinking good thoughts and how much air i'm getting.

However, I'm still feeling tired in the afternoons, more so than before CPAP treatment. One or two of the days I'm getting headaches.
Also my water in the humidifier doesn't seem to get used much. Still lots of water in it.
I set the temp to 25deg C. (sorry Australian temp)
It's winter here around 4-8 degrees C at night. I have the climateline hose on so am guessing humidity is auto?

I've also downloaded sleepyhead and imported the data once. So have a few days data to look at. Where is the best place to learn how to read the info in sleepyhead. I have the charts etc but not sure what to make of it.

[Chikorita]

I can't help you with your questions but I want to follow this thread.
I'm in Aust too and about to order the same machine as you.
Going to download sleepyhead tonight.
Keen to know how you fare.

[Pugsy]

There is no real official place to read about how to understand any software reports. Mostly we do it by posting the images here and asking questions about what we don't understand.
I have a sort of tutorial thread and you will find a link to it in my signature line lower left bottom of my post here.
Lots of questions were asked and answered in that thread so read it and then see if some of your questions were cleared up.

Main things to understand right now would be the events graph, AHI, pressure line, leak line.
Remember that the ResMed machines report excess leak only because they subtract the vent rate prior to reporting.
For ResMed users the magic line to avoid is 24 L/min leak. ResMed says that they can handle leaks up to 24 L/min without loss of therapy pressure or machine's ability to sense events.
The 95% numbers you see reported just means that for 95% of the time you were at OR below that number. People tend to forget the OR BELOW part of that definition.
AHI we like to see below 5.

Read the Glossary link I have in my signature line for other terminology definitions that you may not understand.
Come back and ask questions if something needs clarification.

If you wish to post an image of your report for others to comment on by all means feel free to do so with any questions you might have.
Don't know how to post an image of the report you see? I use screen shots. We have to host the image on the web. Here is how I do it.
Open the image to full size so it is easily read.
I use Vista snipping tool to create a screen shot and crop the image at the same time.
Prt/scr key will also take a screen shot if using XP. If laptop is used sometimes the Fn key has to be pushed at the same time as the prt/scr key
I think windows 7 Home Premium has the snipping tool, Basic may not.

Once the screen shot is created save it in jpg format.
Upload the image to a host site. I use Photobucket it is free, there are others.
Once the image is uploaded then copy the ENTIRE IMG address. Be sure to include the opening and closing IMG in brackets. Paste that copied address into a post here.
If you want to use Photobucket they provide a box with the various url addresses and you just choose the last one in the box.
Copy/paste that l url address into the body of your post.
Use the preview button. If you can't see the image try again because if you can't see it we can't.

[gertrude]

However, I'm still feeling tired in the afternoons, more so than before CPAP treatment. One or two of the days I'm getting headaches.

Ditto what Pugsy said about checking the data to make sure that the therapy is working well. If it is, then it is a matter of perseverance and patience. I felt horrible -- much worse than before treatment -- for several months. The cognitive impariment was the most scary. Good thing I'm so stubborn (and had the help of this forum) to get me through that and now I can see some improvements.

Don't ignore the practical things. If you can identify what is disturbing your sleep or making you feel bad, there is lots of good advice here. For example, in my case it helped a lot to hang the hose over the bed frame -- that relieved the pull on the mask when I roll over. Swollen eyes -- that was due to mask leaks and I solved that by getting a different style. Your problems will likely be different, but someone here will have experienced the same thing or at least have ideas for improvement and coping.

[chunkyfrog]

Two days after I got my CPAP, I took it on a business trip.
It helped me stay awake through those meetings and workshops that were nowhere near as boring as they had been on previous trips.
I actually learned stuff--Even with a poorly fitting Mirage Micro, I was a lucky little ducky.