frustrated newbie...need help!

[lucylou10]

I found out a week ago that I have sever sleep apnea. Started using CPAP 4 nights ago. First night I lasted for 4 hours with it on. I woke up with very swollen hands and had trouble getting back to sleep with mask on...so I gave up. Second night I slept all night with it on (woke up once to go to bathroom but went back to sleep). Woke up in the morning with swollen hands. Third night I fell asleep before putting mask on. Fourth night... didn't have it on for long before my hands started swelling again and felt a bit dizzy. Took the mask off and didn't try the rest of the night as I figured there must be something wrong. Both RT and GP said they have never heard of this happening. I know that it does as I have seen older posts on here about it but no posts as to why this is happening....Hoping there may be some newer information on the subject....

[Julie]

HI, quick question - any chance you inadvertently got the CO2 vent (the small area with lots of tiny holes in it near the mask/hose connection) covered with blankets or anything else? It must be kept open or you'll re-breathe the CO2 that should be going out...

[lucylou10]

I didn't think of that! That is a possibility...but I don't know if it would cause the swelling in my hands?

[Julie]

You could be allergic to some part of the mask - anyone can be allergic to anything at any time in their lives...

[archangle]

Is there any chance you're lying in a position where you're cutting off blood flow to your arms?

Do you know what your pressure setting is? If the problem continues, you might experiment with reducing the pressure TEMPORARILY in order to see if the problem goes away.

Even though your machine is an auto pressure model, you can set the pressure to only go within a narrow range.

Have you found out how to get the software to read the data your machine collects every night about how your CPAP is working and what pressure it's delivering?

[archangle]

You could be allergic to some part of the mask - anyone can be allergic to anything at any time in their lives...

It would seem strange for the hands, not the face, to swell, but I guess it's possible.

Lucy, are you doing anything different like washing the mask with soap that you get on your hands, some kind of wipes, etc.?