Just 2 nights in and I have questions

[gdgiles]

Great community here! I was looking for a place like this because I'm not using any health care professionals to set up my CPAP unit and therapy. I own a business and I always support local businesses but the local shop wanted TWICE what I paid via the internet. So, from my info you can see what machine and mask I have and my first question is about how tight the mask should be. My nostrils are not red but they are certainly sore during the night and in the morning. I've been up for about 5 1/2 hours now and they are still a bit tender to the touch. Is that normal? Too tight?

I also find I want to open my mouth when trying to sleep, maybe the pressure is a part of that, but I feel for the unit to work properly I need to keep my mouth closed. Is that correct?

When I wake up and take the pillow off, I really notice a great smell in the room, maybe all the fragrances of detergents, sprays, soaps, etc? Does the pillow kind of kill your sense of smell while you're using it?

So far I'm very happy with the purchase and I'm really hoping I can adapt to this therapy. The first night was horrible but that was due to a pinched nerve in my back, constant rolling back and forth looking for relief. Last night was better, my back still hurt but I guess I slept in about 3 or 4 two hour sessions linked together. Part of that was due to the pain meds for the back.

I didn't really break into this. I got the machine in the mail, put it together and used it the first night. It was a lousy night for other reasons but I'm not discouraged. I really NEED this to work. Thanks

[Pugsy]

Correct...you need to keep the mouth closed for the most part...I say most part because it is mainly the tongue who needs to block the airway. I can open my mouth and not have any air escape through my mouth or even enter my mouth when my tongue blocks the airway. It's a tongue placement thing. Normally keep it in the roof of your mouth and the pressurized air in the airway can't enter the mouth. Easy to do while awake but sometimes not so easy to keep doing when asleep as the tongue gets lazy and drops down and opens the door. Keep practicing keeping your tongue in the roof of your mouth and eventually it can become pretty much habit and a habit you keep while asleep.

When I wake up and take the pillow off, I really notice a great smell in the room, maybe all the fragrances of detergents, sprays, soaps, etc? Does the pillow kind of kill your sense of smell while you're using it?

Actually the humidified air probably helps with the senses in that it helps the nose sense things better and not kill it.
You are smelling things that were always there but you didn't notice them before. You won't notice them so much while the machine is actually on though unless you put a concentrated aroma source close to the air intake.
People do that...aromatherapy with cpap use. Kinda nice. I am partial to floral scent and often put a little bit of magnolia scented essential oil on a cotton ball and place it near the air intake filter so I can go to sleep smelling magnolias (my favorite).

It will get easier and better with time and experience...I promise.
It's quite an adjustment for the brain and the body to have to sleep with this alien being plastered on our face blowing air up our noses.

Nasal tenderness...Yep, probably from the straps being a little too tight. Common error newbies make trying so hard to get a good seal. If there is any more than very minor tenderness I suspect the straps and most often the top strap. If you look in the mirror with the mask on and the first thought through your head is "piggy nose"...that means the top strap is too tight. The nose or nostrils should NOT be displaced or moved at all.
Now a little minor tenderness just from having something up against the nostrils is common too...after all that area of the body is pretty much virgin territory never having had anything rub up against it.
Go to Walmart or your local pharmacy and get a product called Lansinoh lanolin ointment/cream and use it liberally during the day and a tiny amount at night and it will help with the tenderness and lessen any chance of abrasions developing. Don't be afraid to change the size of the nasal pillow too...
Lansinoh is a product used by nursing mom's when breastfeeding to help with chaffed and painful nipples. Totally safe for you to have it in your nostrils and "breathe" it and won't harm the nasal pillows.

Have you watched the fitting videos for the Aloha? If not do so. They (nasal pillows) actually work better when not tight as they need to be able to fully inflate to seal. I have used that mask...I could easily put my fingers under the straps it was worn so loose and I always got a good seal. When we have the mask too tight the pillows can't inflate and not only cause nostril soreness but sometimes a suffocation feeling because the air can't move so easily like it should.

Welcome to the forum.

[chunkyfrog]

Welcome to the family!

[gdgiles]

I will try to find that video. Thanks for all the good info!

[Pugsy]

If you can't find the Aloha video (I don't have a link handy) the ResMed Swift LT is very similar and the fitting procedure would be similar. I couldn't get the video here to load but it may be my internet.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... dgear.html

Or even the Swift FX
http://www.cpaplibrary.com/nasal-pillows.html

The basics are pretty much the same with all the nasal pillow masks.
Headgear not tight and nasal pillows resting GENTLY against the nostrils. I tell people to pick up a nasal pillow with their hand and just place it barely against the nostrils...gentle pressure only. That's how tight or not tight the straps should be.

And BTW...I regularly see my pressures vary from 9 to over 20...and the seal stays good. I have some pretty awesome leak line reports to prove it.

[gdgiles]

Found a video on youtube and yes, it's quite obvious to me now I have the mask too tight.

[Pugsy]

Don't feel badly about having it too tight. Easy error to make and in fact some DMEs make the same mistake and try to cram the pillows way up into the nostril and use the straps like a vise and then wonder why someone complains about sores on the nostrils..DUH....
We hear all this stuff about "don't let leaks happen" and assume more tension is better and in this case it really is the other way around.

Couple of summers a go I fell and broke my wrist and had to have surgery on it. Now I had trouble changing the nasal pillows on the Swift FX but I had no trouble putting the mask on or removing it with just one good hand...it was so loose and I still had good leak reports.

Once you get the straps just right to suit you....don't alter velcro placement....put it on and remove it using the elasticity of the headgear. Makes things a whole lot simpler. If you wash the headgear...leave the velcro alone. There's no need to undo the velcro just to wash the headgear.

[gdgiles]

Thanks! I'm going to readjust it all tonight and use a mirror. My right nostril is still a tad tender.

[library lady]

Welcome to the forum! You have come to the right place for help and answers. I just want to mention that some mouth breathers have better luck with a full face mask...they can't seem to train their mouths to stay closed, or the tongue to stay at the roof of the mouth. I started out with full face, Quattro Air, have now switched to the AirFit F10, a newer version of it that does not have the forehead arm and strap.

[Nick Danger]

Another possibility if a full face mask is difficult for you to use is to use a nasal mask or nasal pillows plus a chinstrap. As with the mask itself, don't tighten the chinstrap too much - you want it to be tight enough that makes it harder (but not impossible) to open your mouth. Helpful advice that I received on chinstrap tightness was to set it so that it is possible, but uncomfortable to chew.

A chinstrap lowered my leaks from the 24+ l/m 95th percentile range to about 6 l/m at the 95th percentile. Your mileage may vary!

[gdgiles]

I didn't think a full mask would work well with facial hair so I asked a friend who uses CPAP and has a beard and mustache what he used and he suggested the nasal pillow, so that's why I got it. Plus, I move, A LOT, when I sleep and I thought the mask might get in the way too much. I also tend to sleep on my stomach or side and though a full mask would twist my head too much. I'm already compromising with the pillow.

I did loosen the pillow a bit and that was much better. I only ended up using the CPAP for about 2 or so hours last night because back pain kept me rolling all the time and the hose was bugging me. Plus, it's hard enough to get rest w/the back pain and adding night 3 of CPAP on top wasn't helping.

We'll see how my back does tonight. I'm sure I'll start out with it again but I do notice that before the CPAP I could turn out the light and be asleep in less than 5 minutes. With CPAP it's more like 30+ minutes. I guess my brain is getting stimulated to stay awake or something.

[palerider]

We'll see how my back does tonight. I'm sure I'll start out with it again but I do notice that before the CPAP I could turn out the light and be asleep in less than 5 minutes. With CPAP it's more like 30+ minutes. I guess my brain is getting stimulated to stay awake or something.

it's more likely that without cpap you were constanly exausted, and lucky you weren't falling asleep every time you sat down... (the number of movies and tv shows I'd miss the middle of when sitting down in the evenings...)

[gdgiles]

Oh, no doubt. For years if I wanted to go to asleep anywhere, any time, I could do it.

[evanb]

I also find I want to open my mouth when trying to sleep, maybe the pressure is a part of that, but I feel for the unit to work properly I need to keep my mouth closed. Is that correct?

I use the Aloha mask with the bottom half of the Halo chin strap in the extra slots of the Aloha head gear. It really helps keep my mouth shut without more head gear.

[gdgiles]

If I need it, where I could I order that Halo chin strap?

Also, I'm amazed at how little water is consumed by the humidifier.