Teeth Clenching & CPAP Newbie

[Pugsy]

You can make an educated guess on asleep vs awake by zooming in on the flow rate but it times a lot of time and experience looking to figure it out.
Watch all the videos here
http://freecpapadvice.com/sleepyhead-free-software

These machines have no way to report or measure sleep status...all they measure is air flow. They have no idea if you are asleep or not.

Would have been helpful for you to include the pressure graph with that flow limitation graph but if you look at the time around 22:20 to 22:40 your Flow limitations increased..
And that corresponds with the rather quick response upward of the machine...it was responding to the FLs (not related to leak at all).

Flow limitations are part of what the auto algorithm is designed to respond to because they are early warning signs that the airway is trying to collapse.
Since trying to kill the FLs with more pressure causes a problem...consider limiting the max so it can't go so high and see if it allows any OAs or hyponeas to happen...
Limit the max to say 8 and see what happens.
Sometimes going higher creates more problems than it fixes and when that happens sometimes we make a compromise and not let it go higher.

[palerider]

Now that I've whined enough, here's my questions of the morning: On my pressure graph, you can see that the pressure shot up past 10. THAT woke me up after I had JUST fallen asleep. Chart also shows leak at that time. Did the pressure shoot up because my mouth opened? (I won't get my special tape until tomorrow)....

You didn't include the snore and flow limitations graphs, look to them for answers.

Here are those graphs which give me more questions. In trying to learn about flow limitation, someone on the forum said that the auto cpap may "think" an event was going to happen and runs the pressure up.....but the pressure wasn't this high when I was actually experiencing events. I was JUST nodding off when this happened and it woke me with a start because it's hard for me to exhale when the pressure is that high.....I had to turn the machine off so I could breathe.

There's a *reason* we ask for flags, flow, pressure, leaks, snore AND FL all at once... but, if you zoom in, you'll see that the FL's start happening when your breath shapes are bad, and THEN the pressure goes up.

as to FL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gie2dhqP2c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GW97Xk06N8

[clenchingtobreathe]

Thanks to you all, I scheduled a serious conversation with my DME. I was ready for confrontation and I think she was too, but it turned out to be a wonderful hour of discussion and help. She has let me "borrow" several different masks to try from packages that had already been opened. For the last two nights, I have used the Swift FX Nano! What a relief to not have anything sticking up my nose! I hope I never have to use nasal pillows again! The Nano is so small and lightweight and the hose is positioned better than the Swift FX was. MY AHI has even dropped a bit each night on the Nano. Next, I will be trying the AirFir N20 and the Dreamwear Nasal Cushion. I can't TELL you how much more comfortable I am! Less dry. More tolerant to higher pressures. Still struggle with where the silicone mask touches my skin, but I'll rig something up to cure that!
I'm still fatigued and still clenching my teeth and still using Lunestra (1 mg), but I don't feel such despair as I have for the last few weeks.
More to come....

[ChicagoGranny]

That's good to hear.

I was ready for confrontation and I think she was too, but it turned out to be a wonderful hour of discussion and help.

She saw the fire in your eyes and changed her tactics.

[clenchingtobreathe]

That's good to hear.

I was ready for confrontation and I think she was too, but it turned out to be a wonderful hour of discussion and help.

She saw the fire in your eyes and changed her tactics.

I believe so. I had already called the head dog and bemoaned the lack of help from anyone except you all! She was VERY surprised that I knew how to change my pressure settings and that I used Sleepyhead. She warned me that if my doctor discovered that I changed pressure settings, he might be mad. HA! I told her that at my age, I was LOOOOONG over being worried about angering a doctor who had, to date, been of precious little help to me. At that point, she became a helper and co-conspirator! I strongly suggested that she send her CPAP users to this forum until/unless they or the doctors want to guide us on a daily basis! THANK you for providing me with information (aka ammunition) with which to fight for myself!!

[clenchingtobreathe]

OH brother! Not a month into CPAP and just getting accustomed to the octopus on my face, I have now developed an acute case of rhinitis. I Have never had allergies but have had an occasional (3 or 4 times) round of non-allergic rhinitis that corrected itself in a few hours. Now I have read a few articles that associate CPAP use with rhinitis. Any suggestions? I used a saline spray this morning, but it's still going like crazy. How on Earth am I supposed to wear the mask with this going on??
HELP! Every day that goes by, I feel more and more like I am on the show "Survival."

[ChicagoGranny]

acute case of rhinitis

Oh, I am sorry.

What are your symptoms? Runny nose? Congestion? Sneezing?

This may not work for you, but whether my nose is running or congested, I don't have a problem wearing the mask. And, it doesn't fill up with anything.

[clenchingtobreathe]

acute case of rhinitis

Oh, I am sorry.

What are your symptoms? Runny nose? Congestion? Sneezing?

This may not work for you, but whether my nose is running or congested, I don't have a problem wearing the mask. And, it doesn't fill up with anything.

Yep. All of the above. I've had it happen before.....strangely enough after leaving a particular grocery store.....but it never lasted very long. MY humidifier ran out of water last night and I'm pretty sure this is the result. I usually keep my humidifier level as high as it will go since I tend to get a bit of a stuffy nose at night...especially on one side. I'm using saline spray and I'm gonna try the mask tonight...but good grief, what NEXT? Will I start growing hair on the back of my hands or turn green and bust out of my clothes?

[zonker]

OH brother! Not a month into CPAP and just getting accustomed to the octopus on my face, I have now developed an acute case of rhinitis. I Have never had allergies but have had an occasional (3 or 4 times) round of non-allergic rhinitis that corrected itself in a few hours. Now I have read a few articles that associate CPAP use with rhinitis. Any suggestions? I used a saline spray this morning, but it's still going like crazy. How on Earth am I supposed to wear the mask with this going on??
HELP! Every day that goes by, I feel more and more like I am on the show "Survival."

there's someone here with a statement in their signature that says something like "whoever thought sleeping could be so complicated?"

may i suggest flonase? it's not a prescription thing, rather it's sold over the counter and should be at you local drugstore.

[Pugsy]

MY humidifier ran out of water last night and I'm pretty sure this is the result.

You are probably right...your nasal mucosa didn't like not having enough moisture. They are funny like that. Got used to something and they don't like to change.

I have had the same thing happen when I forget to top off my water tank and it runs dry.
It's sheer misery.. Once you get over this (lots of saline spray and maybe even an oral decongestant or whatever works for you) you won't forget again for quite some time.

[clenchingtobreathe]

OH brother! Not a month into CPAP and just getting accustomed to the octopus on my face, I have now developed an acute case of rhinitis. I Have never had allergies but have had an occasional (3 or 4 times) round of non-allergic rhinitis that corrected itself in a few hours. Now I have read a few articles that associate CPAP use with rhinitis. Any suggestions? I used a saline spray this morning, but it's still going like crazy. How on Earth am I supposed to wear the mask with this going on??
HELP! Every day that goes by, I feel more and more like I am on the show "Survival."

there's someone here with a statement in their signature that says something like "whoever thought sleeping could be so complicated?"

may i suggest flonase? it's not a prescription thing, rather it's sold over the counter and should be at you local drugstore.

"Complicated" is a polite term!

[clenchingtobreathe]

MY humidifier ran out of water last night and I'm pretty sure this is the result.

You are probably right...your nasal mucosa didn't like not having enough moisture. They are funny like that. Got used to something and they don't like to change.

I have had the same thing happen when I forget to top off my water tank and it runs dry.
It's sheer misery.. Once you get over this (lots of saline spray and maybe even an oral decongestant or whatever works for you) you won't forget again for quite some time.

I used Simply Saline & old-style Sudafed last night and this morning (best decongestant EVER with no other stuff mixed in). I have to wait in line at the pharmacy to get any since the meth-heads have ruined that for me. I had so much humidity going on last night, I had water droplets pushing out of my mask and into my eye! So what?! I'm not nearly as bad this morning as I was yesterday....and the "fill the humidifier to the TOP lesson" will NOT be soon forgotten! Geez.
I am, however REALLY pleased with my Swift FX Nano cushion compared to the nasal pillow. That's at least ONE relief!!

[zonker]

"Complicated" is a polite term!
[/quote]


and, of course, we all strive to be polite here on cpaptalk.com!!!

[clenchingtobreathe]

Ok, I am now a month into this (and was told I'd feel better in 4 weeks!) Wrong. I am more sleepless than I was when I started. Rising pressure, mask adjusting & discomfort and stuffy nose wake me up at least 6-8 times a night. Once wakened, I have a hard time going back to sleep. I have lowered my max pressure to 13 (from 15) and have been raising my minimum every few days from 5 (now 5.. What bothers me most is high pressure...trying to keep air out of my mouth....and the vent blowing like crazy. Suggestions on how high/low I should go? I am taking 1 mg of Lunestra every night just to try to get a LITTLE sleep. AND, I am STILL clenching my teeth! Also, could stuffy nose be affecting flow limitation? I'm still not completely sure what my SH charts are telling me but, for the most part they are consistent...as is the AHI. I get the best AHI on the nights I sleep the least! HA! Have a look at last night.....

[ChicagoGranny]

I'm still not completely sure what my SH charts are telling me

- Your AHI is very low.
- Your therapeutic pressure is low.
- Your flow limitations are minimal assuming the data is reliable.
- Your leak rate is low.
- Snoring is under good control.
- You used the machine over 8 hours.

Rising pressure

EPR gives you two pressure changes with each and every breath. If pressure increases during sleep bother you, what about reducing the EPR one notch per night until it is off?

mask adjusting & discomfort

Have you watched a few videos on youtube about fitting and adjusting your mask?

What bothers me most is high pressure...trying to keep air out of my mouth

Are you practicing holding the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth? When you wake up during the night, do you put the tip of your tongue back onto the roof of your mouth?

Also, could stuffy nose be affecting flow limitation?

It could, but the statistic for August 12 doesn't look bad. Are you doing anything to deal with stuffy nose? Neti pot rinses? Cortisone nasal spray? Consultation with an ENT?