CPAP Help: Feel suffocation.

[coldsideofpillow]

Hello im the cold side of the pillow. I'm glad to have joined this community after a year or so of lurking and actually going and getting my own CPAP machine.

A little about me: I'm 25/Male and I have self diagnosed myself with sleep apnea. I self diagnosed myself after my current girlfriend slept over a couple of times and told me i kept her up with my horrible snoring and she couldnt sleep. In those moments of her being awake she would notice how I would snore and at times stopped breathing for 5-10 seconds and kept shaking me to wake up. We would both get no sleep everytime she slept over lol. I linked this to my tiredness of everyday and my HORRIBLE memory, which has been getting worse as i age. I tried to go to a doctor twice and both have told me my tonsils are "almost touching each other" and I have a deviated septum on my right nostril, which I was able to see with the camera they put up my nose. Unfortunately the both surgeries already put me all the way out of my pocket, and thats not including the sleep study and getting the CPAP machine itself. I have no insurance though I have a new job that promises me a full time job and great insurance but in 6-8 months from now.

I couldn't wait any longer and got a machine off craigslist myself like others have done I've read. She included a mask she never used still in a bag (N10) and the hoses and everything was new (the machine only had 30 hours on it) for 200 dollars. I could not pass it up but I'm now seeing it wasnt such a good deal because its not an APAP and i cannot use sleepyhead.

I'm hoping you guys can answer my following questions:

1) I'm starting at a 5.0 pressure myself (I set it to this through a tutorial in youtube) an hour or so asleep I take it off because it wakes me up as I feel like I stop exhaling/feel suffocated because its hard to exhale. My EPR is at 3 but I have not moved that setting. Hopefully you guys can help me out here.

2) I know its rather silly im using the girls mask but I wanted to know what it felt like. Lucky i found a place around me that sells masks without prescription. My question is since im a mouth breather since all my life i have been taping my mouth using this girls mask which is just nasal and maybe thats creating the suffocating feeling? Would I benefit from a mouth +nose mask? I have been taping my mouth since before the CPAP to help with the horrible snoring and honestly I never had issued keeping it on but ive been sick recently so the CPAP might be off the hook for this one.

Thanks a lot!

[zonker]

Hello im the cold side of the pillow. I'm glad to have joined this community after a year or so of lurking and actually going and getting my own CPAP machine.

1) I'm starting at a 5.0 pressure myself (I set it to this through a tutorial in youtube) an hour or so asleep I take it off because it wakes me up as I feel like I stop exhaling/feel suffocated because its hard to exhale. My EPR is at 3 but I have not moved that setting. Hopefully you guys can help me out here.

welcome aboard! it's good to see that you've started your own therapy. shows initiative, that does. i'll leave the 2nd question for someone else. your first question i'll say this to-raise your minimum pressure to 6 or even 7. many of us have difficulty breathing with a min of 5.

i know it sounds backwards, but raising the minimum pressure will actually HELP you breath easier.

good luck!

[Jas_williams]

The N10 mask is fine to use the for her has a pink/lilac strap It’s a good a starting point as any.


I would raise the pressure to 8 leave the epr at 3 and see how you sleep. As your machine is a brick not much detail you can get on how your treatment is going other than how you feel

[bonjour]

welcome and just to confirm, this is NOT the machine you have correct?

As long as you can handle it let's leave the EPR at 3. Generally with EPR at 3 I would set the pressure at 7 but I'd like you to set it at 8 for now.

That means your inhale pressure at 8 and your exhale pressure is at 5. Exhale pressure = Pressure (8) - EPR (3)

Now the hard part. I need your girlfriends help, do you think you might be able to convince her?

Fred

[Pugsy]

The AirSense 10 CPAP machine isn't a total brick. It's what I call a half assed brick because it does offer a generic AHI (without even category break down) and a leak rate of sorts.
It's available on the LCD sleep report screen. If you can't see it you need to change a setting in the clinical setup menu....Essentials...it needs to be set to "Plus".
Same area where you make changes to the pressure.

SleepyHead won't help you because it needs more files to give you what little data the machine does collect than you can get but you can still use ResScan and/or look at the LCD on screen report.
ResScan is Windows only software though.

[coldsideofpillow]

Hello im the cold side of the pillow. I'm glad to have joined this community after a year or so of lurking and actually going and getting my own CPAP machine.

1) I'm starting at a 5.0 pressure myself (I set it to this through a tutorial in youtube) an hour or so asleep I take it off because it wakes me up as I feel like I stop exhaling/feel suffocated because its hard to exhale. My EPR is at 3 but I have not moved that setting. Hopefully you guys can help me out here.

welcome aboard! it's good to see that you've started your own therapy. shows initiative, that does. i'll leave the 2nd question for someone else. your first question i'll say this to-raise your minimum pressure to 6 or even 7. many of us have difficulty breathing with a min of 5.

i know it sounds backwards, but raising the minimum pressure will actually HELP you breath easier.

good luck!

well now that you explained that more pressure will help me breathe easier that explains a lot. does this mean the exhale will be easier as well? will try 8 tonight thanks!

[coldsideofpillow]

The N10 mask is fine to use the for her has a pink/lilac strap It’s a good a starting point as any.


I would raise the pressure to 8 leave the epr at 3 and see how you sleep. As your machine is a brick not much detail you can get on how your treatment is going other than how you feel

Just to clarify I am not female haha. It was just given to me. Do you think I would benefit from using a mouth and nose mask even though im a mouth breather? Like if i was do get a mask with mouth and nose would CPAP still be effective even if im breathing through my mouth on cpap?

will try that 8 for sure. thanks!

[coldsideofpillow]

welcome and just to confirm, this is NOT the machine you have correct?

As long as you can handle it let's leave the EPR at 3. Generally with EPR at 3 I would set the pressure at 7 but I'd like you to set it at 8 for now.

That means your inhale pressure at 8 and your exhale pressure is at 5. Exhale pressure = Pressure (8) - EPR (3)

Now the hard part. I need your girlfriends help, do you think you might be able to convince her?

Fred

I have a ResMed AirSense 10 CPAP with the heated hose and humidifier with the n10 for her nose mask.

will do the 8 pressure and epr 3 tonight. my girlfriend is out of town at the moment? thanks for your advice!!!

[coldsideofpillow]

The AirSense 10 CPAP machine isn't a total brick. It's what I call a half assed brick because it does offer a generic AHI (without even category break down) and a leak rate of sorts.
It's available on the LCD sleep report screen. If you can't see it you need to change a setting in the clinical setup menu....Essentials...it needs to be set to "Plus".
Same area where you make changes to the pressure.

SleepyHead won't help you because it needs more files to give you what little data the machine does collect than you can get but you can still use ResScan and/or look at the LCD on screen report.
ResScan is Windows only software though.

Im pretty much using the app that comes with the AirSense 10 on my phone but I havent been able to get detailed information because I havent lasted more than 2 hours on the machine at night. And even with the little information its nothing compared to what sleepyhead would have done. I wish i would have informed myself more about the machines themselves before i made this purchase. Do you think resscan is better than the app?

thanks!!

[Pugsy]

ResScan will only be able to show you past history of the summary data that you see on the app or on the machine's LCD screen.
That's really the only advantage to using ResScan with this model machine.
Like if you had been using it for 7 nights it would show the AHI for the last 7 nights in an easy to see format.
I am not sure what the app might show...and if it shows something similar then there's no real reason to bother with ResScan.
I have never bothered with the app...been on cpap for over 9 years and most of those years we didn't have any apps at all...so I never got into using them. I have always just used the software available.

Oh....those "for Her" masks and stuff...most of the time that's just a color thing for the head gear. Sometimes maybe a slightly smaller size in the head gear or cushions supplied with the mask.
Guys can use the "for her" stuff if the size fits just like the gals can use the regular stuff as long as it fits. There is no real difference in any of the gear except maybe color or the size of something in the package. Typically "for Her" stuff might come with a smaller size something....and it doesn't matter what size it is as long as it fits.
The sizing itself is universal...a small is a small in both the regular package and the for her packaging. That kind of sizing.

[zonker]

well now that you explained that more pressure will help me breathe easier that explains a lot. does this mean the exhale will be easier as well? will try 8 tonight thanks!

the answer to that remains unclear. not trying to be mysterious or anything. we just are all different when it comes to how we breath in and out. it SHOULD be easier, but the only way to know for sure is to try it and find out.

please come back in tomorrow to this thread and let us know how it went!

[NewBreath]

I am very brand new to my CPAP as well. Mine is an adjustable CPAP. I'm still in the mode of wearing it around when awake, just to get past the anxiety of having it strapped to my face. I have "attempted" a few times to sleep with it at night. The most successful night so far was about 20 minutes of sleep with it on.


To piggyback on this subject about feeling sufficated. How on earth are you supposed to breathe against the pressure? Is it just something that you get used to?

[coldsideofpillow]

ResScan will only be able to show you past history of the summary data that you see on the app or on the machine's LCD screen.
That's really the only advantage to using ResScan with this model machine.
Like if you had been using it for 7 nights it would show the AHI for the last 7 nights in an easy to see format.
I am not sure what the app might show...and if it shows something similar then there's no real reason to bother with ResScan.
I have never bothered with the app...been on cpap for over 9 years and most of those years we didn't have any apps at all...so I never got into using them. I have always just used the software available.

Oh....those "for Her" masks and stuff...most of the time that's just a color thing for the head gear. Sometimes maybe a slightly smaller size in the head gear or cushions supplied with the mask.
Guys can use the "for her" stuff if the size fits just like the gals can use the regular stuff as long as it fits. There is no real difference in any of the gear except maybe color or the size of something in the package. Typically "for Her" stuff might come with a smaller size something....and it doesn't matter what size it is as long as it fits.
The sizing itself is universal...a small is a small in both the regular package and the for her packaging. That kind of sizing.

thanks for clarifying that i was under the impression different sizes of in menda like small medium large were the madks themselves now i seen its just the straps and headgear.

[coldsideofpillow]

well now that you explained that more pressure will help me breathe easier that explains a lot. does this mean the exhale will be easier as well? will try 8 tonight thanks!

the answer to that remains unclear. not trying to be mysterious or anything. we just are all different when it comes to how we breath in and out. it SHOULD be easier, but the only way to know for sure is to try it and find out.

please come back in tomorrow to this thread and let us know how it went!

well this is how the night went: prepped myself like i always do. i put my tape over my mouth, i put my nose strip on, and except now i out the cpap now (second time) it took me a while to fall asleep i kept waking up and off until eventually at some point i took it off. then im assuming it was around 5 am i woke up i want to say and put it back on and woke up earlier today at 8 am and have been awake since.

i noticed i fell asleep faster the second time i put it on the time it was at around 5 am. this is because i took off the tape in my mouth as well. with the tape and cpap on i had this feeling if not getting enough air. without the tape i kept my mouth shut even while asleep and i would have woke up to an open mouth with the cpap on for sure.

i dont know if its placebo or not but i feel even 2 hours on the cpap or less has been beneficial for me. i dont wake up exactlt refreshed but ive woken up with some more energy than before.

what is ramp in EPR? my EPR is at 3 with RAMP on. also i will try to get you guys accurate details on my sleep.

thanks so much guys!!!

[zonker]

I am very brand new to my CPAP as well. Mine is an adjustable CPAP. I'm still in the mode of wearing it around when awake, just to get past the anxiety of having it strapped to my face. I have "attempted" a few times to sleep with it at night. The most successful night so far was about 20 minutes of sleep with it on.


To piggyback on this subject about feeling sufficated. How on earth are you supposed to breathe against the pressure? Is it just something that you get used to?

hello and welcome to the forum. your problem may be similar to the op. you may have your min pressure set too low. tell you what, read this-

viewtopic/t172378/Sticky--Newbies-PLEAS ... STING.html

and feel free to start your own thread. each of us is different in how we cope with therapy. the bottom line is, yes we do get used to it. and you will too!