A week after using the Resmed F30 mask ... what am I missing?

[Biomed_ZZZ]

Hello,

I am "new" to using a CPAP/APAP again and found this forum. You are a great source of information!

I say "new" and again because I was diagnosed with sleep apnea about 25 years ago as a fluke. I am a Biomed Tech which is a service person who repairs medical equipment and back then the hospital I was working at was opening up their sleep lab and needed subjects to test out the equipment and I volunteered. I expected that it'll be a non event and they found I have really bad sleep apnea. It was a combo sleep study where the first half they were monitoring and the second half they were actively using a CPAP (I guess the word is titrating?) to get my problem under control. Since I worked at the hospital, I had a great support group with the Sleep Lab Director and the Cardio Pulmonary Director who were making sure I was dong OK. I even had a friend in the DME business and he was able to get me a top of the line Resmed CPAP with humidifier (apparently a big deal back then). Unfortunately for me all the masks were about the same, all based on a triangle, and I would develop leaks either hitting one eye or the other and made CPAP usage a real pain so I stopped. Back then almost every mask was a triangle shape and the gel that touched your face was the improvement. Those 2 directors did everything in their power to get me a mask that didn't leak to no avail and they even brought in a mask that was a true full face mask - covered the entire face - which is when I gave up. This was probably a span of 6 months and I would try to use the machine but just couldn't handle leaks hitting my eye.

Fast forward to today - I thought I had beat the CPAP usage thing by sleeping on my stomach but I turned 60, went for a physical which I do every year and now have Afib which could be from sleep apnea. I had a home study done and it showed I had 69 events per hour and my O2 saturation went down to 67%. Now I am going back on CPAP but luckily there are numerous types of masks and other things that is there to hopefully help with leaks. Funny thing is I have never really felt the effects of sleep issues which is why I thought I had beat sleep apnea and the Lab director back then was wondering how I functioned during the day with such bad readings ... again thought I wasn't really affected.

I don't have my machine yet but it I'm supposed to get another Resmed, the Autoset 10 APAP and am going to start with a Respironics Dreamwear Nasal Pillow mask. I also plan on getting a full face mask since while I'm waiting for my machine I got a cold that made breathing out of my nose impossible! I'm hoping that this time goes better than the last time, a lot of different mask types are available today.

I've been reading a little on this forum and I'm glad to see that the CPAP accessories do last longer than the replacement period although having a backup mask, hose or whatever makes a lot of sense; back then I don't there was a schedule for replacing anything but I'm not sure. Cleaning routines also sound a lot more efficient then what videos I've viewed where you take apart the mask every day ... I was starting to think I would need to get up earlier just to do that! Hose cover ... wow, what a concept. And I don't remember if I used distilled water for my humidifier back then.

Anyway, thanks for a very informative forum!

[Pugsy]

Welcome to the forum.

[zonker]

Hello,

I am "new" to using a CPAP/APAP again and found this forum. You are a great source of information!

welcome to the zoo. i'm happy to see a "newbie" come to the forum and actually read up on things. makes me feel this isn't all gone to waste.

when you get your gear, please come back, either in this thread or a new one, to ask your questions. staying in one thread helps the folk here keep track of you and your journey.

good luck!

[Biomed_ZZZ]

Thanks for the welcomes!

The posts are not going to waste, experience trumps everything ... reading up on what people have done or gone through helps a lot. Some things I have read I don't think I'll be doing such as leaving water in the humidifier but that is something that I need to be comfortable with. I like the idea of taking therapy into my own hands if need be and being able to program the APAP vs waiting for someone to do it is something I just may try at some point.

I am basically a newbie although I know what these things are because of my line of work. I haven't really kept up on CPAPs/APAPs in the 25 years other then physically look at them at a hospital I worked at that patients brought in for after their surgery. Actually, I had no idea that CPAPs had evolved into APAPs until I started to research machines for myself ... in a hospital setting a Bipap is used for people who need assistance (and I guess patients can bring their own CPAP/APAP in some hospitals) unless a ventilator is called for. Things seem much different today then back then. My Resmed back then was a 2 piece device that is much larger than today's equipment, forget about traveling with it. And the masks were basically all the same, a triangle with a gel around it to seal it; what is now called full face was just a bigger triangle. As far as my experience with CPAP, well it's a distant memory except for the fact I did attempt to use one. OH, and those stupid leaks in the eye!!

I've learned some things already and hope to learn more!

[zonker]

Thanks for the welcomes!

I've learned some things already and hope to learn more!

you're going to learn more. you already grasp the concept of "what works for thee doesn't necessarily work for me.". sure there are common tenants in xpap but we are all different and react differently.

continued good luck!

[Miss Emerita]

Thanks for posting! Your story is quite an unusual one and really makes me appreciate our current treatment options. Please post again when you get going. There are so many people here who will be ready to help.

[Okie bipap]

Welcome to the forum. like you, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea around 23 years ago. At that time, my job required I lot of air travel and the machines then were not as compact as they are now. I was already carrying a nebulizer with me when I traveled due to asthma problems. During my sleep test, they tried a nasal mask on me and I could not keep my mouth closed when I fell asleep. The technician conducting the test recommended that due to my travel schedule, I look at having surgery to try to correct the sleep apnea. I had a badly deviated septum that need correcting anyway, so I opted for surgery. I ended up having the deviated septum fixed, turbinate reduction, and UPPP surgery all at the same time. Around 2012 I began having some of the symptoms of sleep apnea show up, and went through testing again in 2014. I finally got my machine in May of 2015 and have been using it ever since. I found this forum after I had been on the machine for over a month and had worked through most of my problems before coming here.

[EricTheRead]

Welcome to the forum. I'm a recent newbie myself. Here are some ideas:

1) Reading up is an excellent idea. You'll get scorched by certain members if you don't. You seem to be on the ball, I think you have nothing to worry about;
2) Don't resurrect really old threads - they are called Zombie threads I am guilty of this ONCE - only once;
3) Read the whole thread and don't repeat something someone else has said earlier in the thread. Another flame-opportunity;
4) Don't have a username that others can permute as a source of fun;
5) Don't take anyone too seriously here, Ignore their presentation, pay attention to the content;

Just my opinion.

I have learned a lot here - in fact, I might say, more than I have talking to my Sleep Doc who just wants me out of his office and on to the next patient.

Best Wishes

[zonker]

Welcome to the forum. I'm a recent newbie myself. Here are some ideas:


4) Don't have a username that others can permute as a source of fun;

[Biomed_ZZZ]

EricTheRead,

Thanks for the warnings!

I've been on a few other type of forums so I know some things but I'm sure I'll upset one or more people as I post things. I agree with old posts ... never understood how a very old post gets resurrected other than a "how did you make out?" which I do understand. I'm sure I'll repeat something but at this point I have nothing to really add; maybe I never will. I don't believe in "jumping on the pile" in a thread but do believe in helping to emphasize something. It's too late with my user name, it is what it is. Personalities may make a difference in content, always will ... take it from a know it all!

[zonker]

EricTheRead,

Thanks for the warnings!

I've been on a few other type of forums so I know some things but I'm sure I'll upset one or more people as I post things. I agree with old posts ... never understood how a very old post gets resurrected other than a "how did you make out?" which I do understand. I'm sure I'll repeat something but at this point I have nothing to really add; maybe I never will. I don't believe in "jumping on the pile" in a thread but do believe in helping to emphasize something. It's too late with my user name, it is what it is. Personalities may make a difference in content, always will ... take it from a know it all!

sometimes, i think a new user(new to us) is doing a google search for help with a particular problem and the search just shows that thread, among others. i try to remember not to get all heated up about it and instead ask them to start a new thread.

but sometimes, i can't help being snarky.

[Biomed_ZZZ]

zonker,

You're correct with that! Unless the person looks at the date of the post they would have no idea and probably just assumes it's a new thread. I have responded to posts that were dug up and I didn't look at the date and someone will remind the group the post is 8 YO and the person is no longer a member of the forum. I also know that it gets tiresome for long time posters of a forum to answer the same question over and over again. Over the years I've answered more than I care to remember of "what's the best dog food" or "what's the best camera" where a quick search would have given the answer so I can get snarky as well.

I've done some searching here and haven't found answers to a question I have which I'm sure may have been asked but don't want to ask until I look around some more and I actually get the machine and mask. They're not showing up until Dec 6 so I have quite a while and I figure I'd use that time to think of things that I may have questions to and see if they have been answered.

[zonker]

I've done some searching here and haven't found answers to a question I have which I'm sure may have been asked but don't want to ask until I look around some more and I actually get the machine and mask. They're not showing up until Dec 6 so I have quite a while and I figure I'd use that time to think of things that I may have questions to and see if they have been answered.

i invite you to take your time and look around. when i first came here, i was afraid to post too much, so i was always looking for answers in other threads. some of us do get tired of the same questions. some of us don't.

our moderator, pugsy, is SO patient as she answers questions. she makes it seem as though she's never been asked that before and goes out of her way to explain it fresh.

someone to have as my role model, she is.

[Dog Slobber]

someone to have as my role model, she is.

Talking like Yoda, you are.

[babydinosnoreless]

zonker,

You're correct with that! Unless the person looks at the date of the post they would have no idea and probably just assumes it's a new thread. I have responded to posts that were dug up and I didn't look at the date and someone will remind the group the post is 8 YO and the person is no longer a member of the forum. I also know that it gets tiresome for long time posters of a forum to answer the same question over and over again. Over the years I've answered more than I care to remember of "what's the best dog food" or "what's the best camera" where a quick search would have given the answer so I can get snarky as well.

Ooh sounds like you will fit right in. . Welcome.

Btw what is the best dog food enquiring minds want to know.