Hubby Has Apnea And It's Difficult!

[Miss_Miss]

Hello to all,

Getting right to the point My 70-year-old husband was diagnosed last May with apnea. Without going into a lot of background and boring everyone, we now believe he's probably had apnea for 20 years. When he got on Medicare his doctor suggested (because of his complaints about his ailments) three, four or maybe five times to do a sleep study but he pooh-poohed them away. Finally got him convinced last April to do the test and he was shocked to discover he has this. First study his apneas were 23 per hour. Second study with cpap showed he did better, so machine was prescribed. Within a couple of weeks, though, he said he felt worse than ever. He got the machine in May and finally, third study was done on Oct. 10th. He had worsened. Apneas were 38.9 and the tech wrote that neither cpap or bipap helped, so switched to ASV due to centrals. (He didn't have centrals in first and second test)

He's been on the ASV for two months Jan. 20 and last report showed apneas lessened to 9.5. And there has been some gradual improvements in the overall way he's feeling.

His first ASV must've been, I think, the latest model and hubby could not tolerate it. Highest pressure is 25 and it started right off the bat and it was loud. Kept him awake. Miserable night. Next morning the DME lady suggested she had an older model with a manual ramp. This one he likes much better. I've looked it up on the net and it appears to be a 2012 version. Has the SIM card which we need to take to her office to get reports.

Anyway, my questions are:

1) Is there any way to prevents masks from itching? The itching wakes him up a lot and I've tried soaking in parts of vinegar/water but no help from that.
2) I also assume since the lab used Fisher masks, these must be the most affordable and maybe the reason they use this brand. Not saying it's a bad brand but I'm thinking it may not the best either. I looked on the Cpap site and saw a ResMed AirFit F20 with reviewers saying it's very comfortable. I checked the prescription form to order and see that it seems to be especially for bipap and ASV. Does anyone use this, and is it good?
3) I'd like to use wipes to clean the masks but am unsure of which product to buy off Amazon. Any recommendations?
4) And - was curious. Have any of you experienced "crashes" where you might be doing pretty good (feeling okay) but then out of the blue it's like a weight of overwhelming fatigue and weakness slams into you? This is the symptom that's concerned him the most.

I appreciate your time in reading and I'm sure I'll have more questions to bother you with.

Thanks so much!

[harrywr2]

last report showed apneas lessened to 9.5

If the 9.5 is while he is using the machine then he is definitely not getting a good night's sleep.

2) I also assume since the lab used Fisher masks, these must be the most affordable and maybe the reason they use this brand.

Affordable for the lab. Masks definitely come under the 'personal preference' items. It's not unusual to try 5 or 6 masks before settling on a 'favorite'. The whole point of CPAP is to get a good nites sleep...so spending on a mask that is comfortable and functional is a good investment. Many websites offer a 30 day return period on masks.

3) I'd like to use wipes to clean the masks but am unsure of which product to buy off Amazon.

Unscented/alcohol free baby wipes from local pharmacy

4) And - was curious. Have any of you experienced "crashes" where you might be doing pretty good (feeling okay) but then out of the blue it's like a weight of overwhelming fatigue and weakness slams into you?

My friend didn't take his CPAP machine with him on motorcycle trips and ended up falling asleep doing 75 MPH going across Texas. Fortunately for him he had invested in a Motorcycle Airbag.

[Sheriff Buford]

Howdy, from Texas! There are a bunch of members that have either spouses, children, relatives or friend that need cpap therapy but are reluctant to go down this road. After a long battle with two chilren, I was able to get them on a machine and they have been successful in treating their apnea and are always thanking me. I milk it as much as I can!


Anyway, my questions are:

1) Is there any way to prevents masks from itching? The itching wakes him up a lot and I've tried soaking in parts of vinegar/water but no help from that. You can go to padacheek.com and order mask liners to help with the itching. Your mask leak rates may increase, but the machine will compensate for the leaks, if they aren't bad. Of course, you'll need to wait until the hubby settles on a particular mask. Until then, you can make some make shift liners out of old tshirts.

2) I also assume since the lab used Fisher masks, these must be the most affordable and maybe the reason they use this brand. Not saying it's a bad brand but I'm thinking it may not the best either. I looked on the Cpap site and saw a ResMed AirFit F20 with reviewers saying it's very comfortable. I checked the prescription form to order and see that it seems to be especially for bipap and ASV. Does anyone use this, and is it good? You'll find that everybody loves here loves their mask. I went thru about six masks until I found one that I liked. It's like shoes. I may like a pair (mask) you hate and vice versa. Everyone goes on a mask journey. I use the F20. After basically giving up on finding a compatible full face mask, when the F20 came out, something told me to try it, and I never looked back.

3) I'd like to use wipes to clean the masks but am unsure of which product to buy off Amazon. Any recommendations? Use the store brand wipes. Nothing special. You may want to stay away from the aloe on the wipe tho. I use the Pampers Wipes for sensitive skin. $1.87 (I think) at Walmart for 60. Once or twice a week I use hand sanitizer (no aloe!) and give the mask a good wipe, and wipe off the alcohol with a dish towel.

4) And - was curious. Have any of you experienced "crashes" where you might be doing pretty good (feeling okay) but then out of the blue it's like a weight of overwhelming fatigue and weakness slams into you? This is the symptom that's concerned him the most. I get those "crashes" all the time. This stuff takes time. Your hubby's body has been beaten up with this disease for many years and it will take time to heal and recover. Some days.... I feel like crap only to feel better the next day.

Sheriff

I appreciate your time in reading and I'm sure I'll have more questions to bother you with.

Thanks so much!

[Miss_Miss]

Thanks for the replies! Much appreciated.

I don't know whether to "eek" or to "hmm" about needing to try different masks. Especially since we order right now through the DME lady. But Sheriff, since you like that F20 I'll definitely tell the lady to give him that. He can only have new masks every 3 months. Do they generally last that long?

Also, he'll appreciate knowing that he's not alone in those crashes. He gets depressed when those happen.

Okay, thanks about the wipes. I wasn't sure anything else was out there to use!

Nice to meet y'all.

[squid13]

Tell him to trim those nasal hairs for the itching. They will make you itch when they blow in the wind, and in places where you would swear they would have no effect.

[Miss_Miss]

Tell him to trim those nasal hairs for the itching. They will make you itch when they blow in the wind, and in places where you would swear they would have no effect.

[Miss_Miss]

The photo beneath my siggy is not the machine he's using. This is the actual machine where I've inserted photo. Just felt I ought to clarify.

Hope I'm doing this right.

asv.jpg (16.41 KiB) Viewed 3201 times

[Pugsy]

For the equipment profile...choose no machine instead of the DreamStation ASV that you have chosen.

Then in the comments section of the equipment profile just type in the model name
PR S1 ASV model 960 or 950 whichever it is...just look on the bottom of the blower for the exact model number.
That way everyone will know at a glance what is being used.

[squid13]

You put a laughing smiley to my trim the nasal hairs, is that because you don't believe it, if so just ask any forum member about trimming nasal hair.

[Miss_Miss]

You put a laughing smiley to my trim the nasal hairs, is that because you don't believe it, if so just ask any forum member about trimming nasal hair.

The way you described it gave me an image of a Viking beard snaking out his nose and blowing in the wind so I couldn't help but to laugh. But he's very good at trimming the nasal hairs.

[zonker]

Tell him to trim those nasal hairs for the itching. They will make you itch when they blow in the wind, and in places where you would swear they would have no effect.

no joke! sounds funny but trimming does help alleviate the itch.

oh, btw, welcome to the zoo!

[D.H.]

I use Sarna for Sensitive Skin (not regular Sarna) around the itchy places. The dermatologist said to switch to Aquaphor, but that seems to compromise the seal; so I had to switch back.

There is no ideal mask for everybody. He has to find the right one for him.

Note that 9.5 is not good (should be under 5, and I think lower). However, it's better than the 23 he got during his sleep test. His therapy needs to be tweaked to get it under 5.

[chunkyfrog]

Sometimes itching can be reduced or eliminated
by using an unscented baby wipe on all the contact areas.
Any face-washing before bed might help.

[D.H.]

Of course, wash the affected area every night before applying any cream, and wash it again in the morning, along with the parts of the mask that come into direct contact.

[Okie bipap]

If you want to try a mask liner, you can find a pattern for one at this site:

http://montfordhouse.com/cpap/diy-cotton-mask-liner.pdf

I used this pattern when I made liners for myself and my wife. The pattern will work for medium and small masks but can easily be enlarged for large cushions. The hole in the center allows clearance for the mouth and nose. This hole can be enlarged as long as enough material is left to go under the mask seal. I made our liners out of an old, well-used tee shirt. I have also made them out of knit paint rags I got at Lowes. One member here on the forum said she made hers out of old underwear. If the straps bother him, the strap pads from padaceek are very good. My wife and I both use them on our masks.