Complete newbie seeking advice

[clownbell]

Hang in there, Mike. Don't get discouraged. Lots of folks find it difficult at first, and it makes sense (to me, anyway). Up until now, you have spent every night of your entire life with nothing on your face -- and now you have the new stuff to contend with. P10 mask, tube, humidifier, etc. It WILL fell strange for a while until you get used to it. So hang in there.

I too am a Kaiser patient, and am hooked up with the sleep enter in Martinez. In my case, they gave me a short orientation to the machine plus a mask and said "have a nice day." To be fair, they did monthly phone follow-ups with me and allowed me to try new masks if they have them in inventory. The point is -- get the OSCAR software and post results here (formatted as per the links) and you will get advice on what pressures to use. I believe many providers use settings that make life easy for THEM, not what is best for you. With the help you will get here, you can tweak them for best results.

[mikein3d]

I felt like a pocket of air between my gums and upper lip, which caused me to open my mouth. When I did that I got a rush of air out of my mouth, is that normal?

Search the forum for discussions about "chipmunk cheeks".....it's a common and annoying complaint.

Thank you.

[mikein3d]

Hang in there, Mike. Don't get discouraged. Lots of folks find it difficult at first, and it makes sense (to me, anyway). Up until now, you have spent every night of your entire life with nothing on your face -- and now you have the new stuff to contend with. P10 mask, tube, humidifier, etc. It WILL fell strange for a while until you get used to it. So hang in there.

I too am a Kaiser patient, and am hooked up with the sleep enter in Martinez. In my case, they gave me a short orientation to the machine plus a mask and said "have a nice day." To be fair, they did monthly phone follow-ups with me and allowed me to try new masks if they have them in inventory. The point is -- get the OSCAR software and post results here (formatted as per the links) and you will get advice on what pressures to use. I believe many providers use settings that make life easy for THEM, not what is best for you. With the help you will get here, you can tweak them for best results.

Thank you for the encouragement I don’t feel quite so alone. It did get to a point last night where I said I’ve had enough and took the thing off. That’s for short term, and I’m committed to the long term, so tonight is another round. Thank you again.

[Okie bipap]

It takes many people time to get used to having that alien thing sitting on their face when they try to sleep. When I first started, I could only stand the mask for two hours the first night. It took me almost a week to get so where I could stand to wear it for the entire night. My wife, on the other hand wore it for eight hours the first night and has used it ever sense.

[mikein3d]

It takes many people time to get used to having that alien thing sitting on their face when they try to sleep. When I first started, I could only stand the mask for two hours the first night. It took me almost a week to get so where I could stand to wear it for the entire night. My wife, on the other hand wore it for eight hours the first night and has used it ever sense.

Thank you so much for the encouragement and advice. I am determined to make this work

[mikein3d]

Night #2 with CPAP. I started using the medium size nasal pillowed so tried both the large and small sizes. Neither of these worked very well felt like I was trying to suck air into my nose through a skinny straw. So I switched back to medium.

Overall I had a difficult time getting going. I reported from yesterday about getting air in my mouth, which I was told was chipmunk cheeks. In my research what I’m experiencing seems like it might be different. For me when I open my mouth, I can feel air coming through my nose and flowing immediately back out my mouth, like if I had a birthday cake I could easily blow out the candles.

I seem to be fighting air pressure, I’m supposed to exhale through my nose right? Often the air pressure is so high I can’t blow it through my nose. I’d really like to find a video that explains how to breath with the nasal pillows. I don’t think I’m doing it correctly.

Twice during the night I woke and wasn’t wearing the mask at all, that was a strange feeling. Some how it doesn’t all seem as secure as the first time I put it on.

Being honest I’m feeling this is not working for me, but I’m an optimist so I keep plugging along.

[Pugsy]

I reported from yesterday about getting air in my mouth, which I was told was chipmunk cheeks. In my research what I’m experiencing seems like it might be different. For me when I open my mouth, I can feel air coming through my nose and flowing immediately back out my mouth, like if I had a birthday cake I could easily blow out the candles.

It's still what causes chipmunk cheeks except you are opening your mouth so the cheeks aren't inflating.
The cause is still the same...air goes up your nose and tries to exit prematurely into the oral cavity (mouth) instead of going further down the airway. The fix is to block the air from entering the back of the oral cavity.
Easier said than done I know for newbies but it can be done.

I can be using my nasal pillow mask at normal pressures and open my mouth wide, stick out my tongue and blow raspberries or even talk and air doesn't ever enter my mouth. There's a reflex action that blocks the air in the airway from entering the mouth.
Wish I could tell you how I get it done but since it's a reflex I don't know how I do it. I am not alone.
For now read up on how people prevent chipmunk cheeks because that is what is happening to you.

[mikein3d]

It's still what causes chipmunk cheeks except you are opening your mouth so the cheeks aren't inflating.
The cause is still the same...air goes up your nose and tries to exit prematurely into the oral cavity (mouth) instead of going further down the airway. The fix is to block the air from entering the back of the oral cavity.
Easier said than done I know for newbies but it can be done.

I agree from my experience last night, #3, which went much better. My chipmunk cheeks were much closer to what I’ve seen typically described. It’s interesting because there were a few times where I opened my mouth with no expelled air and made like a ka sound that opened it up and caused the air to flow. I find it curious there are dozens of videos explaining how to fit the mask, all seeming to say the same thing, but I’ve only found one talking about breathing with CPAP. Is that intuitive for most people and I’m just slow to catch on?

I have been practicing tongue on the roof of my mouth, that’s helping along with the bit of advice in the video I watched on breathing. Making progress.

[Pugsy]

I find it curious there are dozens of videos explaining how to fit the mask, all seeming to say the same thing, but I’ve only found one talking about breathing with CPAP. Is that intuitive for most people and I’m just slow to catch on?

I actually never thought about it (lack of helping videos like that) I guess because it was more intuitive for me maybe.
I actually have great difficulty actually letting the air get into my mouth. It's always been that way. Chipmunk cheeks has never been a problem I have had to deal with.
I think part of it is while awake we can intuitively keep that back door closed and it's only a problem when we sleep and that back door opens.

The tongue to the roof of the mouth trick...I think that it helps train people in a manner that the reflex action of shutting that back door becomes second nature. It's not so much the tongue position as it is the reflex. I can stick my tongue out at you and blow raspberries and not have air enter my mouth so obviously the tongue isn't in the roof of my mouth.
So there's more to it but the training of targeting the tongue placement seems to help promote that reflex action.
It's like when we blow up a balloon....no air goes out our nose yet it is in the airway but it's blocked from entering the nasal part of the airway. That's a reflex action...can't explain how we do it but we do it.
The reverse applies when it comes to cpap air going up our nose and down the airway.

I have often said I wish I could explain how that reflex action works so people could do it...I could sell it for a buck and make a fortune.

[mikein3d]

I actually never thought about it (lack of helping videos like that) I guess because it was more intuitive for me maybe.
I actually have great difficulty actually letting the air get into my mouth. It's always been that way. Chipmunk cheeks has never been a problem I have had to deal with.
I think part of it is while awake we can intuitively keep that back door closed and it's only a problem when we sleep and that back door opens.

The tongue to the roof of the mouth trick...I think that it helps train people in a manner that the reflex action of shutting that back door becomes second nature. It's not so much the tongue position as it is the reflex. I can stick my tongue out at you and blow raspberries and not have air enter my mouth so obviously the tongue isn't in the roof of my mouth.
So there's more to it but the training of targeting the tongue placement seems to help promote that reflex action.
It's like when we blow up a balloon....no air goes out our nose yet it is in the airway but it's blocked from entering the nasal part of the airway. That's a reflex action...can't explain how we do it but we do it.
The reverse applies when it comes to cpap air going up our nose and down the airway.

I have often said I wish I could explain how that reflex action works so people could do it...I could sell it for a buck and make a fortune.

You would certainly make a fortune !

I really appreciate your responses, advice, and encouragement. Since I started CPAP my instinct has been to take deep inhales through my nose, which is certainly not how I breath normal, and expect not how I breath when I’m asleep. Pre-CPAP I would roll over on my side close my eyes and go to sleep without thinking at all about breathing. Maybe that’s why there are no videos, I’ve been over thinking the whole thing. I’m going to try getting back to normal sleep breathing in about an hour. I’ll get there.

[Pugsy]

Breathe normally....don't try to over think this breathing thing.
When we are asleep...it's automatic and no thinking is involved.

[mikein3d]

Since Thursday night I’ve been having a much better experience with CPAP. I am no longer having a difficult time breathing using the don’t think too much about it technique. I am still getting some air in my mouth but it is not bothering me as much.

I’ve looked at the Oscar app but I do not have the hardware required to run it, my home computer is an iPad. I did install the Resmed myAir application and I’m seeing improving scores each night. Last night my scores were:

8:02 Usage hours - 70/70
Mask Seal - 13/20
3.2 events per hour - 5/5
4 mask on/off - 3/5
Total score - 91/100

For mask seal the previous 2 nights I got 8/10 and 10/10 respectively. I was using the medium size pillows and tried the small size last night which seems to have improved my score a bit.

The mask on/off are related to taking it off to adjust and a few trips to empty my bladder.

[mikein3d]

I got Oscar installed last night and the SD card had data on it this morning. Seems to all be working correctly. Looks like I still have issues with some leaking.

[Miss Emerita]

Hey, congratulations on using Oscar! Yes, you had an hour of leaking that exceeded the machine’s ability to compensate, but let’s see whether that’s a pattern or not.

How are you feeling, both during the night and during the day?

[mikein3d]

Hey, congratulations on using Oscar! Yes, you had an hour of leaking that exceeded the machine’s ability to compensate, but let’s see whether that’s a pattern or not.

How are you feeling, both during the night and during the day?

Thank you! I started out with Air sense p10 pillows, and sleeping got to the point it was almost torture. Took me forever to fall asleep, the mask would come off 2 or 3 times a night, and it was rubbing my nostrils raw. About a week and a half ago they switched me to the Nuance Pro pillow mask, and it is SO much more comfortable and secure. I think that I am sleeping better, still wake up a few times. During the day I feel mostly good, but I wasn’t necessarily tired during the day pre-CPAP. My challenges have been with my memory and not being as sharp as I’ve been most of my adult life, like forgetting to type a word or 3 or 4 when I’m writing. That still persists, but I am feeling more energy.