I have been reading and asking questions here and other places almost non-stop about my problem of not being able to breathe out since I started therapy on July 21st. 4 weeks ago last night as a matter of fact.
My doctor and his BS advice is just that... BS. Said he has never heard of my problem before. Out of frustration I called my DME provider, Apria, who's website says "Talk now to a live sleep specialist" I called last Friday to talk to said live specialist only to be told a respiratory specialist would call me back later that day or possibly Monday. I received the call Monday afternoon and after explaining my problem to the nice lady on the phone, and reviewing the machine settings etc. she too had never heard of this problem. She offered to send me an H&P Evora ffm and told me she didn't know if it would help but might be worth a try. I took her up on it.
The Evora arrived yesterday and I tried it last night.
IT WORKS! I can exhale freely! I can actually breathe in and OUT with very little restriction. It felt great to fall asleep and not wake up to that panicked suffocating feeling. No breathing in hot air. No waking up freaking out because I can't breathe.
Yesterday morning I woke up with a dry mouth so last night I adjusted the humidity from 4 to 5. I woke up at 2 with water in my mask. LOL. Put it on my nightstand and went back to sleep. Woke up an hour later, dried the mask and put it on again. Didn't sleep all that great but I could definitely breathe. I CAN BREATHE!
I know this probably means nothing to most of you but there are a lot of people out there who have not found answers and have quit therapy for this very reason. Maybe it is just a rare few of us. Who knows. I was beginning to think I had something else physically wrong with me.
I have used the P10, N30, F20 and F30 and ALL of them do not allow me to exhale properly. The F&P Evora is just like the F30 but fits better and the cushion feels better to me.
The one noticeable thing to me in comparing all of the masks is that the Evora (silently) vents air pretty forcefully out the front all of the time. Maybe that force draws out my breath? Maybe assists it? I don't know and to be quite honest, I don't care! It freakin works!
I feel this is a huge victory and a major road block has been eliminated. I feel I can truly start my therapy journey now.
https://www.fphcare.com/us/homecare/cam ... full-mask/
Happy Friday and thanks for listening and trying to help me work through this.