New CPAP User.. Wish me Luck

Dark_Star · Post by **Dark_Star** » Sun May 06, 2007 4:35 pm

[quote="blarg"]I would honestly say you should turn C-Flex on and see what happens. When I'm on APAP I can't tolerate my pressures at all without it.

Snorkel · Post by **Snorkel** » Sun May 06, 2007 4:56 pm

I'd ditto the suggestion on turning on cflex. I just started using this thing 3-4 weeks ago, and even at the low pressure of 7, I find the cflex and ramp make acclimation much easier. Hang in there...

david

whatrdreamsmadeof · Post by **whatrdreamsmadeof** » Sun May 06, 2007 5:37 pm

Your attitude is to be commended. It took me quite awhile to get use to this stuff. I got one of those relaxing cd's from the dollar tree store, it took my mind totally off the strange noises, stopped worrying about the breathing in and out and when I should be inhaling or exhaling, and if the mask and headgear were causing leaks and whalla.......good sleep at last. Many folks here will help you through the tuff times.....Good Luck...Ellen

Dark_Star · Post by **Dark_Star** » Sun May 06, 2007 6:29 pm

whatrdreamsmadeof wrote:Your attitude is to be commended. ......Good Luck...Ellen

Yes,, I am trying to be positive. I just want to get a good.. full night's sleep!! I want to feel good during the day.. I have 2 small children and I feel that I have not been giving them 100%.

I am sure that I have had this sleeping problem for many years... I finally decided to do something about it.

In fact.. since I have crappy insurance with a very high deductible ... I am paying for everything myself. (so far over $1700 for the sleep test and equipment).

whatrdreamsmadeof · Post by **whatrdreamsmadeof** » Sun May 06, 2007 9:07 pm

Hang in there your going to do great.......... your off to a good start by being here on the forum,,,,,,,,,,the folks here are great and you will get the information and support you will need for successful treatment. I can totally relate to your insurance situation. I had to pay out of pocket for my machine as the one they gave me was not good for me.
As lots of questions and take what works for you. No questions are silly or insignificant, ask them all. I am asthmatic, and claustrophobic so it took some time and effort for me to finally be doing really well, now if only I could sleep longer than 5 0r 6 hours I'd be great.
I'll keep working on it though........hang in there and please know this will get better and you will feel great...........try not to be so hard on yourself, I am sure you are a good mother....and you would be surprised how resourceful kids are........take care and I wish you well,,,,,,,,god bless....Ellen

Dark_Star · Post by **Dark_Star** » Tue May 08, 2007 5:37 am

Ok.. Just thought I'd check in again.

Last night was my 3rd night and I managed to fall asleep very quickly.

I decided to stay up later and this my have helped.

C-flex seems to work better for me and I was so tired that I do not even think I used the ramping.

Slept for 3 hrs from 11pm - 2am

I ended up taking the mask off at 2am and slept w/o Cpap until 6:30am.

I even remember that had a dream !

I feel very good this morning..

bdp522 · Post by **bdp522** » Tue May 08, 2007 6:48 am

Very good! Now when you awake during the night, try taking the mask off for only a moment then putting it back on for the rest of the night. Sometimes just that moment of no mask will be enough to get you through the rest of the night. All the good that came from wearing it was erased when you went back to sleep without it. It may also help to wear it during the day while reading or watching tv. Keep up the good work!

Brenda

Dark_Star · Post by **Dark_Star** » Wed May 09, 2007 9:03 am

bdp522 wrote:Very good! Now when you awake during the night, try taking the mask off for only a moment then putting it back on for the rest of the night. Sometimes just that moment of no mask will be enough to get you through the rest of the night.
Brenda

Last night I went to bed around 11:15pm and slept through to 3:40am..

WOW.. 4 hrs...Seems I am making progress...

Although I did try your advice.. when I woke up and took off mask for a minute and then tried to go back to sleep (even tried ramp)..... But it just seems more uncomfortable in the middle of the night. Guess my face is more itchy and well you know it is middle of the night.

Just thought .. I'd share this if for nothing else I have a little diary of my first few days..

Soon I will be helping others here.. answering their newbie questions

bdp522 · Post by **bdp522** » Wed May 09, 2007 9:35 am

Progress is a good thing! Like I said keep up the good work, it really does get easier!

Brenda

DeltaSeeker · Post by **DeltaSeeker** » Wed May 09, 2007 9:53 am

Dark_Star wrote:
whatrdreamsmadeof wrote:Your attitude is to be commended. ......Good Luck...Ellen
Yes,, I am trying to be positive. I just want to get a good.. full night's sleep!! I want to feel good during the day.. I have 2 small children and I feel that I have not been giving them 100%.

Dark Star, I know where you are coming from. I know I've been sleep deprived for years but blaming it on this or that. Plus even when I complained about being excessively tired during the day it was never addressed because no one had ever observed me stop breathing during the night although they did tell me about my snoring.

My twins are 8 and it was living heck when they were babies. Put together normal sleep deprivation of a new mom with sleep apnea and weighing 75# more than I do now, well you get the picture! It's one of the reasons I had weight loss surgery - I figured they didn't ask to be brought into this world I needed to do everything in my power to ensure they would have their mother around as long as possible!

You're doing well - keep at it and keep that determination going. One day soon you'll be wearing that mask all night! I know I had expectations of putting on the mask the first night and having a "Hallelujah" day the next day. Oops. Doesn't work like that But at least I've been able to keep the mask on all night most nights (there were only 2 where I took it off in my sleep or would wake myself up trying to rip it off my face!).

We're all pulling for each other here - what a great place to be!

Dark_Star · Post by **Dark_Star** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 12:25 pm

UPDATE: 1 MONTH !!!

OK.. I started this thread 1 month ago.

I am making excellent progress!!

I recently changed my interface to Nasal pillow style mask... because the first one (nasal mask) I used was not working out for me.

After doing so.. my CPAP life has changed. I am falling asleep quickly and sleeping 6-7 hours! My AHI is between 2-4 ..

I am not saying that Nasal Pillow masks are for everyone... we all know that each person is different. BUT I will say for anyone having issues with their CPAP therapy ... to try different masks.

For me.. the money for the equipment is all out of my own pocket.. BUT spending the money is worth it .. if in the long run I can get to a "happy" place and live with my OSA.

I feel way better than I did before using CPAP.. Not every day... but most days.

bdp522 · Post by **bdp522** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 7:27 pm

Congrats on the good progress! For only one month, you sound like you are doing very very well! Keep up the good work!

Brenda

New CPAP User.. Wish me Luck

help is ever present

Re: help is ever present

hang in there

Re: help is ever present