So, finally got my CPAP today. Fisher and Paykell HC234 w/ heated humidifier. I got a Mirage Activa Nasal mask from my sleep study. Anyone else have this machine and have any comments?
I am excited for my first night tonight!
Thanks for the help guys and gals!
-B
Got my CPAP!! First night tonight!
Got my CPAP!! First night tonight!
Anyone want to hook a really smart kid up with a job in finance? email me.... bar2003@columbia.edu
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CandyADiva
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:29 pm
- Location: Schaumburg IL
Well I dont have the same cpap machine you have, but I know how you feel to get you machine. I got mines a week ago and it is working very well I use it every night and I'm starting to feel better about it already. So I know the happy feeling you are going thru So good luck on your first use I hope everything goes well for you.
Thanks for the kind words Candy! I am glad to hear that you are feeling better. Gives me some hope!
I have my fingers crossed.
I have my fingers crossed.
Anyone want to hook a really smart kid up with a job in finance? email me.... bar2003@columbia.edu
New CPAP
Good luck tonight. I am also pretty new to CPAP. Only had it for 5 nights. My CPAP is a REmStar Pro with a nasal mask. The first three nights were pretty tough. I tossed and turned most of the night and by the 3rd night I was frustrated and tired. However, I know how important this is for my health (I have severe apnea), so I stuck with it. Now after only 5 nights I am sleeping most of the night and waking up feeling great.
Not only do I have more energy than I have had in years, but there is a general feeling of well-being that I am experiencing for the first time. Almost like a dark cloud has been lifted from over my head. With these results after less than a week I can't wait to see how I feel after a month!!
So get a good nights sleep, but if it doesn't happen tonight, hang in there. It is definitely worth it.
Not only do I have more energy than I have had in years, but there is a general feeling of well-being that I am experiencing for the first time. Almost like a dark cloud has been lifted from over my head. With these results after less than a week I can't wait to see how I feel after a month!!
So get a good nights sleep, but if it doesn't happen tonight, hang in there. It is definitely worth it.
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Sleepless on LI
- Posts: 3997
- Joined: Mon May 30, 2005 6:46 pm
- Location: Long Island, New York
Brondeau, don't get too excited. Try to keep the energy level low. The more excited, the more adrenaline will be running through your veins and that is not conducive to sleep/falling asleep. Everyone feels excited in the beginning and can't wait to put on the "magic" mask and feel like a new person, but that is unrealistic. It is best to go into this realizing that it can take a little while to get used to first learning to just fall asleep with it on your face, and then learning to adjust to leaks and sleeping with it on. And don't be surprised if you don't feel that sudden burst of energy like others have described. It doesn't happen to everyone. It took me a little while until the glorious morning when I finally felt like I hadn't felt in years. I still have those dark mornings now and the best advice I can offer is to be ready to accept them. Go into this with the attitude that anything worth having is worth fighting for and is definitely worth it in the end. Don't lose faith or patience and don't give up if/when the battle gets tough. We are all here for you. That is the beauty of these message boards. I am now trying to give back what all the experienced people here gave me when I started about six weeks or so ago.
I wish you the best of luck. I do use the Activa. My suggestion is, keep the straps loose for the best results with this mask. And come back often for help. Pleasant dreams...
I wish you the best of luck. I do use the Activa. My suggestion is, keep the straps loose for the best results with this mask. And come back often for help. Pleasant dreams...
L o R i
Re: New CPAP
DewRider wrote:
Not only do I have more energy than I have had in years, but there is a general feeling of well-being that I am experiencing for the first time. Almost like a dark cloud has been lifted from over my head. With these results after less than a week I can't wait to see how I feel after a month!!
As with all the other good wishes, please add mine. Also when I read DewRider's quoted comments I at first thought "did I write that !" - it is a good summary of the growing well being I am experiencing and DewRider expressed it well.
I am still in my 1st week. The 1st couple of nights are not going to be normal as there is mix of excitement, anticipation, anxiety, hope, perhaps some fear. But after a few nights that certainly settles down.
I am at that stage of my CPAP experience that I am thinking "Hmmmm, I wonder how many people understand how much better their lives would be if they realized a good night's sleep needs a good supply of air and now that I am on CPAP I have it". The increase in energy is real for me. I heard about it, hoped it would be true, and thus far is as good as I could hope for. I am even beginning to believe it will be long term.
Anyway, good for you for taking the step & I hope your good experiences are the same as so many others here have reported.
Cheers
DSM
xPAP and Quattro std mask (plus a pad-a-cheek anti-leak strap)
Thanks DSM. It is amazing how many people on here are just starting their treatment and found there way over here to talk about it.
So, one night down and hopefully many many more to go. So, here is a little rundown of my night if anyone cares...
Got to bed around 11:30, which is early for me. I put the mask and CPAP on and watched some late night TV for a few minutes and then shut the TV off around midnight. Fell asleep relatively shortly thereafter. I am so tired at night that I can fall asleep very easily (except at my sleep studies, jeez, anxiety much?), thankful for that. The pressure felt a little hard to deal with at first, so I used the ramp and found it helped.
2:00 a.m. -- Woke up with what felt like air shooting over my eyelids. Mask must have sprung a leak. I adjusted it and fell back asleep with ease.
3:30 a.m. -- Woke up from my drunken roommate pounding on the apartment door, forgot his keys again, idiot. Took the mask off for a few minutes, went to the bathroom, etc. Put it back on and went to sleep again.
8:00 a.m. -- My alarm woke me up. I didn't want to sleep more than 8 hours. I could probably have slept until at least noon, but figured it wasn't a good idea. I took the mask off and snoozed 3 or 4 times as I usually do. It was hard not to go back to sleep, but I got up around 8:30.
I feel tired. Very tired. Like I haven't slept at all. Hopefully this will fade a bit as I get up and move around. Not too many problems with the machine/mask. I am not a mouth breather, so I got that going for me, which is nice. I do, however, have really tiny facial features. I am a big guy, but I have the smallest nose and mouth (and cutest if you ask my girlfriend ) So, the Active mask touches my upper lip and ends up curling my lips upward and they touch the mask, which is really annoying. There is very little space on my face between my nose and mouth (I can touch my nose with my tongue), so the mask doesn't have anywhere to go. If I move it up, my nose is blocked. If I move it down, it touches my mouth. Any suggestions here? I guess I can learn to deal, but it feels weird.
Well, I would consider that night a success, even though I am still tired. We'll see how it goes from here! I will post tonight's action as well if anyone says they want to hear it. I have a feeling it might not be as interesting to all of you as it is to me!
-B
So, one night down and hopefully many many more to go. So, here is a little rundown of my night if anyone cares...
Got to bed around 11:30, which is early for me. I put the mask and CPAP on and watched some late night TV for a few minutes and then shut the TV off around midnight. Fell asleep relatively shortly thereafter. I am so tired at night that I can fall asleep very easily (except at my sleep studies, jeez, anxiety much?), thankful for that. The pressure felt a little hard to deal with at first, so I used the ramp and found it helped.
2:00 a.m. -- Woke up with what felt like air shooting over my eyelids. Mask must have sprung a leak. I adjusted it and fell back asleep with ease.
3:30 a.m. -- Woke up from my drunken roommate pounding on the apartment door, forgot his keys again, idiot. Took the mask off for a few minutes, went to the bathroom, etc. Put it back on and went to sleep again.
8:00 a.m. -- My alarm woke me up. I didn't want to sleep more than 8 hours. I could probably have slept until at least noon, but figured it wasn't a good idea. I took the mask off and snoozed 3 or 4 times as I usually do. It was hard not to go back to sleep, but I got up around 8:30.
I feel tired. Very tired. Like I haven't slept at all. Hopefully this will fade a bit as I get up and move around. Not too many problems with the machine/mask. I am not a mouth breather, so I got that going for me, which is nice. I do, however, have really tiny facial features. I am a big guy, but I have the smallest nose and mouth (and cutest if you ask my girlfriend ) So, the Active mask touches my upper lip and ends up curling my lips upward and they touch the mask, which is really annoying. There is very little space on my face between my nose and mouth (I can touch my nose with my tongue), so the mask doesn't have anywhere to go. If I move it up, my nose is blocked. If I move it down, it touches my mouth. Any suggestions here? I guess I can learn to deal, but it feels weird.
Well, I would consider that night a success, even though I am still tired. We'll see how it goes from here! I will post tonight's action as well if anyone says they want to hear it. I have a feeling it might not be as interesting to all of you as it is to me!
-B
Anyone want to hook a really smart kid up with a job in finance? email me.... bar2003@columbia.edu
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Sleepless on LI
- Posts: 3997
- Joined: Mon May 30, 2005 6:46 pm
- Location: Long Island, New York
Brondeau, congratulations on a very successful first night. That is terrific. You fell asleep and that is the hardest thing to do on your first night. But you did remind me of something when I read your post. When I first started getting sleep on therapy, I was very tired even though I was sleeping more. The way it was explained to me, by very experienced people on this site, you are paying back your sleep debt. All this time your body has been sleep deprived, and once you start sleeping, it's almost like your body goes into shock and you will need a little while until it gets used to getting a good night's rest. Someone asked me if I noticed the fatigue had faded although I felt tired. That was the best criteria for me to judge it. They were right. Yes, I felt tired, but no longer fatigued. I wanted more sleep, but I didn't feel that horrible stress and irritated feeling that having no sleep at all gave me.
So keep up the fantastic work and eventually, when your roommate gets into AA or remembers to brings his keys, and you start getting some uninterrupted sleep for more than a couple of hours, you will really start to improve. But it was like I wrote to you: Don't expect a miracle on the first night. Just keep up the positive attitude that it will work-and it will.
So keep up the fantastic work and eventually, when your roommate gets into AA or remembers to brings his keys, and you start getting some uninterrupted sleep for more than a couple of hours, you will really start to improve. But it was like I wrote to you: Don't expect a miracle on the first night. Just keep up the positive attitude that it will work-and it will.
L o R i
Thanks Lori,
I can always use the positive advice. I have heard of this sleep debt thing and it annoys me. How long will it take to pay off about 7 or 8 years of debt??? How long did it take you until you felt rested when you woke up? Anyone else experience the same thing?
And my roommate by the way, also from Long Island... ha ha ha. I live in the city and it isn't always the most conducive place for sleeping, especially with roommates like these. I thought I was being robbed. I was all ready to grab my water pistol, leave my mask on, and thoroughly freak out any intruder.
I don't know what would have happened to me if my girlfriend hadn't encouraged me to go see an ENT about my snoring. How long would this have gone untreated? Scary thought how many people out there have this problem and don't know it. Well, if I ever get rich, I think I have found my cause to get some of those wonderful tax writeoffs my folks speak so highly of... lol.
-B
I can always use the positive advice. I have heard of this sleep debt thing and it annoys me. How long will it take to pay off about 7 or 8 years of debt??? How long did it take you until you felt rested when you woke up? Anyone else experience the same thing?
And my roommate by the way, also from Long Island... ha ha ha. I live in the city and it isn't always the most conducive place for sleeping, especially with roommates like these. I thought I was being robbed. I was all ready to grab my water pistol, leave my mask on, and thoroughly freak out any intruder.
I don't know what would have happened to me if my girlfriend hadn't encouraged me to go see an ENT about my snoring. How long would this have gone untreated? Scary thought how many people out there have this problem and don't know it. Well, if I ever get rich, I think I have found my cause to get some of those wonderful tax writeoffs my folks speak so highly of... lol.
-B
Anyone want to hook a really smart kid up with a job in finance? email me.... bar2003@columbia.edu
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Sleepless on LI
- Posts: 3997
- Joined: Mon May 30, 2005 6:46 pm
- Location: Long Island, New York
B,
Sounds almost like my scenario. My husband kept telling me he couldn't sleep in the same room anymore due to my loud snoring all night, but tied together with always being exhausted and being far too young to have borderline high BP (mid 40s) and already being on meds for it and headaches all the time, well, my oldest son, who just graduated college for respiratory therapy, said to get a sleep study for over a year. Finally did and he was right.
Now about that feeling of when will you feel better. Wish I had that crystal ball to give you a definitive answer. For me? I was lucky. It only took about a little over a week or so of using the machine EVERY NIGHT, regardless of the frustration, and then I felt that one morning some time in the second week where I woke up and was shocked to feel like I hadn't felt in literally years. I went running around the house telling everyone how amazed I felt. I literally tired myself out, I was so excited to feel that way. It didn't last the entire day, but it was the start of really starting to feel better. I don't really have those types of mornings anymore where it's so noticeable, but I am totally overall more energetic and don't tire out at 4 pm whereas I feel I need a nap or I'm going to die. And I never took a nap, so I was a walking zombie from sun up to sun down every day. No more.
Look, my saving grace was and is my positive attitude. Do yourself the biggest favor you can with this treatment. Don't ask or expect miracles to happen. You will experience good days and bad days, but it does pay off in its own time. If you use the mask EVERY NIGHT, no matter how frustrated you become, you will get the payoff. Just keep thinking what would happen to your health if you didn't. You were given a gift to find out what was causing your problem and now it's fixable. Some people aren't that lucky. And you will feel, at one point, "Who cares if I have something fixable...this sucks anyway!!!" That's okay, as long as you pull yourself back up by your bootstraps and find that positive outlook again.
We're all here supporting you if/whenever you need a shoulder to lean on. I wish you nothing but the best of luck in your therapy and may you have happy dreams ahead.
Sounds almost like my scenario. My husband kept telling me he couldn't sleep in the same room anymore due to my loud snoring all night, but tied together with always being exhausted and being far too young to have borderline high BP (mid 40s) and already being on meds for it and headaches all the time, well, my oldest son, who just graduated college for respiratory therapy, said to get a sleep study for over a year. Finally did and he was right.
Now about that feeling of when will you feel better. Wish I had that crystal ball to give you a definitive answer. For me? I was lucky. It only took about a little over a week or so of using the machine EVERY NIGHT, regardless of the frustration, and then I felt that one morning some time in the second week where I woke up and was shocked to feel like I hadn't felt in literally years. I went running around the house telling everyone how amazed I felt. I literally tired myself out, I was so excited to feel that way. It didn't last the entire day, but it was the start of really starting to feel better. I don't really have those types of mornings anymore where it's so noticeable, but I am totally overall more energetic and don't tire out at 4 pm whereas I feel I need a nap or I'm going to die. And I never took a nap, so I was a walking zombie from sun up to sun down every day. No more.
Look, my saving grace was and is my positive attitude. Do yourself the biggest favor you can with this treatment. Don't ask or expect miracles to happen. You will experience good days and bad days, but it does pay off in its own time. If you use the mask EVERY NIGHT, no matter how frustrated you become, you will get the payoff. Just keep thinking what would happen to your health if you didn't. You were given a gift to find out what was causing your problem and now it's fixable. Some people aren't that lucky. And you will feel, at one point, "Who cares if I have something fixable...this sucks anyway!!!" That's okay, as long as you pull yourself back up by your bootstraps and find that positive outlook again.
We're all here supporting you if/whenever you need a shoulder to lean on. I wish you nothing but the best of luck in your therapy and may you have happy dreams ahead.
L o R i
Congrats on surviving 1st nightbrondeau wrote: I feel tired. Very tired. Like I haven't slept at all. Hopefully this will fade a bit as I get up and move around.
Also I am guessing that by the time you read this you will have discovered that although you woke up feeling tired, it didn't last long.
I too have experienced this phenomenon - wake up feeling like I want more sleep (one morning this week I stayed in bed until 9am) but within the hour or so of rising, felt more awake than I have in months.
It is an exciting realisation. Great confidence booster. I haven't read all the theories on why this happens, can only add that it does.
Cheers
DSM
xPAP and Quattro std mask (plus a pad-a-cheek anti-leak strap)
Thanks for posting this - it's very encouraging to read about your experience. I just picked up my machine today (remstar pro c-flex) and am facing my first night tonight.
I must admit some fear and anxiety. I tried on the machine for the first time today in the providers office and was shocked at how it felt. The machine started at a 4 (set to ramp to 8 in 20 min) and it felt very strong at 4. Not at all what I'd anticipated. I didn't wear it long enough for it to ramp up as I could not reply to the guys questions while the machine was running.
I left the office feeling shaken. I'm hopeful tonight will go smoother.
I must admit some fear and anxiety. I tried on the machine for the first time today in the providers office and was shocked at how it felt. The machine started at a 4 (set to ramp to 8 in 20 min) and it felt very strong at 4. Not at all what I'd anticipated. I didn't wear it long enough for it to ramp up as I could not reply to the guys questions while the machine was running.
I left the office feeling shaken. I'm hopeful tonight will go smoother.
Gary
Don't worry, wb9tpg.
I felt just the same when I started a few months ago. 4 was difficult to talk against, I could tell when the machine switched from 4-5, and anything more that 9 felt inconcievalble. 7.5 (The Puritan Bennet 420E does halves) was just about the upper limit I could tolerate.
No problem any more. As long as your muscles are healthy (no polio or anything like that) your really gain strength and learn to breathe again the pressure. You'll be OK - just make sure you persist in using the machine every time you got to sleep, naps included.
Welcome and good luck.
O.
I felt just the same when I started a few months ago. 4 was difficult to talk against, I could tell when the machine switched from 4-5, and anything more that 9 felt inconcievalble. 7.5 (The Puritan Bennet 420E does halves) was just about the upper limit I could tolerate.
No problem any more. As long as your muscles are healthy (no polio or anything like that) your really gain strength and learn to breathe again the pressure. You'll be OK - just make sure you persist in using the machine every time you got to sleep, naps included.
Welcome and good luck.
O.
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| Mask: AirFit™ P10 Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear |
| Additional Comments: Machine: Resmed AirSense10 for Her with Climateline heated hose ; alternating masks. |
And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Good advice is compromised by missing data
Forum member Dog Slobber Nov. 2023
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Good advice is compromised by missing data
Forum member Dog Slobber Nov. 2023
Not to be the doom-sayer here, but I wanted to make sure another perspective got thru on this thread. I have been using the CPAP for almost two weeks now (so still relatively new) and still want 10-12 hours sleep, am still exhausted all day, every day and feel generally tired physically as well.
Okay, that said, this is actually a positive post.
Because of this forum I am not giving up even though I have had my moments of frustration and the rants that go with them and I have hope that even though I am not one of the ones who have felt that energy recovery early on, it WILL HAPPEN some day. Hopefully soon. The one thing you will not here in this forum is anyone telling you to give up.
Everyone here is a success story in some way and in these two weeks that I have still not gotten the results I want, I know that this will work for me, it is the closest thing to faith that I have had in a while and it feels really good. I have something concrete to say is the reason for my exhaustion and if this exact mask and machine and pressure is not exactly right, eventually I will find it. But two months ago? I still didn't even know there was hope.
So, in other words (anyone get the feeling that I can go on and on and on?)
I am glad that many people have results early on in treatment, but don't worry if it takes a while, some people here have even said a few months.
Hang in there. That's what they kept telling me last week, and though a relatively little thing, it helped a lot.
Quest -okay I really will try to keep my post shorter from now on.
Okay, that said, this is actually a positive post.
Because of this forum I am not giving up even though I have had my moments of frustration and the rants that go with them and I have hope that even though I am not one of the ones who have felt that energy recovery early on, it WILL HAPPEN some day. Hopefully soon. The one thing you will not here in this forum is anyone telling you to give up.
Everyone here is a success story in some way and in these two weeks that I have still not gotten the results I want, I know that this will work for me, it is the closest thing to faith that I have had in a while and it feels really good. I have something concrete to say is the reason for my exhaustion and if this exact mask and machine and pressure is not exactly right, eventually I will find it. But two months ago? I still didn't even know there was hope.
So, in other words (anyone get the feeling that I can go on and on and on?)
I am glad that many people have results early on in treatment, but don't worry if it takes a while, some people here have even said a few months.
Hang in there. That's what they kept telling me last week, and though a relatively little thing, it helped a lot.
Quest -okay I really will try to keep my post shorter from now on.
I'm scared, but I used to be very scared. - a quote used by the Freshman Class my senior year in HS (oh so many years ago) and have managed to use in just about every major step I have made in my life since.
Quest496
If your tiredness is OSA related, I would get my pressure level reassessed.
It is also quite possible there are other factors unrelated to OSA.
A good doctor is your best friend here.
Cheers & hang in
I am sure lots os us here are thinking of you and willing you on. (If I were more religious that I currently am I would say many of us are praying for you).
It is also quite possible there are other factors unrelated to OSA.
A good doctor is your best friend here.
Cheers & hang in
I am sure lots os us here are thinking of you and willing you on. (If I were more religious that I currently am I would say many of us are praying for you).
xPAP and Quattro std mask (plus a pad-a-cheek anti-leak strap)