Noob with a question

[deerhound]

I just started using my BiPAP machine last Monday. So far until last night it has seemed to be quite an improvement in sleep. Last night whenever I was sleeping on my back i would have moments when exhaling where it seemed like a flap would slam closed in my throat stopping air from exhaling. It could also maybe be something on my Ultra Mirage full face mask. This is keeping me from sleeping on my back. Any Ideas on what is happening? I am glad I found this forum, reading some of it has already been a great help. My pressure on the machine is 18 and 10. It is not set for auto.

Dale

[rested gal]

Last night whenever I was sleeping on my back i would have moments when exhaling where it seemed like a flap would slam closed in my throat stopping air from exhaling.
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Any Ideas on what is happening?
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My pressure on the machine is 18 and 10. It is not set for auto.

Dale

I'm not a doctor or any kind of health professional. What you described and when it was happening (during exhaling) would make me think it was soft tissue collapsing and closing the throat...a classic obstructive apnea. If it were me, I'd raise the EPAP pressure (that lower pressure of 10) to 11 to see if that kept the throat open better. And if 11 didn't do it, I'd raise EPAP to 12. I'd leave IPAP (the higher pressure of 18 for inhaling) where it is.

Apneas are most likely to happen when a person is on their back. I'd want the lower EPAP pressure (that's the pressure that is supposed to prevent apneas) to be high enough that it prevented all apneas when sleeping on one's back. If the pressure is high enough for that sleep position, it will almost surely be fine in other sleep positions (side, tummy) where gravity doesn't let the throat slam shut as easily as when on one's back (gravity causing a backward collapse of base of tongue, soft palate....all the soft tissue near back of the throat.)

If you don't want to adjust the pressure yourself and want another kind of instant fix, I'd suggest staying off your back if possible. Sleeping on your side, or if you have to sleep on your back, sleeping in a more upright position...upper torso and head/neck elevated with more pillows, a wedge, or blocks under the feet of the head of bed to slant it upward somewhat.

Good luck with your treatment, Dale, and welcome to the message board!

[deerhound]

Thanks for your answer. I will be going to a class put on by my sleep clinic tomorrow afternoon, so I will bring up my problem. The techs teach the class so maybe they will help me reset my machine.

Dale

[rested gal]

I will be going to a class put on by my sleep clinic tomorrow afternoon, so I will bring up my problem. The techs teach the class so maybe they will help me reset my machine.

Dale

That's great that the sleep clinic has a class you can go to.

I very much doubt that the techs would be willing to help you reset the machine. If it were me, I wouldn't ask them to do that. I think the answer (and it's a true answer) you'd get would be, "That's a prescribed pressure and only a doctor can change the prescription. You need to talk to your doctor about it. We're not legally allowed to change someone's pressure without a new order from the doctor."

If they said any or all of that, they'd be correct. They could lose their job or their professional license if they changed the prescribed pressure on your machine without a doctor telling them to do that.

But you don't have those constraints. You can legally do whatever you choose to do about your own treatment. If you want to change a pressure setting yourself, you can. I'm not saying that's advisable, but you can. I and many others on the message board adjust our own pressures. It's best to have software (for your machine, that would be the Encore Viewer software and the card reader for it) so you can monitor your own treatment and easily see the data results when you change something.

If a person doesn't want to do that, then best to explain to your doctor what's happening and ask if he thinks it would be ok to use a little more EPAP to be sure your throat stays open when you're on your back.

Good luck and enjoy the sleep clinic tomorrow. Sounds like you're going to do fine with "cpap" (specifically, your bipap machine) because you're being very proactive in learning as much as possible about your treatment. That's great!!

[Guest]

Thanks for your answer. I will be going to a class put on by my sleep clinic tomorrow afternoon, so I will bring up my problem. The techs teach the class so maybe they will help me reset my machine.
Dale

They likely won't unless the doc orders it but they can get in touch with the doc. If you have a card in your machine, bring it with you to request a download, the RT should be able to find out what is going on from that.

Something else to check for is water in your hose. Could be causing a popping sound when the pressure drops. But why would it do that just on your back? But I'd check the hose to be sure, it is an easy fix if that is it. My UMFF doesn't have a flapper valve in it. Bring that with you to the class?

Just brain stormin here.

[deerhound]

I went to the sleep clinic to turn in a Quattro they let me try and talked to the tech about my throat closing while lying on my back and told her I was going to try the EP at 11 tonight. She didn't start hollering at me so I guess it must be ok with her at least. I'm going to try it tonight and see what happens. She faxed an order to my DME to get me a Quattro med mask since I like it a little better than the UMFF. I hope I get to keep the UMFF since I like it also. If they want it back I'll try to get a real good price from them, and if not I'll get one on the auction. She also gave me a copy of my prescription so I can bid on machines if I want to. Seems to be a good bunch at the sleep clinic.

Dale