Frustrated - Lost

[alpha]

I'm thankful to have found this community today. I think it will aid me in this journey or at least I'm hoping...

First off, a little about myself. I am 31 (tuning 32 soon) and have had a snoring problem for as long as I can remember (late teens). I am not overweight but all the males in my family have snoring issues and apparently it was meant to be. I have been married for almost 8 years and regretfully, the snoring has put a lot of strain in my marriage since my wife has very light sleep and my snoring wakes her up constantly. We haven't slept in the same room for years. We tried as hard as we could but she just couldn't deal with it.

I went to the doctor with these complaints in late 2005. I was referred to a sleep clinic and underwent a sleep study that diagnosed me with sleep apnea and was prescribed a machine with a humidifier to sleep with. The machine is a Respironics REMStar 2 (with c-flex) and a comfortgel nasal mask. Unfortunately, I went into the whole process with a lot of ignorance on the matter, including what my insurance would cover and what they wouldn't and I was stuck with the entirely of the bill for the sleep study which ran well over two thousand dollars. It took us well over two years to pay it off. The whole experience left me so bitter about it that I ignored the followup callbacks from the doctor's office and insurance company. I threw the machine in a closet after two weeks of miserable use, never to be seen again.

Until now.

I have come to the realization that my health, my marriage... my whole life depends on me using this machine. I have had these weird heart irregularities happening more and more frequently during the past few years and the ever-present exhaustion is, well, exhausting to live with. I can fall asleep at the drop of a hat as soon as I sit on the couch after dinner and while my work hasn't been impacted and can still perform very well, I am indeed constantly tired but more importantly, I am tired of living like this. I wore it again for the first time a couple of nights ago and it was literally the worst night I've had in years... I could not stay asleep for more than a few minutes at a time and the feeling of suffocation was pretty bad. The settings are still what the doctor prescribed which is a "7" (whatever that means). My nose gets stuffy during the night so I'm thinking I probably need a full face mask but I'd rather pay for it out of my own pocket that to involve the health insurance company (which I'm not sure if a smart thing to do - they should be paying for this crap).

Anyway, I have been reading through the site and am ready to become more involved in my own health. I want to know all the ins and outs of my equipment, particularly the fact that it would appear my machine can output readouts of my sleep efficiency (please correct me if I'm wrong). As a somewhat tech savvy individual, I'd love to be able to manage my own sleep and make sure I'm on the right path. I know I can do it if I put my mind to it, even though becoming used to it has proven to be extremely difficult.

Any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for reading.

[cflame1]

If you're paying for it out of your pocket... stay away from the local DME's. They will want $400 or so for a mask that you can get brand new for (in most cases) under $200. They will bill you in pieces for what you can get as a whole online, and sometimes not give you all of the pieces.

so... check cpap dot com and cpapauction dot com

[ScottyT]

Before going to a full mask because your nose gets stuffy in the middle of the night, I'd play around with the humidifier settings. If I have my humidifier set too high, I get stuffed up. I'm best when it's low.

[jules]

If you have the Pro 2 (as you have linked), you have a data capable machine. However, you need to get the software. Once you have the software in hand, you can determine how well the machine is treating you and go from there.

[alpha]

Thank you both.

Well, the issue with my stuffy nose is regardless of whether I sleep with the machine or without it. I'm a side sleeper and regardless of the fact that I make sure my airways are clean and unobstructed before I go to bed, the lower nostril (right if I am laying on my right side and vice versa) gets blocked which means I have to breathe through a single nostril or mouth. Since I use a chinstrap to keep my jaw shut, I feel I suffocate by trying to breathe through a single nostril.

[CollegeGirl]

I would DEFINITELY invest in the software and card reader. It will be the best thing you ever did. It could also be your pressure isn't high enough - 7 is pretty low, and I personally feel suffocated at a pressure that low. But you won't know until you look at your data if it's advisable to raise it or not. It certainly doesn't hurt to buy a full face mask. Even if you don't end up using it, you'll want to keep it on hand for when you have a cold, etc. I'm so glad to hear you're taking charge of your health - good for you! Good luck, and keep posting!

[alpha]

If you have the Pro 2 (as you have linked), you have a data capable machine. However, you need to get the software. Once you have the software in hand, you can determine how well the machine is treating you and go from there.

Any idea of where I can get the software? I found the card reader on cpap.com, I believe...

[jules]

the software encore viewer is there too

however, if you can snarf an old copy of encore pro, do so - (1.4 will work or anything later than that as long as you are using XP and not Vista)

[alpha]

I would DEFINITELY invest in the software and card reader. It will be the best thing you ever did. It could also be your pressure isn't high enough - 7 is pretty low, and I personally feel suffocated at a pressure that low. But you won't know until you look at your data if it's advisable to raise it or not. It certainly doesn't hurt to buy a full face mask. Even if you don't end up using it, you'll want to keep it on hand for when you have a cold, etc. I'm so glad to hear you're taking charge of your health - good for you! Good luck, and keep posting!

Thanks,

Any software/card reader packages you guys recommend I get? I don't want to get it right away, I first want to get used to the machine but I do want to buy it eventually.

[jules]

When I started out, my first machine was the Pro 2. I had the software in hand on night one to know what was going on. I realize this is going to be an investment, but it is worth it.

also google encore viewer and you will find it cheaper than cpap.com but do ask cpap.com to price match

[alpha]

When I started out, my first machine was the Pro 2. I had the software in hand on night one to know what was going on. I realize this is going to be an investment, but it is worth it.

also google encore viewer and you will find it cheaper than cpap.com but do ask cpap.com to price match

Would this be the one I need? https://www.cpap.com/productpage-bundle.php?BundleID=64

[jules]

that would work -

there are many threads on this - this is a recent one --

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=37361&p=325890&hili ... er#p325492

[alpha]

Great, thanks.

I found the bundle for $139.00 which seems to be as good as it gets for now.

[alpha]

...however, if you can snarf an old copy of encore pro, do so - (1.4 will work or anything later than that as long as you are using XP and not Vista)

I'll be using my old laptop to monitor the machine so XP will work. I'm trying to source encore pro but can't find anything thus far.

If anyone has any tips on how to source it (I realize it's for Doctors only) please advise via PM.

[alnhwrd]

Alpha,

I'm not a doctor and I cannot presume to make a diagnosis over an internet forum, but it sure sounds like you have sleep apnea to me. First and foremost, I really hope you are having your heart irregularities treated by a cardiologist, no matter what kind of bad experiances you have had with docs up till now. The reason I think you have OSA is because you sound a lot like me before I got on CPAP. I never saw the end of a movie, I would be asleep a few minutes after sitting down and wake up when the lights came on. Like you I was tired all the time, to the point of almost driving off the road on a regular basis. I snored a LOT. I can happily report that the falling asleep at the drop of a hat went away immediately once I began getting successful treatment, so I hope it would be the same for you.

As I said, I'm not a Dr or licensed medical anything, but the treatment of simple obstructive sleep apnea isn't complicated. If you feel like you are suffocating, you probably need more air. If it were me, I would try bumping the pressure up a bit. 7 cm is pretty low. I would try 8 for a few nights and see if that helps at all, then perhaps adjust again.

Also, have you tried nasal rinses for congestion? I often have the same problem of one nostril closing up, but I am still able to get sufficient air through the other. If you haven't already, read some of the articles under the newbie/getting started and look for ones that address the problems you have been having.

Its great you want to make CPAP work for you. Keep at it, your determination coupled with information available here will get you treated successfully.