Help- new user and not happy

[rhawk204]

I have been using my bipap since september and i still hate it and not used to wearing the mask.... I keep waking up at night to adjust mask, untwist hose, etc.
I am determined to make this work so i will not give up. I had the surgery approx 10 years ago and it did not help at all. BTW did i mention that it is the most PAIN that i have ever had in my life.
I am going to see the doctor in 2 days to go over my reports to see how things are going. In the meantime i purchased the card reader and software so that i can see the data before i visit with the doctor so that i can have my list of questions. I downloaded and printed out the report using encore pro.
My questions would be:
1- when i downloaded the data i guess that i told the s/w to erase the card so when i go to the doctor with my card there will be no data for him to review. If i downloaded the data into the encore s/w is there a way that i can copy the data back to the card?
2 - What setting can be changed in the machine? i see min and max for epap/ipap but not sure what else
3 - can i change the program settings using the encore pro software and writing the changes to the card


This is the report that was generated from my data. Would anyone have any recommendations/suggestions concerning the results and settings?

One problem that i do seem to be having is that when i exhale the machine wants to cram air down my throat before i fully expel and have a chance to relax before starting the inhale. I guess the machine thinks that i am not breathing but it seems like it should wait a few mili-seconds longer before it starts the huricane tunnel.

Thank for any and all input...........


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I was going to show the report here but i could not figure out how to copy the data from the pdf and insert it here.
Can someone help this with this?

Thanks
RH

[cflame1]

take the pdf and open it in paint. Save each page that you want to show as a .jpg

Open an account at photobucket.

Upload the .jpg's to photobucket and grab the tags from there for your post.

[ozij]

One problem that i do seem to be having is that when i exhale the machine wants to cram air down my throat before i fully expel and have a chance to relax before starting the inhale. I guess the machine thinks that i am not breathing but it seems like it should wait a few mili-seconds longer before it starts the huricane tunnel.

Oy. I went through that recently -- no fun at all.

One setting you can definitely try to change is Bi-Flex, if its on. Try to lower it, or turn it off. IIRC, there's also a "rise time" that you could try to extend.

Most people do very well on the Respironics BIPAP. Me, an experience cpap user of more than 4 years -- I could only hold out with it for 2 trial naps. Other companies make other BIPAPs, with a different algorithm, and if worst come come to worst, you may want to discuss a change of machine with your doctor.

If your hose is twisting, you may do better if you hang it from a hook about your head.
Check these for ways of managing to hose:
Rested Gal's LINKS to Hose hangers and methods of managing the air hose
viewtopic.php?t=10640[/quote]

[rhawk204]

Thanks- here is the report

[ozij]

Your leaks are huge -- and those black bars in the leak charts are times when you leaks are higher than the machine can compensate.

Try a different way of managing your hose, try a different kind of pillow for you head, or a different sized seal for your mask -- it's no wonder you're not satisified with the therapy.

O.

[Scarlet834]

About your smart card data loss, the first time I downloaded I thought that I had lost the data, but it turned out not to be true. But I had settled in my mind that if anyone checked up I would explain what happened and produce printouts and hope for the best. I don't personally know how to get data back onto the card.

I happen to be fighting leaks, too, right now, but my therapy has kicked in in spite of it and is really helping. I'm about a month into it. I do wake up a few times every night but despite that I'm in much better shape than pre-CPAP. I hope you will find the same true of yourself soon. Good luck.

I don't have the same machine as you, but I do have CFLEX that relieves pressure at the start of exhale and comes back up to pressure before you breathe in again. One thing that made a big difference for me was to make that pressure difference less (I went to a lower CFLEX setting) so perhaps the advice you received to decrease your Bi-Flex will help. I hope so.

[bdp522]

You need to get better control of the leaks before you change much of anything else. Could you be mouth breathing/leaking? Possibly try a mask that has the hose going up over your head?
Here are some RG links to hose management;viewtopic.php?t=10640
Hope some of them help.

Brenda

[rhawk204]

i think that a lot of my problem is hose management but did not know what to do. These links helped a lot. On the way to home depot to buy parts......
Thanks for all of the advice.

RH

[cv66er]

I solved a lot of hose management issues by screwing a hook into a wooden dresser by my bed, and using it to feed the hose to me from the best direction. Gravity no longer tries to manage it for me.