Newbie introducing himself

[bart.willems]

Hi,

I'm 40yrs old, I live in New Jersey and since two weeks "putting my nose to the hose". After two sleep studies (first one diagnosing with an AHI of 30, second one titration) and a loooong time waiting (provider didn't get the fax from my doctor. Why are they faxing in this day and age?) I finally got the machine.

The machine reports an AHI of about .5 (in rare cases it goes up to .9) - how accurate are those measurements? Why did I need a million wires attached to me if measuring air pressure does the job?

Sleeping with the mask is easier than I thought, the benefit of having a good sleep outweighs the discomfort of the mask, I guess I do notice that I wake up half way through the night, usually between 3 and 4. It's very hard to fall asleep - turning off the machine and turning it back on to ramp up the pressure seems to do the trick though.

Having a forum to share experiences and receive advice is great, I hope I'll be able to make my own contributions here one day.

Regards,
Bart

[ched03]

From one newbie to another. Welcome! You're gonna love this place. It is so helpful. Sorry I can't answer any of your questions.

[grandmma]

Hi Bart, welcome to the forum.

I'm not the best one to answer your questions either, but others will post who can. There are plenty of knowledgeable folk around here, and they're always willing to help, so if there's anything else you need to know besides those queries posted, just ask.

[BleepingBeauty]

Hi,

I'm 40yrs old, I live in New Jersey and since two weeks "putting my nose to the hose". After two sleep studies (first one diagnosing with an AHI of 30, second one titration) and a loooong time waiting (provider didn't get the fax from my doctor. Why are they faxing in this day and age?) I finally got the machine.

The machine reports an AHI of about .5 (in rare cases it goes up to .9) - how accurate are those measurements? Why did I need a million wires attached to me if measuring air pressure does the job?

Sleeping with the mask is easier than I thought, the benefit of having a good sleep outweighs the discomfort of the mask, I guess I do notice that I wake up half way through the night, usually between 3 and 4. It's very hard to fall asleep - turning off the machine and turning it back on to ramp up the pressure seems to do the trick though.

Having a forum to share experiences and receive advice is great, I hope I'll be able to make my own contributions here one day.

Regards,
Bart

Hi, Bart, and welcome to the forum.

I think most of us rely on the reported data we get from our machines, unless it appears that there's a problem with the machine's operation (in which case it needs to be checked out and/or repaired).

Sleep studies are necessary because they can determine not only whether OSA is present, but whether there are any other sleep issues you might be dealing with (such as PLMS, restless leg syndrome or central apneas, to name a few) that also disturb your sleep and need treatment. Sure, it's a pain in the butt to be wired for sound and try to sleep in a strange environment, knowing someone's watching you. But it's a sure way to get a diagnosis and get your problem(s) treated. A necessary evil, if you will.

It can be rough getting used to this therapy in the beginning, but it sounds like you're off to a great start, so congrats! Start reading as much as possible here. There's loads of helpful information in the CPAP Wiki and in the various threads, and the search function comes in handy, too. If you don't find the answer you're looking for, post a thread and ask your question(s).

Again, welcome, and best of luck going forward. You're in the right place.

[pdean44]

Welcome to the forum. I am also new. I have only been using my machine barely a week now.
Good luck with your therapy

[rosiefrosie]

Welcome Bart. BleepingBeauty answered your questions. I rely on the data I get from my machine to monitor my therapy, Sounds as if you are doing well for just starting out. All it take is a good attitude and commitment and you're on your way to feeling better, Good Luck!

rosie

[SleepyT]

Welcome, Bart! Congrats on finding us! You seem to have a good attitude about it all so far....

Looking forward to seeing how it goes for you. Keep in touch!

[Bearcat42]

Welcome Bart! You have got a good attitude concerning your therapy. Keep plugging along and feel free to come here if you need help with anything.

[Jersey Girl]

Dear Bart,

Welcome. Glad you wrote in. What pressure are you on? I am at 8 and find that I don't like/use the ramp. An AHI of .9 is excellent. I had an AHI of 1.4 last night and was ready to celebrate this morning.

What part of New Jersey are you from - north, south?

I bought special sleeping pillows that would allow room for my mask, but if yours are working for you, you don't need to.

Keep in touch and let us know how you are doing.

Warmly,

Jersey Girl

[bart.willems]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!

Jersey Girl, I live up north, about 20 miles west from NYC. Having my AHI below 1 is great, it's just a matter of getting used to the mask I assume. As for ramping - I'm still experimenting. Right now, my pressure is 11 (and who came up with "cm H2O"? What kind of Franken unit is that? Why not milliBar or HectoPascal, which are more or less accepted metric units with the same number?) and although I can hardly tell it's there when I wake up, I find it hard to breathe (out) when I go to sleep.

Then again, the ramp function is fairly "all or nothing", so here I am dozing out in bed when I get all of a sudden out of nothing 5.5cm rammed down my throat
I'm sure the manual will reveal some more details but I'm really not in the mood right now to read it.

As I'm a gearhead I'll probably be funneling my hobby funds towards my CPAP gear. From what I can understand these are my needs (in my own order of priority):

• Full face mask - from time to time I get colds pretty bad. I had a medium one in the first week of "The Machine" and it wasn't very comfortable. Taking steambaths, blowing my nose thourogly and hoping for the best was pretty much my strategy of dealing with it; a face mask seems a lot better.
• Card reader and software. That kinda seems to be the shiznik here. Hey, if I can plug it into my computer I'm game!
• Comfort pillow. For years dealing with my snoring problem was laying on my belly and/or side. It still feels hard going to sleep on my back, and the hardest is waking up in the middle of the night. I so want to turn on a side at that point.

Finally; kudoos to my Allied Healthcare rep. He delivered the machine, demonstrated it and made me show him I understood everything. I can call him pretty much any time of the day if I have a problem, and as he's a CPAP user himself he knows what he's talking about.

[PST]

For years dealing with my snoring problem was laying on my belly and/or side. It still feels hard going to sleep on my back, and the hardest is waking up in the middle of the night. I so want to turn on a side at that point.

I sleep on my side most of the time. Many people can get by with a lower pressure on their side than on their back. I have no problems using ordinary pillows. I travel a lot, so I end up using a large variety of hotel pillows, with good results. Unless your doctor has advised against it for some reason, you should give it a try with whatever pillow you have.

My best result has been with a so-called sidesleep pillow, which is a little bigger and thicker than average. The thickness keeps the spine in line when sleeping on your side, and makes it a little uncomfortable to sleep on your back. With it, I tend to go from side to side with little back sleep.