Help.. Is this real or psychological? Nasal mask and CO2.

[JMJflyer]

I need some help from the knowledgeable folks here. I am using a Sandman Info right now but will get a S9 Elite in a couple days. The nasal mask is a Respironics easylife. My machine is set for 8 with no ramping. I originally had some ramping but anything below 8 feels suffocating to me.

I have only been on CPAP maybe 5 nights total now. What I am experiencing is that on occasion, either when one nostril is stuffed up, or when I feel like the air I am breathing in is warm, I start to think I am not getting enough air, or fresh air. I then start to breathe faster, I try to calm down, but it is hard. The faster breathing and deeper breaths seem to make the situation worse. Eventually I need to pull the mask off and take a break. This can happen even if both nostrils are completely clear. As this is happening, I keep thinking that perhaps the air in the mask is still the air I just breathed out, since it is warm. I then think it is because of the mask having a certain amount of volume that it can retain, so I must be getting some percentage of non-fresh air. When this happens I physically feel like I am not getting enough fresh air or oxygen. Could this be true?

Other times, I seem to lie down, put the mask on, and I have no problems at all.

So, is it true that warm air means I am breathing in my own air? Do nasal masks keep a certain amount of my exhale? How much of this problem is psychological? Would a nasal pillow help? If I think I am not getting fresh, is that my body telling me the truth? Should I second guess what I feel?

Please help, last night was the first night I had to give up using the CPAP because of this situation. I ended sleeping on my side.

[rosiefrosie]

Are you using a heated humidifier? The masks have vents to prevent you from rebreathing ( is that a word?) your air. So that should not happen unless you are blocking theses vents with covers, pillows or whatever. You can feel and hear the air coming out of the vents from your mask and should be able to tell if it is blocked or not.

rosie

[JMJflyer]

Are you using a heated humidifier? The masks have vents to prevent you from rebreathing ( is that a word?) your air. So that should not happen unless you are blocking theses vents with covers, pillows or whatever. You can feel and hear the air coming out of the vents from your mask and should be able to tell if it is blocked or not.

rosie

The Sandman humidifier is heated, I am not sure if the S9 will be or not. The mask does have air coming out constantly, but I still wonder if that is mainly the new air from the CPAP and that the area right in front of my nose is retaining the old air. And if it is just psychological, how do I get myself to go against my natural feeling of not getting new air?

[Wulfman]

I need some help from the knowledgeable folks here. I am using a Sandman Info right now but will get a S9 Elite in a couple days. The nasal mask is a Respironics easylife. My machine is set for 8 with no ramping. I originally had some ramping but anything below 8 feels suffocating to me.

I have only been on CPAP maybe 5 nights total now. What I am experiencing is that on occasion, either when one nostril is stuffed up, or when I feel like the air I am breathing in is warm, I start to think I am not getting enough air, or fresh air. I then start to breathe faster, I try to calm down, but it is hard. The faster breathing and deeper breaths seem to make the situation worse. Eventually I need to pull the mask off and take a break. This can happen even if both nostrils are completely clear. As this is happening, I keep thinking that perhaps the air in the mask is still the air I just breathed out, since it is warm. I then think it is because of the mask having a certain amount of volume that it can retain, so I must be getting some percentage of non-fresh air. When this happens I physically feel like I am not getting enough fresh air or oxygen. Could this be true?

Other times, I seem to lie down, put the mask on, and I have no problems at all.

So, is it true that warm air means I am breathing in my own air? Do nasal masks keep a certain amount of my exhale? How much of this problem is psychological? Would a nasal pillow help? If I think I am not getting fresh, is that my body telling me the truth? Should I second guess what I feel?

Please help, last night was the first night I had to give up using the CPAP because of this situation. I ended sleeping on my side.

Depending on your humidifier setting, your sensation may be from the warmed humidified air and not your own exhaled air.
You could try turning your humidifier down or Off and see if that helps.
Personally, I can't stand to have the humidifier on and have had it Off (passover mode) since the beginning of my therapy.
I also keep my distilled water in the refrigerator so it's even cooler.


Den

[rosiefrosie]

The heated humidifier will make the air that you are breathing warm. This is why the air you are breathing feels warm. You can change the settings on the humidifier to see if that helps. I think once you get use to everything this feeling will go away. Your new machine should come with a humidifier also if your doctor ordered it, which most doctors do.

rosie

[dtsm]

I have used the EasyLife for about 7 weeks now, switched over after starting therapy 2 wks with a comfortgel. I was on 4-20 apap and definitely at the lower end felt not enough air was getting through the first few days. In my case it was probably at the lower pressures but as soon as it got to 8 or more, it was ok. I'm now on straight cpap 11 and it's fine, except for that damn exhalation port blowing on my forehead

But definitely for me it took time to adjust to this mask. You'll notice how 'loud' the exhalation port is and if you feel how much air is blowing out, it should put your mind at ease that fresh air is being pumped in. Give it a few more days, relax and I think you'll be fine. It's a good mask.


PS - I don't use my humidifier, use room humidifier

[Country4ever]

I, too, don't like the feeling of warm air, which definitely increases as I turn up my humidifier. When that happens, I just back off the humidity until it goes back to less warm.

[pdean44]

I think you are dealing with a little bit of claustrophobia. I feel more comfortable with the pressures on my machine when they are ramped up. I set my ramp up speed to 5 mins to get to the 11 pressure faster. When I head back to the dme I am going to ask them to raise the low end pressure to get rid of the not enough air feeling in the beginning. I find when i relax that feeling goes away. You should not be breathing old air I believe thats more fears than reality. The masks are designed so that even if your machine failed you should be getting enough air through the mask to breathe safely.
When I raise the humidity setting it warms the water but also delivers more moisture in doing so. That clears my sinuses. I cant raise it very far because I get rain out. cant wait for my aussie hose to arrive so i can raise it up a bit. I have been using a saline spray because i have a head cold and it was recommended to clear your sinuses. That along with an over the counter cold med. I would try to do a little bit to clear your passages before bed to see if you have a more comfortable experience tonight.

[JMJflyer]

Thank you so much to all who replied here. I turned the humidifier heat off and it made all the difference. No more warm suffocating air feeling. I slept really well! Feel great!

[Wulfman]

Thank you so much to all who replied here. I turned the humidifier heat off and it made all the difference. No more warm suffocating air feeling. I slept really well! Feel great!

Den

[JMJflyer]

Hi all. I figured out something else that helps too. Sometimes my nasal mask either rides up my face, or I put it on too high, so that my nostrils are too close to the bottom of the mask area. If I make sure the mask is low enough, I get really good air.

Thanks again all!