Giving away cpap machine

[idamtnboy]

Dave, check this out!

viewtopic/t61086/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=61 ... 42#p573142

[Davejk]

Ok. I tried it again tonight with miserable results: It inflamed the sinuses on one side of my face. At least there was pretty severe pain there, including toothache-like pain. This had happened last time I tried, a month or so ago, but I put it down then to an existing cold or infection. Also, I sneezed and it damn near killed me. Also, I can only sleep on one side because the air blowing out of the top disturbs my wife if I face her. Now, something tells me there shouldn't be air blowing out of the top. It's coming from the area of the screw used to tighten the thing to my forehead. I did manage to sleep for a couple of hours, then woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, my usual pattern, except the sinus pain forced me to give up with the CPAP.

[DavidCarolina]

My advice:

1. Keep the machine. Even if you choose not to use it now, you will WANT it later

2. Sleep on your side. If necessary, rig up a collar around your wrist tied to the side bed frame so you cant roll back to your back.

3. Get tested for reflux. This can aggravate sleep problems. Dont eat after dinner if you can help it. Avoid acidic
foods.

4. Use the cpap just to increase the amount of air you get if nothing else. I personally think this significantly
helps your body "breathe easier" making it less work for 1/3 of your day.

[Pugsy]

Sinus/toothache type pain?
Did you use the humidifier? If so, what setting?
I had similar symptoms when humidifier setting as too low and again when I forgot to add water.
Some people that use a higher setting find that lower works better. It can be different for each individual.

[Davejk]

Should air be blasting out at the top? My wife actually told me to turn away because of the cold air blowing on her. Can't see how it actually gets there.

I use the humidifier but the air feels cold. I actually warmed up the water a bit before loading.

There's no question of using it if it's going to irritate my sinuses like that. It would be impossible.

I guess I'll call the DME or sleep lab for advice on getting the thing to work --- but I'm not optimistic.

Thanks for all of your help.

[Pugsy]

Should air be blasting out the top?
Depends. All masks have an opening for venting. This is needed so that the exhaled air gets expelled and not inhaled again because of the carbon dioxide in our breath.
If the mask is not leaking, then the normal venting is acting as it should and it will feel cooler any can be annoying to bed partner.

Don't know what setting you used on the humidifier. It may need to be turned up more. A lot depends on where you live (relative humidity), room temp and your own personal preference.

[BlackSpinner]

REM sleep has to do with memory retention and processing day to day issues. Little or no REM can cause memory loss, what seems like dementia and psychosis.

[napmaster]

Dave, you sound a lot like me. I assumed that I knew when I was having and apnea event. I was wrong. I quit using my machine. I ended up experiencing some serious atril fibrulation events that hospitalized me. In one case, I required electrocardioversion after a week in the hospital. I did not know that the AF was related to sleep apnea. After reading my original sleep study information from 1996 through 1998, I found that the sleep doctor believed that my non-compliance with the cpap was a contribution factor in the AF.

You mentioned that you have arrhythmia. Have you considered that it could be due to untreated SA?

Finally, you need to look into a better-fitting mask for yourself. There are many options. If I had to use a mask like yours, I would have given up too. Many folks have good success with that mask. However, it could be that you would do much better with a different mask. Rather than going with a full face mask, I chose to find a way to stop the mouth breathing and use a nasal pillow. I am very happy after several weeks with it. I have one of those very expensive hybrid masks ($210) that stays in the bag. Instead I use a Swift FX nasal pillow ($120) and a PAPcap chinstrap ($35). Instead of waking up with a dry mouth, leaky mask and generally angry with fighting with it all night (after two nights I could not take that FF mask), I now go to sleep and wake up the next morning. AHI went from ~24 with the FF type to ~2 with the nasal pillow and PAPcap. That my story. You may need something different. Also, I had trouble with my regular pillow. Due to the shape of a normal pillow, it's hard to get your mask to hang off the side without being shoved around. I found a contour pillow at costco that has flat ends on it. It works great.

Here's a suggested plan to get things in order for you. Focus on one at a time and you'll get there quickly:
1. Get a mask that works. (I figured less places to seal would be best for less leaks. Therefore, I chose a nasal pillow to see if I could tolerate it)
2. Consider a good chin strap (it did not make sense to me that it would work, but it does. At least the PAPcap works for me.)
3. Get a pillow that works. (there are cpap pillows, buckwheat hull pillows, that square-ended contour, etc.)
4. Figure out if anything else is is bothering you. (uncomfortable in any way?, is your bed and room clean, quiet, dark? Bathe at night?) Optimize your sleeping conditions.
5. You need a data-capable cpap so you can chart your progress and know that you are getting better.

I wish you success.

[Janknitz]

Dave, take a good look at your mask--you said it was the Mirage Quattro. Notice that right above the nose there are a bunch of holes. This is a vent so that the CO2 you are breathing out gets vented out away from you. There has to be airflow coming out of these vents. ALL masks have these vents, but they are in different locations and configurations depending on the mask. The airflow out of these vents should NOT be noisy, unless the air is obstructed by your pillow or bedclothes. If you face your wife, it's going to blow in her face. Some couples put a pillow in between them so the spouse doesn't get a blast of air. I sleep facing away from my husband (we like to spoon ).

But are you having air come out elsewhere? Typically the Quattro leaks around the nose, right into your eyes, or around your chin. It's uncomfortable. This is a lousy mask for beginners--it's hard to get it right. But take a look at "Taming the Mirage Quattro" in my signature below. That might help. Better if you go to your DME and ask them to work with you on either fitting this mask properly (and it should be done while you are lying down!), or try other masks to see if they can find one less leaky and more comfortable for you. Also, I've recently started using a mask liner (homemade out of a T-shirt) and that's helping reduce leakage a lot. There is a commerical product called Remzz's that works, and Padacheek liners are raved about. But you might end up with another mask, so I'd wait until you're settled on one to buy anything.

The humidifier settings have a huge impact on your sinuses. For me, if I turn the humidifier up above 2, I have terrible sinus symptoms. If it's too low, I get very dried out nasal passages. But everyone is different--you have to play around with the settings until you find your own comfort zone--and that takes sleeping with the mask on, night after night, to get there. Good "nasal hygiene" during the day (using a neti pot or saline spray, possibly oral antihistamines or prescription nasal steroid spray) will help too.

Almost all of us here struggled with the SAME discomforts you are having. The difference is that we stuck with it. Every night--one by one, knocking out the annoyances, until it was finally possible to sleep comfortably with the machine. That's your job, too.

[idamtnboy]

Dave, it's often been said that the best things in life are free. On the other hand sometimes, the best things in life come at a real price. Everyone on this forum will tell you the beneficial results from xPAP therapy ain't one of the freebies. You are getting some really good responses and advice here.

Hang in there. If you give up, we will all be sad.

[Davejk]

This is really difficult. I'm not getting any sleep. The bridge of my nose is killing me. I put a band aid on. Then I tried to readjust the mask and when I re-attached it to the machine, the main section and humidifier separated a bit without me noticing. So it's making a strange noise and the pressure doesn't seem right, so once more I give up on the night and discover the issue the next day. Meanwhile, all my fiddling with it at night, trying to get a comfortable fit, has been waking my wife and she's not happy. In all, it's kind of a nightmare. I can't imagine 10 percent of those prescribed the CPAP would go through this amount of trouble -- particularly since any the benefits are invisible -- at least for someone like me.

[donnafowler]

I think it is much harder for those who do not have symptoms that bother them before they begin treatment. For me, I was so desperate for relief that I was willing to try anything. I always slept fine, or so I thought. During the study, I had an AHI of 56, and my O2 dropped into the 70s. When the sleep specialist told me that my heart could stop beating due to low oxygen and would not start again on its own, I took it to heart. I never once let myself think that I could not make CPAP work, and I never gave myself the option of not using it.

So, take your issues one at a time--taking them all together makes them seem too big to conquer.

If there is any way you could come up with a data capable machine, I would do it. It is really hard to tell what is going on when you don't have any data to go by. Diabetics need data to manage their illness, those with blood pressure issues need data--there are some things that are harder to do blindfolded. Yes, machines are expensive--but how much is your life worth? People always say that something is too expensive, but so often there are all kinds of things that folks willingly spend money on except for their own health.

Get a mask you can live with. My husband doesn't mind the air blowing on him. He has always been very supportive, and even jokes that he has his own persosnal AC unit blowing on him at night. Last year I switched to a ResMed SoftGel--the venting is much better for me and he even remarked that it was not as "windy" anymore. Also this mask has been easier for me to adjust to keep the pressure off of my nose.

You might try some moleskin for your sore nose. If you are having to tighten your mask so much that it hurts, then something is not right. Your mask should not hurt.

Play with the humidity--it can make a huge difference. You might have your wife do some reading about OSA as well, and she can see that it is not something to take lightly. She may need to sleep somewhere else for awhile if she can't sleep with your CPAP.

Try wearing it while you are watching television and are not trying to sleep, to help you get used to it. That seems to help lots of people. And keep leting us know what is bothering you, because there are lots of fixes for almost every problem. Wishing you a good night's sleep!