New to cpap

Fern · Post by **Fern** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 10:03 am

I have been trying to use a FlexiFit full face mask for three weeks. I wake up "smothering" and gagging. Will this EVER get better? I'm about to just give up. I need a full face mask because of nasal congestion and this is the second one I've tried with no success. Any suggestions? Thanks!!

mikemoran · Post by **mikemoran** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 11:27 am

Fern,

It would help if we had more information. Are you using a CPAP or an AutoPAP? Do you have a heated humidifier? What kind of mask did you already try? Are you getting moisture in your hose and mask? What pressure are you at?

If you fill us in on some details I am sure we can provide some helpful suggestions.

Fern · Post by **Fern** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:20 pm

I have a REMstar cpap system that has a heated humidifier at a 6 setting. I'm not sure what brand of mask I tried before; it was a full face mask also. Thanks for replying. I'm sorry I don't know the "lingo" yet since I'm new to this. Any suggestions to get me through the night will be SO appreciated!

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:30 pm

Fern,

6cm is about the lowest comfortable pressure. You could ask your Doc to up it to 7 or 8cm to give you a little more air and comfort.

Fern · Post by **Fern** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:33 pm

I've read some mention of apap machines - but can find no info on the web. How are they different from cpap? Thanks again for the help.

mikemoran · Post by **mikemoran** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:00 pm

Do a search on this site for "autopap" and you will find tons of information. You can also click the blue APAP at the bottom of your post to get more info. Basically an AutoPAP starts out with lower pressure and increases as needed for Apnea events. This is a lot more comfortable than being on a CPAP which is always at your highest titrated pressure. It also adjusts for changes in your circumstances like if you lose weight or get congested.

My first suggestion to you would be to turn down your humidfier setting to 5 or 4 and see how you do then. Sometimes increased moisture will make the air seem heavier. Put it down to the lowest tolerable setting you can handle.

Besides a full face mask there is the oral mask alternative, but many find it difficult to adjust to that mask. If yoru REMstar has the C-FLEX option you might want to consider changing that setting too. There is plenty advice on the board for that too. Search C-FLEX.

You might want to consider using a nasal interface with nasal sprays or doing nasal washes before you go to bed. Some find that while they thought they needed full face masks they were able to adjust to the other types of interfaces quite easily. Have you ever tried that type of mask or nasal pillow?

Others will chime in, the most important thing is don't give up. There are quite a few adjustments you can make to overcome this problem.

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): nasal pillow, C-FLEX, CPAP, APAP

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:04 pm

mikemoran wrote:Fern,

It would help if we had more information. Are you using a CPAP or an AutoPAP? Do you have a heated humidifier? What kind of mask did you already try? Are you getting moisture in your hose and mask? What pressure are you at?

If you fill us in on some details I am sure we can provide some helpful suggestions.

Hi Fern,

1. What was your first mask?

2. What did you think were the major good and bad points in both masks that you have already tried?

3. What is your machine pressure?

Please don't get discouraged. It does take many, many people a few months to get the mask and machine pressure at the right point for them. Everyone is different. The initial settings from your doctor are *sometimes* in need of some adjustment.

And DO ask your doctor to increase the level of humidification.

And DO PLEASE stay with this forum. We like to help new people - because we all were new once ourselves. We really do know what you are going through and it helps to discuss it with friends who have been there and are still in need of encouragement and advice.

Good luck.
FL Andy

FL andy · Post by **FL andy** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:11 pm

That was me above. I forgot to log in.

Fern,

Re: Humidifier pressure. Om *my* Remstar humidifier settings go from 1 to 5 with 5 being high. I have mine set at 2.

What is the range on your humidifier?

Disregard my suggestion to raise **your** humidifier setting IF your range is 1 to 6. Let us know what your range is.

Andy
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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): humidifier, hose, CPAP[/quote]

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): humidifier

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 2:03 pm

Even though the sentence structure made it a bit confusing, I think Wader was on target interpreting the "6" as referring to the cpap pressure Fern is using -- not a humidifier heat setting.

Fern, if that's the case; if your cpap pressure is "6", I agree with Wader that you should ask the doctor to let you use a slightly higher pressure with your full face mask. Raise the cpap pressure to 7 or 8, as Wader suggested.

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 2:18 pm

rested gal wrote:Even though the sentence structure made it a bit confusing, I think Wader was on target interpreting the "6" as referring to the cpap pressure Fern is using -- not a humidifier heat setting.

Fern, if that's the case; if your cpap pressure is "6", I agree with Wader that you should ask the doctor to let you use a slightly higher pressure with your full face mask. Raise the cpap pressure to 7 or 8, as Wader suggested.

RG, I made my assumption based on the REMstar HH having a max setting of 5 and that Fern is new to the "lingo" (as she said). I hope I was correct in my assumption.

Fern, I'll also add that if you can improve your nasal congestion, a switch to a nasal only or nasal pillow iterface (mask) may provide you with additional comfort. I'm have never needed to use a full face mask (I'm thankful for that), but if I did, I'm sure I would have a similar reaction

Fern · Post by **Fern** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 12:54 pm

Thanks so much for the help. I'll get out my manual and check the humidifier setting. You were correct my cpap setting is at 6; I'm not sure what the humidifier is. I used it 2 hours last night (according to the setting on the machine) I woke up and it was hanging peacefully on the bed post. I haven't tried the pillow and am going to research it on line. I am on a steroid nasal spray to help congestion - but with 2 cats & a dog, not much help. I don't see my doctor til the first of February - I guess I can hang on that long. I'm SOOOO glad I found this forum. It's nice to find others who know what you're going through. My husband is asleep in seconds and sleeps all night. I hate him! (at least for that:)

damac100 · Post by **damac100** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 5:20 pm

Fern:

Another option you can try is turning off your humidifier. I keep water in my humidifier tank and just use "pass over humidification", i.e. the aire just blows over the water. I dont get dried out during the night and the air feels cooler against my face so I dont feel so much like I'm rebreathing hot, damp exhales.

Also, what CPAP machine do you have? Some have usage recording systems in them and some can be adjusted thru the use of a smart card and a card reader and software setup.

I have a REMStar Pro 2 CPAP and with a $30.00 purchase of a card reader from 2factories.com and the free EncorePro 1.5 software download, I can adjust my air preasure on my own thru the "create perscription" option.

If you have something similar you can do a self adjust until you have it at a comfortable setting for yourself. If it's too uncomfortable for you to use, then you're getting no benifit from it.

btw, I am really really new to all this myself. So please keep that in mind when reading anyting from me.
And, I'm not a Doctor, I think that might matter too.

Damac100