"Noob with Complex Sleep Apnea Needs Help".

[Audge]

Hello everyone, my name is Audrey. Although I have known for many years that I have sleep apnea I was just officially diagnosed. They tell me I have Complex Sleep apnea...catagory...severe. I am now going on to my fourth night with a CPAP machine and so far it has been awful. Having read through alot of threads here on the forum I see that my troubles are not uncommon and now have some ideas to help improve things. Thank you. I guess that not breathing 44 times per hour is far worse than suffering the honeymoon with my new CPAP bed partner. I have been waking up feeling far worse than I did before the machine but I am hoping that will improve. I am on a one month trial with the RT, who I will see every week. She will download the info from the data card and.....maybe.....I will get just what I need and soon be on my way to better sleep. Think I may be able to avoid snorting water tonight and listening to my new pal gurgle and slosh half the night.
Anyway, hope to meet you all soon and I am glad to have found you.

Audge

[Julie]

Hi Audrey, from someone who's been in NB for a year after living in NS for 13.

To start off, so everyone who sees your notes will know what you're using, go to User Control Panel under the search window and then to Profile. Fill in your equipment with the full name and model #'s of everything which will make it a lot easier to help. Also, please use 'text' rather than icons which would then require clicking to identify things.

Sounds like you might have some humidifier problems.... can you elaborate a bit? And if you know your prescribed machine pressure that would also help - do you have a straight Cpap machine or an Autopap (if you know the difference)?

Is your mask comfortable? Are you aware of any leaks? Do you have software or not?

Will wait to see your responses before adding more, but good luck and give it a little time - it will eventually work out and you'll feel better.

[cflame1]

to add to Julie's post... welcome

your machine could also be something more, considering that you've been labelled with "complex sleep apnea".

[Mary Z]

Audge, welcome to cpaptalk. Glad you finally got diagnosed and are using the machine. It does take some getting used to wearing the mask and all. Glad you've been doing some reading to get a handle on any problems you may be having.
Sounds like you might want to turn the humidifier down a bit- it shouldn't be making any noise. Again, welcome.
Mary Z.

[Audge]

thank you all for the replies. The machine I have is not mine....but a trial use machine from the RT. I am not sure what I will end up with after the month of data info. I expect my RT will decide on that. It is so nice to meet all of you and Julie where in Nova Scotia did you live. I am in New Glasgow, freah off the boat from Ontario this past October. I was born here but have just come home. I am really glad to have found all of you, thinking I need the advice and support

Audge

[roster]

.

Welcome.

Do one thing right away. Go to your original post and click on "Edit" and then change the title to "Noob with Complex Sleep Apnea Needs Help". This will help get the attention of some of the few members who have complex SA.

If you indeed have the M Series CPAP with A-Flex, you probably need a different machine which treats obstructive and central apneas. There are some very good machines available for complex sleep apnea.

[roster]

Also if you have gurgling in the hose, search the forum for "rainout" - there are easy fixes.

[Audge]

Thank you roster....I have done as you suggested and will go and search out rainout. Thank you again

Audge

[Julie]

Hi again.... I was on the South shore starting in Chester, then Bridgewater and ending in Lockeport, now about an hour++ north of Truro in NB. There are a lot of really knowledgable people on the forum here and you can go to the lightbulb, top of the main page and look at all the links, so I hope you get sorted out quickly. If you want to PM me, go right ahead and maybe we can exchange #'s or something....Julie

[Bright Choice]

If you indeed have the M Series CPAP with A-Flex, you probably need a different machine which treats obstructive and central apneas. There are some very good machines available for complex sleep apnea.

Welcome. I am a noob too. I just went to a new doctor to get a "2nd opinion" and my diagnosis has been revised to Complex Sleep Apnea. I was on a machine that was straight cpap and also tried apap - neither appropriate for a diagnosis of CompSA. I am now awaiting a new S9 ASV machine which will then also deal with the central apnea component of CompSA.

My advice would be to study everything that you can on this website to bump up your learning curve. The folks here are awesome, friendly and very knowledgeable. My concern would be that you are put on a machine that is not appropriate for you and that you struggle with trying to adjust to it and end up frustrated and not feeling any better because of inappropriate treatment. That's what happened to me. Just my humble "noob" opinion.

I am going to watch your thread because I can also benefit from advice here. Good luck!

[archangle]

Sorry to see you here Audrey, but welcome.

You have a golden opportunity here that a lot of people don't get. You get a chance to be sure you get the right machine, not just what the DME wants to give you.

Do some reading and figure out what kinds of machines are good choices. Don't let the DME or RT choose a particular model of machine for you, just let them set the pressure and type of machine. They will probably want to give you a subpar machine. For instance, the M series machine you have is no longer made, get a current model. Also be sure to get one that records events and waveforms, not one that just records hours for insurance purposes.

[roster]

Bump