first night with cpap tonight

[mr rusty s]

tonight is my first night at home with the cpap machine. my first sleep study was in november, but the lab took forever to get results to me (they never mailed them...). I was diagnosed with moderate obstructive sleep apnea with AHI of 18.4. my second study was in late April. it went well and I felt like I slept pretty good, but I was nervous about wearing a mask all night. with the CPAP, my AHI dropped to 4.7.

i picked up my machine earlier today, but they didn't have the mask I wanted (swift fx) in stock, so I am borrowing a unit for the next week or so.

fingers crossed for restful sleep tonight. i slept good at the lab with the cpap, so I am encouraged that tonight will be ok. i've been (unknowingly) struggling with the symptoms of sleep apnea for years, so looking forward to better sleep!

[W_HAMILTON]

Good luck Let us know how you cope that first night!

[Isaacrn]

Im with you buddy. Ill be using the Swift FX as well. Hopefully everything goes well. Im praying it does

[Mary Z]

Hope your first night went well. Keep us posted.

[busylady]

Sounds like you'll do OK if the sleep lab wasn't a bad experience. I've done 6 nights and each one is easier. Was awake and readjusting a lot the first 2 nights. My numbers have improved. Hubby says he's sleeping better because I'm not waking up to disturb him. Pleasant dreams.....

[mr rusty s]

Hope your first night went well. Keep us posted.

Things seemed to go well. It took a bit longer than usual to fall asleep, and I woke around 1 in the morning having pulled the mask off my face. The display on the machine says the therapy time was just over 6 hours and my AHI was 1.8.

Thanks everyone for the support and great advice. I've been reading this forum for a few months now and it's been a big help.

[mr rusty s]

Sounds like you'll do OK if the sleep lab wasn't a bad experience. I've done 6 nights and each one is easier. Was awake and readjusting a lot the first 2 nights. My numbers have improved. Hubby says he's sleeping better because I'm not waking up to disturb him. Pleasant dreams.....

The first study wasn't great... anxious, could hear the intercom being used by the patient next door, rock-hard pillow, and the tech didn't get me hooked up until a few hours after my normal bedtime.

The second was better, other than being anxious about using the masks. Brought my own pillow and made sure I was ready for bed at my usual bedtime.

[mr rusty s]

4 nights in and so far so good. my average AHI over the 4 nights is 1.5. last night seemed like the best night yet:

night 1: first night. woke up having taken the mask off sometime during the night. AHI 1.9. 0.8% of night in large leak (because I took the mask off?)
night 2: my mask fit a lot better than night 1. therapy for 7.5 hours. AHI 2.3. no large leaks.
night 3: I couldn't get the mask to fit right at all and had a lot of trouble sleeping. AHI 1.5. two big leaks (5.2% of night in large leak).
night 4: AHI 0.8. tolerated the machine for 8 hours. didn't bother with using the ramp feature. made more of an effort to sleep on my side. turned humidifier up from 2 to 3.

[nanwilson]

WOW! You are definitely on the right track ---keep up the good work.

[busylady]

Sounds like you're doing great. Good numbers. Last night I did better. I taped my mouth with blue painter's tape. Worked well but it was wet and had to be replaced about 3am, and mouth and nose were both wet at 6am. Did have lower leaks and AHI though. I'll see what tonight brings. I've had a hard time falling to sleep... like 2 hours. Good rest, but not real sleep.

[Janknitz]

You're doing great except ANY large leak on your machine's screen is bad news. It has to be a very big leak for a long time to show up, and leaks that size make the AHI unreliable. So you are going to need to work on that.

But contests for keeping the mask on and sleeping well with it.

[elena88]

bravo! you are off to a much better start than most!

You might be a lucky one and it will just get better and better, sure hope so!

here's to many glorious mornings ahead for you!

[mr rusty s]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. Leaks seem to be getting better. I think it's getting easier to sleep and keep my mouth closed. AHI at 0.5 for the last two nights.

... and most importantly feeling better. Feeling awake on a Monday? it's been a while.

[mr rusty s]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. Leaks seem to be getting better. I think it's getting easier to sleep and keep my mouth closed. AHI at 0.5 for the last two nights.

Leaks were good last night... avg of 29%, only a few blips. I made some adjustments to the mask that seemed to help. I thought last night would be bad as I am getting a cold/sinus infection and figured I would have breathed through my mouth more... we will see how tonight goes.

AHI dropped to 0.2, with no OA or H. The machine registered one CA, but I was awake at the time.

[mr rusty s]

Just checking in - things still going good. I have a bad cold, but last night was good. AHI 0.1, really flat leak line... woohoo