I almost got it!

nudave · Post by **nudave** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 9:55 am

The trial and tribulations started on Monday night with my first CPAP therapy. It went, okay. Woke up three times with mask leaks and slept the whole night with the mask on. I consider this a game of sorts with the CPAP machine.

Tuesday night - Tried the soft covers that come with the Swift FX mask on the sides of my face. Woke up at 2:30am from leaks and took the mask off. CPAP wins.

Wednesday Night - Tightened the mask to reduce leaks. Woke up again at 2:30am, due to the pressure and soreness under my nose above my lip. Got up, walked to the bathroom and returned. Tried to fall asleep but just wasn't possible..I didn't fall asleep after the ramp timer was up (45 mins.) CPAP wins.

Thursday Night - Loosened mask. Slept pretty good until waking up again (!!) at 2:25am. Wasn't too sure what woke me up this time around, but the mask felt alright. It was a little heavy and pulling away from my face. This gave me another idea to change the next night. Returned to bed and didn't attempt to put mask on because I knew what to change. I win!

Friday Night (last night) - The Barrel Cozy I ordered on Thursday morning arrived today. (One day regular shipping, USPS? WIN!) Slapped that sucker on, and the side covers again. Readjusted the tightness of the mask after laying down/sitting up. Felt good...turned on the CPAP, no leaks. I then moved the machine closer to my bed on the nightstand. Prior it was an arm length reach for me, over the alarm clock. I put the alarm clock in front and the machine in the back. This allowed for the hose to have more movement and it wouldn't rub on the wood nightstand. I did all of this in the afternoon. Time for bed - slapped the mask on, ramp and fell asleep within 15-20 minutes. Woke up at 3:45am with soreness on my skin on the bottom of my septum. Took mask off to relieve the pain. At this point I'd call it all square between me and the machine...until I looked at my stats this morning.

I slept solid. No leaks, one hypopnea at 12:46am, no apneas and no snoring. AHI came to be a measly .22 with 4:38 slept. Awesome. My cleanest event flag graph since starting! I chalk Friday night up as I win!

For this evening, my plan is too loosen the velcro strapping for the horizontal placement, and keep the silicone adjustment the same.

Here is where you guys/gals come in....is this what needs to be done to get the septum soreness under control? Should I change the nasal pillow from medium? I have a feeling that the pillows are rubbing against it and irritating the skin, sort of shown here: http://www.padacheek.com/images/PB020034.JPG Thorough reading has led me to suggest that I should loosen the adjustments if skin irritation exists.

Thanks for reading

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 10:15 am

Loosen the top strap one or two notches. This is the one that is putting upwards tension on the nasal pillow causing too much pressure against the septum.

You can try a different size pillow if you wish and it may help some but it is the upward tension that creates soreness and gives us what I like to call "piggy nose". Nose should not be displaced at all from tension. It is the inflation of the inner cones that is instrumental in keeping the pillow in place. Going up a size could help this part.

nudave · Post by **nudave** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 10:34 am

Thanks Pugsy. I'll try the upper strap first, then the around the back strap.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 10:39 am

nudave, I love how you're methodically working your way toward effective and comfortable treatment!

I agree with Pugsy. Going up a size on the nasal pillows might be the trick.

Please keep us posted.
What you're writing could help many, many other readers, whether they comment about it or not.

codinqueen · Post by **codinqueen** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 11:19 am

Try Lansinoh for your sore nose. Available in the baby aisle at the grocery store or pharmacy. It also helps to keep the nasal pillow in place because it is pure lanolin, somewhat sticky, and a little dab will do you. The tube is about $8, and lasts forever.

nudave · Post by **nudave** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 1:02 pm

rested gal wrote:nudave, I love how you're methodically working your way toward effective and comfortable treatment!

I agree with Pugsy. Going up a size on the nasal pillows might be the trick.

Please keep us posted.
What you're writing could help many, many other readers, whether they comment about it or not.

Thanks rg. I'll keep posting here daily with my results

codinqueen wrote:Try Lansinoh for your sore nose. Available in the baby aisle at the grocery store or pharmacy. It also helps to keep the nasal pillow in place because it is pure lanolin, somewhat sticky, and a little dab will do you. The tube is about $8, and lasts forever.

Question about the Lansinoh - the soreness was gone when I woke up 3 hours later at 6:30am. Should I use it when sleeping, or after I get up and would still have the Rudolph nose?

pap4life · Post by **pap4life** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 1:28 pm

Great starter blog!! The nasal pillows should just float inside you nose. If it hurts, its too tight. If it hurts in the morning, then it was too tight last night. They should make air tight seal once pressure starts.

Try different size pillows. The one size fits all theory don;t cut it. Unfortunately, you may just have to change the type of pillows mask to get the most comfort. Next change, you might want to try the ResMed Swift LT. Same type of interface, but the spread of the pillows might make a difference.

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 5:02 pm

nudave wrote: Question about the Lansinoh - the soreness was gone when I woke up 3 hours later at 6:30am. Should I use it when sleeping, or after I get up and would still have the Rudolph nose?

Use a little at bedtime.
Though if the pillows aren't so tight the Rudolph syndrome should be minimal.
If there is any redness in AM it sure doesn't hurt to use a little in AM to promote healing and comfort.

archangle · Post by **archangle** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 5:06 pm

nudave wrote:Question about the Lansinoh - the soreness was gone when I woke up 3 hours later at 6:30am. Should I use it when sleeping, or after I get up and would still have the Rudolph nose?

24/7 if it feels better and helps.

By the way, it's "Lanisnoh Lanolin." "Lanisnoh" is a brand name and could be a breast pump, milk bags, or several other types of nursing aids. Only the lanolin is likely to be helpful to your nostrils.

Janknitz · Post by **Janknitz** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 10:52 pm

Take a look at the "Swift FX fitting guide" in my signature below. It might help.

codinqueen · Post by **codinqueen** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 12:06 am

archangle wrote:
nudave wrote:Question about the Lansinoh - the soreness was gone when I woke up 3 hours later at 6:30am. Should I use it when sleeping, or after I get up and would still have the Rudolph nose?
24/7 if it feels better and helps.

By the way, it's "Lanisnoh Lanolin." "Lanisnoh" is a brand name and could be a breast pump, milk bags, or several other types of nursing aids. Only the lanolin is likely to be helpful to your nostrils.

Thanks, Archangle, I stand corrected. I will try to get it right in the future too, but not making any guarantees. I keep my tube in the bedroom, and am seldom there to look at it, to be sure of the spellling when I suggest it.

nudave · Post by **nudave** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:16 am

Time for the update from last night!

Saturday 7/16 - First, I loosened up the silicone adjustment on top of my head 2 notches to prevent the redness issue I had prior. Second, I made sure the hose was loose from my cell phone chargers, nightstand, alarm clock, etc. Laid down...and hit the ramp. Insomnia kicks in...I couldn't go asleep even though I was exhausted downstairs before coming up to bed. I outlast the ramp at 45 minutes. I get up and go to the bathroom and take a deep breath in front of the mirror. What am I going to do? I came up with two things. I took a lorazepam that my psychiatrist gave me "just in case" I needed them. I still have 10-12 left in the bottle after having them for 2 years. That should help. Next, I went downstairs and grabbed my earbud headphones. I started up the scanner radio program on my phone. When I listen to the county sheriff dispatch its like turning on QVC without the picture, pretty boring but a lot of talking. In between radio communications is a soft white noise sound. 5-7 minutes later I was in la la land.

Here's the interesting part - I was aware of what was happening on the scanner even though I was asleep...I THINK (more on that later). I'm listening and a call goes out that someone nutjob pulled a knife on his girlfriend and went after her. She called the police, and then he ran in a red Toyota pickup. The police set up a perimeter around the house with I think a 2 mile radius. They eventually stopped the vehicle on the expressway. I think this all happened, or maybe I was dreaming it. This morning I looked online for news about it, but didn't find anything...soooo yeah.

Back to the sleep. I woke up once or twice with leaks, readjusted the mask and fell back asleep. First night of sleeping the whole night with it on! YEAH! Load up my stats for the night...AHI = 0.0 No hypopneas, apneas, snoring...nothing. Its like the whole night never happened! Definately won this round.

I almost got it!

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