New to the Forum and Newly DIagnosed

[Bookworm821]

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to pop in and introduce myself. I have had my cpap machine for two nights now, and I'm struggling a lot with it. I wanted to thank you all and let you know how grateful I am that this forum exists. I've already gleaned a lot of information from different posts here, and I feel very relieved that my experiences, thoughts, feelings and emotions are not at all unusual. I no longer feel alone, and I thank you for that.

The first night I used it, I hardly got any sleep at all. Last night, I fell asleep fairly quickly, but woke up probably 6 times during the night, but fortunately was able to fall back asleep fairly quickly each time. I'm dealing with some lung/chest pain in the mornings, but from what I'm reading, that's fairly common. It's a bit discouraging, though, to read that this may last several weeks!!

Overall, I hope this takes care of my daytime sleepiness and irritability. I was just thinking it was menopause!

At any rate, I look forward to learning from you all and I'm glad to be part of this community.

[Pugsy]

Welcome to the forum. Your chest discomfort issues may go away more quickly than you realize. It depends on the pressure you are exhaling against. Higher pressures take more effort or work and the lungs aren't used to it. It won't take long before that soreness goes away.

Your profile shows the ResMed S9 Escape. Are you aware it does not offer any useful data on that SD card?
It gathers hours of use to satisfy your insurance company.
Please read forum member Janknitz blog about full data machines...software and below that entry...What to do when you realize you have been given a brick (non full data) machine.

While the Escape gives good therapy pressure..it does not give you any data to monitor therapy effectiveness..like leaks. So if you have problems and don't feel so great, there is nothing on the SD card to help you isolate the problem so that you can work on it.
So please read this. I would be talking with DME about getting me a full data machine...like either the S9 Elite or the S9 Autoset. Be careful..there is a S9 Escape Auto...it doesn't do leaks either but it will give AHI but no breakdown as to what kind of events....so generally we just say avoid anything with "Escape" in the model name.
http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/

[Mary Z]

Welcome and thanks for posting. Problems like you are having sleeping and getting used to the machine are common and should get better over time. One of my favorite hints (for those who don't mind taking an OTC medicine) is one of the PM pain relievers with benadryl. The pain reliever helps you relax- we often ignore subtle discomfort- and the benadryl will help you sleep through the .
It's ironic, even though it wasn't menopause you still have to accept a big change in your lifestyle.
Good luck. Keep us posted.

[Kody]

Welcome to the forum, this is the best place to be for any questions you may have. Sounds like you have a good attitude going into this, and from what I've seen that can be one of the most important parts to making it all work together for you. Good luck and keep at it, their are great experienced people here to help you over any rough spots if needed.

[Bookworm821]

. . . Higher pressures take more effort or work and the lungs aren't used to it. It won't take long before that soreness goes away.

Your profile shows the ResMed S9 Escape. Are you aware it does not offer any useful data on that SD card?
It gathers hours of use to satisfy your insurance company.
Please read forum member Janknitz blog about full data machines...software and below that entry...What to do when you realize you have been given a brick (non full data) machine.[/url]

Wow this was incredibly helpful! My pressure is 8, so thankfully not very high. I am hoping this chest soreness does go away quickly. I have a senior management level position at work, and I really need to be alert. These last two days with very little sleep have really been rough.

So, I got a "brick." Great. I guess the DME saw me coming, eh? Or maybe this is all my insurance company would approve. I am going to call our broker to find out what exactly is approved before approaching the DME so she can't lie to me and say "that's all Blue Cross would approve."

Thank you so much!!

[Bookworm821]

One of my favorite hints (for those who don't mind taking an OTC medicine) is one of the PM pain relievers with benadryl. The pain reliever helps you relax- we often ignore subtle discomfort- and the benadryl will help you sleep through the night. It's ironic, even though it wasn't menopause you still have to accept a big change in your lifestyle.

Hi Mary, and thank you! It's funny, last night I thought about taking some sort of sleep aid. Sometimes I have a "hangover" from those types of meds next day, but I guess not sleeping well makes me feel just as bad, so I will definitely try that. Thanks for the suggestion.

And as far as menopause goes, I'm deep in the middle of it, so yes I am dealing with that change, as well as the cpap!

[Bookworm821]

Welcome to the forum, this is the best place to be for any questions you may have. Sounds like you have a good attitude going into this, and from what I've seen that can be one of the most important parts to making it all work together for you. Good luck and keep at it, their are great experienced people here to help you over any rough spots if needed.

Thank you, Kody! I appreciate that. I tell you what, I fought tooth and nail against this thing, and just have finally come to accept it. I figured since it was a given and I had to have it or possibly die, I developed the attitude that it is better to embrace it than fight. I really feel sorry for the sleep study tech. The first one I did, I was NOT a happy camper! I'm sure the b-word came to her mind! By the titration study I was more or less resigned, and now the machine, so here we go! I'm just so happy to have found a community of people who are in the same boat. Thank you for the warm welcome.

[Pugsy]

So, I got a "brick." Great. I guess the DME saw me coming, eh? Or maybe this is all my insurance company would approve. I am going to call our broker to find out what exactly is approved before approaching the DME so she can't lie to me and say "that's all Blue Cross would approve."

Don't know if you saw the heading "What you need to know before going to the DME" at Janknitz blog, if you didn't..go read it.

Most insurance companies pay for the cpap machines by a set code..not model nor brand. They pay a fix amount no matter which model. DMEs supply the "brick" because it is cheapest. They make more money. Most insurance companies don't care and only go by the billing code. DMEs may lie and tell you that is what your insurance only allows but if you do your homework ahead of time then they can't pull that trick on you or they tell you "this is what your doctor ordered" and I would bet my last dollar that the order said something along "cpap machine with heated humidifier" most doctors don't have a clue about machine brands and models.

[ThirdOutOfFive]

Welcome to PAPpy land. Sorry you have to be here. . . Sorry I have to be here, but that's life for you.

Have patience with the process. It can take some time to get all of the variables to work. Each of us is different, and each of us has our own unique PAPpy experience. Yes, we can learn from each other, but we have to learn what is best for us individually.

[chunkyfrog]

My chest soreness was gone in about 4 or 5 days.
Of course, I don't have much of a chest.

[Bookworm821]

I spoke with my DME today, she called to see how things were going. I asked her about upgrading, she said absolutely no problem and to bring the machine in next week and she'll swap it out. After reading about the problems other people have had with DME's I am a bit leery that it was just a bit too easy! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Chest soreness was almost nonexistent today. I took a sleep aid last night and was sleepy today, probably more from the sleep aid than anything else. However, I still continue to wake up every couple of hours, but fortunately keep falling right back asleep. Just hard to really get into a deep sleep that way. Crossing my fingers that I really turn a corner on this thing this weekend!