Pressure

[justminick423]

Do you fall asleep right away with your machine on? Or do you read or play on your phone before going to sleep? I find that by the time I am ready to sleep that my pressure is ramped up and is blowing my ears out and hurts. I don't know if it's right to do, but I shut it off and restart it. I decided that I need to put it on well before I am tired or I'll fall asleep without it. Also so I can get proper adjustments. It's a tough call and I dunno if I am screwing up nightly readings or not.


Also, when you turn it off, do you have an initial feeling of suffocation? Just wondering if you ever get used to that scary feeling

[Goofproof]

I have never used the ramp, never will. I started with a FF Mask @ 15 cm pressure, using the ramp can expose you to less air than you need, and can cause events not to be treated correctly. Remove mask before you turn off the machine, it only takes 15 seconds to remove the mask. Jim

[kaiasgram]

Do you fall asleep right away with your machine on? Or do you read or play on your phone before going to sleep? I find that by the time I am ready to sleep that my pressure is ramped up and is blowing my ears out and hurts. I don't know if it's right to do, but I shut it off and restart it. I decided that I need to put it on well before I am tired or I'll fall asleep without it. Also so I can get proper adjustments. It's a tough call and I dunno if I am screwing up nightly readings or not.

Also, when you turn it off, do you have an initial feeling of suffocation? Just wondering if you ever get used to that scary feeling

You're not screwing anything up, and the first order of business when starting on cpap is getting used to the machine and mask, however best you can. Sounds like you have found a way that works pretty well for you, so if you need to restart the ramp to fall asleep, that's ok. Ramp is a comfort feature -- some people don't like it because it feels like not enough air flow. For others Ramp is comfortable and gives them a chance to fall asleep at a less intense pressure.

Are you turning off the machine before removing your mask? I'm wondering what's causing the feeling of suffocation you're describing.

[zoocrewphoto]

What are your pressure settings?

I used the ramp for a few days and then found the starting pressure of 4 to be too low, so I turned the ramp off and go straight to 11. You can adjust the ramp to take more or less time and start wherever you want it to.


Your machine also offers full data, and you get the software for free. There are two kinds you can use. ResScan and Sleepyhead. You can do a search for the links to download it. Then, when you have questions, you can post a screen shot of the graphs showing the pressure, events, leak, flow limitations, etc and people can give you advice on any changes you might want to try. I was lucky that my settings were good right off the bad. I dropped from an ahi of 79 to less than 2. My only challenges have been keeping the mask on, drooling, etc. I did have some mask fitting issues, but the people here helped me figure out that.

Many people don't have the best settings right off. Some people have problems with the pressure being difficult to get used to or causing problems like swallowing air, or central events. Other people are able to use their machine all night, but don't feel better because there are too many events still happening. Looking at the graphs can help us see what needs to be changed.

When you have a chance, fill in your profile with your machine, mask, pressure settings. That will help people answer questions that work with your equipment and settings.

[robysue]

Do you fall asleep right away with your machine on? Or do you read or play on your phone before going to sleep? I find that by the time I am ready to sleep that my pressure is ramped up and is blowing my ears out and hurts. I don't know if it's right to do, but I shut it off and restart it. I decided that I need to put it on well before I am tired or I'll fall asleep without it. Also so I can get proper adjustments. It's a tough call and I dunno if I am screwing up nightly readings or not.

What you are doing is just fine. At this point, anything you can do to keep you using the machine every single night, all night long is GOOD.

Also, when you turn it off, do you have an initial feeling of suffocation? Just wondering if you ever get used to that scary feeling

When you turn the machine OFF, there is no air being blown into the mask and, yes, that change can cause an initial feeling of suffocation. If you are immediately turning the machine back on, this feeling should go away. If it doesn't that means that the starting ramp pressure is too low and bumping the starting ramp pressure up to where you are comfortable is reasonable.

Also keep in mind that if you are wearing a full face mask that covers both the mouth and nose, there is an anti-asphyxiation valve that will allow air into the mask when you are breathing and there's no power. If you're using a nasal mask or nasal pillows, you can open your mouth and breath through it.

[LSAT]

Do you fall asleep right away with your machine on? Or do you read or play on your phone before going to sleep? I find that by the time I am ready to sleep that my pressure is ramped up and is blowing my ears out and hurts. I don't know if it's right to do, but I shut it off and restart it. I decided that I need to put it on well before I am tired or I'll fall asleep without it. Also so I can get proper adjustments. It's a tough call and I dunno if I am screwing up nightly readings or not.


Also, when you turn it off, do you have an initial feeling of suffocation? Just wondering if you ever get used to that scary feeling

I'm a little confused....in one post you said that for your first month you have been "ridiculously compliant" ....and in others you say you have acne that is irritated by the mask.....your pressure "blows your ears out".......and water is running into your mask. If you can be compliant with all that going on, there is hope for you. By the way...you cannot suffocate with your mask on. Try something...put on your Quattro mask without turning on your machine. As you breathe you will hear a valve opening and closing that allows air into the mask when the unit is not blowing. Please let us know what pressure your machine is set at.

[SleepyBobR]

Also keep in mind that if you are wearing a full face mask that covers both the mouth and nose, there is an anti-asphyxiation valve that will allow air into the mask when you are breathing and there's no power. If you're using a nasal mask or nasal pillows, you can open your mouth and breath through it.

The safety valve actually does work. The power failed a few nights ago in the middle of the night. I don't know how long I slept with the power off but my wife woke me up because my mask was making a noise that woke her up. I have the Simplus mask and the safety valve clicks when you breathe when the machine goes off. I felt no ill effects at all so the system does work as advertised. Of course, I may have been having obstructive apneas during this period but the mask itself was not interfering with my breathing. Good to know. I think the suffocating feeling with low pressure is largely psychological but I really don't know for sure. As for the ramp, I don't use it. I just mask up, hit start and read till I conk out.

[justminick423]

My pressure is set to 14. I have it ramp up the full 20 minutes. Thanks, I do try to be good even with all the issues!!

[Julie]

Suggestion - make a new trial of ramping for only 10 mins. Or 5 mins. You might surprise yourself!