i smother on my cpap

palerider · Post by **palerider** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 1:14 pm

KatyDidAgain wrote:OP still had the choice to ignore the "arrogant immature losers" and actually respond to those trying to help. Instead he had a temper tantrum and tossed out insults.

Personally, it's no sweat off my back. He can come back and put on his big boy pants or not.

assuming he has any.

Elle · Post by **Elle** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 1:15 pm

Yeah, for sure he wasn't a perfect human being.

Hosehead4ever · Post by **Hosehead4ever** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 1:32 pm

C'mon, Elle. If he truly wants help, he'll come back and provide the information asked and ignore the assholes. If he doesn't, he won't. But hopefully, he is grown up enough to know that throwing a fit won't get him anything. The internet is full of assholes.

Islandwoman · Post by **Islandwoman** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:44 pm

I had the feeling I was short on air when I first started. No trouble when I raise the pressure above 6. The doc set it too low because he thought I wouldn't tolerate cpap at all. The pressure will definitely give you more air than normal breathing, Perhaps your mask is pressing in the wrong places.

calusa · Post by **calusa** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 7:15 pm

Which description fits what you mean when you say that you can't breathe? It's important to distinguish what you mean because the fixes of these two problems are very, very different:

1) If the problem is not enough air coming through the mask, the usual fix is to stop using the ramp (if you are using it) and increasing the pressure setting(s) by a small bit.

This may not help the original poster -- but I have often felt that not enough air was coming through the mask. It's particularly a problem when I'm trying to fall asleep; I end up either breathing really deeply to get enough air through the mask, or leaving the mask off until my breathing slows down enough that the mask will provide me enough air (but then sometimes I fall asleep without the mask, with the usual consequences).

Last week I tried something different -- I replaced the "medium" nasal pillows with the "large" size. I use the Airfit P10 nasal pillow system. Although the "large" isn't quite as comfortable, the openings for each nostril are MUCH larger than the medium, letting me breather much easier even before my breathing slows down.

Wulfman... · Post by **Wulfman...** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 7:28 pm

calusa wrote:
Which description fits what you mean when you say that you can't breathe? It's important to distinguish what you mean because the fixes of these two problems are very, very different:

1) If the problem is not enough air coming through the mask, the usual fix is to stop using the ramp (if you are using it) and increasing the pressure setting(s) by a small bit.
This may not help the original poster -- but I have often felt that not enough air was coming through the mask. It's particularly a problem when I'm trying to fall asleep; I end up either breathing really deeply to get enough air through the mask, or leaving the mask off until my breathing slows down enough that the mask will provide me enough air (but then sometimes I fall asleep without the mask, with the usual consequences).

Last week I tried something different -- I replaced the "medium" nasal pillows with the "large" size. I use the Airfit P10 nasal pillow system. Although the "large" isn't quite as comfortable, the openings for each nostril are MUCH larger than the medium, letting me breather much easier even before my breathing slows down.

Are you using Ramp? Or, are you using a range of pressures? If either of those two, maybe your starting/minimum pressure is too low and needs to be bumped up.

Den

.

calusa · Post by **calusa** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 7:40 pm

Are you using Ramp? Or, are you using a range of pressures? If either of those two, maybe your starting/minimum pressure is too low and needs to be bumped up.

No ramp; but I am using APAP, starting at 4cm.

If the larger nasal pillows didn't help me, my next experiment was going to be to increase the minimum pressure, as you're suggesting. I'll bet that would help too.

I've been using CPAP for about a year now. I'm always amazed when I find a way to tweak my system to make the experience more comfortable. I keep wondering why I waited so long to start experimenting!

Wulfman... · Post by **Wulfman...** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 7:53 pm

calusa wrote:
Are you using Ramp? Or, are you using a range of pressures? If either of those two, maybe your starting/minimum pressure is too low and needs to be bumped up.

No ramp; but I am using APAP, starting at 4cm.

If the larger nasal pillows didn't help me, my next experiment was going to be to increase the minimum pressure, as you're suggesting. I'll bet that would help too.

I've been using CPAP for about a year now. I'm always amazed when I find a way to tweak my system to make the experience more comfortable. I keep wondering why I waited so long to start experimenting!

Yep. That will do it.
You didn't say what your range was or some of your (report/therapy) numbers, but I'd try a few centimeters more on the bottom end and see how that works. Probably may improve your numbers, too. Then if it looks like more improvement is needed, you could increase it some more. It can take some time for the pressures to get to where they need to be to fend off events......and then they may be over with by the time it gets there.

Den

.

calusa · Post by **calusa** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 6:14 am

The APAP range on my machine is set to wide open (minimum 4 cm, maximum 20 cm).

On a typical night, the machine runs at 4 cm for much of the time, spiking pretty often to 5 cm or even 8 cm, and occasionally going as high as 11 cm when I roll onto my back.

My AHIs usually range from 0.60 to 1.50; sometimes above 2.00 when I've slept on my back for an hour or two.

I'm pretty happy with those results; but would always like to make sleeping more comfortable.

After I played with the humidifier settings, I figured out the best balance between comfort and reduced nasal congestion. A great improvement -- my congestion level was suddenly much better than before I began on CPAP!

Then someone on this forum mentioned A-flex settings, and I realized that I could almost eliminate the negative pressure when exhaling. Another great improvement!

Really, the only remaining comfort issue is "feeling a little smothered" when falling asleep, because I didn't seem to be getting enough air until my breathing slows down. Switching to the large nasal pillows has helped; now I think I'll try your suggestion about increasing the bottom end of the range to 5 or 6 and see if that helps me breathe when falling asleep (versus the downside of the higher pressure causing mask leaks during the night).

ChicagoGranny · Post by **ChicagoGranny** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 7:35 am

calusa wrote:increasing the bottom end of the range to 5 or 6 and see if that helps me breathe when falling asleep

When first starting out, I did a lot of experimenting with pressures. Anything below about 7 gave me that "smothering" feeling while lying awake before falling asleep.

calusa · Post by **calusa** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 8:15 am

OK -- I'll try 7 as a minimum, then move up and down from there!

Therapist · Post by **Therapist** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 8:27 am

calusa wrote:OK -- I'll try 7 as a minimum, then move up and down from there!

Probably a good move. Are you tracking your results with Sleepyhead software? It can be a great help in getting a good CPAP therapy.

calusa · Post by **calusa** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 8:50 am

Yes, I track what's going on in Sleepyhead!

The various adjustments I've made haven't affected anything that's reported in Sleepyhead, but they've sure made a difference in converting my CPAP therapy experience from 'tolerable' to 'no big deal.'

The first three months on CPAP, my DME required a modem to be plugged into the SD card slot, so I couldn't track anything beyond what's reported on the LED screen. I wonder how many people just give up during that initial period, when with help from Sleepyhead and the knowledgeable people on this list, they could have learned about the adjustability of modern CPAP machines and figured out a way to make it work well for them!

ChicagoGranny · Post by **ChicagoGranny** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 8:59 am

calusa wrote:The first three months on CPAP, my DME required a modem to be plugged into the SD card slot, so I couldn't track anything beyond what's reported on the LED screen.

At least on the ResMed machines, you can access the SD card while using the modem.

I thought someone had posted you can do the same on the PR machines - maybe just have to temporarily remove the modem to get the card out?

crnolen · Post by **crnolen** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 11:12 am

I do 9 as my Ramp start and roll with my pressure at 14-20. I can't stand the low pressures at all. I need all the air & pressure I can get.

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