Newly Diagnosed and I'm Miserable

Hello - I just got this machine and I'm miserable. I feel so constricted.
I can't just fall asleep and for me, the pressure is high for now
While they are trying to deal with my allergies and sinus infections, that it is hard to exhale.
I just don't know how I am going to sleep. I didn't have sleeping issues except my family wakes me up all the time.
My kids have no boundaries and I snore like a monster so I'm on the couch in the living room and everyone goes in and out.
Will ever have a normal sleep anymore I feel like I am in a vice, andexhaling is so hard I feel like I have to work at it. And I read my sleep study. Though I have bad apnea, my sleep was worse after they hooked me up to the machine but my apnea was better.

Any suggestions? Help words of wisdom?

Exactly which machine and mask are you using? And how long have you been trying to use it?

What pressure are you using?

Are you using ramp?

Is your main problem that you simply can't fall asleep or it takes a really long time or are you also waking often during the night and if you are any idea why?

Your machine likely has an 'exhale relief' feature - you're not alone - so tell us exactly what model you have, which mask, etc.

We also need to know what the settings that were determined and any results of the titration study if one was done. Especially important is the breakdown of types of apnea and hypopneas, and pressures used. In short the more details provided the better you can be helped. Also, how long have you been hosing it?

Make sure to engage the ramp. If it's already engaged, try to lower the starting pressure and/or increase the ramp time. A "ramp" is exactly what that word implies. It's starts the machine at a lower than prescribed pressure, and gradually raises it to the full prescribed pressure. I don't like it personally, but it sounds like it's exactly what you need.

Mgj,

I'm sorry that you're having a tough time. It's not uncommon for those who are newly diagnosed to wonder whether they'll ever be able to learn how to sleep with this thing on their face.

The good news is that most of us do learn how to sleep ---and sleep well with a mask on our nose. The bad news is that for some of us, it takes some real effort, perseverance, and time to teach our bodies how to fall asleep and stay asleep with a mask on our nose.

Some questions:

1) You say "they are trying to deal with my allergies and sinus infections". What kinds of allergies and what kinds of things are they doing about them?

2) Do you know your machine's settings? Do you know the make and model of your machine? Letting us know both of those things will make it much easier for us to help you in your new adventure.

3) Do you know the actual results of your sleep test? In other words, do you know just how bad your apnea is? Do you know whether you experience significant O2 desats when you have events? Understanding the full results of your sleep test may help you come to grips with the OSA diagnosis.

Now some additional comments about some things you've written.

First, you write:

I didn't have sleeping issues except my family wakes me up all the time.
My kids have no boundaries and I snore like a monster so I'm on the couch in the living room and everyone goes in and out.

It could be that the kids keep waking you up all the time because they've seen you stop breathing and they're worried that you might just die if you don't start breathing. My husband used to (occasionally) wake me up because it was clear that I'd stopped breathing long enough for him to get worried about it ...

Next

Hello - I just got this machine and I'm miserable. I feel so constricted.
I can't just fall asleep and for me, the pressure is high for now
...
And I read my sleep study. Though I have bad apnea, my sleep was worse after they hooked me up to the machine but my apnea was better.

If you are really struggling to fall asleep every night with the mask on your nose, you need to let the sleep doctor's office know about it. They probably won't do anything except tell you to keep trying at this point, but still it's important to establish that you are having serious problems getting to sleep with the machine.

Sometimes some straightforward suggestions for self-treating of insomnia is all that's needed to get somebody over the initial hump of learning how to sleep with the mask. Sometimes, however, the insomnia issues are serious and don't just resolve with a few weeks of using the machine. In that case sometimes short term use of sleeping medication can be useful in helping get someone over the hump. If you are dealing with really bad insomnia ---i.e. you feel like you can't fall asleep for hours after you put the mask on--- you might want to read the blog entry in my signature about Taming the CPAP-Induced Insomnia Monster for ideas on what to try.

You also write:

I feel like I am in a vice, andexhaling is so hard I feel like I have to work at it.

If your machine has some form of exhalation relief, it should be turned ON. If you don't know how to check whether it's turned on or off, let us know what kind of machine you have and we'll be able to tell you.

You also may find the ramp will help since it reduces the pressure during the ramp period while you are trying to get to sleep. Again, if we knew exactly what machine you have, we can tell you about how to set the ramp settings and turn it on.

You might also want to experiment with the humidity setting if you are using a heated humidifier and the temperature settings if you are using a heated hose. Not everyone's nose likes a lot of heat or humidity, and some people find it harder to exhale when the humidity or heat is too high. Other people find that not having enough heat or humidity makes it harder to breathe with the machine. There's no way we can tell you what your nose wants, so experiment with those humidity settings.

As for feeling confined or feeling like you are in a vice, is that because the hose restricts your movements? Or is it caused by a feeling of claustrophobia from having a mask on your face? If we know more about what you mean when you say you feel confined and in a vice, we'll be able to give you some suggestions on what to do.

Finally, if your machine records full efficacy data, then learning how to read the data from the machine and seeing with your own eyes that the machine is doing its job of preventing most of your apneas and hypopneas from occurring may help motivate you to keep plugging away at learning how to use this machine.