brand new

Well first of all wearing something for 8 hours and actually sleeping those hours is 2 different things and if you don't sleep much...doesn't matter how long you wear it there won't be much chance of feeling better until some decent quality sleep is happening.

I have used the mask you are using. It shouldn't cause pain and swelling of the face when worn properly...my guess is you had it way too tight. Too tight and uncomfortable...going to be hard to go to sleep.

Your settings after ramp are
15 EPAP...that's the exhale pressure
20 IPAP...that's the inhale pressure
With your machine the is no overt PS setting but instead we have to infer it from the inhale/exhale...PS is nothing more than the difference between inhale and exhale which in your situation makes PS/pressure support 5 cm.

When ramp is being used the EPAP starts out at 7.4...and with PS of 5 that makes IPAP 12.4.
Not horribly high settings but high enough to maybe be a stressor to someone who is a bit anxious already and has some asthma issues that might be adding to the breathing/mental stress and comfort issues.

These settings
T1 max 2.0s
T1 min .3s
Trigger med
Cycle med
are more related to how quickly the machine makes the change from inhale to exhale...no so much therapy related as comfort related.
They can be critical for some people in terms of them being comfortable breathing with the machine. Remember...we gotta be comfortable to fall asleep...it's very important part of the therapy. Gotta get to sleep and stay asleep.

Your humidity settings are pretty much the default settings and the reason they are the default settings is that they work well for most people. Climate control set to auto means the humidity to be delivered is about 85% and equal to a setting of 4 or 5 if we were to choose manual for humidity instead of auto. It's not a particularly high humidity setting...you can go up to a setting of 8 for humidity.

Your coughing...don't know what to make of that and the asthma does make it a bit more complicated in trying to get you more comfortable.
Right now all I want to do is get you were you can breathe freely and easily with the machine on and not feel like you are fighting to exhale.

So let's just play with ramp settings for now...make small changes so we can best evaluate the results. If you go changing a bunch of stuff at one time we don't know which change might have caused what result.

Change the ramp to 4 EPAP...don't make any other changes to anything. Try it while awake for about 10 minutes and report back in detail how it feels.
Is it easier to exhale...does the machine seem like it is rushing or lagging behind your breathing...????
Don't just tell me "it's hard to breathe"...try to explain why it is hard to breathe or whatever. Explain what you are feeling that is uncomfortable. The more information we have...the better ideas we can come up with to maybe help.

Did you have a titration sleep study where they came up with these settings? Get a copy of that report if you did.
I want to know why they think fixed bilevel is better than auto adjusting.

missbobbie wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 01, 2018 8:05 am

Ok - i tried all the "desensitization" crap er i mean techniques - tried to fix my attitude

It hasn't worked yet... do please keep trying.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 01, 2018 8:39 am

Your coughing...don't know what to make of that and the asthma does make it a bit more complicated in trying to get you more comfortable.
Right now all I want to do is get you were you can breathe freely and easily with the machine on and not feel like you are fighting to exhale.

I don't know anything about that type of machine, so I will leave that to Pugsy. But I do have a few bits of advice about the coughing.

Several years ago, I had on/off coughing that went on for months. It turned out to be an allergic reaction to a chemical spill that was in a car I don't normally go in. I would borrow it for a weekend trip, and then have the cough for a few weeks. Once we found the cause, a better cleaning jpb of the car solved the problem.

Later, I was having some coughing issues again, and I had a new doctor. She told me that there are 4 main reasons for an ongoing cough (other than being sick such as the cold, bronchitis, etc). They are: allergies, asthma, post nasal drip, and acid reflux. I happen to have all 4, so we did a better job of treating all 4, and the cough went away.

Now, to cough and cpap. Single coughs never bother me with the cpap. But I used to have trouble if I had a cold with a cough. I would go to bed, have a coughing spasm, and then feel the need to rip off the mask to get some air. I realized it was the same feeling that most people get when they start at too low a pressure. So, when I know I have a coughing issue, I raise my start pressure a bit higher.

So, Pugsy, if the coughing is causing an issue with keeping the mask on, the minimum pressure might need to be adjusted. My normal start pressure is 11, and I raise it to 13 when I have a cough. That allows me to have a full on coughing spasm and still have enough air coming in to feel okay with the mask on. Hopefully missbobbie can find some solutions to the cough soon.

Merry Meet,
I'm so sorry to hear your struggling, I know you feel like it will never get better it takes time. I've had my machine since January and I had it easier than most but it still took me almost 2 weeks to get used to it and 6 months later I have started to struggle with the feeling I can't breath I'm an asthmatic myself so not breathing is very scary for me. I just lay there and try to consciously regulate my breathing. I use my meditation techniques to slow my breathing till it gets to be ok again. I went from being totally ok with my cpap to having problems. But I had an AHI of 107 an hour. I know what it's like to have a very high AHI it means your not getting any sleep at all and that is exhausting. What they told me at Norco medical supply when I first got my machine is this.

It will take 5 days to get used to it if used for the 4 hours a night or more than is required by medicaid in order to have them purchase the machine. I Promise it may take longer than this as it did with me but once you have it for a while and are using it all night every night you'll feel so much better.

My Cpap has changed my life, I was basically a walking zombie before I got my sleep study that gave me my machine. I couldn't think hardly, my studder was extremely bad, I was frustrated all the time because I just couldn't hardly function in the world anymore all I wanted to do was sleep. They gave me my machine and It gave me my life back after I had repaid the sleep debt that my body had. The Cpap I'm sure litterally saves my life every night.

My advice to you is do your research, Fight till you get to the point the machine is just there as a normal part of your sleep routine. Meditate the slowed breathing helps it takes a few minutes but it does help. desensitization really does help do things that are fun with the mask on. Persistance is key to making your life better. Take the advice that you get here. Learn about the sleepy head program and know that your not alone in this fight everyone in this forum has or is going through the same thing you are. You have friends to lean on in this group.

Well I'll get off my soap box now.

Thanks again everybody

I didnt yet change the pressure setting - i did fall asleep on the couch watching tv and slept a few hours yesterday afternoon. I thought i noticed my cough was worse yesterday but wasnt sure because it gets somewhat worse amd somewhat better seemingly randomly.

Last night i did try lowering the humidity from 4 to 3 to see what that did to the cough.

Also mom said my mask was too tight the previous night. I adjusted amd readjusted that thing forever last night - have a red angry face on masks leaks when i finally ripped the thing off about 3am - full blown asthma attack - cant breathe today - have used regular steroid inhaler (the daily one) my rescue albutetol inhaler AND nebulizer treatment and still having trouble breathing although not as badly as when i woke up -- is this the machine? Is it gonna kill me (like seriously) - this is the worst asthma attack ive had in years- my lungs are burning and the cough sounds/feels like when i had p pneumonia - i am scared to even consider going to bed with this machine eventually tonight and cant get doc since it's Sunday - any suggestions?

If you take a hot steamy shower does it make your cough worse or reduce it?

Have they done allergy testing? If you haven't seen an allergist and had allergy testing done ask your doctors for a referral.
My son has sleep apnea, asthma, and allergies as well. Here are some of the things my son's doctors have recommended that might help you as well.
Make your bedroom as much of an allergy free zone as possible. Ask your mom to please dust and vacuum your room as thoroughly as possible for you, then wash all bed linens including comforters. Consider getting an allergy mattress cover and pillow case (mattresses and pillows are full of dust mites). Put an air filter in your bedroom (hepa is best but they are a bit pricey). Be sure to only use distilled water in your humidifier chamber and empty and the chamber each morning so that it can dry out.