Using CPAP machine for the first night

Hi everyone
I have been diagnosed and received my machine yesterday, and, couldn't wait to use it and was expecting to have my first good nights sleep for years and wake up refreshed and not weak and tired.
In fact it was the complete opposite. I woke up numerous times in the night and feel exhausted this morning.
Does it take a while to get used to the machine and sleeping properly.
I'm sorry if I sound impatient but the way the hospital explained it I thought it would work instantly.
Thanks for reading

First, please put the full name + model (not just brand name) of your machine in your Profile, with the mask name. Second - what pressure(s) settings do you have - it matters because so many doctors (who just don't understand how the machines work) tell the DME to set things at defaults of 4 and 20, and while the max of 20 is fine, most of us can't breathe at 4 and invariably end up raising it to at least 6 and very often higher. So... what are your settings? Was the mask uncomfortable?

Welcome to the forum.
I wish the medical profession wouldn't tell people that they will feel like superman/woman after the first night. Gives false expectations to people. While some lucky people do feel that way immediately...most don't. Most will take some time to get adjusted to all this new stuff.

First nights can be rough...let's face it sleeping with all this stuff attach to our faces isn't exactly normal.
You woke up often...that's normal for people simply from the newness of it all.
Add in that maybe the settings might not be optimal and masks sometimes take a bit of adjusting to get leak free....
Just the multiple wake ups themselves will make us feel like crap the next day.

It will get better....I promise but it will take some time and most likely a bit of work on your part.

Let's start with why you woke up....any special reason? Leaks, comfort or just the brain wanting to alert you to the fact that there was something weird on your face blowing air up your nose?

What mask are you using? Any problems with fit, leak or comfort?

My first night was really rocky! If you can provide the information Julie and Pugsy have mentioned, the forum members can help you ease into this. Hang in there!

Hi Firstly thanks you all for replying.
The machine I’ve been give is a Resmed AirSense 10 with a Quattro Air full face mask.
The nurse set the airflow ramp starting at 4 for 30 mins and then 9 whilst asleep.
Hope this info helps. Thanks again

Hi Firstly thanks you all for replying.
The machine I’ve been give is a Resmed AirSense 10 with a Quattro Air full face mask.
The nurse set the airflow ramp starting at 4 for 30 mins and then 9 whilst asleep.
To be honest I woke a few times needing the toilet and I can remember a couple of times waking feeling like I couldn’t breath. Other times I woke up and remember looking at the clock and it seemed to be in hourly intervals throughout the night.
Hope this info helps. Thanks again

I'll be interested in this thread because I just had night #2 with my machine. Some intestinal distress had me up and down several times, and then at some point I realized that apparently with the worry and fuss over the machine, I forgot to take my restless legs medicine so my legs were twitchy. At that point I pulled off the mask and gave up for the night (the machine screen said I had 3.4 hours of usage). I think the frame is too big too; it doesn't fit flat against my head. I can slip several fingers between the elbow joint and the top of my head. I'm going to call the hospital equipment folks and talk to them about that.

Litle explanation... you are (usually, with an Apap) given two settings, one min. (often starting at 4, tho' 99% of the time having to raise that later due to inability to breathe at it - too low), and one max, often set at 20, which most of the time can be left there. Those are pressure settings (prescribed - tho' we all routinely tweak them -see 'raise' above - as doctors rarely know how and DME's don't care). Ok... then there's a ramp feature... it's best used if your min. setting (e.g. 4 or 7 etc) is set higher - 10-15 or more - if you can't take the initial little push of air when you put on the mask... so you set that ramp feature - has it's own settings... NOT pressure ones - to the length of time you want it to deliver e.g. 20 mins air at a slooow pace TIL it reaches your prescribed min pressure setting (of e.g. 14) and by then you're half asleep and can handle the high pressure.

However.... most of us have min. pressures of 4-5-6, which are very low (machines don't go lower except one type has a '3') so the initial push of air is so negligible that (1st line above) you are more likely to feel you're not getting enough air, rather than too much, so using the ramp at all is pointless... setting it for (as your tech apparently did) 30 mins. to ramp up to..... 4.... is ridiculous and starves you of air going in for 30 mins! Most of us stopped using the ramp feature altogether way back unless our prescribed min. was/is very high... big waste of time really.

So - there are two pressure settings (min. and max) and OTHER ramp settings (time, etc) which are not the same things... so that's it.

To the original poster,

Please describe the nature of your unease or discomfort.

That is did the pressure fell like too little? Like too much? Are you finding the mask annoying in any way?

Pressure issues might be addressed by changing the pressure and/or ramp settings. Mask fit issues might be addressed by tightening or loosening the straps. An adverse reaction to the mask materials can be adressed with cushioning, trying a different mask, or soaking the part of the mask in question.

It’d be helpful, as others have said, to know more about your settings. If you’re not sure, you can go into the “clinical menu” and take a look. Press the round knob to wake up the display on the front of your machine, then press and hold the round knob and the home button simultaneously. After a few seconds, you will see “exit clinical menu” at the top. Now select “Settings” and scroll through, making a note of your min and max pressure settings, your min ramp setting, and your EPR (expiratory pressure relief) setting. When you’re done, exit the clinical menu. Let us know what those settings are.

Not to pile too much on you all at once, but ... if you have a laptop or desktop computer, try downloading OSCAR, which is free software that provides a lot of analysis of the data your machine generates. The link is here:

https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/

I recommend reading the installation guide before you try setting this up. Once you’re using Oscar, you can post charts, which will help people give you advice.