Hello from a newbie

Hi all, I have many questions but let me introduce myself first. I live in upstate South Carolina, where the seasons can change overnight it seems. Last week it was in the 70s and I was in shorts, this morning it was 26° and it just barely touched 40 for an hour.
I had my first sleep study in 1989 and was diagnosed with narcolepsy. When I moved to my current home 5 years ago, the sleep doctor said the narcolepsy was well documented and he continued prescribing what I've taken for decades. Then in Sept 2019 he said there wasn't an actual sleep study in my file and I had to have another one (my 3rd actually but that's a different story).
Had the new sleep study this past October under weird conditions and it showed obstructive sleep apnea, so in December I got a CPAP.
The doctor had me go to a supplier that was an hour's drive away. I didn't get to choose my supplier- is this normal?
When I got there the therapist gave me the Resmed Airsense 10 and a full face mask. Again, I was not offered any choice for either the machine or mask. Is that normal?
After about 3 weeks, I called the supplier and said I needed a nasal mask, so the therapist came and gave me the Airfit N20. Didn't get to try anything else but she said in 6 months I could try something different. Again, is that normal?
Now for a few other questions. Should I use a chin strap or tape my mouth shut when using the nasal mask?
I got a CPAP cleaning machine similar to SoClean. Should I still wash the mask and hose with soap and water? I've seen ads for CPAP wipes- should I get those?
At my doctor appt today he said that I'm not getting enough sleep. I have a lot of trouble sleeping with the mask on, although switching from full face to a nasal mask has helped. The machine itself is prety quiet. What else can I try?
I'm more tired than before I started using the CPAP, although the hubby says I sleep more quietly. Any suggestions?
Thanks for reading this and any help you can give me.

Durable Medical Equipment Suppliers can be less than helpful.
Their main customer is medicare and for many of them you are just an irritant that stands between them and medicare's money.
Medicare and most insurance companies will pay for a completely new mask every 6 months and various mask parts ranging from 2 weeks and up.
Hence, the DME telling you that you can change masks in 6 months.
A Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset is about the best machine you will be prescribed unless you have something more complicated than Obstructive Apnea.
Mild soap(Dawn works great) and warm water is the cleaner of choice for the bulk of the people here.
The Socleans etc are sanitizers...they don't remove any actual dirt and some(including Resmed) question the advisability of exposing a machine that medicare will only replace every 5 years to Ozone.

Up in the sticky section is Pugsy's Pointers'. If you want folks to comment on your specific situation you will need to post screenshots of Oscar data.

I personally would practice breathing through my nose with the tip of my tongue touching my front teeth and the flat of my tongue pressed against the roof of my mouth before I considered a chin strap or mouth tape. There is a flap in your throat that should/may/hopefully close when you are breathing through your nose making chin straps/mouth tape unnecessary. Sometimes practicing something when you are awake helps make it automatic when you are asleep.

Good Luck!!

Welcome to the forum. There are a lot of people here who are willing to help you as long as you are willing to let us help you. Most of us have taken control of our own therapy and made changes to our settings. If we all happy with how our treatment was going based on what the medical community did for us, there would be no need for this forum.

CeciliaW wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 3:55 pm

The doctor had me go to a supplier that was an hour's drive away. I didn't get to choose my supplier- is this normal?

Quite often, the choice of DME is limited by who your insurance comapany has a contract with. If you are unhappy with the DME, contact your insurance company and ask which DME suppliers they have contracts with.

CeciliaW wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 3:55 pm

When I got there the therapist gave me the Resmed Airsense 10 and a full face mask. Again, I was not offered any choice for either the machine or mask. Is that normal?

The machine depends on how the prescription is written. The sleep clinic we use prescribes only ResMed machines. You have a very good machine. Your prescription should have been written for mask of patient's choice. Get a copy of your prescription and sleep study results from your doctor if you do not already have them.

CeciliaW wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 3:55 pm

After about 3 weeks, I called the supplier and said I needed a nasal mask, so the therapist came and gave me the Airfit N20. Didn't get to try anything else but she said in 6 months I could try something different. Again, is that normal?

No it is not. However, unless you have a copy of your prescription, it is hard to argue with the DME. They can always say that is what your doctor prescribed.

CeciliaW wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 3:55 pm

Now for a few other questions. Should I use a chin strap or tape my mouth shut when using the nasal mask?

Different people here use chin straps or tape their mouth. These are strictly personal choices based on your own needs. Personally, I do not like chin straps and I am allergic to the adhesive on most tapes. I use a firm, foam cervical collar to hold my chin up and my mouth closed. I have always used a full face mask as I breathe through my mouth when sleeping.

CeciliaW wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 3:55 pm

I got a CPAP cleaning machine similar to SoClean.

ResMed recently had a news release where they stated the damage caused by ozone type cleaners will not be fixed under their warranty. Most of us do not recommend these "cleaners". They do not actually clean, and only "sterilize". As soon as you touch the mask and put it on, you have once again put your germs on the mask.

CeciliaW wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 3:55 pm

Should I still wash the mask and hose with soap and water? I've seen ads for CPAP wipes- should I get those?

Gently washing with soap and water weekly is sufficient to clean your mask. Many people simply wipe the mask down with alcohol free baby wipes and clean with soap and water less than once a week. Generic baby wipes work just as well as CPAP wipes and are much cheaper.

CeciliaW wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 3:55 pm

What else can I try?

Follow the instructions in this post:

viewtopic/t172378/Sticky--Newbies-PLEAS ... STING.html

Once we see what your current settings are and how well they are working for you, we can offer more help.

CeciliaW wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 3:55 pm

Hi all, I have many questions but let me introduce myself first.

howdy and welcome aboard!

i can't think of much that hasn't been covered. of course, once you start tracking your therapy with software, you can post the results here for the experts to look over and offer advice.

good luck!

If you can get your money back on the SoClean, do it - it's a scam and useless and dangerous and they're in court being sued. Can you try some full face masks at a DME nearby without committing to buying anything (so your insce. won't go strange) but maybe find something you can request in future when you have a chance - or just buy on your own if you can afford it. No one's policing that!

Thanks so much for all of the advice.
Before using a CPAP I was having about 11 events per hour. Now it's around 5 so I guess that's better. I'm hoping my sleep therapy report is attached. Last night, for example, it says I had just over 7 ho
urs of usage. When I got up this morning I was exhausted, felt like I was fighting with the CPAP all night long because the mask wouldn't stay sealed. Please tell me that it will get better!

I didn't get an actual SoClean, I got a much cheaper sanitizer from Amazon on my doctor's advice. Not sure that I could return it now. I wasn't aware of the information about ozone affecting the machines, I will certainly research that immediately!

ResMed just released the notice about ozone cleaners and their warranty the other day. (Jan 8, 2020)
Might want to ask you doctor about it since I bet he hasn't seen it yet and he's recommending the ozone cleaners.
https://www.resmed.com/us/dam/documents ... letter.pdf
It's not just the SoClean...it's any device that uses ozone.

I can't tell from your data posted from the report you have what the leak is through the night or what kind of events you are having.
Both of which would be greatly helpful to see a more detailed report.
It's very possible that your therapy is sub optimal because of the leaks or maybe appears sub optimal with the higher than we want AHI, because of leaks causing a lot of awake flagged events which aren't real and don't really count.

OSCAR will give those details we need.
OSCAR https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph ... stallation
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph ... rpretation

If you want to share a more detailed report from a recent night...please see this thread for graph formatting and what we need and don't need.
viewtopic/t158560/How-to-post-images-for-review.html

CeciliaW wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 21, 2020 12:21 pm

Thanks so much for all of the advice.
Before using a CPAP I was having about 11 events per hour. Now it's around 5 so I guess that's better. I'm hoping my sleep therapy report is attached.

Put an SD Card in your ResMed, download OSCAR, post some graphs, and in no time I'm guessing the responders here will have you consistently down around an AHI of 1 or better.

So the MyAir thing from Resmed doesn't tell what you need? I'll try to start using OSCAR sometime this evening. Can I do that from my phone or should I break out the laptop?
And thanks for the info from Resmed about the ozone sanitizers. Sounds like it applies to the actual machine and not the hoses and masks. I'll pass that along.
And for all the other great advice, a great big THANK YOU!!

MyAir is a motivational tool and tells you nothing that can help you address issues.

OSCAR is an excellent tool that can be used to dial-in settings and improve therapy.

CeciliaW wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 21, 2020 2:23 pm

Can I do that from my phone or should I break out the laptop?

You will need to break out the laptop.