About to give up on CPAP

I’m about to give up, trying to get use to the machine for almost a year and it is not working. I feel like can not exhale enough and when forcing myself to ignore thst and sleep, waking up after 1-2 hours max with racing heart, the pulse heart rate going up to 100.
I have ResMed for her, 3 different nasal masks, with same result.
Doctor does not help too much, said that he does not know why heart is racing.
I want so much to get used to it, since the apea is pretty bad, but just can not sleep also with CPAP
Maybe someone has some advice?

Read the first post on the forum and *POST SOME DATA*.

Then we can probably help you.

My machine is
ResMed AirSense 10 for her
ResMed nasal pillow
I went inside to clinical menu and
Min pressure was 4 (I updated to 7 just now)
Max 8
Ramp On
ERP 3

EPR will give you a lower min. AHI effect so you might consider trying it higher.

I think they want to see a full Oscar chart as per instructions in the Stickie - not just a few lines as you posted. It really can help to see what's going on and it'll be worth it once you get sorted out.

Without knowing anything else about your situation, I can say that those settings would be wrong for 99% of the population.

Palerider asked for data - what he means is we need to see the output from Oscar or SleepHQ in order to understand in detail what's happening with your sleep. SleepHQ is probably the easiest - try the free version here: https://try.sleephq.com/ If you can upload a few nights' data to SleepHQ and send us a link I'm sure somebody on this forum will be able to get you on the right track.

Joy23 wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 06, 2023 7:09 pm

I’m about to give up, trying to get use to the machine for almost a year and it is not working.

welcome to the zoo!

sorry you're having such a hard time of it. but the truth is, most of us DO have a rough time at the beginning.

mainly, it's down to the machine being setup incorrectly for you. YOU aren't doing anything wrong. it's more that the machine was setup haphazardly. each of us is different and particularly so in sleep apnea.

here is the thread palerider told you about-
viewtopic/t172378/Sticky--Newbies-PLEAS ... STING.html

there you will find the free software program, oscar. this runs on windows, apple or linux. it will NOT run on a phone or tablet.

what it will do is give us some data so that we can make helpful suggestions to help you change things so they work out for you.

OR you can use sleephq as '99 suggested.

sound good?

With the data that can be provided on Sleep HQ or on Oscar, you will be able to see if the settings are optimized for your needs (most likely not--most of us feel like we are suffocating at 4) and how well your sleep apnea is being treated. Then we can help you.

It sounds like you really do want the help, so try one of those programs in the sticky to be able to show the data.

Thank you a lot!
I will try to collect the data, but I’m using 1-2 hours max, sometimes not at all (I want to cry every evening knowing that I again will suffocate and my heart will jump out but I also do not want to suffocate from apnea).
I’m wearing at night continuous oxygen and heart rate monitor, have it from COVID times , I see on its chart that machine is helping to prevent oxygen drops but also causing heart race, after I remove the mask heart calms down but oxygen drops for 85% or so for several minutes, a few times per night when I’m in deep sleep phase (the sleep phase that already iwatch wonders and when combined with heart and oxygen kind of homemade sleep study every night

Hi again - please try to do Oscar - it will give so much info and we can then help you get things on track so your Cpap helps instead of making you feel worse. Just attach in this thread please or link from posting it on Imgur.com (if forum's posting attachments is full).

Just copy the info on the sleep report page.
I do it all the time.
24 years working on a computer--had my fill.
(And yet, here I am online.)

Upd from today, the same story again, woke up 1 hour in the CPAP, heart to 100, and just feel need to remove that mask which I done

I will try to figure out how to collect the data today

How long are you supposed to be on the 02?

This is what worked for me:

1. By default, the machine was set from 4 - 20; 20 is way too high (I have moderate sleep apnea)
2. I set the machine to 6 -13; I learned from a YouTube video that by setting the machine to 6, the pressure drops to 4 when I exhale, which makes breathing with the machine more natural; I use the ramp feature and now I can more easily fall asleep with the machine.

Joy23 wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 06, 2023 8:39 pm

Thank you a lot!
I will try to collect the data, but I’m using 1-2 hours max, sometimes not at all (I want to cry every evening knowing that I again will suffocate and my heart will jump out but I also do not want to suffocate from apnea).
I’m wearing at night continuous oxygen and heart rate monitor, have it from COVID times , I see on its chart that machine is helping to prevent oxygen drops but also causing heart race, after I remove the mask heart calms down but oxygen drops for 85% or so for several minutes, a few times per night when I’m in deep sleep phase (the sleep phase that already iwatch wonders and when combined with heart and oxygen kind of homemade sleep study every night

What this suggests is that you are still having apnea events that your machine is not treating. That's why the data is crucial, to see what's happening, even if you are only wearing the CPAP for 2 hours at a time . Has your doctor looked at your data? Are you seeing a pulmonologist who specializes in sleep medicine, or just a primary care doctor?

If you are having desaturations, NOT wearing CPAP certainly isn't going to help. But CPAP can only help if the settings are appropriate.

Janknitz wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 07, 2023 1:49 pm

Joy23 wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 06, 2023 8:39 pm

Thank you a lot!
I will try to collect the data, but I’m using 1-2 hours max, sometimes not at all (I want to cry every evening knowing that I again will suffocate and my heart will jump out but I also do not want to suffocate from apnea).
I’m wearing at night continuous oxygen and heart rate monitor, have it from COVID times , I see on its chart that machine is helping to prevent oxygen drops but also causing heart race, after I remove the mask heart calms down but oxygen drops for 85% or so for several minutes, a few times per night when I’m in deep sleep phase (the sleep phase that already iwatch wonders and when combined with heart and oxygen kind of homemade sleep study every night

What this suggests is that you are still having apnea events that your machine is not treating. That's why the data is crucial, to see what's happening, even if you are only wearing the CPAP for 2 hours at a time . Has your doctor looked at your data? Are you seeing a pulmonologist who specializes in sleep medicine, or just a primary care doctor?

If you are having desaturations, NOT wearing CPAP certainly isn't going to help. But CPAP can only help if the settings are appropriate.

Thank you a lot!
When I'm wearing CPAP the oxygen saturation is perfect, 95-98% all the time and the heart is racing, I was thinking it is hyperventilation or something like that.
I saw sleep disorders doctor and he said if CPAP does not work, just abandon it since my apnea is light and sleep on the side, I think it is more severe now. Here booking another appointment is a process, I have to get a referral from a family doctor and then wait 3-6 months for the sleep doctor appointment.
I looked at my machine, and it does not have an SD card, probably I did not purchase it back when got the machine, so I can not get any data till getting a card.