CPAP machine arrived today - tonight is 1st use at home

The story todate.

BRIEF HISTORY
Have been to sleep clinic twice earlier this year (months of waiting time had to pass for 1st eval sleepover then the fitting out sleepover).

After the fitout I began taking a really good hard look at what I wanted to do as I figured this was a long term decision and one not to be rushed nor to be trivialised but neither to go overboard on. I decided to cover the costs myself & if I can claim from my health fund then that will be a bonus. What I am saying here is that the importance of getting this done well was greater than me letting the issue of equip costs interfere with the wider long term necessity and benefits. However, had I not got so much useful and valuable insights from this forum, I would have opted for a low cost / minimum equipment approach.

GATHERING INPUT
So after reading many posts here, I decided to not follow all the advice of the sleep clinic regarding type of machine. They said "don't buy an auto" - but once I discovered I can switch modes on the auto model, between APAP & CPAP, I did buy one but have set it up as recommended by the sleep clinic (in CPAP mode) with my pressure at the recom 15.

CHOOSING EQUIP
After looking at all the models & various features, I opted for the Respironics Remstar Auto with a heated humidifier (the heated humidifier was part of the fitout recomm). I also decided to make use of cflex (again, this is a feature that can be activated or deactivated so it was for me a sensible starting point).

I chose a ResMed Activa mask (as was recomm in the fitout) but also purchased a Resmed Ultra Mirage full-face mask (there was doubt after my fitout as to if a nasal mask was the best choice). I also purchased the Respironics chinstrap. Having had time to reflect on where this was heading.
I had agreed to a 2 month rent free trial of a CPAP machine (Remstar CPAP) on the basis that the sleep clinic would gather data for 2 months. then I had to buy my own. My holiday interfered with me taking them up on it as I now own my own

PLANNED USAGE
1st I am going to use the chinstrap and the nasal mask & if this works ok, then I may not even try the full face mask but the sleep clinic has offered to let me try a full face mask to overcome any doubts we both have and I may still take them up on this next week if they still want me to be part of their study (but with me using my own machine & their memory cards).

PURCHASE
I checked out all the online CPAP sites & settled on doing business with CPAP.COM once I was able to get an accurate shipping charge confirmed by them (bit high compared to most but it was UPS and the package was tracked by me over the internet all the way across the US & on to Australia. It arrived 4 hours after I returned from my overseas holiday (today) so the timing was about as good as it could have got.

ORGANISING THE PURCHASE
I had been a bit anxious about getting the order completed and in place and paid for before going overseas but I managed to get this all done by the day before. The folk at CPAP.COM were good to deal with and once I had established good comms (emails & faxes) it all went very smoothly. They were happy to hold my order for a few days (I didn't want UPS knocking repeatedly on the door of an empty house). The delay chosen proved to be 100% spot on. I walked in the door at 7:30am, the UPS delivery man turned up at 11:30am.

SETTING UP
I went out & purchased a bottle of distilled water for the dehum. I took a good look at the ACTIVA mask & also tried out the chinstrap. The one I chose seems to have been a good choice compared to the barely useful one the clinic tried to fit during the sleepover fitout.

Interestingly, I seemed to have no noticable breathing problems while on hols but did have lots of time to think about my breathing. I am sure that the local warm & humid climate made some difference. At home I had started using a nasal spray if my nose breathing became difficult. This seemed to work. On hols I used it once.

I believe that most of my apnia difficulty is when sleeping on my back and because of the position my jaw moves to that allows my airway to become blocked. Naturally this is accentuated with any alcohol intake. In all my thinking about this jaw position I have become convinced that a good chinstrap was key to success.

A further complication re starting the CPAP is that tomorrow wife & I are off for a further 3 days on a long-ago pre-arranged weekend away with friends. I am not sure I want to take the CPAP along and my plan is to just use the chinstrap for the away days & then switch 100% to the CPAP machine on Sunday night when we are back. I want to get used to the mask & dehum hygeine requirements before taking all the gear away.

More as it happens.

DSM

Wow! Such a thorough investigation!!! You are fortunate that you have been able to get your equipment in this way.

But may I make a couple more suggestions?

First, try using your machine during the daytime, either for naps or while watching TV or reading (if the mask allows). This will give your face time to get accustomed to the feeling of having something over it while signalling your brain that you are still getting air through it.

Start looking for a pillow that will enhance your sleep experience with the mask. Some people prefer the Tempurpedic. My preference is the "shapeable" pillow from Target.

Here are some URL's on the topic of pillows. There are more: just click on the word "SEARCH" above and enter the word "pillows" or "bed pillows".

viewtopic.php?t=3446&highlight=shapeable
viewtopic.php?t=2997&highlight=shapeable

I would not recommend leaving your CPAP at home for this next holiday. Using the chin strap alone will not treat your Apnea. It will only keep your mouth closed and they really don't do a great job of doing that, since your lips can still flutter open and your jaw drop. If it is so tight you can't do that it is very uncomfortable.

The sanitation of your CPAP mask, humidifier and hose is actually very minimal. Wash the seal of your mask every morning with soapy water and rinse. Then hang it to dry. You shouldn't need to clean the hose more than once a week and then with a vinegar water solution, and again hang to dry. If you used distilled water in your humidifier tank you won't need to do anything to it, except refill it as needed. If you are away and decide to use tap water. Just be sure to empty the container every morning and let it dry or remove the tank and wipe it dry so the minerals will not deposit on the plastic.
As you can see, there is really very little upkeep. And you will feel much better while you are gone using it than leaving it at home.

Also good advice on "practicing" with it during a nap.

Many thanks for the comments. I will look into both doing the exercises and the types of pillows.

1st night was unusual ...

Having set machine up as follows
- CPAP mode, 15cms, ramp 15mins min-to-15cms, humidity 2, cflex 3,

Activa Mask & chinstrap felt fine & on reflection seemed to stay that way all night. Not too tight, perhaps about 3 times I got minor leaks that a twitch of my face seemed to fix. I never felt that it was hard to breathe. Was able to try sleeping on back + both sides without apparent worries, no tangles or annoyance at mask.

I did feel like I was a wake a lot. I put this down to the newness of all the paraphernalia. Breathing seemed fine. In fact I woke up at one point wondering why it was so easy to breath - had the pressure gone ?, no - had the machine somehow swapped modes ?, no - was there a big leak ?, no.

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Sad
The worst problem I experienced was that my throat kept feeling sore and I woke up a few times feeling quite frozen. I was expecting problems here but the throat one may only have been because I didn't know I had not turned the dehumidifier on. I checked this procedure out this morning & it seems I have to turn it on from the panel - I had thought it got turned on automatically.

The reason I expected cold weather problems was that the prior 10 days had been spent in a humid tropical climate & the night before using the machine was spent feeling a bit ill on a sleepless overnight airplane flight (food & stomach problem) plus we had been in a different timezone (2 hrs behind home time). Not all that bad but not the ideal to have prior to starting CPAP.

Another solution to the turning on the dehum problem will be to do a daytime trial (as suggested in above posts) & make sure the water is being heated. I will also invest in an 'overcoat' cover for the tube. I don't really think I need a heated tube (yet)
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Wink

I was not aware of any 'rain-out' - the tube & mask seemed quite dry this morning.
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Smile

I did still have a sore throat & also had a 'lot' of mucus that I had to clear from my mouth & throat. I guessed this was related to the sore throat.
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Sad

Another set of minor problems included, chest pain - I put this down to having to breathe out against the 15cms even though I had selected cflex 3, I also felt excessive wind in stomach (with minor stomach pains), excessive flatulence. Hmmm, wind everywhere.

After waking up a 7am, I removed all the gear but then went to bed for another 2.5 hrs partly because of the prior 2 nights light sleep and partly because of the change in timezone. I didn't blame this on the use of the CPAP gear.

When I finally got up I thought I had a headache - the feeling was the same as after both clinic sleepovers but it seems to be passing very quickly so it may be related to the mask straps & chinstraps plus all the other timezone complications.

So 1st night was novel but pre-conditioned by the travel circumstances already mentioned.

I am sure that it will take a few days to get used to it all & I am looking forward to when it is all 2nd nature & no novelty javascript:emoticon(':D')
Very Happy

DSM

Your headache could also have been due to something called oxygen deprivation, which is what happens when your body is deprived of oxygen while you sleep. This type of headache almost always goes away when you are up and moving around because your desat rates are up to normal.

Also, it is a HUMIDifier, not a DEHUMIDifier./ Big difference. One puts humidity into the air, the other takes it out. We definitely do not want it out when we are having air forced into our throat.

The dry/sore throat is also probably from not turning on the heat to the humidifier. The switch is to turn on the heat. The humidifier will work as a passover unit without the heat but you get more humidity with heat than without. I'm betting you'll be better once you turn the heat on.

Don't ever sleep without the CPAP. Even if you think you are a little sleepy and might fall asleep *(or back to sleep) leave it on. It is the early morning hours when most heart attacks and strokes happen in OSA patients, so you must especially use it then. It doesn't matter how many hours you use it. If you are not up and out of bed, leave it on.