New to cpap

first night on cpap.

Not sure how I feel. I work nights and stayed up all day after working allnight on saturdaynight. had the lseep study dog tired sunday night. took a two hour nap at home afterwards cause I was still really tired after only 4 hours sleep in essentially 2 days. went to bed last night with my new machine and had a hard time falling asleep.... nothing seemed as comfortable as at the lab. Felt too tight. I loosened it a bit and it was better. can only sleep on my right side (past 15 years) and tried to sleep on my back last night..... didn't work. as I would start to fall off, my mouth would pop open.... even with the chin strap on. my lips sort of just opened a tiny bit and all that air came rushing out. tried laying on my left side after half an hour and that was a bit better. I figure I finally fell asleep (on my right side), to stay around midnight. Woke up a little after nine. Still feel really tired and will take a nap later this afternoon before work tonight. I have a nasal pillow mask that seems ok, not sure how much leakage there is or should be but I think I finally got it so where there is none or almost so. I feel a bit stuffy though.... as if I am not getting enough air? this morning after taking the mask off, I fell a little better but still a little stuffy on one side. One thing I noticed, I drank a lot of water with dinner about 4 glasses at 7pm. got up to pee once last night around midnight. I usually get up 3-5 times.... I must have slept a little better right??

Will I ever be able to sleep on my back? Seems like I am still having a bit of apnea or whatever with the mask on.

does the sore nose and stuffiness go away?? or is it some adjust ment I have wrong?

what is this "software" folks are talking about so I can read my own data?? I would like to look at that even thoug, at present, I don't know what any of it means.

At the lab I woke up 74 times in about 90 minutes......


here is my equipment....
resmed s8 elite II (set at 10cm h2o)
humidifier set at 2
chinstrap
swift II nasal pillow mask

I have been told that "back sleeping" is the worse possible position as it increases the apnea events. Many CPAP users try all kinds of things to prevent them from sleeping on their backs so I think sleeping on your right side (as long as you aslo do not have GERD, in which case I am told it is best to sleep on your left side) is how you ought to be trying to sleep. You might need to try a full face mask to avoid mouth breathing while using a nasal mask.

It takes some time to get used to sleeping with a CPAP so stick with it and good luck.

I've been an every night CPAP user for two years now. You're feelings right now are standard for everyone I know after their first few nights using the CPAP at home. It gets much better with patience, experience and time.

It sounds like you might be a candidate for a full face mask rather than just the nasal one. You were issued a chin strap which tells me you do some mouth breathing when you sleep. I am a total mouth-breather and when they tried to put the chin strap on me in the sleep lab so I could try out a nasal mask, I slept only about 30 minutes before I had the chin strap streched out and was breathing through my mouth. I am wondering if the chin strap worked for you in the sleep lab but once you got home in a more relaxed environment your mouth was more likely to fall open in a natural state. If that's the case, you might need the full face mask.

Some masks will make the bridge of your nose sore at first. You can try putting a bandaid over the bridge of your nose before you put your mask on. Do that for a week or two and see if that helps. That's how I made it through the early nose soreness.

I suspect you slept much better than you realized last night, espeically since you only got up once. It will take a good month of constant CPAP therapy for you to realize the full benefit. The important thing is just don't give up!! Hang in there and give yourself time to get settled in with your equipment. Good luck!!

I forgot to say something about the software question and back sleeping.

The back sleeping, I was told, is the worst position for obstructive sleep disorder sufferers. I sleep a good deal on my back while using my CPAP. I don't seem to have any problems.

As for the stuffiness, you might try turning your humidifier up a notch at a time to see if it relieves your stuffiness.

The software, for your Resmed machine is available from https://www.cpap.com. It is the Rescan 3.7 version and also requires a card reader, so you are looking at approximately $370.00 (USD) for the purchase. It provides analysis of the data collected by the card you insert in your machine so that you can keep track of the eficacy of your CPAP therapy.

fkarl wrote:
what is this "software" folks are talking about so I can read my own data?? I would like to look at that even thoug, at present, I don't know what any of it means.

I suggest you Google ResMed ResScan software and someplace in that search you will find a site that gives information about the software and reports and you can even see sample reports. I recently obtained the card reader and ResScan Version 3.7 software and love having it. I purchased it all for about $105.00 (not on CPAP.com - sorry guys). It was easy to install on my Windows XP Profession laptop and easy to download the data from the card and review the results and prepare written reports. I am still playing with it to see how best I can use it. However, since you are new, I suggest you get accustomed to the CPAP therapy before you think about buying software.

thanks for the quick responses... I feel like I am on the right track and just need more time.
I agree that I probably slept better than I realize last night..... just doesn't feel it right now.
My mouth doesn't fall open, the pressure blows through my lips, at the corner of my mouth or in the middle, wherever it can get out.
Gerd..... I think I do but am waiting for an actual diagnosis in March at my follow up. I was able to sleep on my left side a bit, didn't know there was a preferrance, thanks for that little tidbit. I'll keep at it, not a quitter except for smoking a long time ago. guess I'll wait on that software too. Thanks all.

Just keeping your mask on all night on your first night is a big success! It will get better as you keep at it.

Interestingly enough, I did not sleep well this afternoon.... planned on 4 hour nap before work. What I got was 30 minutes, then 30 minutes, then 50 minutes..... no real cause, just kept waking up. Feel extremely rested.... ready to take on the world right now. Usually I am beat at this time of night, especially on my first night back at work. Good things I guess are happening.

fkarl it has been 4.5 years since I bought my CPAP but the red circle around a sore nose I remember.

In time the system has become part of me. I found a good hot shower will make you red in the face so when I cooled down the mask mark was gone. I had spent the money for the machine and I was going to use it so not using it was ever an option I have myself but I felt so much better and the mental confusion from not sleeping when away so that drove me on.

Just put the mask on and go to bed. It is not natural for a long time in my case but it will become natural. It has been years since I forgot to put it on at bed time. It took me a while to get the settings figured out and how to stop the leaking but that came over time.

I have Ankylosing Spondylitis so I can really only sleep on my back which I have been doing for about 35 years plus with the CPAP my snoring does not bother the neighbors. In fact I do not snore with a setting of 12 in my case. The entire family loves my CPAP machine.

Hang in there. It can save your life and make life better for those around you as well.