New to CPAP and First Post

I suppose I should do an introduction of some sort, so here goes. I'm a 43 year old male in NC. I've had some problems with fatigue for years that I thought were kind of odd, but it turns out I'm not so special after all! I thought something was not right when I found myself falling asleep at stop lights. I have no problem staying awake when driving in city traffic, but give me a chance to relax, like at a light, and I had to make a consious effort to keep my eyes open. If I didn't, I'd wake to the sound of blowing horns behind me. I could also fall asleep during a meeting at work, as the passenger in a car on the highway, and sometimes even as the driver on highways! I mentioned it to my Dr, thinking perhaps it was a side effect from some medication I take, and he referred me to a sleep specialist. He sent me for a sleep study. I generally get about 6 hours of sleep a day, fall asleep within minutes of closing my eyes at night, and sleep like a log... or so I thought. My first sleep test showed 112 'arousals'! I don't know any other details from that test. Then, I went for a test with CPAP. I have the full results from that one. It showed around 5 (I don't have it in front of me) 'arousals' and my lowest O2 saturation was 94%. I did have a wonderful night's sleep, too.

After hearing all the horror stories about DME's, insurance, etc regarding CPAP, I was expecting the worst. I got particularly concerned when I didn't hear from the supplier for three days after them receiving my prescription. I finally got a call yesterday and scheduled a time to pick it all up. I got the equipment listed in my profile. During my test, I used a Swift LT. I received a Swift II, which seems much more comfortable. Also, this CPAP machine is incredibly quiet; I was prepared for some noise based on friends' experiences years ago (ie a small air compressor).

Anyway, I used my machine for the first time last night with great results. I woke up once due to cold air in my nose, so I turned the heater up to 2, which seemed to help. I love sleeping on my back, which I haven't been able to do in years due to my snoring waking up my partner. I don't recall any of those 'turn over' wake-ups last night, so it must be working! I did wake up a bit easier this morning at 5:20. I go to the gym first thing, and I was a bit more alert for the drive. 3.5 hours later, I'm still not having those nodding off feelings, so maybe this thing really is going to help. Also, my nose doesn't hurt like it did after the test. My chest doesn't hurt, either. I was sore for about 3 days after my test, but I don't know if the machine used for the test had EPR. I'm only at 5 cm/H20, which probably makes things a bit easier.

I do have one question. The manual says to wash all the parts to the Swift (except the headgear) daily. Do people really do this or is it generally done every few days? I can deal with it, but it seems a bit tedious. I appreciate all the posts and responses I've read here; they sure made it easier to decide to give CPAP a try. I also learned what equipment I wanted from this forum.

NC_David wrote: I do have one question. The manual says to wash all the parts to the Swift (except the headgear) daily. Do people really do this or is it generally done every few days? I can deal with it, but it seems a bit tedious. I appreciate all the posts and responses I've read here; they sure made it easier to decide to give CPAP a try. I also learned what equipment I wanted from this forum.

First,

Sounds like you're off to a great start.

Generally speaking, I think once a week is adequate for washing the mask, headgear, the hose and the foam filter. Be sure to use a mild soap, rinse well, and let it all air-dry in a shady spot. Washing the mask every day isn't necessary.

Welcome to the forum David and congrats on your great start.

You have a good machine. As for mask cleaning, everyone is different. I genereally go by how much facial oil builds up on the mask pillows rather than some complex godliness measure. I have pretty oily skin so I end up washing my pillows every other day or so (none of the other mask parts though). Just wash at a frequency comfortable to you or if you begin to experience leaks from the pillows, that may be a sign of skin oil build-up on the pillows. You can use any mild soap with warm water, I use typical liquid hand soap.

cleaning regimens are as individual as our CPAP therapy results and mask preferences!

For the Swift II you can just peel out the pillows and wash those in the morning. I use Johnson & Johnson baby wash for my mask parts. Others will probably chime in with their preferred cleaning agent. I also have mask cleaning wipes (like pop-up wet wipes but made for CPAP masks) and sometimes I just wipe off the mask with one of those in the morning.

My mask hose gets washed once a week and might not even need washing that often, but it has become a habit and it's not a BAD one (I have plenty enough of those thank you very much) so I'm in no hurry to change it.

My main machine hose probably gets washed once a month.

If you consistently run high humidity, or if you notice any odd smells.... you'll know .... then wash everything and make sure it air dries before reusing. You can disinfect as simply as soaking in a solution of 1 part vinegar to 3 (or 4) parts water and then rinsing thoroughly with plain water and letting it air dry.

If you get a cold or anything like that, step up your washing frequency.

this all sounds like a chore when you write it out, but it takes very little time at all once you get a system down that works for you.

Welcome to the forum, NC_David!

Sounds like you're off to a good start and that's great. I don't have any experience with the Swift II, so I can't answer your question.

You'll begin feeling better each new day of therapy. Welcome to the world of restful sleep!

I clean the nose pillow daily in a cup of warm, soapy water. I just use a few drops of dish soap. The rest I clean once a week, also in warm, soapy (but not to soapy) water.

There is a great, old thread on cleaning your gear that I recommend:

viewtopic.php?t=2482

Welcome. It sounds like you are off to a good start.

Welcome to the board, David.

Sounds like you're off to a good start.

I went into the menu of my unit to see what my 'numbers' were. Here's what I got:

AHI: 3.3
AI: 0.4
HI: 2.9
Leak: 0.24 l/s
Usage: 13 hours

Granted, some of this time was spent playing with the unit when I first got it, showing it to friends, getting used to and adjusting the mask, etc. I reset it to get a reading without play time on it, but I didn't realize that it would reset the usage (should have read the manual). BTW, the RT gave me both manuals. She said she could tell I was the type that would find the details online anyway!

I felt really good yesterday morning. This morning, I don't feel as rested. Of course, those 'domestic issues' that I dealt with last night always cause me stress and to not sleep as well. I'll see if I get tired later in the day.

I seem to have a somewhat difficult time getting the mask adjusted. I used the high(er) pressure mask fit mode and got very good to excellent, but it didn't feel right. Maybe I need to wear it a bit longer while I'm watching TV before going to sleep to get it all situated. I also tend to open my mouth when I sleep. In the past, I've often put a small sofa pillow on my chest under my chin to keep my mouth from opening, but maybe I didn't have it positioned well. Anyway, thanks for all the responses!

David