YAN: Yet another Newbie

aboysen · Post by **aboysen** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 9:27 pm

(My machine is a Fisher & Paykel Sleepstyle 200 - not in the list for the website. It has ambient air monitoring and a humidifier)

I have been using CPAP for about 2 months. I am still getting used to it. I was hoping for tips on improving my use.

The first week I had my machine I absolutely loved it. I awoke so refreshed I thought I was twins

Peformance has waned since then. Some of the problems I am having include
Moisture build-up in the mask (the water drops fall on my face and wake me up)
Sometime I take my mask off in my sleep (really hard to get through the day)
Sometimes mouth leakage causes my mouth to turn into the sahara (takes hours to get moisture back in my tongue)

Overall I am really happy. I awake everyday now between 6 and 7am. I have not done this since my teen years and I am 40 now. But my sleep satifaction is really variable.

Any tips appreciated.
Thanks

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Jere · Post by **Jere** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 9:46 pm

I have only been doing this CPAP thing for about 3 months, so I am no veteran. I think that CPAP is an art rather than a science. It takes a lot of trial and error to find the right mask, machine, hose, strap covers, etc. etc. that will work for you. The stuff is designed as if everyone were exactly the same shape and size. As a result - as the thousands of posts here can testify - you have to find the right mix for you.

To stop the moisture build up ("rain out") look into a heated hose. They are produced in Australia and you can find lots of posts on the subject. Another possibility I have read is to be sure the CPAP machine is lower than your head. The theory being that the condensed moisture would flow back into the humidifier.

Good luck - and don't get discouraged!

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): cpap machine, humidifier, hose, CPAP

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 9:52 pm

aboysen

Welcome & lets hope you get some assist re the cpap.

I was wondering if a Sleep Style was what is knwon as a series 200 model (201,221 234 etc:) Does it have a more specific model number ?.

The F&P are a good steady rocksolid machine with a powerful pump.

Re noticing the initial great effects going backward, I think many of us experienced that - some of us refer to it as 'cpapers high'. The 1st few weeks I started, I was leaping tall buildings kissing babies smiling at everyone solving the problems of the world etc:.

What I am aware of though is that whilst it has settled back, the daytime drowsiness really has gone, maybe not 100% but to normal expectations.

Don't get too worried about this effect, it is the overall & long term that really matter.

I would love to see studies done on this phenomenon as it seems commonplace.

Anyone else feel the same ?

Cheers

DSM

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 10:16 pm

Welcome to the board, aboysen!

You asked for tips...well, let's see....

Moisture build-up in the mask (the water drops fall on my face and wake me up)

You could try wrapping the hose with any kind of material to help keep the hose warmer, but I'd cut right to the chase and get the Aussie heated hose from sleepzone.com.au
It's called "heated cpap tube" on that site. $89 including shipping to your door from Australia. Controls rainout wonderfully well.

Sometime I take my mask off in my sleep (really hard to get through the day)

Unless you really, really like that mask (Comfort Gel) I'd ask the DME for a different mask. "durable medical equipment"... ungrammatical message board shorthand for the outfit that supplies you with your equipment.

Ask to try the Swift and the Activa. If you don't sleep on your back, also ask to try the Breeze. Those masks aren't going to stop you from mouth breathing or leaking treatment air out your mouth, but they certainly might be a lot more comfortable to wear if you're having any issues at all with your present mask (sore or tender bridge of nose, having to wear straps tight to control mask leaks, etc.)

Removing any mask in one's sleep is pretty common in the early days of treatment. Heck, it's an odd thing to try to sleep with something on the face. A natural tendency is to sleepily try to "get that thing away from my face" during the night. Some people have success talking themselves to sleep about it - thinking things like, "I WILL keep this mask on all night tonight...it's saving my life." Sounds too simplistic but that kind of positive thinking chant might help you keep it on in your sleep. Actually, time and continuing to get used to this strange new way of sleeping will eventually make the mask less obtrusive.

Sometimes mouth leakage causes my mouth to turn into the saraha (takes hours to get moisture back in my tongue)

If you can breathe ok through your nose, the surest way to prevent mouth air leaks is to tape your lips shut. I know, I know..sounds drastic, but it works. Quite a few people, including me, do that in order to be able to wear any mask we wish, rather than having to use a full face mask. A full face mask is another alternative -- covers the mouth and nose, not the entire face. But even with a full face mask, the mouth can get very dry. The best full face mask, imho, is the ResMed Ultra Mirage FF.

Another tip...figure out a way to rig something up on your headboard or above the head of your bed, to hold the main air hose up out of the way. A hook with an elastic ponytail scrunchy for the main air hose to run through is what I use...attached to the wall about a foot above my head. Lets me toss and turn like a fish on the end of a slack line...never getting tangled up in the hose or having the weight of the hose pull at mask or tug at my nostrils.

Keep searching through old posts on this board for other ways to make all this more comfortable.

Good luck, and keep asking!

aboysen · Post by **aboysen** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 11:24 am

Thanks for the tips, encouragement and feedback.

The specific model is 234. The different 200 numbers relate to specific features on the 200 base model.

Are the masks, hoses and accessories all interchangable? Will any hose or mask work with my machine?

I will look into the heated hose, taping my lips closed, etc. Thanks Jere, dsm and rested gal.

Thanks

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rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 5:20 pm

Are the masks, hoses and accessories all interchangable? Will any hose or mask work with my machine?

Yes. Kinda'. Mostly.

Some exceptions would be if you had one of the F&P machines that has its own heated hose. The 600 line of machines, I believe? I suppose those can use only their own hose, which I don't think can be used with other brands of machines...not and have the heat work, as far as I know.

Another exception I can think of would be if you were using a Comfort Curve mask, which has it's own air hose. That mask would work with your machine but if you wanted to use the Aussie heated hose with that mask, you'd have to do some jury-rigging. Also, with that mask(troublesome thing, isn't it? lol) if you wanted to use it with a Puritan Bennett machine (PB's have to have a hose with a sensor line running through) you'd have to again jury-rig it by adding a sensor line or by coupling to the PB hose with sensor line. The ComfortCurve mask doesn't work well enough for me to be worth the hassle of dealing with its proprietary air hose, anyway.

Might be some other things that aren't interchangeable, but those are the main ones that jump to my mind. Oh, almost forgot....integrated humidifiers are used just with the machines they were designed for. That's one of the many reasons I like a stand-alone heated humidifier - can use it with any machine. I have the F&P HC 150 heated humidifier. Have used it with many different machines.

Most masks and machines work with each other.

Sleepless on LI · Post by **Sleepless on LI** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 9:03 pm

eboysen,

Hi and welcome. One thing I just wanted to mention. When we start therapy and we finally feel that burst of energy, we can become overwhelmed and ecstatic since usually we haven't felt this way in as long as we can remember. But then it can start to feel like it's fading. That may not be the case. It could just be the "high" of the new feeling is wearing off, but the benefits we have noticed from the therapy are still there, just less new. It's like when you first get a new car and every time you go somewhere in it, you are thrilled to be driving. But after a few weeks, driving becomes ordinary again. The car didn't get less shiny or less attractive, but the thrill has warn off.

Try to take stock in how you're feeling and see if maybe it's not a decrease in the positive effects that you're feeling, but rather a decrease in the thrill that you're feeling as a result of feeling them for awhile.

Good luck. Hope you continue to reap the rewards of being compliant. And maybe if you try turning down your heated humidifier a notch or two, it may be enough to curb the rainout.