New guy needs advice

Hey community,

I just got my device Monday. Monday and Tuesday night I had the worst sleep of my life. Last night was better, but still not as good as I normally sleep without the equipment. Are their any tips for a beginning user like myself that is struggling just getting back to a good nights sleep? Does it just take a while to get used to? I really want this to work, and the idea of a "best I've ever slept" concept sounds great, I just don't know how reliable it will be.

Caboose,
Tell us about your sleep study results. What machine you use and whether it is data capable. What problems you seem to be having...mask leak etc. I also advise that you read the stickies and do as much to educate yourself.
J

Welcome to the forum.

IntenseCaboose wrote:Does it just take a while to get used to?

Yes, sometimes quite a while unfortunately. Some people take to this therapy like ducks to water and some take some time...depending on what specific issues they might be having.

We are a problem solving group. Tell us the specific problem and we toss out possible solutions.
So telling us you had the "worst sleep of your night" doesn't give us much to go on.

When we have more specific information...then we can offer more than generalities.
If leaks wake you up..then we can help with leak fixing ideas.
If you just woke up a lot with no specific reason known...that is quite common. The brain has yet to accept the alien being stuck on your face as a good thing..instead the brain wakes you up and says "hey dude, did you know that you have an alien stuck on your face? Then we feel for the mask and the air and may or may not go right back to sleep.

So if you tell us which model number machine (on the PR S1 machines there's a 3 digit number on the bottom of the blower) then we have a way to figure out which machine you are using and is it a full data machine that you can use available software with to get an idea if there is something going on with the therapy itself. Your humidifier is showing but not the machine...some of the links are broken and you may have selected that piece of equipment. Tell me exactly the model number and I will point you either to the correct choice if it isn't broken or advise you what to if the machine you use is actually one of those with broken link.

IntenseCaboose,

The humidifier you are showing is one of the PR System One humidifiers. The naming of the PR machines is particularly confusing. You might find my Newbie Guide to Respironics Machines useful in figuring out which machine you have. As pugsy points out, a lot of the links are broken. If the link to your machine is not showing up, just add the machine's proper name to the additional comments section of your equipment in the user control panel.

And yes, it takes time to learn how to sleep with this alien on your face.

Hi there,

I am a newbie as well and tried the mask for the first time last night. Since trolling appears to be an issue I posted my first thread about 20 minutes ago with details of my machine, but just as background info, I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea (37 anea events during my sleep study) and was given the "Bipap Auto-Bi-Flex" machine along with the heated humidifier.

Last night was admittedly a little bit rough. I felt I acclimated to the breathing aspect quickly, but sleeping on my side with the mask was a whole other story as I had a lot of problems getting comfortable and therefore had a very restless night of sleep. I am hoping that if I stick with it though I will adapt as I really want this to work.

anyway, just thought you'd like to hear from another new user as well who is strtuggling early on (very early on) in the process

The short answer is that CPAP therapy can play out in different ways. Like a lot of things in life: For some it's a stroll thru the park (like my Mother in Law). And then for some (like me) it's a tedious slog thru the mud with off and on success. For clarification check out any WWI movie about trench warfare

I sincerely wish you luck and hope that you fall in the former category. (man, sometimes I just want to kick my MIL's ass )

Intense Caboose and Seattle boy49,

I'm so glad I found your post! I'm a newbie too - 2 weeks today and am having problems adjusting to the CPAP also. It's getting used to the 'alien' on my face! It takes me twice as long to fall asleep, then I'll sleep for about 2 hrs w/the CPAP on, and wake up because I feel like I'm suffocating and I whip that mask right off! Don't even realize I'm doing it.

I tell myself every night that I will not give up, give it time, be patient, etc. Since finding the CPAP forums I'm reading everything I can to help myself. Good luck to you both!

I'm 7 weeks in, and without this group would have given it up pretty quickly. It takes a while to get used to having a thing on your face, a while to get used to the air pressure, a while to find a mask that's right for you, and if you care to, a while to understand the data.

Think of it as a path, not a destination. The good news is that you are addressing a potentially life-threatening health hazard. Take it one night at a time!

I'm so grateful to have found these folks. Welcome to the forum - you've hit the jackpot of apnea expertise!

Jean

Sorry I havent responded to my own post, never got any notifications, need to fix that. Nights 1 and 2 were by far the worst. I have been sleeping much better. Not better than before the machine, but at least back to par. I am not at home yet, so I do not have the specifics for my machine. I will try to figure all that out so my profile has all the correct data.

New issue, I havent searched for yet, but will post here at least. I wake up with liquid at the bottom of the mask. I originally had the Humidifier set on 5 since I have been really stuffed up. Then I woke up 2 days ago with some liquid in the mask, so I turned the humidifier down to 3, still had that issue last night. Is the the humidifier, or is it something I havent figured out yet? Thanks!

It's probably condensation in the mask from the moisture in your own exhaled breath. It can happen to people not even using a humidifier if the conditions are right.
Solutions...warmer room temp so the air in the mask doesn't cool and release the moisture in the mask.
Warm the air up coming to the mask with a heated hose if available or a hose cozy to maybe keep the air warmer going to the mask.

quote="IntenseCaboose"]Then I woke up 2 days ago with some liquid in the mask, so I turned the humidifier down to 3, still had that issue last night[/quote]

It does take a while to get used to sleeping with a mask on. Just keep doing it, and keep asking questions when you encounter issues. The people in this group can offer a lot of advice that will help you resolve issues, and help you become more and more comfortable.

Once I finally got comfortable with my mask, I began looking forward to "masking up" for the night. It feels so great to wake up well rested in the mornings!

IntenseCaboose wrote:I had the worst sleep of my life. Last night was better, but still not as good as I normally sleep without the equipment.

I'll bet when you look back, you realise that you probably slept better than you have in years. After you know what "good sleep" is... you'll look back and see how lousy your pre-cpap sleep was. Keep it up! You'll get use to wearing the mask all night long.

Sheriff

You'll get plenty of good technical advice if you stick around, with regards to finding the right pressure, mask, etc., but I just want to nth the following: be patient!!

Remember that, as someone whose brain is conditioned to see sleep time as "possible suffocation to death" time, it will take awhile for your body to relax into letting the machine do its work, even beyond the time it will take to get used to mask, pressure, etc. I've been at this a long time, just now found the machine and settings which has been a big difference....and the set up and mask and pressures that I was dreading and barely tolerating just 2 months ago are the same ones that I now look forward to each night, because I know they make me feel better (and the pressure and mask no longer bother me).