Stuffy nose

Good morning, slept through the night, without getting up, and my nose was minimally stuffed, though somewhat irritated this morning. But if that is the worst of it, then I can deal. Since I seem to be getting close on the humidity, what about changing hose temp?

Also, my AHI was a 7.5, and it averages around 6.8..........is that an acceptable level of therapy?

Sounds like you are making some progress......do you think some saline spray before bed might help the nose, or there is a product you can get at local drug stores or some grocers that is a saline gel called AYR, it's the consistency of Vaseline so it stays in your nostrils longer than a liquid spray, might want to try that for grins.

Your AHI number needs to be less than 5.0 to be considered treated, so you need to work on that. I can't remember if you said you downloaded Sleepyhead tracking software or not, but if not you should do that and take a closer look at your machine's data. You can post screenshots here of your data and folks on here can give you suggestions to help you get that AHI number down into the "Treated" range. Lots of people have been able to get their AHI. Number way down like 1.0 or better.......obviously 0.0 would be the best, but that is almost impossible, but you certainly need to get below 5 before you are considered to be effectively treated for your OSA.

You can find a link to Sleepyhead up above in the anouncements section in Pugsy's signature line in her posts there (Pugsy's Pointers).

Sounds like possibly increasing your lower range on your pressure might be in order, but without looking at Sleepyhead data we would just be guessing.

Because you have a heated hose, you will probably not experience rain-out to much of a degree, but if you do, put your machine lower than you, just don't sit it on the carpet because it has to be able to breathe. Sitting on a carpet could cause it to burn out. Rainout does not usually run uphill very much. I have a heated hose and never get rain-out unless I am filling the humidifier without my glasses on & fill it a little over the max line. Be careful to use distilled water and don't go over the maximum fill line in your humidifier. My machine is about even with me when I lie on my bed, it sits on my nightstand, and I don't want it on the floor or below me because I fear I will trip over it when I get up half-asleep to go the bathroom in the dark. I am in Pensacola FL and the humidity here is usually pretty high but I keep my humidity temp set at 75 degrees all year long with no problems.
Good luck to you in your endeavors to solve the problem. CPAP the rest of my life is better than the alternative (short life, possible heart attack, stroke, hypertension, etc.) I don't think I will look very pretty in diapers if I have a stroke due to oxygen deprivation and wake up after the stroke-induced coma to come back as a vegetable, like my Mum did. And I wouldn't put my husband through that, so I use my CPAP every night and every nap.

Super night last night, slept straight through, 7.3 hours, til dog got me up. I turned the temperature down, and I think (hope?) that I am really dialing this thing in. Nose not blocked, air cooler, ..................May change ramp setting as I seem to sleep better once the full air is on me. DOn't mind it so much when I first go to bed, but if I get up and it starts over, it is a bit on a nuisance......All in all, very pleased with last night. My guess is that to get my AHI under 5, my doctor will change the pressure upward, but I have my first follow up with him in a week or so, so I will wait to see what he has to say.

Thanks to everyone for the support and the information. Very glad that I found this site!!

You can turn the ramp off if you want to, a lot of people do after they are used to using their CPAP machine a little while. I found that once I got used to CPAP I felt suffocated on the ramping. I turned it off without any problems.

Hi Sleepy Bubba--

I'm an Eson nasal mask user too. When I downloaded Sleepyhead after 54 days of STRUGGLING to sleep with various masks, I found my average AHI with a mask was 6.1--and in my original polysomnogram with NO mask it was 6! (That seems low, but during REM sleep my initial AHI was 24.) I cried. Then I put on the Eson nasal mask liner I'd already ordered from padacheek.com, which I'd learned from someone on this forum might fix my waking up with a wet nose and wanting to pull the mask away to air it out several times/night.

I was very relieved when not only did the liner fix the "wet dog nose" problem, but it fixed the high AHI numbers too! 1.8 that night, and when not congested I've often gotten it below one. FYI, I cut off the unnecessary fleece tabs on the liner, and cut the nose-hole a little bigger to make sure it wasn't blocking any breath. And if I decide to stick with the Eson mask, I'll order a 2nd one to facilitate washing/drying. Good luck with your own efforts! Sure love that Sleepyhead software; I now feel like every night is a challenge to do better instead of just another frustrating night of not sleeping.

Sleepy Bubba wrote:Hey England, I see that you are using a nasal pillow. Being a newbie to CPAP use, I am curious about using a nasal pillow........How do you like it? Is it the only type that you have used?

Sorry, lost track of this thread - I am very happy with the P10s but not all pillows are the same. Very good for side sleeping, claustrophobia and weighs basically nothing.

Hi Ranger Lady, glad to hear that things are better for you. What do you think that a liner would do for me? I think I am having some leak issues, are you suggesting that that might be contributing to my higher than desired AHI numbers?