i smother on my cpap

archangle · Post by **archangle** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 1:08 pm

I find I feel better if I set my minimum pressure somewhat above the point where my AHI is essentially zero. Probably UARS or something similar, but it works for me.

Wulfman... · Post by **Wulfman...** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 1:15 pm

calusa wrote:The APAP range on my machine is set to wide open (minimum 4 cm, maximum 20 cm).

On a typical night, the machine runs at 4 cm for much of the time, spiking pretty often to 5 cm or even 8 cm, and occasionally going as high as 11 cm when I roll onto my back.

My AHIs usually range from 0.60 to 1.50; sometimes above 2.00 when I've slept on my back for an hour or two.

I'm pretty happy with those results; but would always like to make sleeping more comfortable.

After I played with the humidifier settings, I figured out the best balance between comfort and reduced nasal congestion. A great improvement -- my congestion level was suddenly much better than before I began on CPAP!

Then someone on this forum mentioned A-flex settings, and I realized that I could almost eliminate the negative pressure when exhaling. Another great improvement!

Really, the only remaining comfort issue is "feeling a little smothered" when falling asleep, because I didn't seem to be getting enough air until my breathing slows down. Switching to the large nasal pillows has helped; now I think I'll try your suggestion about increasing the bottom end of the range to 5 or 6 and see if that helps me breathe when falling asleep (versus the downside of the higher pressure causing mask leaks during the night).

If you can tolerate 11 during the night, I would think you could tolerate a higher minimum pressure (much closer to 11 cm.).
You might also find it will lower your "numbers" and you won't see as much variation in them. AND, you won't have that feeling of starving for air.

Den

.

yaconsult · Post by **yaconsult** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 5:24 pm

I have my minimum set to 13.5, max at 20, and EPR set to 3 and this is very comfortable for me - no effort or strain for either inhale or exhale. This works very well for me with my nightly number normally less than 0.5. It's very much trial and error and reading the numbers. Like many people, I have the ramp turned off as breathing at less than 13 is not comfortable for me. A pressure of 13 feels very comfortable and "normal" to me now - it tells my brain that it's time to sleep.

calusa · Post by **calusa** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 5:29 pm

Well, my pressure GETS TO eleven cm occasionally.

Sometimes I wake up at that point; not sure if it's because of the high pressure, or the mask leaks caused by that pressure, or the events that caused the pressure in the first place!

Sometimes I can't get the leaks to stop; it was a revelation when I discovered that if I turned the machine off for a second, the pressure would reset to 4 cm and I could immediately drop back to sleep. (When I look back at that sequence in Sleepyhead, the events don't start up right after turning the machine off, so it seems like a strategy with no drawbacks.)

Tatooed Lady · Post by **Tatooed Lady** » Sun Apr 12, 2015 8:34 pm

ChicagoGranny wrote:
calusa wrote:The first three months on CPAP, my DME required a modem to be plugged into the SD card slot, so I couldn't track anything beyond what's reported on the LED screen.
At least on the ResMed machines, you can access the SD card while using the modem.

I thought someone had posted you can do the same on the PR machines - maybe just have to temporarily remove the modem to get the card out?

The SD card on a Respironics System 1 is under the modem. Not convenient. The S9 is much nicer in that the modem can stay attached while messing with the SD card.

And I think the OPs posts have been impressively assholeish. By the sound of the first post, EVERYTHING has been tried. For about 3.8 seconds. And somehow everything FAILED! UNBELIEVABLE! !! Slow down. Try something for a week before changing to something else. Patience Danielsan.

archangle · Post by **archangle** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 8:11 pm

Tatooed Lady wrote:The SD card on a Respironics System 1 is under the modem. Not convenient. The S9 is much nicer in that the modem can stay attached while messing with the SD card.

Is it that hard to remove and reattach the PRS1 modem? I know I've got one around here somewhere that I never used. I'll have to see if I can find it.

ChicagoGranny · Post by **ChicagoGranny** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 6:01 am

Tatooed Lady wrote:Patience Danielsan.

Does anyone know who we are talking to? I sure as hell lost track a long time back.

ClarkK · Post by **ClarkK** » Wed Apr 15, 2015 9:51 am

In the forums I've read of a number of adjustments that people have successfully made to get over the feeling of being smothered. For me it was increasing the starting pressure on Auto-CPAP from 6 to 8. Perhaps that smothering feeling was "in my mind" but the change made a world of difference for me and allowed me to get to sleep faster and with fewer interruptions.

Wulfman... · Post by **Wulfman...** » Wed Apr 15, 2015 1:59 pm

ChicagoGranny wrote:
Tatooed Lady wrote:Patience Danielsan.
Does anyone know who we are talking to? I sure as hell lost track a long time back.

I believe that was a quote/reference to the "Karate Kid" movies with Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita.
If the word had been "Grasshopper", it probably would have been a reference to the "Kung Fu" TV series with David Carradine.

Around here it's......."patience newbie". ("one night at a time" or "baby steps")

Den

.

ChicagoGranny · Post by **ChicagoGranny** » Wed Apr 15, 2015 2:30 pm

Yes, but neworleans49 made the short OP nine days back and hasn't commented since. I believe we have been talking to ourselves. And that is nothing new.

neworleans49 wrote:i cant breathe on my cpap. when i put on my mask i cant breathe. i used a cpap, bipap , dozens of diff types of masks , min to max pressure, been to 6 doc, 3 sleep studies, tried sleeping pills, melotonin, warm milk, dark light therapy, nasal liquids, nasal strips, deviated septum and turbinate surgery. etc. they did say i have a narrow passage way which is true but i still cant get enough air in. so what can i do about it. how can i make it bigger. what other treatments besides these machines.

calusa · Post by **calusa** » Wed Apr 15, 2015 2:48 pm

Right, the original poster has long disappeared (and who could blame him/her, given several responses that reminded me of middle school).

The title of the original post, "I smother on my cpap," apparently summed up what many others of us have felt. I really appreciate those who chimed in and explained reasons why
we may feel smothered, and advice to fix it.

Since then, I've adjusted my APAP range (set by my doc at 4 cm to 20 cm) to a minimum of 7 cm -- which has been a great improvement, ending the occasional smothering feeling and reducing the number of nightly events considerably. After a few more nights at 7, I'll play with that setting some more and see if increasing it any further helps.

So we're talking to each other -- good for us!

Liam1965 · Post by **Liam1965** » Wed Apr 22, 2015 9:56 pm

"Suck it up"

"It's all in your head..."

"...sounds like a hypochondriac..."

Is this what's become of this site? Seriously?

OP has a real problem. It's one I share and why I gave up on cpap for 10 years and one which is not seeming any better this time around, and some of you dismiss OP's problem as not real.

Nice.

Liam, who remembers fondly a kinder, gentler, more helpful cpap.com.

palerider · Post by **palerider** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 8:49 am

Liam1965 wrote: Nice.

Liam, who remembers fondly a kinder, gentler, more helpful cpap.com.

did you bother to read the thread, or did you just decide to jump in and be critical of people tired of the drive by trolls?

if OP had a real problem, OP would do something besides dropping an bomb and running.

Liam1965 · Post by **Liam1965** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 9:15 am

At the time I wrote that, I was awake because on my first night back on CPAP, I was having *EXACTLY* the problem that OP was having.

And in the first few responses, I saw those comments.

Plus, why would someone troll with something so mundane? If someone was trying to troll the group, wouldn't they have picked something more controversial?

I was just dismayed, because this group as I remember it from 10 years ago would have tried to help the person and not worried that they might be a troll. It seemed like an extreme reaction to someone who was reporting to be suffering EXACTLY what I was feeling last night. So it felt like the responders were telling *ME* the fact that I was feeling smothered by the CPAP was "in my head" and that I was "a hypochondriac".

Maybe this isn't the group it was. Maybe I should go elsewhere for support. I guess I'll find that out over the next few days.

Liam, so tired after a first night of non-sleep after returning to CPAP.

palerider · Post by **palerider** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 11:12 am

Liam1965 wrote:Maybe this isn't the group it was. Maybe I should go elsewhere for support. I guess I'll find that out over the next few days.

Liam, so tired after a first night of non-sleep after returning to CPAP.

if you stick around for a while, you'll see a pattern emerge.

unregistered poster comes in, drops something, and then never posts again... meanwhile, there ensues several pages of turkey gobbling between the members here.... presumably while troll is sitting back laughing.

the OP didn't describe anything, other than a oft used phrase, and didn't return to answer any of the questions attempting to clarify what was said, so that help could be offered.

if you have the same exact problem as the OP, then please respond to robysue's request for more information and clarification so that we can try to help you.

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