stale air

If you wake up and your machine is running normally but you feel that your mask is full of stale air (CO2), is that possible or is it due to anxiety or being unaccustomed to CPAP?

Would pulse oximeter reading normally prove that wrong?

Either the room air is stale (poss. too warm?) or you've had the CO2 vent holes covered and have rebreathed CO2, which is not fun in my experience.

Probably room is too warm; I've begun using electric heating.

Would the pulse oximeter definitively tell you about your oxygen level as to whether or not you are rebreathing CO2?

It measures oxygen levels in your blood. So, while not measuring it directly, it would tell you that you aren't getting enough oxygen.

The oximeter is not about CO2 - all you have to do about it is make sure the vent holes aren't covered by bedding.

O2 and CO2 are directly proportional in your blood stream for a constant altitude except for under exceptional circumstances (like breathing an inert gas). If you are rebreathing air, the CO2 level in your blood will go up in direct proportion to the O2 level going down. You can't use up O2 without producing CO2. Also, your a hemoglobin molecule can not hold an oxygen molecule and a CO2 molecule at the same time.

An obstructive apnea event will cause exactly the same panicky feeling.

davep700 wrote:If you wake up and your machine is running normally but you feel that your mask is full of stale air (CO2), is that possible or is it due to anxiety or being unaccustomed to CPAP?

Would pulse oximeter reading normally prove that wrong?

What pressure is your machine set to?
What setting is your heated humidifier set to?
Are you using Ramp? Pressure? Time?

If one of those pressure settings is "low", it could be that there isn't enough air being blown through your mask.

Other than that, I'd go with the warm room air thought or maybe humidifier setting too high.


Den

.