Trying to adjust while following insurance requirements

I used nasal strips and essential oils and was much happier with that treatment. My snoring had decreased and never woke me up, but I'm not sure that treatment is exactly doctor approved.

You can use oils. Put them on some cotton in a dish by the intake. For some people this makes a huge difference.

You can't know how often you wake up. Only an eeg can tell you that. The apnea wakes you up just enough to start breathing but not enough to get you conscious enough to remember.

You have a good machine. There is software available called sleepyhead that will show you exactly how you are sleeping and what pressures you need. Look at the first thread called "Pugsies pointers... tutorials"

Then you need to wear it,
Wear it while watching TV.
Wear it while reading a book or roving the Internet.
Wear it in the bedroom, living room, or in the hammock in the yard.
(Check the weather first)
Wear it until it becomes BORING.
Then you will be able to sleep more easily.
Some people have to work harder than others at this.
But it is so very WORTH it!

It's not unusual for you to be sensitive to your breathing sounds and like it is controling your breathing but it isn't. I felt the same way at first but didn't notice it before long. The 5 - 20 setting is very often not optimal because it allows for large swings in pressure that might be disruptive to your sleep. Also some people feel like the low starting pressure is suffocating. It won't but it's just not comfortable. What we need is some data to see what pressures you are actually running. I am going to give you 2 links first the Clinical manual for your machine so you can see and adjust your settings if necessary. It tells you all about your machine. https://sleep.tnet.com/home/files/resme ... -guide.pdf
The next one is for software where you can read your SD card. This link will tell you how to download. https://sleep.tnet.com/resources/sleepyhead
I also had very few sleep apnea symptoms that I identified before my diagnosis. I was required by the DOT to get the study and felt resentful. But I have found many benefits and found improvement in areas that didn't relate to sleep apnea.
You can also use a few drops of essential oil on a cotton ball just behind your machines intake.
If you have any questions just ask someone will help.

nwdzsarahb wrote: never woke up choking or gasping for air. ... My snoring had decreased and never woke me up,

most people aren't aware they have sleep apnea, they don't wake up choking and gasping for air, they do it without waking up to a conscious level. same for snoring, almost nobody ever knows they snore... as with apnea, someone else has to tell you that you snore, or that you stop breathing, it's not something you can do by yourself, (unless you use audio and video recorders)

I understand that everyone thinks you need to use the mask the whole night, but I don't know why there would only be one approach to cpap? Everything learned in the medical field has been trial and error, why not this? IMO, what works for one person might not work for another. This is just what I did, this is what worked for me, I use it every night for the full night now... so it worked, after 1 week. My reality was that if I didn't take the mask off when I couldn't handle it any longer, I was going to lie awake all night and still somehow have to go to work. If I had tried to keep it on all night from day 1, I'd probably have had a full blown anxiety attack. My sleep the prior 2 mos before cpap felt/was horrible. My sleep had been horrible for years, but it ramped up the 2 mos. prior. So, yes I kind of used it more each night and took it on/off as I felt I needed to. Eventually determined I didn't like the ramp, had to set my exhale to a 3 or I felt like I was suffocating, and found that using an essential oil behind my cpap filters made smells much nicer. I used lavender and sweet orange because they are also supposed to help with sleep/relaxation. I also use a sound machine, have for years, and that helped block out cpap sounds as well. I found starting cpap to be a huge adjustment, all my friends were telling me how they slept like babies from day 1 and woke up feeling 20 years younger due to their cpaps, I wanted to kill them I've since bought a holder to hold my hose so it's not by me when I turn, a hose cover to help with rainout, etc. Just understand that it will get better, don't hold yourself up to anybody else's standards, it's tough to adjust for many. So while I know this isn't what everyone on here advises, it worked for me.
I'd really prefer if everyone doesn't jump on me to tell me what my approach to cpap was all wrong...because it worked for me.

This is the way it works when you are a newbie to CPAP or bipap. They tell you upfront, you aint gonna be able to just put the mask on and fall asleep immediately and stay asleep for seven/eight hours, wake up and just go to work or whatever it is you do.

What they told me is this. "It takes a little time and effort to adjust to CPAP. Normally, you will sleep for a few hours, wake up. You might feel the need to get up and walk around or watch TV for a while. Then you will get tired again, put the mask back on and go back to sleep. After a week or two or three of this persistence, you will find yourself sleeping soundly, for at least seven to eight hours a night. Without too much trouble."

You dont just put that thing on and adjust to it in five days. Give it two weeks, three weeks, maybe four weeks. For me, I was very persistent years ago and it took me about a week to feel OK on it. Two weeks, and I was feeling WAY better, but still waking up a little, still adjusting to that exhaling against CPAP pressure and still adjusting to the feeling of wearing a mask at night. Three weeks and I was about adjusted, four weeks...I was sleeping like a log and I was feeling damn good. Five weeks and I had adjusted to CPAP like a duck to water.

Just stick with it, use that heated humidifer, crank it up this time of year, make sure you have a hose cover to prevent rainout, make sure you have a proper type of mask. If you are waking up with a real dry mouth or with air gushing out of your mouth, you probably need a full face mask.

It really helps for newbies if they have a LOCAL brick and mortar DME to help them get fitted for the right type and size of masks. Once you get that right mask, IMO, usually its easy. Then you can get an online prescription and kinda take over your own CPAP supplies, if you need to for insurance denials or problems you run into.

This is, IMO, the roughest time of the year to adjust to CPAP. Being winter time with naturally cold dry air.

With my old machine (F&P Icon with constant pressure set to 7) and mask (Swift FX) I felt some noticeable pressure in my ears at the beginning. It made it harder to get to sleep for a day or two, but I eventually got used to it. After several years I set the pressure to 9, and felt some pressure in my ears again. Nothing major, but something I noticed and again got used to. I could still detect if I paid attention, but it didn't bother me.

With my very recent switch to a new machine and mask I have felt no pressure whatsoever. My minimum pressure is still set to 9. At first I thought something might be wrong because it was too easy to breathe with the new setup. I have assumed it's the EPR setting (3) that makes the difference as I'm not exhaling against a stream of air like I used to. I also moved up a nasal pillow size which also seemed to make exhaling easier.

It gets better if you keep at it.

russmac wrote:With my very recent switch to a new machine and mask I have felt no pressure whatsoever. My minimum pressure is still set to 9. At first I thought something might be wrong because it was too easy to breathe with the new setup. I have assumed it's the EPR setting (3) that makes the difference as I'm not exhaling against a stream of air like I used to.

pressure 9 with an EPR of 3 gives you a pressure of 6 when you're not inhaling... so, that is a big change.

palerider wrote:

russmac wrote:With my very recent switch to a new machine and mask I have felt no pressure whatsoever. My minimum pressure is still set to 9. At first I thought something might be wrong because it was too easy to breathe with the new setup. I have assumed it's the EPR setting (3) that makes the difference as I'm not exhaling against a stream of air like I used to.

pressure 9 with an EPR of 3 gives you a pressure of 6 when you're not inhaling... so, that is a big change.

It's pretty nice. I'm very happy with this machine.

nwdzsarahb wrote:To the people asking further questions, thank you. To the people judging me, I'm not stupid and know that it's not helping if I'm not using it. I would return it before I would let it sit unused in a closet. I try to fall asleep with it every night. I have mild apnea and have never woke up choking or gasping for air. The only reason I was encouraged to do this was because I complained to doctors of being tired during the day, no matter how much sleep I've had and snoring. I have allergy and sinus problems and have to use a full face mask as I switch between breathing through my mouth and my nose. I have a ResMed Air 10. It's on auto for the pressure because my insurance would not approve a hospital sleep study that would determine the exact pressure that would be best. It has the ramp feature turned on with a range of 5-20. It's not uncomfortable...I can sit and watch tv with it no problem, which was suggested for me to do by the respiratory therapist to get used to the feeling of it. When I lay down I feel like I hear the echoing of my breathing through my head and generally feel like I breath heavier and it drives me crazy. Also the problem of the ear pressure, which I've emailed my doctor about. Before getting the CPAP, I used nasal strips and essential oils and was much happier with that treatment. My snoring had decreased and never woke me up, but I'm not sure that treatment is exactly doctor approved.

You must have had a sleep study that showed that you had IN EXCESS OF 5 events per hour....that means you stopped breathing at LEAST 5 times every hour(probably much more). That's why you have the machine... I don't think anyone's judging you...just being realistic. If you don't pass compliance the insurance company will take the machine back.

For the pressure in the ears, i have small ear canals, so the build happens more frequent then i can for. However, I have to get one cleared about every 9 months to a year. If you can, see an ENT and ask about the pressure.

nwdzsarahb wrote:I just lay there awake with it on. It's not uncomfortable, but I'm distracted when I have it on. It also creates pressure in my ear that is very uncomfortable. Even if it's not recommended, I'd much rather take it off and sleep than go back to functioning on little to no sleep that I experienced the couple months before getting the machine. I also often have to switch from sleeping in my bed to my couch during the middle of the night and am not going switch the CPAP back and forth in the middle of the night.

This was my hardest habit to break. Before CPAP, I would wake up in the middle of the night and feel very restless, so I would go out to the living room and sleep in the chair. (Come to find out, this was my body's way of finding a position where I would spend more time breathing than not!)

Since I got my CPAP, there is no longer a need to change position because I continue to get adequate oxygen while lying in bed! But old habits die hard. I've been on CPAP for almost six months now and it's been probably just a month or so since I woke up and felt that desire to wander the house...

LSAT wrote:You must have had a sleep study that showed that you had IN EXCESS OF 5 events per hour....

I used to think that was pretty standard, and then we get jjsemperfi who had a 3 or so on his test.. and somehow got handed a machine....

palerider wrote:

LSAT wrote:You must have had a sleep study that showed that you had IN EXCESS OF 5 events per hour....

I used to think that was pretty standard, and then we get jjsemperfi who had a 3 or so on his test.. and somehow got handed a machine....

AHI is not the whole story though ... if your "events" are really long they can cause major desaturation.
My apnea is classified as "moderate" but I was spending significant parts of the night with O2 sats in the 60's/70's. And believe me I was sick as a dog prior to starting therapy.

IDontSnoreISwear wrote:

palerider wrote:

LSAT wrote:You must have had a sleep study that showed that you had IN EXCESS OF 5 events per hour....

I used to think that was pretty standard, and then we get jjsemperfi who had a 3 or so on his test.. and somehow got handed a machine....

AHI is not the whole story though ... if your "events" are really long they can cause major desaturation.
My apnea is classified as "moderate" but I was spending significant parts of the night with O2 sats in the 60's/70's. And believe me I was sick as a dog prior to starting therapy.

With moderate SA the AHI played a big part in your symptoms along with the desats. You were waking up at least 15 times an hour.
Apnea–hypopnea index (AHI)
■ Number of apneas and/or hypopneas per hour of sleep (or study time)
■ Reflects the severity of sleep apnea
AHI = 0–5 Normal range
AHI = 5–15 Mild sleep apnea
AHI = 15–30 Moderate sleep apnea
AHI > 30 Severe sleep apnea