Best tips that you received from this board?

[Goldie54914]

I have to admit, Even this board is sometimes interesting to view (the disagreements and all), I have gotten some very good tips from many of you.

My favorite tips from the board that I have implemented in my CPAP therapy: The scrunci headband thing (I don't use to keep my mouth shut, I use it to keep my mask from moving all over the place when I am sleeping, I love it because it cuts down on leaks), The denture cleaner hack (for cleaning your humidifier and wow, it does the trick) and the vinegar water solution for the hose (it makes it sound like turbo-hose afterwards)

So I am wondering what is the best tips that you received from posters on this board?

[Torgo]

I've been using cpap for 6 months now and getting really good results (AHI < 1) but a lot of the tips on this board regarding getting accustomed
to wearing a mask helped me out in something I thought was going to be a lot harder.

[Cardsfan]

That the recommended replacement schedule for parts is BS.
That the recommended washing schedule of parts is BS.

[RogerSC]

Turn off pressure ramp that starts at 4cm *smile*. I found that I could breathe again after I did that. Nice.

[Bertha deBlues]

What Roger SC said about turning off the ramp - great tip.

Tightening the straps to cut down on leaks is not always the answer. Sometimes you need to loosen them a bit.

If the mask makes your nose sore (and it's not from being too tight), put a dab of lanolin around the sore area before putting on your mask.

Don't make too many changes at once. That makes it hard to tell which change made things better or worse.

Don't panic over a bad night. It happens. If it doesn't get better, then you need to tweak something.

Use a hose management system to keep the hose up and out of the way, especially if you move around a lot when you sleep.

If you have long hair, make a ponytail before putting on your mask. Your hair over the straps will help to keep them from riding up the back of your head.

[Bertha deBlues]

One more: Try to go to bed at about the same time every night. And with that, I wish you all a good night's sleep. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[DAYMX5]

Although most are helpful, how truly vindictive and nasty people are on this forum.

[Pugsy]

There's been several that I remember over the years but I think that what to expect was the best one someone said to me long ago.

1....Have realistic expectations about what is going to happen and what cpap can fix.
CPAP can't fix bad sleep if the bad sleep is caused by something other than sleep apnea. The machine can only fix sleep apnea stuff. There's a big mile long list of things that can cause bad sleep that don't have a thing to do with sleep apnea and I have my own fair share of those things along with sleep apnea.

2...Best money I ever spent on any comfort item related to cpap....the barrel cozy from Padacheek back before heated hoses became the norm. I was really getting tired of cold showers coming out of those vent holes in the winter months.

3...Don't be afraid to try something new. You never know what you will learn...might not be what you expect but you always learn something. Like when I tried lower humidity setting...that was a disaster and I learned I never wanted to do that again.

4...Don't get in a panic over a "bad" night. They will happen to everyone sooner or later to varying degrees and we can't always figure out why. That's when I came up with the alien abduction excuse. I forget who I got it from but it's as good of an excuse as anything.
Doesn't matter if it is a bad leak night or bad apnea event count night or whatever...they are going to happen every now and then and there's no need to panic over a random fluke night.

5...Don't go chasing last night's report and changing things willy nilly. Just because we can change something doesn't always mean that we should change something. Base any changes on well thought out educated ideas about what you see long term and not a fluke night because remember...everyone has a bad night every now and then.

6... Finally maybe this one should be a the top. Everything and I mean everything, related to cpap use...be it masks or machines or pressures or humidity or whatever all come with a big huge YMMV sticker and one man's treasure is another man's trash. There's no real right or wrong to most of this stuff....there's only what works or doesn't work for each individual.

[VinnieBarbarino]

- Lanisoh for a sore nose
- Toshiba FlashAir wifi SD card

[Goofproof]

They gave me the location of the Encore Pro software, so I could download my data. Jim

[bwexler]

Everything that Pugsy posted since 2010. Especially some of the PMs to me.

I didn't have a sleep Doctor when got my first machine and the folks on this site guided me to success with too many tips to remember let alone list.
I have had 3 or 4 sleep doctors since and only one was anywhere near as helpful as this group. That one wrote the prescription for my ASV machine.

[WearyOne]

There are so many, but I'll narrow it down to these:

• - Told where online to find the provider’s manual for my first machine. (Second machine, the DME actually gave it to me without my asking.)
  
  - Suggestion to cut off the chin flap on the Hybrid mask if you’re having leaks. It was and doing that stopped them.
  
  - Where to find a heated hose. Ten years ago, they weren’t as easy to find as they are now.
  
  - If you want to make changes, only make one at a time. Wait to see how that works out before trying something else.
  
  - Location of where to get the Encore software 10 years ago.
  
  - Where to get the SleepyHead software a few years ago.
  
  - Help on understanding the SleepyHead data.
  
  - One bad night (or even two in a row) is not the end of the world.
  
  - Wonderful help and advice from Rested Gal and Pugsy. (Whatever happen to Rested Gal anyway?)

[Pugsy]

Whatever happen to Rested Gal anyway?

She still stops by here every now and then to say "hi".

She decided she had other more important things that she wanted to do. One if I remember right was some gardening and flower stuff. Outdoor "work".

This place can suck the energy right out of you even without the conflict that we sometimes get. I think she just wanted to really retire and not have to worry about what goes on here. I get that way myself sometimes. She just finally did something about it.

[49er]

Asking me to pick the best tips from this board is like asking me to chose an ice cream flavor at a home made ice cream shop. But if I had to choose, I would pick finding out about sleepyhead and learning how to properly adjust my pressure. And of course, anything Pugsy has posted qualifies as a best tip.

I guess I really didn't choose.

49er

[Holden4th]

1. Use a soft cervical collar to minimise mouth breathing

2. Make changes slowly