New User Help, I feel worse

I have been using my cpap machine for a week. I wake up felling worse than before. Bad headaches, sweats, and twice woke with my left arm tingling, more tired during the day and I have also noticed that when taking my long afternoon walks I have been getting out of breath which never happens.

I have been trying to get a report but my phone or tablet wont link. Was on hold for an hour Friday for technical to try and solve the issues and finally hung up, also left a message with my dr who has not called back.

My pressure is at 6, are these symptons of too high or low pressure? Seems I am working harder at breathing instead of easier. I am going to try again tonight but also afraid that I'm maybe not getting enough air. I know everyone says stay on it, but what if the pressure is too low. I am set at 6, this is not a self adjusting machine.

Welcome to the forum.

What is the brand and model of your machine?

Hopefully it is a brand and model that will work with SleepyHead for reports. Much better than the online stuff.
https://sleep.tnet.com/equipment

For examples of part of what you can see
viewtopic/t158560/How-to-post-images-for-review.html

Do you know how to check the screen on your machine to get some basic numbers, particularly the AHI? That you could do right away and get a general idea if the prescribed pressure seems adequate. Please do get back with us with more info so you can get some more targeted help. Did you have a titration study where the pressure of 6 was determined?

A pressure of 6 seems incredibly low. I use the ramp feature to start the night, and my minimum setting is 6, with a max more than double that. It is a bit tricky to breath through a mask connected to a machine if the pressure is too low. Perhaps that could explain the struggle you seem to be having with the breathing.

Mr.C

According to my sleep study, the pressure is set at 6. My machine is a Phillips Resperonics. My report only shows how long I used it. Of course left message for the dr. I cannot change any settings myself. Spoke with medical supply yesterday, she turned on the humidifier and a worse headache today. They were looking over the report and said everything looked fine.

There's a lot of Respironics models of machines out there.
Do you see a model number anywhere on the bottom of the machine?
Might start with DSX or REF or DS...tell us the model number and we will know which machine.
Once you know the exact model then we can tell you how to get to any other data it might have beyond hours of use (assuming it has some).

And you can request the clinical/provider manual (different from your user manual) from here
https://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap- ... tup-manual

There's also available software so you can see your own reports and share with us even.
https://sleep.tnet.com/equipment
All depends on which model you have.

Your best bet is to fill out the profile. That way, we'll know what equipment you have. Hopefully, it is data compatible.

hello and welcome to the forum!

just wanted to butt in here and just mention that there is a reason why we want to know your equipment.

while we are all here on cpap, we aren't necessarily on the SAME machine or even the same mask or any combination of the two. and while the basic tenets remain the same, each machine may require different tweaking to get optimal results.

without your information, the best folks can do here is guess. and that won't do you much good.

so please go the control panel and fill out your equipment. that way, it will show up at the bottom of your post, as it does on mine below.

good luck!

It says Dream Station DSX200H11. I called the company and they told me I can only access hoyrs used.

Well, crap, you have the DreamStation CPAP machine...the basic bare bones machine.

You have what we call a "brick"...zero way to evaluate anything about your therapy from leak to AHI or whatever.
I would tell them that you want a full data machine that this one is unacceptable.

shrng wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 25, 2018 7:05 am

They were looking over the report and said everything looked fine.

I would like to know what they saw on their report to make a judgement call that "everything looked fine" when all the machine reports is hours of use. You can use the machine 10 hours a night but if the settings are wrong or the leak is real bad you aren't "Fine" are you?

See this blog and read the part about "help I am stuck with a brick".
https://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/
It's down this page just a little ways.

shrng wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 25, 2018 5:45 pm

It says Dream Station DSX200H11. I called the company and they told me I can only access hoyrs used.

They screwed you over with the bottom of the line machine.... I'm so sorry.

I'd strongly suggest taking it back and making a *BIG STINK* about it, and demanding the 500... it costs the same through insurance, they just don't make as much money on it.

Thanks, still waiting on doctor to call me back. Didn't use it last night and actually feel a little better. Will call the doctors office everyday until he does and tell rhem i want a better machine with auto.

Getting the better machine, as Palerider suggests, is pretty much the only way you **or your doctor** have to objectively evaluate how your treatment is going other than having you take a home or lab sleep study. So giving you a "brick" machine that doesn't record data and can't be set to other modes is very, very pound foolish. Definitely worth it to take this up with the DME who get paid the same by insurance companies for the good and bad machines because they are the same code, and the DME get to keep the price difference if they pawn the crappy version on you. It's you or them benefiting. And since it is *your* health at stake, you should do what you can to make sure it is you that gets taken care of, not them.

Imagine a car that didn't have a speedometer, odometer or a fuel gauge, and instead just told you how many hours you used your car. That's the machine you have.