Regarding the mask, no, I haven't washed it recently.
I did another 40 minute trial this evening. I changed the PS down to 3 and it helped a little but was still pretty aggressive, so I turned the EPAP down to 8. Can I turn it down to 6?
The machine wants me to breathe more quickly and deeply. I found that if I inhaled before waiting for it it was much gentler. If I let the machine go first the amount of air it gives is still too much and I have to start exhaling before it's done giving me a breath. I never let 10 seconds go by between breaths and I shudder to think what it will do when I have a central. I can't think of what it's called (aerophagia or something like that), but I definitely feel like I swallowed air. Also, both my throat and nasal passages got pretty dry and there was a small bit of rainout again, but not nearly as bad as yesterday. And I didn't get the sinus headache or runny nose either, so that's progress. Should I try turning the humidity up to combat the throat and nose dryness or is auto the best way to go?
I was lying in bed watching TV when I used it. My head was propped up against the pillow, so the position of my neck was kind of like when you're standing and you touch your chin to your chest. Could that have anything to do with why it's so uncomfortable? I was also wondering if the fact that I start to exhale before the machine is finished giving me air could have something to do with the rainout.
The respiratory therapist at the DME is very nice and treats everyone like a patient. She said she sometimes downloads info to check on her apnea clients. I hope she doesn't decide to check on me! I was supposed to call her if I was having any problems and she would make adjustments with the doc's permission. But I'm more comfortable with the gang here.
Oh, and she also said that I HAD to use it for 30 days straight. She seemed very knowledgeable but I hope she's wrong about that. Could that be because I started with the CPAP back in March?
