Help getting used to this CPAP thingy

Hey y’all!
Newbie here!

I have had my ResMed 10 for just going in 2 weeks now and am having major anxiety when I first get in bed and put on the nasal pillow mask. My chest starts to hurt, I feel like I can’t take a deep cleansing breath (I do open my mouth, but that just feels really weird) and I feel like I am just fighting with these tiny little “pillow” protrusions from my nose. Lol! I know this mask is small and I know I need to have it, but I can’t seem to make my body calm down to accept it. It’s also not every time I go to bed. Some nights I’m ok and fall asleep fairly quickly, and other nights I feel like I’m talking myself off of a cliff! LOL!
Am I making any sense, or is it just me having crazy, stupid unnecessary anxiety.
Any advise or helpful thoughts would be appreciated.
TIA!

You've got the wrong humidifier chosen in your equipment profile.
The AirSense 10 models have the humidifier built in...we all know that so just leave it blank.
You also have the wrong software chosen...actually all those choices are for long ago used software that used to be sold to people.
None of the new machines now have software that is sold by cpap.com...so leave that blank also.

Use the mask and machine while awake...watching TV or reading a book to help you get past the anxiety that is causing problems.
Concentrate on something besides your breathing and the mask and machine.

Yeah...no. I have no idea why that humidifier popped up on my profile. I went back into my profile and removed it.

Thanks!

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 17, 2019 11:03 am

You've got the wrong humidifier chosen in your equipment profile.
The AirSense 10 models have the humidifier built in...we all know that so just leave it blank.
You also have the wrong software chosen...actually all those choices are for long ago used software that used to be sold to people.
None of the new machines now have software that is sold by cpap.com...so leave that blank also.

Use the mask and machine while awake...watching TV or reading a book to help you get past the anxiety that is causing problems.
Concentrate on something besides your breathing and the mask and machine.

There ought to be a consistency check when the profile is updated. You can't use another company's humidifier, and you probably can't use the one for a different machine from the same manufacturer.

Hi gpriska ~~~

You don't mention what your pressure is set at or if you have the ramp on?

So many people seem to get set too low and that makes it hard to get a good "cleansing breath". This is crazy because with the extra pressure you should be able to get a really deep breath quicker than you have in your life. Lucky for you YOU can fix that setting if it's too low or if you want to turn the ramp off.

It's one of the things *I* LOVE about CPAP. I feel my lung capacity is better than ever and that's because I love the sensation of being able to take such incredible deep breaths, so I do it A LOT. Of course when I'm asleep I just breath normally.

I definitely used my cpap whenever I was sitting or laying down in the beginning just to get used to it. I found that I loved the dreamwear mask because I couldn't see or feel any hose and had absolutely nothing in my line of vision and I think that eliminated any anxiety *for me*. Personally, I don't like the feeling of having anything in my nostrils so I prefer the nasal "cushion" version of the dreamwear mask.

I like feeling the air venting but I also like the feeling of fans and AC on my skin or the rush of wind in a speedboat. ( Many people do not like any wind or sensation of movement. So the dreamwear's venting and the openness of the cushion is not for them.)

CPAP use is all about finding out what feels good to you. If you get this right it's quite pleasurable.

You're at the right place to learn how to optimize treatment and you've already been acknowledged by PUGSY who is simply AMAZING. She's the best of the best.


So Welcome and Good Luck!

When you make changes in your equipment profile be sure to click on submit after you change something.
If you don't the change won't stick.

Awesome! Thanks y’all for your help.
I believe my setting is the lowest. They told me I was set at 8? Now what that means...I dont know but I do know that I have the ramp set for 45 minutes. I think it starts off at 4 and then goes up from there.
I also have a Sleep Number bed that is really helping me see how this is affecting my sleep. Some days really good, and others not so much.

gpriska wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 17, 2019 10:23 am

Hey y’all!
Newbie here!
<snip>
Am I making any sense, or is it just me having crazy, stupid unnecessary anxiety.
Any advise or helpful thoughts would be appreciated.
TIA!

welcome to the zoo! no, you're crazy; no one else has that problem.


seriously, this is quite common. every now and then, we get someone in who says they took to it right away, but they are in the minority here.

it's just your brain telling you "HELP! HELP! there is something on your face and it's going to kill you! red alert, red alert!!". and it will take some time until your hyped up brain gets used to it. i wish i could tell you EXACTLY when that will happen, but it's an individual thing, like so much of cpap is.

i second what pugsy has said to get used to it.

it may not seem like it now, but someday you'll check yourself in the middle of the night, thinking you don't have it on or the machine isn't turned on.

good luck!

Haha haha! Thanks so much for the info!
It’s really good to know I’m not going cray cray! LOL!

Everyone's different, but I was also set low and really couldn't even make it through those low ramp numbers.

For *me* four was like having someone holding a pillow over my face. I "thought" it had to do with the pressure but it was lack of air that was the issue in *my* case. Starting out at 8 should feel great. (I pretty much stay at 8 all night and never seem to hit my top number of 15. Sometimes I think I should just raise the top number because I never hit it anyway but I am superstitious about man-made things, "trust issues?" ... so I just leave it at 15 so as to to not jinx myself)

I bet the "cleansing breath" part of the equation will disappear immediately when you get some good air movement. Do you know how to turn your ramp off and on?

...but it takes work to make all the myriad little adjustments and then there's an entire learning curve to try to learn to trust and monitor the feedback from the numbers your machine is collecting.

(If your machine has a sd card)

What good results are you hoping to achieve with your cpap therapy?

So the ramp feature is there because they think it's easier to go to sleep with a low pressure and then the pressure shouldn't go up until you are already asleep.

The problem with that theory is that it feels like you can't get any air at 4. It feels hard to breathe. If you turn the ramp feature off so it starts at 8, you will probably feel much better, and that should remove the urge to take a big, deep breath, and the panicky feeling you don't have enough air. With nasal pillows you should be comfortable, there's less sensation of being in a wind tunnel than there would be with a nasal mask or full face mask,so the air pressure should be comfortable and not interfere with sleep.

If you need help on how to turn off the ramp, just ask.

Y’all!!! I am so grateful for all the info! I’m gonna try to turn the ramp off tonight and see how I do.
Thanks again! Fingers crossed

Maybe just maybe the pillow mask isn’t for you. Have you tryed other masks?