Newb needs help. Exhaling issues

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
lynninnj
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Re: Newb needs help. Exhaling issues

Post by lynninnj » Thu Aug 11, 2022 6:51 pm

Brad S wrote:
Thu Aug 11, 2022 6:45 pm
lynninnj wrote:
Thu Aug 11, 2022 3:57 pm

So how did you sleep last night with your new N30 cushion?
More of the same last night. I love the feeling of it. It is similar to the feel of the P10 but way softer and fluffier :D
3 sleep sessions, approximately 1 hour each. The first two were actual sleep and woke up felling it difficult to breathe. The third was more of I'm awake and I am going to figure this out. Tried on my sides, on my back. Half on my back and half on my side. Dozed off and on and each time I woke up I felt the same. As I decided I had enough for the night in a state of frustration, I laid on my back and tilted my head farther back than normal and all of a sudden, I could breathe effortlessly. I was only partially awake and angry I was so tired, I took my pillow and went to the recliner in the living room and passed out for 45 minutes before my alarm went off.
I may have figured it out at least partially. I am anxious to try again tonight.
I will post more tomorrow. Thank you for asking.
So basically you did this?

https://americancpr.com/blog/589/cpr-tr ... -lift.html

Hopefully someone here or docs office has helped you get your settings squared away?

I respect and admire your determination!

_________________
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Brad S
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Re: Newb needs help. Exhaling issues

Post by Brad S » Thu Aug 11, 2022 7:33 pm

lynninnj wrote:
Thu Aug 11, 2022 6:51 pm

So basically you did this?
Yup. As soon as I clicked on the link and saw head tilt.... the DOH! light went on.
In another lifetime, a long time ago, I was the LT for a volunteer fire department. Story for another day.

lynninnj wrote:
Thu Aug 11, 2022 6:51 pm
Hopefully someone here or docs office has helped you get your settings squared away?
I respect and admire your determination!
Pugsy has been fantastic, my doctor, not so much. Next phone appointment is on the 29th.

Have a great night. Happy 'pappin

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Brad S
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Small victory last night

Post by Brad S » Sat Aug 13, 2022 7:13 am

Good morning and happy Saturday!
I wanted to share a small victory.
I switched masks twice last night. The first sleep was 1:20 and the second was 2:22 using an F30. The third sleep was using an F20 and lasted 1:00 and I was sort of awake and sort of asleep if that makes any sense. I really like the F30 but I think it is just a little too small. It is a size medium and from what I am seeing on the internet, they only come in small and medium. The difference I found last night, and this may change tonight, but the F30 was still slightly restrictive to exhale through. Not bad and I made it a while using it.
The F20 however was very weird. I had to make sure that the machine was on. Completely unrestricted breathing! In and out, like normal except I had a mask on my face. I had to really concentrate to feel the air flow.
The F20 is also a medium and I feel it was slightly small. I am going to see if the medical supply store on town has a large and give that a try.
This is tough but I am tougher. Never did hear back from my doctors office or the DME. Who needs guidance from the medical professionals that prescribe and supply this stuff anyway? F 'em!
I will figure this out and feel better in spite of them.



Image

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lynninnj
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Re: Small victory last night

Post by lynninnj » Sat Aug 13, 2022 5:07 pm

Brad S wrote:
Sat Aug 13, 2022 7:13 am
Good morning and happy Saturday!
I wanted to share a small victory.
I switched masks twice last night. The first sleep was 1:20 and the second was 2:22 using an F30. The third sleep was using an F20 and lasted 1:00 and I was sort of awake and sort of asleep if that makes any sense. I really like the F30 but I think it is just a little too small. It is a size medium and from what I am seeing on the internet, they only come in small and medium. The difference I found last night, and this may change tonight, but the F30 was still slightly restrictive to exhale through. Not bad and I made it a while using it.
The F20 however was very weird. I had to make sure that the machine was on. Completely unrestricted breathing! In and out, like normal except I had a mask on my face. I had to really concentrate to feel the air flow.
The F20 is also a medium and I feel it was slightly small. I am going to see if the medical supply store on town has a large and give that a try.
This is tough but I am tougher. Never did hear back from my doctors office or the DME. Who needs guidance from the medical professionals that prescribe and supply this stuff anyway? F 'em!
I will figure this out and feel better in spite of them.



Image
sounds like you’re coming along Brad! Good job!

Hopefully you’re gonna be able to extend your sleeping time is a little bit longer in a little bit longer.

I didn’t know that about the sizing. I wear a small. I think with the N 30 I they had some larger sizes but now that you mention it looks like I don’t see any larger ones with the N 30s.

keep at it!

like i said when i’m not sure if the machine is on I open my mouth like i’m going to talk and it hits me right away.

_________________
Machine: AirSense 11 Autoset
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Additional Comments: Newbie who loves her machine!
Beware the schoolyard bullies, mean girls, and fragile male egos. Move along if you can’t be kind.

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Re: Newb needs help. Exhaling issues

Post by Brad S » Mon Aug 15, 2022 11:23 am

I found a really good youtube channel I thought I would share with all y'all :lol:
I have learned a lot from his videos already. Hope it might help some of you too.

https://www.youtube.com/c/CPAPReviews

_________________
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Additional Comments: I CAN BREATHE!
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lynninnj
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Re: Newb needs help. Exhaling issues

Post by lynninnj » Tue Aug 16, 2022 4:31 pm

Brad S wrote:
Mon Aug 15, 2022 11:23 am
I found a really good youtube channel I thought I would share with all y'all :lol:
I have learned a lot from his videos already. Hope it might help some of you too.

https://www.youtube.com/c/CPAPReviews
soooooo how goes it?

_________________
Machine: AirSense 11 Autoset
Mask: ResMed AirFit N30 Nasal CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Newbie who loves her machine!
Beware the schoolyard bullies, mean girls, and fragile male egos. Move along if you can’t be kind.

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Re: Newb needs help. Exhaling issues

Post by Brad S » Tue Aug 16, 2022 5:16 pm

lynninnj wrote:
Tue Aug 16, 2022 4:31 pm
soooooo how goes it?
It goes...
I really, really like the N30 but I am not so sure it likes me.
I made it 5:58 minutes last night over 4 sleep attempts and a total time in bed of 7 hours. Although very restless and broken up but the longest time yet. The first two tries were with the N30 and the last 2 with the F30. I lowered the max pressure last night to 9.6 after spending hours on that youtube channel. Made sense, to start with a lower pressure for the nasal mask and let my lungs adjust and then increase pressure gradually over time, but I think it was too low. I raised it to 12 and woke up not able to breathe out again. I reset my machine pressure to 7 to 15, turned the tube heat back on to 66, (it has been off for a couple of weeks now) raised the humidity from 4 to 5 and switched to the F30 and tried again. Slept pretty good for almost 2 straight hours and woke up with a very dry mouth and breathing hot air. I know it is not hot, it just felt like that. It is not the cool room air and my body does not like it.
I can breathe much better with the F30 and it is not too bad but I prefer the N30.
So- it goes and I am nothing if not determined.
I did talk to my DME yesterday and they are sending me a F&P Evora full face mask, which they say is similar but better than the F30. I am using my wifes F30 and it is a medium and just a little too small and the biggest size AirFit makes. The Evora comes in a large and is the same as the F30. Maybe that will help. I don't know. I will start again tonight with the N30. I do really like it. It is small, the headgear is light and it is almost unnoticeable. Except when I can't breathe.

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Brad S
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Re: Newb needs help. Exhaling issues

Post by Brad S » Thu Aug 18, 2022 8:30 am

Good morning-
I am still having a very hard time keeping my mask on my face. Below are three OSCAR charts of last night. I just discovered a really cool feature on OSCAR where you can click on each session information tab and it will give detailed info for each session instead of the overall average for the night.
The first two sessions I used an F20. I wish there was a way to edit out the events while awake and falling to sleep. Without the events while falling asleep I think I had a good sleep during those times and the AHI might be really low. The third I switched to the F30. I like it so much more than the complete full face mask but I believe, based on my limited experience reading these, my sleep was not nearly as good as the other two sessions. I don't remember anything of the first two with the F20 and taking it off or other details but I do know that I woke up to the overwhelming feeling of breathing hot air with the F30 and couldn't get it off fast enough. I don't know if the hot are feeling is in my head or if it is a real thing.
Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks

Image

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lynninnj
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Re: Newb needs help. Exhaling issues

Post by lynninnj » Thu Aug 18, 2022 6:20 pm

Brad S wrote:
Thu Aug 18, 2022 8:30 am
Good morning-
I am still having a very hard time keeping my mask on my face. Below are three OSCAR charts of last night. I just discovered a really cool feature on OSCAR where you can click on each session information tab and it will give detailed info for each session instead of the overall average for the night.
The first two sessions I used an F20. I wish there was a way to edit out the events while awake and falling to sleep. Without the events while falling asleep I think I had a good sleep during those times and the AHI might be really low. The third I switched to the F30. I like it so much more than the complete full face mask but I believe, based on my limited experience reading these, my sleep was not nearly as good as the other two sessions. I don't remember anything of the first two with the F20 and taking it off or other details but I do know that I woke up to the overwhelming feeling of breathing hot air with the F30 and couldn't get it off fast enough. I don't know if the hot are feeling is in my head or if it is a real thing.
Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks

Image

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I’m not sure about that breathing the hot air thing. But sometimes if the mask shifts a little bit over the nose it may become slightly restricted wrt breathing? like having plastic wrap over your nose?

Next time it happens try pulling it down away from your nose in the middle and then just lining it up again. I sometimes have to do that.

_________________
Machine: AirSense 11 Autoset
Mask: ResMed AirFit N30 Nasal CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Newbie who loves her machine!
Beware the schoolyard bullies, mean girls, and fragile male egos. Move along if you can’t be kind.

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Brad S
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FINALLY! Some relief

Post by Brad S » Fri Aug 19, 2022 8:42 am

I have been reading and asking questions here and other places almost non-stop about my problem of not being able to breathe out since I started therapy on July 21st. 4 weeks ago last night as a matter of fact.
My doctor and his BS advice is just that... BS. Said he has never heard of my problem before. Out of frustration I called my DME provider, Apria, who's website says "Talk now to a live sleep specialist" I called last Friday to talk to said live specialist only to be told a respiratory specialist would call me back later that day or possibly Monday. I received the call Monday afternoon and after explaining my problem to the nice lady on the phone, and reviewing the machine settings etc. she too had never heard of this problem. She offered to send me an H&P Evora ffm and told me she didn't know if it would help but might be worth a try. I took her up on it.
The Evora arrived yesterday and I tried it last night. IT WORKS! I can exhale freely! I can actually breathe in and OUT with very little restriction. It felt great to fall asleep and not wake up to that panicked suffocating feeling. No breathing in hot air. No waking up freaking out because I can't breathe.
Yesterday morning I woke up with a dry mouth so last night I adjusted the humidity from 4 to 5. I woke up at 2 with water in my mask. LOL. Put it on my nightstand and went back to sleep. Woke up an hour later, dried the mask and put it on again. Didn't sleep all that great but I could definitely breathe. I CAN BREATHE!

I know this probably means nothing to most of you but there are a lot of people out there who have not found answers and have quit therapy for this very reason. Maybe it is just a rare few of us. Who knows. I was beginning to think I had something else physically wrong with me.
I have used the P10, N30, F20 and F30 and ALL of them do not allow me to exhale properly. The F&P Evora is just like the F30 but fits better and the cushion feels better to me.
The one noticeable thing to me in comparing all of the masks is that the Evora (silently) vents air pretty forcefully out the front all of the time. Maybe that force draws out my breath? Maybe assists it? I don't know and to be quite honest, I don't care! It freakin works!
I feel this is a huge victory and a major road block has been eliminated. I feel I can truly start my therapy journey now.

https://www.fphcare.com/us/homecare/cam ... full-mask/

Happy Friday and thanks for listening and trying to help me work through this.

_________________
Machine: AirSense 11 Autoset
Mask: Evora Full Face Mask
Additional Comments: I CAN BREATHE!
Angry much?

lynninnj
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Re: FINALLY! Some relief

Post by lynninnj » Fri Aug 19, 2022 8:53 am

Brad S wrote:
Fri Aug 19, 2022 8:42 am
I have been reading and asking questions here and other places almost non-stop about my problem of not being able to breathe out since I started therapy on July 21st. 4 weeks ago last night as a matter of fact.
My doctor and his BS advice is just that... BS. Said he has never heard of my problem before. Out of frustration I called my DME provider, Apria, who's website says "Talk now to a live sleep specialist" I called last Friday to talk to said live specialist only to be told a respiratory specialist would call me back later that day or possibly Monday. I received the call Monday afternoon and after explaining my problem to the nice lady on the phone, and reviewing the machine settings etc. she too had never heard of this problem. She offered to send me an H&P Evora ffm and told me she didn't know if it would help but might be worth a try. I took her up on it.
The Evora arrived yesterday and I tried it last night. IT WORKS! I can exhale freely! I can actually breathe in and OUT with very little restriction. It felt great to fall asleep and not wake up to that panicked suffocating feeling. No breathing in hot air. No waking up freaking out because I can't breathe.
Yesterday morning I woke up with a dry mouth so last night I adjusted the humidity from 4 to 5. I woke up at 2 with water in my mask. LOL. Put it on my nightstand and went back to sleep. Woke up an hour later, dried the mask and put it on again. Didn't sleep all that great but I could definitely breathe. I CAN BREATHE!

I know this probably means nothing to most of you but there are a lot of people out there who have not found answers and have quit therapy for this very reason. Maybe it is just a rare few of us. Who knows. I was beginning to think I had something else physically wrong with me.
I have used the P10, N30, F20 and F30 and ALL of them do not allow me to exhale properly. The F&P Evora is just like the F30 but fits better and the cushion feels better to me.
The one noticeable thing to me in comparing all of the masks is that the Evora (silently) vents air pretty forcefully out the front all of the time. Maybe that force draws out my breath? Maybe assists it? I don't know and to be quite honest, I don't care! It freakin works!
I feel this is a huge victory and a major road block has been eliminated. I feel I can truly start my therapy journey now.

https://www.fphcare.com/us/homecare/cam ... full-mask/

Happy Friday and thanks for listening and trying to help me work through this.
Well alright! Way to go and well done! Good for you!

Makes me wonder if the exhaling vents were blocked on the other masks? I can feel mine quite strongly when I exhale too. (Its your lungs or the machines pushing it out-no pulling.)

Time to post your oscar. :lol: JK how were your AHI?

_________________
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Additional Comments: Newbie who loves her machine!
Beware the schoolyard bullies, mean girls, and fragile male egos. Move along if you can’t be kind.

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Brad S
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Re: FINALLY! Some relief

Post by Brad S » Fri Aug 19, 2022 9:23 am

lynninnj wrote:
Fri Aug 19, 2022 8:53 am
Makes me wonder if the exhaling vents were blocked on the other masks? I can feel mine quite strongly when I exhale too. (Its your lungs or the machines pushing it out-no pulling.)
I cleaned and scrubbed them with a toothbrush daily. The N30 was the most noticeable as far as air coming out when I exhaled but not that strong and definitely not at all when I took a breath. The Evora blows out all of the time, even when breathing in. It was comforting last night to feel that. It is actually so quiet, I had to put my hand up or turn my head so I could feel it on my arm.
lynninnj wrote:
Fri Aug 19, 2022 8:53 am
Time to post your oscar. :lol: JK how were your AHI?
Not all that great, but I now have the time to work on all of this. I would imagine falling to sleep tonight knowing I won't freak out in the middle of the night gasping for cool, fresh air will take that stress away and maybe, just maybe I can really sleep.
I know it was only one night so far, I am confident the therapy will get better now.
Thanks for asking and for your willingness to share all of your thoughts and ideas through all of this. It is much appreciated.


Image

_________________
Machine: AirSense 11 Autoset
Mask: Evora Full Face Mask
Additional Comments: I CAN BREATHE!
Angry much?

lynninnj
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Re: Newb needs help. Exhaling issues

Post by lynninnj » Fri Aug 19, 2022 10:25 am

I keep seeing people cleaned it with a toothbrush and I wonder if it is one of those "whitening" toothbrushes. Those contain chemicals (likely bleach) and that may be breaking it down, or could* break it down I would imagine?

If you want to clean it, the instructions on the AS11 say to use 1 part white vinegar to 9 parts water. Might I suggest giving it a soak instead of using mechanical means like a toothbrush?

You wouldn't even have to wear it for a sleep session after that. Just let it dry completely and then try it with the mask on and the air coming through.

Oddly, I test my mask connection by blowing out with my hand on the bottom of the hose to feel for leakage. I don't feel air coming out then. But when I am breathing in I really feel the air coming thru the openings which are just above where the hose attaches/underside of nasal cushion. I am not entirely sure why that is.

Maybe an old timer will be able to shed light on that in a polite productive kind of way?

Either way, good luck with the new mask and keep at it.

_________________
Machine: AirSense 11 Autoset
Mask: ResMed AirFit N30 Nasal CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Newbie who loves her machine!
Beware the schoolyard bullies, mean girls, and fragile male egos. Move along if you can’t be kind.

lynninnj
Posts: 1267
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2022 8:56 am

Re: FINALLY! Some relief

Post by lynninnj » Fri Aug 19, 2022 10:32 am

Brad S wrote:
Fri Aug 19, 2022 9:23 am
lynninnj wrote:
Fri Aug 19, 2022 8:53 am
Makes me wonder if the exhaling vents were blocked on the other masks? I can feel mine quite strongly when I exhale too. (Its your lungs or the machines pushing it out-no pulling.)
I cleaned and scrubbed them with a toothbrush daily. The N30 was the most noticeable as far as air coming out when I exhaled but not that strong and definitely not at all when I took a breath. The Evora blows out all of the time, even when breathing in. It was comforting last night to feel that. It is actually so quiet, I had to put my hand up or turn my head so I could feel it on my arm.
lynninnj wrote:
Fri Aug 19, 2022 8:53 am
Time to post your oscar. :lol: JK how were your AHI?
Not all that great, but I now have the time to work on all of this. I would imagine falling to sleep tonight knowing I won't freak out in the middle of the night gasping for cool, fresh air will take that stress away and maybe, just maybe I can really sleep.
I know it was only one night so far, I am confident the therapy will get better now.
Thanks for asking and for your willingness to share all of your thoughts and ideas through all of this. It is much appreciated.


Image
I wish I knew how to read those charts. I really can not adequately comment on them but I have to wonder if you are awake and these aren't all AHI.

That was my disclaimer.

I just look at the mask pressure and go.....whaaaat??

_________________
Machine: AirSense 11 Autoset
Mask: ResMed AirFit N30 Nasal CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Newbie who loves her machine!
Beware the schoolyard bullies, mean girls, and fragile male egos. Move along if you can’t be kind.

Iamstumped
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Re: Newb needs help. Exhaling issues

Post by Iamstumped » Fri Aug 19, 2022 10:46 am

Just like lynninnj, I'm no expert at reading my own charts, let alone anyone else's.
To me, it looks like you may have been awake when most of these events were happening.