Newbie Tired, Frustrated and Want to Give Up Before Even Starting

Lucky7 wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 17, 2023 10:41 pm

"In addition to that, I get nasal congestion at night a lot of the time."

Hey Dude, or Dudette as the case may be.

Dudette~

Lucky7 wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 17, 2023 10:41 pm

1. see an ENT and tell them what's going on
2. or....a couple hours before bed rinse your nose with a saline solution. And then follow with an intranasal steroid. The best thing I've found is Nasonex, which is now available over the counter.

I'll look into the ENT. I'll have to get a referral from my primary, and it usually a 2-3 month wait to get into see them.

I'll also look into trying to do saline rises. I've done them before but it's one of those things I'll do for a few days or a week then kind of forget about.

I'm thinking about getting a wedge pillow too. I've thought about it off and on for a long time cause I've heard it can help with acid reflux, and then heard it can help with congestion and sleep apnea. I figure I might as well try it out.

Lucky7 wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 17, 2023 10:41 pm

Except Apria, can't fix those REDACTED'ers. Find another DME is excellent advice.

Unfortunately I can't. I have Kaiser, and they only contract with Apria.

Your primary might very well just say "yanno, flonase or nasonex trial is reasonable",until you can get into ENT. Or you could just go ahead and do it. Low risk intervention. And you are right. It can be hard to stay on top saline rinses. I'm actually a lot better about it since starting CPAP. I want that Nasonex onboard.

Wedge pillow seems hit or miss for folks. Sometimes it's easier to just elevate the head of the bed.

It figures that Kaiser contracts with Apria. Ugh

Lucky7 wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 18, 2023 10:01 am

Wedge pillow seems hit or miss for folks.

The most popular wedges cause the bend to be in the stomach area. This can exacerbate reflux and cause other problems. A proper wedge is long enough to reach the hips, and the bend in the body is where it should be. These longer wedges are expensive and can be inconvenient.

Lucky7 wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 18, 2023 10:01 am

Sometimes it's easier to just elevate the head of the bed.

Yup. Bed risers can be bought inexpensively to place under the two legs at the bed head.

About tongue block vs breathing inside the FFM: really I just want you to have some options. You'll see what works best for you.

I'm glad you'll be trying some day/evening use, and I'm going to be curious to see an Oscar chart. Hang in there!

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 18, 2023 10:40 am

Lucky7 wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 18, 2023 10:01 am

Wedge pillow seems hit or miss for folks.

The most popular wedges cause the bend to be in the stomach area. This can exacerbate reflux and cause other problems. A proper wedge is long enough to reach the hips, and the bend in the body is where it should be. These longer wedges are expensive and can be inconvenient.

Lucky7 wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 18, 2023 10:01 am

Sometimes it's easier to just elevate the head of the bed.

Yup. Bed risers can be bought inexpensively to place under the two legs at the bed head.

Yeah, I'd swear I saw some full length wedges the other day (Amazon probably) that go between the mattress and springs (or foundation). Pretty spendy thou.

• Mask fit: Resmed's videos show you which strap to adjust for which leak
• Chipmunk cheeks, my exprience: I'm a terrible mouth leaker, not amount of tongue training keeps my tongue from relaxing when I fall a asleep. On nasal pillows masks the air will rush out into the room. If I use tape, my cheeks will blow out - but I can sleep. On a properly fitted FFM the pressure in my mouth and out of it is balanced, if my mask doesn't leak my mouth doesn't dry out, the air doen's rush out - except for that very first moment when the mask's anti-asphyxia valves close with a slight sound. I don't have to mouth breathe, so I can't say how a whole night of mouth breathing feels.
• Rushing air: When trying the mask while you're awake, try to distinguish the different physical sensations. For many of us, the first hurdle is the need to exert some muscle effort when exhaling. Normal exhalation occurs when our muscles relax and air comes out. Exhaling on cpap means your muscles have to be used - a little bit. Our expeience of being strangled when we sleep makes us wary of anything that my remind us of an effort to breathe, and some of us get worried / confuse / panicky is response that the feeling of "oh, I can't breahe out naturally". Pay attention to that, and keep in mind that the effort demanded on exhale is very small, and you can handle it. The feeling of "Oh all this pressure disappears after a while.
• OSCAR: Nowadays many people are given automatically adjusting machines with the range wide, wide open. Doesn't work to help most of us sleep. We need a narrower range, for most of us, it's one that insures the machines don't drop the pressure too much. For some, the top has to be capped too. OSCAR let's you see what's going on.
• 2 G is enough
• An OSCAR report will tell us both about your mask fit and your pressure needs.
• Humidity and temperature can have a huge impact on congestion - and the impact is very individual. More or less heat? More or less humidity? Make a change, fell the impact, and titrate it from there.

I'm glad you hanging in there and trying.
If you want to, you (and only you) can actually edit the subject or your thread to make it more representative of what you feel now, after you're overcome that first DME challenge and have started. Click on the pencil (top right) and instead of editing the text, edit the subject.