Am I awake yet? Newbie ...

Went for the initial sleep study in May, they said "oh yeah, you got it" but we couldn't find a combo of mask/settings that worked. Dang. Got sick with bronchitis/sinusitis and had to put off 2nd visit. Found that the decongestant has helped with sleeping in general and wonder if there isn't a seasonal/allergic component to my apnea.

Anyway, finally went the 2nd time and found that the nose-pillow type mask works best and I've had my system since last Monday,

Got a GREAT night's sleep at the sleep center ... at home, not so much. The first night we ended up with severe thunderstorms and a load of rain ... the *third* time the weather radio went off it was for a Flash Flood Warning. Not realizing we had received *that* much rain, my wife got up to check the backyard to see if runoff from the neighbors was an issue again. It was, so at 0400 Tuesday, we were up re-digging a diversion channel to keep the water off the slab. Anyway, I did put the CPAP back on about 0530 and got another two hours sleep that night. Probably the longest CPAP session yet, despite the interruption.

Since then, I've only been able to tolerate it for, at most, 6 hours. The problem is "bloating", as the mention in the manual, or aerophagia. What's got me curious is why I didn't have this at the sleep center or the first night, but every night since then.

I haven't fiddled with the CPAP much, except for setting it to the correct mask (looks like it was on the default from the DME place). I've been having a bit of a time with "my snorkel", but I think we've both come to an agreement, tho' things seem to change every night.

Ideas on the bloating?

I am feeling less sleepy, but even before the machine and the diagnosis, I've always had good days and bad. I will stick with it, but the bloating is a big downer.

Oh! I do have a chin strap and use it.

I hope you get some sleep with all the weather mishaps etc!

I've used your mask and used it with a chin strap. I swallowed air due to my nose becoming stuffy with the direct air this mask provides, and when my nose gets stuffy I open my mouth - even with the chin strap.

I went to a nasal mask, the ResMed Mirage Vista and with a chin strap I don't swallow air anymore. I can even go without a chin strap now, but my numbers are not quite as good as with one.

Also, check out your chin strap and see if it comfortably supports you keeping your mouth closed. Do you wake yourself up by opening your mouth?

Another idea is, I find I need to hold my tongue, relaxed, but still on the roof of my mouth toward the front, not back. As a prior mouth breather, this was unnatural for me as I was used to relaxing my tongue on my lower jaw. When I do that, I find the air isn't being pulled into my mouth trying to escape, which causes me to swallow.

Hope this helps!

Good luck!

plaws wrote:

Ideas on the bloating?

Don't swallow air!

It will improve!

In the sleep lab, they generally titrate in a back sleeping position, which may give a higher pressure than you will need if you sleep on your side or stomach at home. You should ask your equipment supplier and/or sleep physician of you can turn the machine back one or two points during your adjustment. This will probably stop the areophagia.

If you were given a chin strap, they probably observed mouth breathing. chin straps seldom help. More humidity may reduce mouth leaks, or you might want to consider a full face mask or the new "hybrid or liberty"

Your head position can also contribute, for good head positioning you might want to look at your bed pillow. This site sells the PAPillow, which positions the head well for side sleeping and fewer mask leaks, back sleepers like tempurpedic style pillows with a neck support roll.

gasp wrote:I've used your mask and used it with a chin strap.

I wondered whose noseprints those were!!

gasp wrote:Also, check out your chin strap and see if it comfortably supports you keeping your mouth closed. Do you wake yourself up by opening your mouth?

I did fiddle with the chinstrap, but not sure that's the issue. I did, as someone in another thread mentioned, try to *stay* on my back. I'm normally a side/stomach sleeper, so this isn't natural, but I got 8 hours last night and no bloating!

Thanks!

plaws wrote:

gasp wrote:I've used your mask and used it with a chin strap.

I wondered whose noseprints those were!!

ROTFL!! I can't stop laughing.

gasp wrote:Also, check out your chin strap and see if it comfortably supports you keeping your mouth closed. Do you wake yourself up by opening your mouth?

plaws wrote: I did fiddle with the chinstrap, but not sure that's the issue. I did, as someone in another thread mentioned, try to *stay* on my back. I'm normally a side/stomach sleeper, so this isn't natural, but I got 8 hours last night and no bloating!

Thanks!

Interesting! I have air problems from sleeping on my back and my mouth relaxing into a gaping maw. I'm glad you found your best position though! It's weird, I've slept without the chinstrap for a few nights now. It was just too hot. It's only unbearably hot a few weeks out of the year where I live so we don't have air conditioning. Anyway, I've seemed to learn to keep my mouth shut after wearing the chinstrap for several weeks.

I used to be a side sleeper.

Then without really noticing it, I found myself gradually becoming a stomach sleeper, and -come cpap times - I wondered how I would manage that with a mask

Now - after 2.5 years on cpap I suddenly noticed that I'm back to side sleeping again. I remember attempting (and even partially succeeding) to stomach sleep in the beginning months of therapy, but hardly ever since. The only time I find myself on my stomach is when I can't use my cpap.

In my case, stomach sleeping must have been an adaptation to airway closure in other positions - and now that I can breathe safely in my originally favorite position I'm back to it.

O.

[quote="ozij"]I used to be a side sleeper.

Then without really noticing it, I found myself gradually becoming a stomach sleeper, and -come cpap times - I wondered how I would manage that with a mask

Now - after 2.5 years on cpap I suddenly noticed that I'm back to side sleeping again. I remember attempting (and even partially succeeding) to stomach sleep in the beginning months of therapy, but hardly ever since. The only time I find myself on my stomach is when I can't use my cpap.

In my case, stomach sleeping must have been an adaptation to airway closure in other positions - and now that I can breathe safely in my originally favorite position I'm back to it.

O.

Hummm, perhaps we're all missing out on something here. If we slept facedown on a specially designed bed, would the airways remain open?

OMG! I remember that 3 years ago when I first suspected sleep apnea, I scoured the web trying to find a pillow or bed that would let me sleep on my stomach, with my head hanging down and my tongue hanging out of my mouth like a dog, because when i tried it , hanging off the edge of the bed, I found that my throat wouldn't collapse! Sometimes I still wish I could find something like. A massage table would probably suffice i think... anyone try it?? Too funny

echo wrote:

Hummm, perhaps we're all missing out on something here. If we slept facedown on a specially designed bed, would the airways remain open?

OMG! I remember that 3 years ago when I first suspected sleep apnea, I scoured the web trying to find a pillow or bed that would let me sleep on my stomach, with my head hanging down and my tongue hanging out of my mouth like a dog, because when i tried it , hanging off the edge of the bed, I found that my throat wouldn't collapse! Sometimes I still wish I could find something like. A massage table would probably suffice i think... anyone try it?? Too funny

OK, I'm visualizing this and laughing - too funny! You're not going to believe this. I think that if one person thinks of it others already have. Rare to be the first to invent something. So I took a look on the internet. Check this out! It looks like an apparatus to prevent sleep apnea by helping the user to sleep face down! There is a picture too.

http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/wo.jsp?wo=2004093610

So I took a look on the internet. Check this out! It looks like an apparatus to prevent sleep apnea by helping the user to sleep face down! There is a picture too.

http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/wo.jsp?wo=2004093610

Brilliant!

tho can't quite figure out where your head is supposed to go? Look like you would choke on the top angle of the pillow?! I imagined more of thing like the massage table where your face supports your weight.

echo wrote:

So I took a look on the internet. Check this out! It looks like an apparatus to prevent sleep apnea by helping the user to sleep face down! There is a picture too.

http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/wo.jsp?wo=2004093610

Brilliant!

tho can't quite figure out where your head is supposed to go? Look like you would choke on the top angle of the pillow?! I imagined more of thing like the massage table where your face supports your weight.

Well I can't figure it out either, as wouldn't the face slide right off either angle? I too pictured a massage table, but made out of Tempurpedic. OK, off to the real world now. Darn.

gasp wrote:

plaws wrote: I did fiddle with the chinstrap, but not sure that's the issue. I did, as someone in another thread mentioned, try to *stay* on my back. I'm normally a side/stomach sleeper, so this isn't natural, but I got 8 hours last night and no bloating!

Thanks!

Interesting! I have air problems from sleeping on my back and my mouth relaxing into a gaping maw.

I've since discovered a few things (two weeks tonight on the box). First is that the nose irritation is from me cranking the Swift on too tight. I can maintain a decent seal without having the straps too tight. That was causing me headaches as well. The other thing is that I need to really be careful with the placement of the chin strap and it needs to be tight.

I do have one report from the spousal unit that she has awoken to find me on my side! I have no memory of this, of course, assuming that I am on my back all night.