Hi all, another newbie

CamiTampa · Post by **CamiTampa** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 7:53 pm

Just wanted to say thank you for being here. I've been lurking for a few days. Fifteen years ago I tried a cpap machine and couldn't tolerate it. Now at 47 I have to try again. Redid my sleep study and found out that my apnea went from severe to moderate which my pulmonary doc and I attribute to a couple of months not smoking. Doc still wants me on cpap and he gave me a prescription. Actually he called it in to a dme and they delivered it to me three weeks later. The three weeks was not their fault as I was not making it easy to set up an appointment.

Finally they brought me out a machine and a mask. It was a cheap ff mask as the Doctor didn't specify. After 4 nights I all but gave up because of the constant leaking up into my eyes. A friend told me to ask for a hybrid or liberty so I did. They brought me out a liberty and after 1 night I already like it much better.

Due to frequent stuffy noses I'm am often a mouth breather.

It did leak some and I only lasted two hours with it. I found out today that the dme guy sized the liberty wrong and instead of a small I should have had a large. I am stuck with this one until 6 months have passed and I can get a new one. My own fault for not researching first.
But I'll make it work one way or another.

About me:
47 year old Male
I have COPD (could it have been the smoking?)
cpap pressure 11
cfex at 2 though I changed it to 3
ramp 45 minutes 5 to 11

Thanks again
Cami

RiverDave · Post by **RiverDave** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:40 pm

Cami,

Welcome and better luck the 2nd time around. If you haven't had the liberty too long, you can probably pester the DME supplier to switch masks. Seems like I've read about others on this forum being able to do that. At any rate, it's worth a shot to get the right equipment.

Good luck,

Highnote · Post by **Highnote** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 9:01 pm

Yes, the COPD could be from smoking. By quitting you have done the best thing you could have done for yourself. Please do whatever it takes to stay smoke-free. Continuing to smoke will make it worse and severe COPD is not pretty, I have seen it. You might ask your pulmonologist next time whether a pulmonary rehab program would be beneficial.

Hang in there on the smoking cessation and the CPAP!

sharon1965 · Post by **sharon1965** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 9:18 pm

Cami

welcome to the boards!

i second the motion that you remain smoke free....congrats on quitting!

are you sure you have to wait six months to replace that mask? as much as most dme's suck, they will usually let you return masks, especially if they have given you the wrong size...barring that, can you purchase one out of pocket? i can't imagine how you'd be able to make a good run at this therapy with the wrong mask, it's pretty damned important to have an interface you can live with...

good luck with getting your treatment on track

sharon1965

j.a.taylor · Post by **j.a.taylor** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 11:54 pm

Cami,

Welcome!

I agree that a good fit of the mask is an important part of your therapy. If you can't tolerate the mask, it will be likely easier for you to avoid using the machine.

You might switch it out, and the increased comfort could be a big help as you go at this for a second time around.