Yippee!!!!

Tomorrow afternoon I will officailly join the ranks of hoseheads! My resp therapist is coming over and setting me up. Bringing a Remstar auto w/cflex and heated humidifier and 3...count em....3.....interfaces/masks to try out!!!!!! This is a temp autopap until they get the titration setting down at which time I will get either a cpap or bipap (unless God does a miracle and my ins lets me have a Remstar auto).

I'm excited and looking forward to this new exp...mostly because you've been so informative and encouraging...It no longer feels like scary hospital room equipment....It feels like normal adaptation to the physical need I have...all thanks to you guys.

Way to go Terry I am so jealous! You gotta let me know how that first night goes, don't leave out any details!!!!!! Sweet Dreams ooopps I forgot we're all on Diets so low carb, no fat sugar free Dreams, I think that's Politically Correct now!!!!!!
Later
Roger

Well dirtsurfer...the first night I was happy and excited about the new adventure. What I did have a tough time with was that the nasal aire small prongs were moving around inside my nose all night, up, down, side to side...and so loud it was like the ocean waves crashing .... It took me about an hour to fall asleep after doing some "creative imagining" about being at the ocean so it would be a more pleasant experience.

Last night was a whole nother exp. I saw on the nasal aire video that the prongs are sposed to create a seal in your nose and feel snug. Hmmm...so at the advice of a dear friend and fellow hose head I snugged up the velcro strap at the back of my head (and also wore the headband) to make the prongs less mobile. That part worked. The breathing part didn't. Definitely noticably leaking all over the place!!!! And the ocean turned into a sound like niagara falls....couldn't sleep...layed down at midnight, got up at 2ish and just didn't bother going back to bed till morning I was so wide awake....

This am I called the rt out and she brought the only two sized they ever stock of the NAII...medium and large to try out. The medium didn't seal although it was better than the small and not as loud either. The large sealed and is snug and so quiet the Falls became a whisper. But they may be too large. Hoping this works so I don't have to go through a lot of nonsense finding a diff dme that has the medium large size to try out.
Using kyjelly to prevent irritation....DH will be happy it is so quiet tonight and so will I...T

The new sized prongs (large) did the trick....Slept w/a soft whoosh in the background....VERY QUIET...kind of lulled me to sleep and helped me relax. Got the best nights sleep in years! So...YIPPEE again!!!! Terry

Flwoer51 Terry wrote:The new sized prongs (large) did the trick....Slept w/a soft whoosh in the background....VERY QUIET...kind of lulled me to sleep and helped me relax. Got the best nights sleep in years! So...YIPPEE again!!!! Terry

YEA, that's great Terry! I remember the excitement when I started a few weeks ago. Now, as I am just about a newbie myself, you're the first one to pique my interest in these nasal thingies - what is it that you're using? If I were to search the forum, what terms should I use?

So from your signature...are you expecting quintuplets????!!!!!

You can look them up on cpap.com under products, then under masks and interfaces, then under nasal prongs Then look up Nasal AirII Interface. Or just type NasalAireII in the search and it will take you there. They have videos of them being used which is helpful....

The thing about Nasal Aire...if you get them too small it will drive you nuts with the loud sound and air escaping. They must fit correctly...they must be "snug" in your nose (they will warm up in there and conform to fit) and make a seal. What I did to test it out was spray some saline in my nostrils and put a tiny bit of ky jelly, since I've heard stories about irritation by the wrong size prongs, and put them in my nose while hooked up to the cpap. Then tug on them just a bit to move them down more to see if they really seal. If its the right size it will be very quiet, just a gentle whoosh. They are so comfortable with nothing much resting on your face except for the light weight hose coming out of the sides of the nasal canula. Its important to use the velcro strap to fasten the hose at the back of your head, kind of low down so it stays put.

I am a turner and rarely stay still at night, sleeping on my sides, stomach and back and no matter how I turn this is a good interface. It also is important to have a heated humidifier w/this interface to make it a pleasurable experience from what I've read. (Its hot here in Cleveland so I'm using it as a passive (unheated) humidifier and it feels refreshing.

Also Nasal Aire prongs need replacement after every 90 washings so if your insurance doesn't help w/that it could be pricey. Mine covers it every 90 days so I'm a happy woman!
Hope this helps! Terry

Thanks, Terry!

Quints? Already got 'em - though it was a 10 year pregnancy Their ages go from 13 to 3. No, the "exp" refers to the exponential relation between number of kids in the house and the amount of confusion and befuddlement experienced by mom. So, formally, it might read

CB[sub]mom[/sub]=kidchaos[sup]n[/sup], where n = number of kids