Natural cures first?

OCNorsk wrote:Thank you so much, Barbara. I will register as soon as I see where to do so. I appreciate your help.

I'll bet that when you do register, and fill in your profile in text, not ICONNY, that you will be using a nasal mask, and quite possably mouthbreathing has been letting your treatment for 6 months spray into the room instead of holding your airway open. I hope it hasn't. Jim

I made sure that my mouth was "sealed" last night. I swallowed so much air, I woke myself up burping air bubbles half way through the night. I just saw another post about a weak lower sphincter muscle and GERD causing the problem. I have never had any other symptoms.

OCNorsk wrote:I came across this forum as I was looking for information on the didgeridoo. I'll try just about anything. I have had my CPAP machine since last spring. I really wanted it because I had been diagnosed several years ago but they said I wasn't bad enough. I changed doctors. I have been semi-miserable with the machine. My head feels like a dried out balloon in the mornings. I tried taking it off after three or four hours, but I wasn't getting the benefits I need. I still wake up (fully) every 60-90 minutes. I have the chin strap, in fact, since I've gotten my "six month" replacements, I wear two chin straps to keep my mouth closed. My machine has a humidifier, but I still feel very dried out. On the worst days, the CPAP headache is as bad as the apnea headaches were. I was hoping for a miracle and the CPAP has not been it for me, yet. Did anyone else have a lengthy adjustment period that ends well?

OCNorsk wrote:I made sure that my mouth was "sealed" last night. I swallowed so much air, I woke myself up burping air bubbles half way through the night. I just saw another post about a weak lower sphincter muscle and GERD causing the problem. I have never had any other symptoms.

What's your pressure and other settings (like C-Flex, humidifier, etc.)?
I'd bet money you were mouth-breathing (before)......meaning you were not getting your needed therapy air.
According to the experts, we cycle through our sleep stages at around 90 min. intervals. That would seem to coincide with your awakenings you reported. Most chin straps are worthless. I think I've only heard of one that seems to work for some people.

Swallowing air is pretty common to many on this therapy.

According to your profile, you have the same machine as one that I have. It's fully data-capable and with the software and card reader will tell you how your therapy is or isn't working (leaks, snores, apneas, hypopneas, sleep time, etc.). I'd highly recommend acquiring it. I got it when I started my therapy almost 4 years ago and then as now, I consider it to be an excellent investment......saves many repeated trips back to the doctors and sleep studies.


Den

If swallowing air is common and not lethal, I feel better. I know I'm a mouth breather. I have an dental appliance because I grind my teeth. I can't sleep on my stomach because I grind my teeth. Can't sleep on my back because I stop breathing. The sides were working for awhile, but now my shoulder is sore from the pressure. I'm running out of options unless I prop myself upright in a corner. I'm not sure about the model of my machine. It has a built in humidifier and the card. It says REMstar Pro M series with C-Flex. I didn't see that exact option on the list. I also have an Apple computer. Would the card reader work with that? As far as the rest of the info, I do not have a clue. I'm pretty sure six inches comes in there somewhere. I am not good about going to the doctor and I have not returned since the week after I got my machine. He said I was doing great and I was miserable, so he had no credibility with me. I also drove into a pole in a parking lot that week, so I was pretty sure I was not doing great. (In my defense, the pole was moving very quickly.)

When I had my titration and was diagnosed with sleep apnea everyone kept asking me how I knew I had sleep apnea. I had all the symptoms (depression, crankiness, mood swings, sleepy all the time, high blood pressure, snoring). I had suspicioned this for several years but didn't think I could sleep with the hose, mask, etc.. But, I finally went to the doctor. I am still adjusting to the CPAP treatment, but every day gets better. I still get sleepy during the day, but I am not as tired feeling.

I don't feel like a beauty queen when I go to bed, but hey, I'm not snoring, and my husband loves that.

Here's some instructions on how to get into that machine and see how it's configured.
I would suggest you not make any changes to any of the settings at first. Make sure you write them ALL down on a piece of paper as you go through them the first time.
That is a data-capable machine and will give you some information in the LCD screen after you turn on that option "Show AHI/Leak Feature = On" (listed below).....that one I would suggest you turning on. The instructions below that are how to get your data from the LCD and to reset it so each night's data will be presented the following morning.

Den



Menu for M Series Pro

1. Hold down the <- -> buttons while plugging in the power on the back, wait for 2 beeps, release buttons.
2. Press the + key. <- -> buttons move to next field, -/+ keys decrement/increment
3. Check the following field(s):

-Therapy Mode = CPAP

-CPAP Pressure = NN (4 - 20 cm.)

-C-Flex Setting = (options are off, 1, 2 or 3)

-Ramp Time = (options are 05 to 45 min)

-Ramp Start Pressure = cm (Min. 4cm)

-Mask Alert Feature = On (On/Off)

-Auto Off Feature = Off (On/off)

-Show AHI/Leak Feature = On (On/Off)

Press On/Off button to exit.





==========Resetting LCD Display Data====================

To reset LCD Therapy data (does NOT erase any data from SmartCard):

1. Hold down the (<-) (->) buttons while plugging in the power on the back,
wait for 2 beeps or 5 seconds, release buttons.
2. Press the (->) key and navigate to Therapy screen.
3. Press and HOLD down the (-) minus key for 5 seconds and/or until therapy data is reset to Zero.
4. Press the (->) key to scroll back to main menu, press (+) key to enter Setup or
On/Off button to exit.

ExhaustedLady -

As others have pointed out, CPAP is the "GOLD STANDARD" and it is drug free with no blood and guts or stitches to worry about ... I think that fits the definition of "natural".

The only harm in blowing into a hollow stick instead of using CPAP (aside from letting your mind turn to veggy mush like the other poster) is that you might die in your sleep.

There are many ways to blow low frequency wind if that is the natural approach you seek, but do yourself a favor and get on with your life ... start your PAP treatment ASAP!!

OMG.. I read that and I thought, "I don't have an LED screen." So I went in and looked and turned the machine over and saw nothing. Then I saw this little flap. I lifted it and !!! What to my wondering eyes should appear. Thank you for the info. It will take me awhile to digest it, I'm sure, since I obviously am clueless. I also can not find the link to update my equipment profile on this forum. I've had to go back to the email the forum administrator sent me to get to the link. What is my machine, the Series M or the REMstar? Thank you so much.

I am also being logged out every time I try to post, so I don't know if my info will show up.

HA HA! Hey kid, YOU'RE SLEEP DEPRIVED! That's your excuse, and you stick to it!

I know I do.

Hang in there. You'll figure it out. It just takes time.

Cheers,
Barbara

OCNorsk wrote:OMG.. I read that and I thought, "I don't have an LED screen." So I went in and looked and turned the machine over and saw nothing. Then I saw this little flap. I lifted it and !!! What to my wondering eyes should appear. Thank you for the info. It will take me awhile to digest it, I'm sure, since I obviously am clueless. I also can not find the link to update my equipment profile on this forum. I've had to go back to the email the forum administrator sent me to get to the link. What is my machine, the Series M or the REMstar? Thank you so much.

I am also being logged out every time I try to post, so I don't know if my info will show up.

Well, I was going by the one that was listed in your profile. If it isn't that one, you'll need to figure out which one it is......the name should be on top of the machine. (and all of those instructions may not work, either)

Den

Just FYI - the Series M machines look signficantly different than the other RemStar machines. Den's profile shows the "tank" body shape. The M Series machines are more square and flat, without that tall humpy shape of the "tank".

You can click on my machine link and look at that and see if yours is similar to that. If it looks similar, then you have an M Series machine.

If it looks more like Den's machine in his profile, you have the older non-M Series model.

Hope that helps!!!
B.

Sounds like an M Series when you said you lifted a little flap and saw the LCD screen. If that's then right below the "flip top" it should say exactly what your machine is. Tell us EXACTLY what that says (it's printed in white on the machine) and you'll know and we'll know what you have.

Thank you so much. On the front of the machine it says REMstar Pro M Series. In the instruction manual it says REMstar Pro M Series with C-Flex.
I can see that there is a lot more to this than just sticking the hose on your nose and hoping to doze.

With that printed on the machine, it means you have an M Series. The M Series is a Remstar machine. One of the buttons under the flip door probably says "C-Flex". C-Flex gives you pressure relief when you exhale. It's a nice comfort feature. You can use it or not. You can have 1 of 3 levels at a time. Everyone is different about whether they want to use C-Flex and/or at what level.

What Wulfman has given you for accessing the setup for a Remstar I think will work with your Remstar M Series (which is what you have). His is what is affectionally called the Remstar "Tank" model. It is an older model, of the Remstar, than the M Series. His instructions about zeroing the LCD will work on your machine as well. If you don't have software and a card reader, zeroing the machine each morning (after you get your data) will give you more accurate data.

Just in case there are differences between the setup menu for the "tank" and for the M Series Pro, PM me with your email address and I'll send you the setup guide for the M Series Pro. If you got it from you DME you won't have this setup guide.

To learn more about C-Flex and your machine, you should read your Users Instruction Manual again as a refresher.

Hawthorne wrote:With that printed on the machine, it means you have an M Series. The M Series is a Remstar machine. One of the buttons under the flip door probably says "C-Flex". C-Flex gives you pressure relief when you exhale. It's a nice comfort feature. You can use it or not. You can have 1 of 3 levels at a time. Everyone is different about whether they want to use C-Flex and/or at what level.

What Wulfman has given you for accessing the setup for a Remstar I think will work with your Remstar M Series (which is what you have). His is what is affectionally called the Remstar "Tank" model. It is an older model, of the Remstar, than the M Series. His instructions about zeroing the LCD will work on your machine as well. If you don't have software and a card reader, zeroing the machine each morning (after you get your data) will give you more accurate data.

Just in case there are differences between the setup menu for the "tank" and for the M Series Pro, PM me with your email address and I'll send you the setup guide for the M Series Pro. If you got it from you DME you won't have this setup guide.

To learn more about C-Flex and your machine, you should read your Users Instruction Manual again as a refresher.

They ARE for the M Series Pro. The older "tank" (Legacy) machines have slightly different setting option names.
Once you got through the Setup menu, and write them down, you'll start getting more comfortable with it. They're much easier to configure than many other electronics devices.

In fact, if you click on this link, you can download the .pdf version of the Setup card that the DME probably removed from you carrying bag.

http://www.apneaboard.com/REMstar%20Pro ... 0Guide.pdf


Den