Kenny's CPAP Thread

Violet · Post by **Violet** » Fri Feb 27, 2009 12:45 pm

Kenny,
Everything working okay on this Thread?

tattooyu · Post by **tattooyu** » Fri Feb 27, 2009 12:57 pm

Violet,

Seems to be working okay now. As long as I don't include an equals sign when I post my stats for the night. I'm pretty sure it's confusing the equals sign with some BBCodes or something.

Weird though... my numbers were great last night (excluding leakage) and I feel worse today than I have been the last couple of weeks. I had some extra heartbeats (benign) and a fast pulse that lasted about half an hour after I ate breakfast (egg whites, toast and a banana). I'm pretty sure it's digestive. Last night, my wife and I were heading back from our infant loss support group and it was late, I was starving. I did something I NEVER do and got a small hamburger from Jack in the Box. I guess I'm paying for it today. Kiralynx would probably slap me across the face for that infraction!

I doubt with my good numbers that I got hypoxemic last night, so I'll attribute it to my IBS.

Violet · Post by **Violet** » Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:10 pm

Kenny,
Good enough, glad it's working again.

Sorry your not "up to par", you've got to watch out for those nitrates in processed foods, e.g. breads and meats, their nasty buggers.

Hope you feel better tomorrow.

tattooyu · Post by **tattooyu** » Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:17 pm

Violet,

Whatever it was went away. Yeah, I always react poorly to nitrates and MSG. JIB filled my stomach, but I don't consider it "food".

tattooyu · Post by **tattooyu** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 11:04 am

Urgh.

Two nights in a row of less than optimal sleep. I can feel it during the day. Good news is that I am dreaming more!

My chinstrap arrived, and I tried it last night for the first time. My leak rate went up to 0.58 L/s for some reason. The strap felt like it fit fine and was keeping my mouth closed. If it was a little too snug, could it have pulled the nasal apparatus down causing leaks? I took off my mask at 4 am to drink some water and adjust, but I forgot to turn the machine off first--scared my wife half to death!

Results for 3/3/2009:
Leakage: 0.58 L/s
Usage: 7:36 hrs
AHI: 12.2 (Adjusted = 6.9)
AI: 1.6
HI: 10.6 (ResMed/2 = 5.3)

OutaSync · Post by **OutaSync** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 11:06 am

Your leak rate might have gone up BECAUSE you forgot to turn off the machine during your bathroom break. Probably figured into your averages.

tattooyu · Post by **tattooyu** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 11:19 am

I forgot to mention that immediately after I took the mask off, I turned the machine off, so the machine was not on for any significant amount of time with my mask removed.

SharkBait · Post by **SharkBait** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 12:10 pm

tattooyu wrote:I forgot to mention that immediately after I took the mask off, I turned the machine off, so the machine was not on for any significant amount of time with my mask removed.

Tattoo, I followed a similar path as yours as the more relaxed I got with my therapy, the more I started mouth breathing. And even with a chin strap, I was getting leaks kind of bubbling out of my closed mouth. I've gone with the 2" 3m Micropore tape for two nights now and I think it's a winner.

I'll admit I was reluctant to try the tape. I was never thrilled with the idea but so many have had success with it that I figured I'd give it a shot. Just one more thing that the kids think is a hoot...

tattooyu · Post by **tattooyu** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 12:36 pm

I am very reluctant to tape my mouth closed. It just doesn't seem safe. I think I'd try a FF mask before I do that.

jnk · Post by **jnk** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 12:57 pm

tattooyu wrote:I am very reluctant to tape my mouth closed. It just doesn't seem safe. I think I'd try a FF mask before I do that.

Done right, you can get tape off quicker than a mask.

But I hear ya. Too many good musicians have died choking on their own vomit.

I use a mouthpiece that holds my jaw forward, and I think it would be harder to get that out of the way than a little piece of tape on the outside holding my lips together.

I don't think mouth taping would be a good idea for patients in a hospital with serious medical conditions. But for the average person at home?--I got no problem with that.

As for the musicaians, those deaths were obviously a result of, uh, well, you know . . . other chemical issues.

Only my 2 cents. And only do what you are comfortable with doing.

jeff

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 1:04 pm

jnk wrote:
tattooyu wrote:I am very reluctant to tape my mouth closed. It just doesn't seem safe. I think I'd try a FF mask before I do that.
Done right, you can get tape off quicker than a mask.

But I hear ya. Too many good musicians have died choking on their own vomit.

And they didn't even tape, did they?....

In case of power failure, you're not supposed to have to take off/rip off a FF mask - it has an antiasphyxia valve (either in the mask or on the hose) that will let you breath in fresh air when the power is off. The antiasphyxia valve for a nasal mask is your mouth - which you open by natural instinct if you're not getting ehough air. That one becomes unavailable for immediate use if you tape it.

O>

tattooyu · Post by **tattooyu** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 1:09 pm

Man, do I feel like crap today. A lot of my pre-CPAP symptoms: some palpitations/PVCs, slightly higher than normal pulse (mid eighties), edginess, stomach issues.

It is going so well, that 1 or 2 bad days feel so much worse than they are.

jnk · Post by **jnk** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 1:14 pm

ozij wrote:
jnk wrote:
tattooyu wrote:I am very reluctant to tape my mouth closed. It just doesn't seem safe. I think I'd try a FF mask before I do that.
Done right, you can get tape off quicker than a mask.

But I hear ya. Too many good musicians have died choking on their own vomit.
And they didn't even tape, did they?....

In case of power failure, you're not supposed to have to take off/rip off a FF mask - it has an antiasphyxia valve (either in the mask or on the hose) that will let you breath in fresh air when the power is off. The antiasphyxia valve for a nasal mask is your mouth - which you open by natural instinct if you're not getting ehough air. That one becomes unavailable for immediate use if you tape it.

O>

I hadn't thought about power failures. (Pretty rare here in Brooklyn.) I'll have to think about that one. Hmmmm.

tattooyu · Post by **tattooyu** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 10:48 am

So, I saw the sleep doctor yesterday for the first time. He is really nice and is an apneic himself! From his own experiences, he gets better results from CPAP than APAP, but he was totally fine with me experimenting to find my right settings. I told him I joined an online support group, and he said, "Oh really? Which one?" I showed him CPAPTalk.com, which he had never seen, but he was familiar with CPAP.com. His favorite is CPAPauction.com. I have a follow-up in one year.

The doctor said the ResMed algorithm is fairly accurate ("quite good"--his words) and does not believe it is overly sensitive to HIs (his opinion).

I'm not sure what the heck is going on with me or my mask, but my leak rate keeps climbing and my numbers are starting to degrade. This morning, I was very frustrated and even commented, "This whole thing is beginning to be tiresome." Of course, I know I won't give up; I just want good sleep and good numbers. I'm a perfectionist so that doesn't help.

I think the increase in REM is relaxing my jaw to the point where I might be mouth breathing more, so as I get used to the therapy, it's starting to work against me. According to my wife, she heard less mouth breathing last night but did note that it usually happens two hours or so before I wake up. The chinstrap doesn't seem to be helping all that much, so I'm going to try without it tonight to see what happens.

Results for 3/4/2009:
Usage: 7:26 hrs
Leakage: 0.68 L/s
AHI: 17.9 (Adjusted = 10.3)
AI: 2.6
HI: 15.3 (ResMed/2 = 7.7)

I may have noticed actual mask leaks where the nasal pillows touch my upper lip and not at my nares. Is that unusual? I'm considering getting some Ayr gel to help soothe and seal.

Regardless, I know that some xPAP is better than none. I still am feeling better overall even though yesterday was pretty gnarly. I guess this is just that adjustment period that everyone goes through, eh?

elader · Post by **elader** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 10:58 am

Kenny, I went through a period after a month or two on cpap where I just felt like shit. Thought I was going to be in real trouble. But I seem to have come out of it OK. I think even on cpap, with my AHI being about 5, I am still not 'normal' - stopping breathing 3-5 times an hour is still 24-40 times a night. Is that asymptomatic?? I also don't have a clue about the nature of these cpap resistant 'pressurized Apneas'. Is an apnea that resisted 10cM pressure more severe than one that was avoided? Do the resistant ones last longer? I dunno as I don't have a O2 meter. Maybe... once you are getting better sleep, the bad nights are just that much more obvious.

I also don't know about the hypopneas. I think many of mine are 'centrals' - in fact, I can catch myself as I am falling asleep, breathing way too shallow - like I am forgetting to take deep enough breaths. As I have had to become a side sleeper to accommodate the mask I worry about making it worse with my posture sort of folding one arm over my chest and squishing somewhat. So I do sleep with a pillow to keep my chest less compressed.

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