Please more advice

Round two.
Saw the technician today and when I told him about waking up feeling as if I can't exhale he said he had never heard of that before. This has me doubting his knowledge since I've been reading through many of the posts here and have seen this is a common issue. He looked at the data from the machine and it said I was having a number of leaks. He changed me to a new mask
Mirage Mico nasal mask. I've been trying it tonight and it makes me feel a bit claustraphobic. Still having the same problem with feeling as if I can't exhale. It's okay when I'm awake but I'm almost afraid to go to sleep.

I'm getting very confused by all the info here. It sounds like the majority of users here think the M series machine with Auto C Flex or some other auto-adjusting machine is easier to get used to.

Now I'm not sure how long I should struggle with this equipment they gave me before I seek out something else. I'm not sure if they even have anything else. They told me they had this machine and a choice of three masks.

What do you think? Should I continue with this equipment? Will it get easier after time? How long should I try before it's reasonable to say, "Help! I keep waking up feeling as if I'm drowning cause I can't exhale!"

My pressure is set for 12. The technician said I could not have that changed without seeing the doctor and he, of course, is booked up for a couple of weeks. I did ask the tech to talk to the nurse-practioner but she also said she had never encountered this problem of not being able to exhale.

The EPR setting (expiratory pressure relief) is set at 3 which is the highest. Last night I know I woke up with that smothering feeling at around 2am. The data from the machine showed I had had an apnea then.

I'm just not feeling much confidence in the staff here at this sleep center but not sure now that they've done the study and dispensed equipment if I could go elsewhere or not.

Am I getting discouraged too soon?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I'm sure someone else will chime in on this issue in more detail, but it's possible to change the pressure on the machine yourself--- you don't need a doctor or a tech.

I thought breathing was really weird at first on the CPAP. At first I was breathing in, and out, very slowly and deliberately and very hard. It felt like I was trying to breathe with my head out a car window going 80 mph down the highway...
Eventually, I relaxed. I realized I was breathing fine when I woke up in the morning. I tried to breathe that way at the beginning of the night more and more.
I still breathe hard for my first 3 to 5 breaths every night, but I calm down by watching TV and stop thinking about breathing.
Good luck

When things are working right for you, the prior poster is right that this way of breathing becomes less strange over time for most.

If leaks are causing your treatment to not be therapeutic and allowing apneas, I think I'd focus on resolution to the leaks (both mask and mouth). You can't count on the accuracy of your AHI data if you have large leaks. Control the leaks, and see if your AHI looks like your pressure is effective.

In my mind the other consideration would be to wonder if an exhalation setting of 3 is lowering your pressure too much to be effective at that time. Increasing exhalation relief is not always the answer to difficulty exhaling. Sometimes the timing of when the exhalation relief stops and the pressure kicks back up does not feel natural to our breathing pattern as much as the pressure itself.

Data can be your friend. It's hard to wait for weeks to get an appointment to get answers to if what you are doing is working, and you don't have to.

Until you are settled in your mind that you can rely on your treatment, I'd suggest raising the head of your bed a few inches and take measures to assure you stay off your back to mitigate possible effects of gravity. I just rolled up a comforter and placed it across the head of the bed between the mattress and box springs. And placed a large heavy object in the bed so I had no room to roll onto my back. (No, the large heavy object in my bed didn't have a name. ) But just these two measures may be enough to help your pressure be more effective as you sort out the leak issue. Best wishes.

Kathy

Well no one has mentioned this yet, and I am sure it's controversial, but have you considered a full face mask? I found when I used a nasal mask the pressure differential for me between my mouth and my airway was quite disturbing and interfered with my breathing. Nasal rinses, taping my mouth shut, other things followed. Once I switched to a nasal mask, where my entire airway (including oral compartment) was pressurized, the feeling of being 'pressurized' disappeared. Mouth breathing, stuffy nose are no longer a problem.

Just a thought to hang on to later down the road....

Luigi,

Sorry to hear you are struggling. Is the problem breathing out against the pressure of the air or are you having nasal congestion? If it is the later, try reducing your humidity level a notch or two. Too much heat/humidity can cause me to block up so that it feels like I am trying to breath through a pillow. Or perhaps a nasal rinse or saline spray would help you.

The machine you have is a decent one, and should give you good treatment for simple obstructive sleep apnea. While the tech cannot change the pressure without a new Rx from the doc, you can do it yourself, if you need to. But pressure might not be your problem. You should acclimate to it soon.

If you want to access your machine's Clinician's menu, press and hold the right and down button at the same time for a few seconds. The words "Clinician's Menu" should come up. You can then scroll down through the options. Be sure to write down all of your current settings before making any changes so that you can change them back if you need to. You can also find your nightly data here, but check before noon as the data is rolled into the weekly/monthly/yearly averages at that time.

If you feel that you aren't getting enough air, you should probably turn your EPR down or turn your ramp pressure up (if you are using the ramp feature). Do the opposite if you are feeling smothered.