suffocating with nasal pillows

The nicest part of the CPAP experience is when I wake up in the morning, take off the nasal pillows, and finally breath nice fresh air. Should I feel suffocated with the machine running? I'm obviously a new user and not a very happy one at that!

I use nasal pillows and the only time I feel that way is if I'm congested.

It would help everyone to answer your questions if you'd post your equipment in your profile and mention your pressure too.

what pressure are you running at? Sounds like maybe your pressure is too low to provide adequate volume for you. I know that when I first started my treatment I used the ramp feature and it started at 4, and that wasn't enough for me and felt like I was suffocating. Once I bumped the initial pressure up to around 7 I no longer had that feeling.

I've always used nasal pillows and have never awakened gasping for breath. Only when my old CPAP was ramping up did I occasionally have those symptoms, and I abandoned the ramp settings when I realized I was fully acclimated to the therapy. I suggest that you have someone double-check your pressure and hoses.

I agree with the others that perhaps your starting pressure may be too low to breathe comfortably if you have the ramp feature on. Starting pressures of 4 or 5 are too low for most people to breathe easily. Tell us what pressures you're using, and which features you have set on the machine (such as ramp and the A-Flex setting).

But it sounds like it's more an "all night" thing, as you mention waking up in the morning with that suffocating feeling. It could be that you're getting some "rainout" in your hose and/or mask, which is caused when the cooler room air creates condensation inside the hose. That can make the therapy air feel a bit "heavy". Is there any condensation in your hose or mask? If so, you'll probably want to use an insulating hose cover. Or you could try turning down the humidifier and see if that helps.

It does take a while to get used to CPAP too, so you may just need some time to adapt. This is a great place for information and support. Welcome!

~ DreamOn

If your humidifier's set on high, turn it way down, it can cause congestion in a lot of people and you don't "need" it for therapy, only for comfort if you feel the lack of humidity.

I can't find either my machine or nasal pillows in the list of choices so I have them listed at the end of my profile.
My pressure is from 4-10.
The humidifier is changed from 1-2 depending on the rain.
I don't have the ramp on.

Hi, I don't think your machine is an M series, but one 'generation' back from that (I have it too), and we like to call it the "tank" because it's so reliable! You say your pressure is "4-10", but 4 is just the default lowest setting on the machine (and 20 would be the highest). Do you know if your prescription pressure was 10? Or a range of a lower (than 10) number plus a higher one- or 10 could be that 'higher' number and your scripted one actually ... 8 or 6? I hope that didn't confuse you, but most of us have e.g. a scripted pressure number (i.e. 10) and our machines are set to begin at a slightly lower number like 7-8, and the range's high something like 12 or 15. The reason is that if your script calls for .. 9, but you have an event overnight that needs a pressure of ... 14, your machine will overrule the high setting of 12 or whatever and go to what the event (apnea) calls for, but if it has to climb from too low a figure, like 4 or 6 that event could be 'missed' by the machine as it takes too long to reach the event's need. You say you don't use the ramp anymore, so therefore there's no need to keep the low number (4) at all, so if you know how to raise it to e.g. 7, then I would suggest you try that, but if not, let me know and I'll walk you through it.

Nasal pillows gave me severe air hunger. Every few breaths I'd have to open my mouth and gasp. I switched to the Comfort Gel nasal mask and never felt better. I have to deal with the red mark on my nose, but it is worth it. (Not that I don't gripe about it, though!) I'd suggest trying another type of mask.

I was titrated to 6cm at my study, but at home I kept taking my mask off in the middle of the night. I upped my minimum pressure to 7 and sleep with it on all night now.

I see you use swift lt pillows, there is a problem with the pillows. They tend to be a bit flimsy,if you get the new ones, with the #6 or higher. There is a posting in this forum, you should be able to find it if you a search on swift pillows. There you will find all about these pillows. I have since then changed to Mirage Quattro full face mask. It was hard getting used too since I am clauseterfobic, but the positives outweighed the negative. I am finally getting the full benefits of cpap. My AHI is 0.2 leak 0.1 I feal great. It has taken me over two years to get where I am now. The road was hard and long, but I stuck with it and now reap the benefits.

Julie wrote:Hi, I don't think your machine is an M series, but one 'generation' back from that (I have it too), and we like to call it the "tank" because it's so reliable! You say your pressure is "4-10", but 4 is just the default lowest setting on the machine (and 20 would be the highest). Do you know if your prescription pressure was 10? Or a range of a lower (than 10) number plus a higher one- or 10 could be that 'higher' number and your scripted one actually ... 8 or 6? I hope that didn't confuse you, but most of us have e.g. a scripted pressure number (i.e. 10) and our machines are set to begin at a slightly lower number like 7-8, and the range's high something like 12 or 15. The reason is that if your script calls for .. 9, but you have an event overnight that needs a pressure of ... 14, your machine will overrule the high setting of 12 or whatever and go to what the event (apnea) calls for, but if it has to climb from too low a figure, like 4 or 6 that event could be 'missed' by the machine as it takes too long to reach the event's need. You say you don't use the ramp anymore, so therefore there's no need to keep the low number (4) at all, so if you know how to raise it to e.g. 7, then I would suggest you try that, but if not, let me know and I'll walk you through it.

My machine is defective so is being replaced. It may take awhile longer to get it with the slowness of the mail now. I will work on adjusting the pressure after the new machine is working.

Like pitrow, I wonder if your pressure is too low. How are your numbers/data?

Another thought is that when I first started APAP therapy, I never did feel like I was getting enough air. I was used to mouth breathing. When I learned to breath through my nose, I expected less volume of air. It was then that I was comfortable enough to go to nasal pillows. Even so, at first I didn't feel like I was getting enough air. Now I'm perfectly comfortable with pillows.

Another thought : ) What size pillows are you wearing? I wonder if they are too small. At first I used nasal pillows that were too big, and went down a size. I actually breathed better. However too small may also be a problem.

Your pressure of 4 is too low. When you get your machine back try raising it up to 5. I use a full face mask and have a hard time tollerating 6.

Gerry