Holy BiPap batman, I'm really new at this

Well, here I go. I'll probably be asking a lot of dumb questions but this has me really confused. I have read many (I do mean many, hours of time) posts trying to get a handle on this but I still could use some help. All I know and can tell you is that they said I woke up 62 times per hour and after seeing their chart thing, I never got past a level 2 sleep and only got there a few times. I had a horrendous time at the sleep center with masks and they ended up getting me through it with the nasal thing since I was ripping off the masks (claustrophobic?) I did like one mask but still had a problem which was solved with the nasal thing and lowering the humidifier to a 2. Anything higher felt like it was really stuffy and hard to breathe, like being in a 120 degrees with 100% humidity. They gave me a BiPAP with the settings at 9-5 and a ramp feature. The lady technician said I had central and obstructive sleep apnea and fragmented sleep.

So now, I am at home with this thing and it totally sucks. After 2 nights, I have gotten at best 4 hours of sleep per night and trying to breathe through this thing is really tough. They gave me (at no charge!) a resperonics full life mask to take home and try to get used to since it was the only mask I was halfway comfortable with. The mask is okay and I use it for a short nap to try to get used to it, but can't get to sleep at all! The Swift LT that I got with the machine has me lying awake for 2-3 hours before I can even get to sleep. Is this normal? I feel like I slept more before I got this stuff, but I was always tired during the day. I also noticed the humidifier wasn't using much water. Perhaps because of the low level of 2? Should I try to go higher?

It's only been 2 nights, but both nights I had a bit of congestion in my nose (allergies) and had to get up and take an allergy pill and wait for that to kick in before I could breathe through the thing. It's a booger of a problem (pun intended). How long does it take to get used to this stuff and see some results. Like perhaps a decent night's sleep of at least 6-7 hours? I guess 8 hours might be asking too much.

Thanks for your help, this is really frustrating.

Rick

Welcome Rick! Sounds like your entrance in the world of being a hosehead isn't nice and easy . OK, let's take it 1 thing at a time...what's the worst, most challenging to deal with? The path for most of is:

• find the right kind of mask: pillows, nasal (covers nose), FFM, hybrid-style (pillows & encloses mouth)
• find the right mask by mfg & size, one that fits your facial anatomy well
• get the pressure acceptable if not comfortable finding the best exhalation relief and ideal ramp time & pressure for right now (ramp can be and usually is adjusted often in the beginning, most of us don't use it anymore)
• Collect nightly data, review and figure out how to resolve leaks, then to wakte trends, then optimize therapy
• get strap padding to minimize straps marks if they're an issue
• get mask liners if contact with silicon is causing skin problems

Then, just getting comfortable sleeping with equipment...that can take some time. As you begin to get more restful sleep, all this gets easier but getting there can be a challenge.

So what's first?

Rick B wrote:Well, here I go. I'll probably be asking a lot of dumb questions but this has me really confused. I have read many (I do mean many, hours of time) posts trying to get a handle on this but I still could use some help. All I know and can tell you is that they said I woke up 62 times per hour and after seeing their chart thing, I never got past a level 2 sleep and only got there a few times. I had a horrendous time at the sleep center with masks and they ended up getting me through it with the nasal thing since I was ripping off the masks (claustrophobic?) I did like one mask but still had a problem which was solved with the nasal thing and lowering the humidifier to a 2. Anything higher felt like it was really stuffy and hard to breathe, like being in a 120 degrees with 100% humidity. They gave me a BiPAP with the settings at 9-5 and a ramp feature. The lady technician said I had central and obstructive sleep apnea and fragmented sleep.

So now, I am at home with this thing and it totally sucks. After 2 nights, I have gotten at best 4 hours of sleep per night and trying to breathe through this thing is really tough. They gave me (at no charge!) a resperonics full life mask to take home and try to get used to since it was the only mask I was halfway comfortable with. The mask is okay and I use it for a short nap to try to get used to it, but can't get to sleep at all! The Swift LT that I got with the machine has me lying awake for 2-3 hours before I can even get to sleep. Is this normal? I feel like I slept more before I got this stuff, but I was always tired during the day. I also noticed the humidifier wasn't using much water. Perhaps because of the low level of 2? Should I try to go higher?

It's only been 2 nights, but both nights I had a bit of congestion in my nose (allergies) and had to get up and take an allergy pill and wait for that to kick in before I could breathe through the thing. It's a booger of a problem (pun intended). How long does it take to get used to this stuff and see some results. Like perhaps a decent night's sleep of at least 6-7 hours? I guess 8 hours might be asking too much.

Thanks for your help, this is really frustrating.

Rick

It's a bumpy runway before you get airborne. Keep at it. It gets better. Your brain has to get used to the idea that the mask is there to help you. It knows you have had breathing trouble at night, and it doesn't understand that something over your face is going to help you. Once it figures that out, things go smoother. But the way you teach your brain that is that you force it to experience the good sleep that comes with it on so it can see it for itself.

If you aren't used to effective sleep, your brain wakes you up after a sleep cycle or two, because it is all happy with itself for getting you that much sleep. It takes it a while to learn it can stay asleep and experience several full sleep cycles. Let it learn.

You will experience some dry sinuses and some runny sinuses over time as your nose gets used to the therapy and you find the sweet spot with your humidity. It is a process that runs its course then evens out, for most of us.

Keep your problem-solving skills engaged and you'll do fine. Any specific problem or question you have is worth starting a thread here. People in this forum love being helpful. And new ones starting out are what we are mostly here for, so don't be shy.

jeff

HI Rick,
there are no dumb questions you can ask here!
Wow, sixty two times an hour, no wonder youre not getting any rest!
It must have been very difficult for you during the sleep study barely getting to stage two sleep.. I know what that is like, I didnt sleep long
enough for them to even get a mask on me..
Now then, I would suggest that you mess around with the humidty settings at a time other then bedtime.. Like on the weekend or
in the evening before dinner when YOU are NOT so exhausted that you cant make more fine tuned judgements of exacty what settings you prefer.
I found that tweeking things before bedtime, or at bedtime usually didnt turn out so well.
Okay, so you have central and obstructive sleep apnea.. You probably read that most of the events happen in REM, so your doctor is probably
very concerned what REALLY was going on, when things are like this in stage two..
YES, this totally sucks.. RIGHT NOW.. yes, it sucks.. but I promise you it wont compare with what has been happening to your poor body
with the OSA... and no matter how bad the cpap experience SEEMS right now, it is going to get better, and you along with it..

The Swift LT that I got with the machine has me lying awake for 2-3 hours before I can even get to sleep. Is this normal? I feel like I slept more before I got this stuff, but I was always tired during the day. I also noticed the humidifier wasn't using much water. Perhaps because of the low level of 2? Should I try to go higher?

Lying awake for two or three hours isnt normal. That was also my experience! However, this happened because I was trying to practice good sleep
hygiene and go to bed at a decent hour.. which I have never done in my life! So there I would lie in bed, from 11pm to one am, with these stupid
nasal pillows in my nose, wondering when was this going to get any better?
Everyone here, gave me a ton of tips.. TIP ONE.. use our normal bed tim.. Tip two.. dont change anything in your bedroom or sleeping situation
other than adding the machine.. Unless you have to kick a pet out of the bed or something..
Are you a light sleeper? If you are, its going to take awhile to get used this is..
If you arent a light sleeper, sorry same answer.
As for the humidifer not using much water, some do and some dont.. I think I could set my PR system one a flex at two, and it didnt use
much water at all, I set my s9 auto set on 3.5.. but you also need to figure out what the temp and humidity might be in your room too..
or outside if you like the windows open.
You can turn up the humidity each night point five or one point and see how you feel the next day, but it would be best to try it when you
arent going to bed..

It's only been 2 nights, but both nights I had a bit of congestion in my nose (allergies) and had to get up and take an allergy pill and wait for that to kick in before I could breathe through the thing. It's a booger of a problem (pun intended). How long does it take to get used to this stuff and see some results. Like perhaps a decent night's sleep of at least 6-7 hours? I guess 8 hours might be asking too much.

Thanks for your help, this is really frustrating.

Okay, two nights.. Im sorry you had congestion problems, that can put a fly in the cpap ointment.. that is an issue which is going to take
some research as well.. allergy meds, when to take them, netti pots, hot showers before bed, humidity causing congestion, dust bunnies?
Most nasal mask, or nose pillows cpapers have a back up for stuffed noses, a full face mask. I have a fit life. I plan to use sports tape on the
areas which leak.
I am on month three.. I was sleeping less then when I started, I was more miserable than I had ever been. I wanted to quit. (saved by these folks)
I was never sleepy during the day before I started cpap. My life pretty much turned to dog doo for a few weeks.. but I have NOW been logging
in eight and nine hour nights! OMG! I have never slept longer than a two hours at a time.. and then in one night no longer than four or five..
So this is BIG.... but you have to be patient.. if youre lucky you can get all this figured out in a week or two. Its taking me twelve, and Im not quite
there yet.. but, I bet you will be. Some people it takes months, I am prepared to have it take six months.. because I know I have had this severe OSA
for over twenty years.. the time is all relative.. hang in there!
You are going to get results! Just keep asking, and keep practicing..
All the best Rick!
elena

Thanks all for the suggestions and support. Evidently, I've had this for over twenty years and never knew it until I got older and it started getting worse. I'm going to try all of your suggestions, a little at a time. I guess I'm just tired of being tired all the time.

Muse-Inc: Good stuff there. Masks are good, not me....lol. The pressure is a preset from the DME off the dr prescription. The ramp really helps and I can adjust the time up to 45 minutes. It will be nice when I don't need it. I'll have to check out that data thing you were talking about. No problem with strap marks or skin problems.......yet anyway. The worst, most challenging problem is dealing with the whole thing..... I think that would be getting used to wearing the equipment.

Jeff: That is some good info. Wish someone would have told me that to begin with. I seem to be getting most of my information from reading posts here. I guess that is probably the way to go. Get it straight from the horses hose I know I'll be asking more questions in the future. Gotta learn what you guys already know. Your experiences are going to be my teacher. Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Elena88: Getting past stage 2 sleep would be a milestone mark. The doctor said with central apnea, it was a neurological disorder from a bang on the head or something in my life. He said the brain was telling the muscles that make me breathe to shut down when I was relaxed. Probably why I fall asleep for a few seconds when I least expect it. Total bummer. I, too, was trying to go to bed earlier to attempt to make this work better. Guess I was wrong on that one. I keep a hepa air filter in my bedroom and my office to keep the air cleaner. Also makes for easier housecleaning. I am never really sleepy during the day as long as I am doing something. Just fatigued. If I stopped to rest I could nap really easily for about 45 minutes to an hour then feel real crappy when I woke up. Then do it all over again. If I get an eight hour sleep night in without interruptions, it's party time! My average is about 6 hours at best.

Again, thanks, everyone. I'm gonna whip this monster. I should have addressed the situation years ago, but nooooo, I just thought I was having a hard time sleeping.