New CPAP user... My experience so far

Pugsy: I read up on torticolis (sp?) but that didn't sound like. But more research led me to believe that my posture at work is contributing. I tend to sit with my head forward which strains neck muscles I guess. So, i'm working on it. I may see a doctor and find out if there's more to do than just sitting right. I usually apply cold, not heat, as I was told that the problem is an inflamed nerve and and that cold will promote more healing. I will try some heat, too.

Exercise seemed to help along with a hot shower but it still hurts this morning.

Took my mask off at some point last night, between 3 and 5 am. Not sure when or why. Back to this again.

I didn't see a setting for mask vs. pillows on the clinician menu. Anyone familiar with the Phillips machine know differently?

I haven't gotten the pillow yet. It has been shipped, though, I hear.

gurp13 wrote: I didn't see a setting for mask vs. pillows on the clinician menu. Anyone familiar with the Phillips machine know differently?

The Resmed S9 has a mask setting so that it can subtract off the average expected leak rate for that mask type from the leak data. {That's why S9 users can report leak rates of 0.0 L/min.]

The PR System One does NOT have a mask setting. And that's why the leak data on the PR S1 doesn't get down to 0.0 L/min, but bottoms out around the expected leak rate for the mask at the pressure being used.

Sorry to hear about the neck problems and how it's causing you to not sleep very well.

gurp13 wrote:I usually apply cold, not heat, as I was told that the problem is an inflamed nerve and and that cold will promote more healing. I will try some heat, too.

Exercise seemed to help along with a hot shower but it still hurts this morning.

I used to work for orthopedic surgeon and his usual recommendation for "pinched nerves" and sprains and such was ice for the first 48 hours to affected area. This does decrease the swelling then heat to promote circulation and healing.
As with anything in medicine there is always a different point of view.

If the hot shower seems to help.. then applied warmth (doesn't have to be extreme) might help relieve the symptoms.

Coming from a long battle with cervical spine issues, position at work can be huge. I used to spend a lot of time over a microscope and it was awful.

Do what you can to relieve the symptoms. If you can tolerate OTC Nsaid product, that might also help. Works to relieve the inflammation that causes the pain. Usually have to take more than one to see if it helps because the blood level of the product has to get built up to be effective. So one pill likely won't offer immediate relief.

I never could tolerate them. Major GI problem with Nsaids but some people do take them with good results.

I'm not sure how many days in I am at this point. If I'm not over thirty days now, I'm close. The nasal mask has definitely been better for me. Unbelievably to me, I feel more comfortable with it on.

My neck still hurts. I don't know that happened. My spouse posits that I was trying to so hard to keep my mask on that I was tensing up to keep my head in certain positions. I got my CPAP Contour pillow yesterday and last night was my first night with it. Two things I noticed:

1) I slept on my side MUCH easier. By far! My shoulder didn't ache and the mask stayed put. In fact, I'd say it was easier to sleep on my side than on my back with this pillow. It has a slight depression in the very center that keeps my head from lolling to one side or the other when on my back. I think this was contributing to my tension because I was sleeping on my back and whenever my head would droop to the side, the mask would come loose and wake me up (even a small leak causes me to wake because it makes that little cold feeling on my face and my mind has learned this means my mask is loose).

2) It seemed to help me sleep much better overall. It wasn't hard (I've had a memory foam pillow for years now, actually, and sleep on a memory foam bed, so maybe I'm used to the feel?) and it wasn't too low. It seemed low when I first got it but last night was good.

I have definitely done something to my neck muscles to make them very sensitive. There has been slow improvement, that's for sure. The last two days have been the best so far. But, there is still some discomfort.

I have to report, too, that I am actually liking the CPAP, in a way. It is part of a routine now. I put water in the tank, get the mask off the headboard and set it on the pillow. Then, I put some oil on the wafer for aromatherapy. Lie down, put on the mask and hit the button. I traveled with the CPAP machine and mask this week, as well. Had a conference to attend. All went well, but I see I should get a little bottle for carrying distilled water when traveling. I'm having good luck using the distilled water and don't want to mess up the machine using tap. Carrying a jug of water seemed like overkill. Sleeping on steel coils and in a strange room with strange sounds probably contributed to my restless sleep.

So, right now, after one night, the pillow is a good thing. I'm feeling like things are moving in a positive direction.

I'm about two-and-a-half weeks in myself and I have been really vexed by a very stiff neck and shoulders. I must be sleeping in odd positions to favor the mask. So far I have found that Advil helps, a heating pad helps a lot, and certain yoga poses help (garudasana, anyone?).

I'm trying a lot of different pillows, nothing has worked well so far. Sleeping on my back was most comfortable but my AHI was significantly higher, even with the machine, when I did so.

There seems nothing to be done but to soldier on. Hang in there.

Drowsy Dancer

I think that the stiff neck problem is quite common with newer CPAP users. I had the same problem myself for several months when I started. I do think that it was partly because of the mask. I may have been a bit tense because of the whole wearing-a-mask-on-your-face experience too. Actually, almost all my joints were sore for months. I think that was because I had tossed and turned for so many years pre-CPAP (because of the apneas) that my body wasn't used to being in the same position for so many hours at a time. That soreness eventually stopped, though, and I have no discomfort whatsoever now.

I went through LOTS of different bed pillows too. I never did try the special CPAP pillows with the cutouts, though. I finally settled on this buckwheat hull pillow: https://www.cpap.com/productpage/snuggl ... illow.html. You can adjust firmness by adding/removing hulls. I didn't like it at first, but I tried again a few months later. I think I removed some hulls at that time. I've been using it for at least 8 months now, and it works great for me. It is smaller than a standard pillow, but that's been no problem.

Another poster contacted me by PM and also said he had a stiff neck in the beginning and suggested, as well, that it may be due to either us staying in one position too long or that we aren't used to not tossing and turning in our sleep. So, there ya go.

I do think the various things like aromatherapy helps. I don't particularly think that a given scent has a specific effect, ie. peppermint makes you alert or lavender makes you sleep more. But, I like the smell and I think it distracts me from the mask and helps me think it's beneficial 'cause it smells good.

The Contour pillow is smaller, too. I loved my memory foam pillow so I wanted something similar. I believe it is better but more nights will tell the truth. The cutouts really seemed to be in the right place.

I thought I would check in with the forum. Some people said my thread had helped them, so I didn't want to completely abandon it. Work has kept me very busy lately. But, mostly I haven't posted because I didn't have much to say. I haven't been using APAP/CPAP long enough to feel like I could offer advice and not much was changing day to day anymore.

So, I have been using the same setup for a couple months now. I have not gone back to the nasal pillows and have been happy with the nasal mask, mostly. Occasionally, my nose will itch in the middle of the night and it's tough to scratch it. I am wearing the mask pretty tight now. It reminds me of bike riding: when I first start riding the bike, my butt is sore! But, after a week or so, the hindquarters get used to it and I can ride longer distances without discomfort, or rather, unsual discomfort. Same with the mask. I wear it tight enough that it doesn't leak when I roll over or move my head to the side like it used to. That helps a lot. I don't wake up so often anymore. Actually, I believe I am sleeping almost the entire night through. I only remember waking around 4am today and that was because the stepson asked the wife for some cough medicine. My impression is that I rarely wake up anymore.

I feel better with the CPAP, too. I did one of those things about two weeks ago where I took the mask off in the middle of the night in a kind of sleep-walking type of episode. I didn't get out of bed but I took the mask off by undoing the lower clips and hung it neatly on my headboard like I do every morning. I then went back to sleep. I awoke in the morning feeling very groggy, just like I used to. I know realize that I actually feel rested when I get up most mornings. I used to wake and wonder why it felt like I hadn't slept, and now I think it's because my apnea wasn't letting me get good rest.

I love the Contour pillow. In fact, if I had to give a newbie some advice I would say, buy a hose snuggle (or similar cover), use a humidifier with the machine, use some aromatherapy and get a CPAP pillow. I think all of these things, plus a little partience and persistence has allowed me to be successful with the therapy. It hasn't changed my life in magical ways but then again, my apnea was slight. However, it has definitely improved my life.

Later, in the summer, I plan to try out the nasal pillows again. Work is too busy and stressful right now to mess with my sleep. I am still dealing with neck pain, though, in case anyone feels the need to experience a little schadenfreude here. It's not all coming up roses.

I am very grateful to this forum for the advice and support. I strongly doubt I would have had so positive of an experience without it.

Thanks for the update.

Glad you are doing better.

Oh yeah, I forgot that I had another thing to report. I was looking at the literature that came with my mask. As a man and a geek, I rarely read instruction manuals. But, I was looking at the one for my mask and noted that it said a setting on my machine should match the number printed on the bottom of the mask. It said 1X. I cleverly entered the Clinician Mode on my machine and looked. It said 2X. So I changed it. I didnt notice a huge difference but it seemed to help somehow. So, make sure the settings are right. That's two settings my respiratory tech got wrong when setting up my machine. Just saying.

I feel lucky. First, because my insurance covered the CPAP completely. Second, because I've not had any trouble sleeping all night with the mask. I'm a grandmother raising a grandchild, and by the time I get in bed, I just sort of pass out from exhaustion and usually sleep through the night. Plus, evidently my cat is not bothered by the machine so he doesn't wake me up at night; he just stays on the foot of the bed. Good all around.

Yeah, by and large I think I've been lucky, too. I switched to a nasal pillow mask about two months ago. Seems to be going fine. I noticed that my pressure increased, though.

I've been having "fun" with my insurance and Apria recently. I called Apria to get my 6 month resupply. Apria took the order, called back to tell me a couple days later that they needed authorization. So, I called my PCP and they said they would get it done. I waited. No package came. So, today I called. Apria cancelled the order since Aetna didn't authorize it. Sigh. So, I called Aetna to get an authorization and they said I needed to call my PCP to get it from them. BUT. THAT'S. WHAT. I. DID. TWO. WEEKS. AGO. So, called PCP and they said they sent it to the medical group who will handle sending it to Apria and I should wait until Tuesday to check back.

Fine. I'm only trying to comply with my prescription over here. Good lord. You would think I was trying to do something wrong. Every night for more than six months i've used my machine as ordered. Just wanted to get my supplies as directed. Didn't dream they would put me through the bureaucratic gauntlet to do so.

First world problems, though.