Help! Apnea seems better than the treatment!

Sha
When I read you post title I was ready to give you the "we'll be reading your obituary next" speech; but I see that you have been given some excellent advise from the wonderful members here. It takes time to get all of this therapy and gear into a good place where you are sleeping well and feeling good. Patience and persistance will get you a long way in your search for good therapy. Keep trying masks until you find THE right one for YOU, not the one the DME wants to push today. You will get there, we were all in you spot at one time or another and we made it through with flying colors. If it wasn't for the wonderful advice I received when I first started a year and a half ago I would have never made it. You WILL make it too, you are asking for advice and that's a good thing.
Good luck to you and welcome to our little world of hoseheads.
Cheers
Nan

Thanks for your support guys!
I went to the DME before work yesterday and was politely pushy. I got my OptiLife nasal pillow and that was MUCH better. The end of my nose hurt a little this morning but I think I can deal with that. When I woke up to potty in the middle of the night, it put a bit of petroleum jelly where it was a little sore it and it helped a lot. Turns out my nose is so small, the only size that fit was the pediatric size! Makes me wonder if the masks were too big too.
Either way, I feel a bit better about the treatment. It wasn't my best night of sleep ever but I hope as I continue my treatment it will get easier. Just found out my dad was diagnosed with apnea at the same time as I was and his masked worked first try! (Lucky!) Also some coworkers have given some support so it seems that there are many more people who have been here than I initially thought.
With the script, do I ask my doctor or the HME for a copy? I do plan to travel sometime (eventually...one day...) as my parents live in TX (I'm in Ohio) and I am an anthropology major. Study abroad is highly likely. So a script sounds handy. Also, any idea for camping? I do medieval reenactments and camp at some of these events. I don't have any planned for the moment but it will come up eventually.
Thanks a lot!

Don't use petroleum jelly with your mask on...it will degrade the silicon. Go to the store and buy a tube of Lansinoh....you'll find it on the baby aisle where they sell nursing stuff. It is in a purple tube and costs about $10. A tiny dab of that lanolin on each nostril will keep the irritation down AND because it has a slightly tacky consistency, it will give you a better seal. A tube will last you a year.... that is how little you need each night! I've used it every night and have never had so much as an irritation.

sha_pirotess wrote:I went to the DME before work yesterday and was politely pushy.

All right. Another apenac who fights back!

sha_pirotess wrote:With the script, do I ask my doctor or the HME for a copy?

I'd try the doctor first. It may be a good thing to have an "original" prescription.

sha_pirotess wrote:Also, any idea for camping?

That's a bit of a complicated question depending on how long, whether you are going in a car and can carry a large battery, how much money you want to spend, etc. Do some searching on this board.

Re: Lanisnoh

There's a number of Lanisnoh baby products. You want "Lanisnoh HPA Lanolin." Good stuff. Sort of expensive, but a little goes a long way. Useful for other things as well.

Don't be too surprised if you have to deal with a sore nose for a while.