newbie nervousness

sl33py,

It's good to hear that hubby is coming around.

It's good to see that you got a great machine. As others have said, you've got some choices on software for looking at your data if/when you decide you need or want to do that.

Finally, you write:

sl33py wrote: I tried it for the first time last night. First I woke up and it wasn't even on, so I guess I just took it off. I put it back on and I didn't sleep well.

Congratulations for starting off right: It's absolutely fantastic that you made yourself put it back on and kept it on even though you didn't sleep all that well.

Because the whole idea behind adjustment to CPAP is to teach yourself---both mind and body---that: Time to Sleep = Time to Mask Up. And the best way to do that is to never allow yourself to consciously fall asleep without the mask on.

We're not responsible for what we do in our sleep. And taking the mask off in our sleep is not uncommon at the beginning. But it takes courage and effort and will power to do the right thing and put that mask back on when you wake up and notice the mask is not on your face. So give yourself a great big pat on the back for doing the right thing!

And keep in mind that it will get better: There's a lot to learn in order to sleep comfortably with the hose on your nose. And one of those things is learning to trust the machine. Because we do typically get so used to the air blowing down our airway that we don't always feel it after awhile. And so in the beginning, waking up wondering if the machine is still blowing air is pretty common. Just put your hand in front of the exhaust vents and you'll feel the airflow. That will reassure you the machine is still on when you wake up.

I think that "tigerlily's response says it all.. quiet for both parties with his spouse looking more relaxed and with brighter eyes..

mayondair wrote:Sl33py, you have a very good machine, do you know what your settings are? Sometimes autos are set wide open, 4-20 and you can feel like you are not getting enough air at the lower pressure. You can get a clinian manual at ApneaBoard.com. You have 3 choices for soft wear, Encore Viewer$99 at CPAP.Com; Encore Pro or Sleepyhead ( search this site for either) Encore Viewer is easy to use, Encore pro is fussier, but has waveform, Sleepy head is from a member here I've not tried it but others will probably chime in. kathy

I'm not sure what my settings are yet.. am just learning. I believe she said it is auto adjusting and records the data so that when I return in 30 days, they can check to make sure it's set correctly. For the software, do you and the other folks commenting download your data from the SD card and make adjustments to the cpap machine to tweak it to optimal settings for you personally?

sl33py wrote: For the software, do you and the other folks commenting download your data from the SD card and make adjustments to the cpap machine to tweak it to optimal settings for you personally?

Some of us do and some just look at the reports and don't make any changes unless some drastic is going on.
Some people prefer to wait till DME obligation regarding insurance is met. It really depends on how comfortable a person is with what they see. It hurts nothing at all to look at your reports and learn what each item means.
I usually suggest people not go tweaking things right off the bat unless there is something grossly out of whack. Give the prescribed settings a chance..get leaks under control..get used to the machine, etc. Then with education and understanding of how things work perhaps consider a change if it seems warranted. No need to rush into changing things willy nilly and don't make large changes if a change is made. Make small changes and give each change some time to see how things trend.

It doesn't hurt a thing to look at your reports though. If nothing needs work....it is nice to see on paper some validation for all this hard work.

Sl33py welcome to the club, you're going to love it here.
I am going to let the pros handle the other stuff and respond to your waking and wondering if the machine is on etc. I did the same thing for the first week or so. One night I told myself I wasn't going to wake up thinking the machine wasn't working because I couldn't feel it, and I wasn't going to wake up every time the mask leaked. I sleep without waking at all more than half the week now. Its silly but it works.

Pugsy always has good advice. No need to do anything except look at your data right now. I will add that some of us have encountered inattentive docs, and DMEs that are only interested in compliance not efficacy. No one cares about your health more than you so don't trust anyone else to monitor as closely as you can. Best to take an active role in your therapy, with soft wear you can pinpoint problems , and then decide if you want to make changes yourself or discuss with your doc. This is a great place to learn.

mayondair wrote:Pugsy always has good advice. No need to do anything except look at your data right now. I will add that some of us have encountered inattentive docs, and DMEs that are only interested in compliance not efficacy. No one cares about your health more than you so don't trust anyone else to monitor as closely as you can. Best to take an active role in your therapy, with soft wear you can pinpoint problems , and then decide if you want to make changes yourself or discuss with your doc. This is a great place to learn.

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You all are awesome! Really appreciate the help. I downloaded Sleepyhead software to try out and I have the provider manual to read before I fall asleep tonight. I love data, so it will be very cool so be able to view it before I have my 30 day follow up appointment. I'm so glad that you all shared the different ones available. This is super helpful!

as for "use this forever" probably true, but they are now starting to do human trials for a treatment of APNEA that works like a heart pacemaker, that would be no mask. (I wonder if it would eliminate AHI's altogether - worth a thread of it's own)
we shouldnt get our hopes up too much at this stage. learn to love the mask and enjoy the relief that most hope to get. and stop the damaging O2 desats while we can.

Surprised your husband would say such a thing. My wife is the opposite, she is mad when I do not have the mask on.

peterg wrote:as for "use this forever" probably true, but they are now starting to do human trials for a treatment of APNEA that works like a heart pacemaker, that would be no mask. (I wonder if it would eliminate AHI's altogether - worth a thread of it's own)
we shouldnt get our hopes up too much at this stage. learn to love the mask and enjoy the relief that most hope to get. and stop the damaging O2 desats while we can.

Learning to love the mask! Technology never ceases to amaze me. For now, I'm telling my kids that the mask and CPAP machine are for my astronaut training for the next space shuttle mission!!!

They do know that I'm kidding and I like to think that they think I'm funny every now and then..

Cuda wrote:Surprised your husband would say such a thing. My wife is the opposite, she is mad when I do not have the mask on.

Well, he did say that isn't what he meant.. Not sure exactly what he meant, but I was too exhausted to ask. I think after I'm feeling better, he'll probably get made if I'm not wearing it, too. It was amazingly quiet!

I told my sons the mask makes me feel better so I am not sick all the time. They love the mask!

sl33py wrote:

peterg wrote:as for "use this forever" probably true, but they are now starting to do human trials for a treatment of APNEA that works like a heart pacemaker, that would be no mask. (I wonder if it would eliminate AHI's altogether - worth a thread of it's own)
we shouldnt get our hopes up too much at this stage. learn to love the mask and enjoy the relief that most hope to get. and stop the damaging O2 desats while we can.

Learning to love the mask! Technology never ceases to amaze me. For now, I'm telling my kids that the mask and CPAP machine are for my astronaut training for the next space shuttle mission!!!

They do know that I'm kidding and I like to think that they think I'm funny every now and then..

that's basically why I selected my Lost In Space Green Girl icon, the point being that she is an advanced alien that can live in space with no suit, or mask. (other Jungian psychological Anime themes there too).

you could also tell them you have a machine that doesnt produce greenhouse gases. (it goes into the water in the humidifier, which only makes the water heavy, like in nuclear reactor fuel pools).

The next space shuttle mission? are you a Chinese national or something?

peterg wrote:

sl33py wrote:

peterg wrote:as for "use this forever" probably true, but they are now starting to do human trials for a treatment of APNEA that works like a heart pacemaker, that would be no mask. (I wonder if it would eliminate AHI's altogether - worth a thread of it's own)
we shouldnt get our hopes up too much at this stage. learn to love the mask and enjoy the relief that most hope to get. and stop the damaging O2 desats while we can.

Learning to love the mask! Technology never ceases to amaze me. For now, I'm telling my kids that the mask and CPAP machine are for my astronaut training for the next space shuttle mission!!!

They do know that I'm kidding and I like to think that they think I'm funny every now and then..

that's basically why I selected my Lost In Space Green Girl icon, the point being that she is an advanced alien that can live in space with no suit, or mask. (other Jungian psychological Anime themes there too).

you could also tell them you have a machine that doesnt produce greenhouse gases. (it goes into the water in the humidifier, which only makes the water heavy, like in nuclear reactor fuel pools).

The next space shuttle mission? are you a Chinese national or something?

HAHA!!! Love the Lost in Space icon and no, I'm not a Chinese national (although I may or may not play one on TV). I told them that since the Space program was discontinued that they needed volunteers to carry it on. Now I'm questioning whether they really know I'm kidding or not because they did have a lot of questions about my training and the missions. I sort of stumbled on the whole breathing in/out at the same time question, but I think I pulled it off OK. I'm totally going to use Greenhouse gases story as well!

The wife said mine is rather quiet too and I use a fan as background noise. He should see the positives and want them to stick around soon enough. Thats why the wife gets mad at me, if I dont have the mask on I am a mess the next day and she knows it.