New Here

Hello Folks,

I have been looking at this site gathering information but I have a long way to go. I knew I had sleep apnea for a while but did not want to deal with a machine. I finally went in. The test said I would wake up 30 times an hour... that kind of surprised me. They set the machine to 12 pounds.

I told them I did not want to deal with the humidifier but they gave me a model with one anyway so I disconnected the humidifier. The machine is (as far as I can tell ) a Reaponics DS 560. I would like to see through the software what is going on with my sleep pattern during the night. That will come with time. I was sleeping with the machine for a couple of weeks then I could not take it any longer. It was seriously affecting my life in a negative way. Until I figure out what Is going on I will not use it. I am going to see the Doc tomorrow to see what they have to say.

What happens is the pressure will ramp up around 3 am then I can not get to sleep again. A few nights of that and I have serious problems.

My Brother said it took him over a year to get use to it, I have spoke to others and they have gotten use to it on the first night. So it all depends! I will be gathering information and asking questions here and there...

Welcome to the forum!! There are many experience people here who can offer their wisdom...good luck at the doctors appointment tomorrow.

Hello Evening Owl,
I am almost a month in now and I can say that the pressure does not feel as bad as it used to when I started. In the beginning I used the ramp function to go to bed and if I was awake at any point I was reaching for the ramp function again. Check to see if your machine has a ramp function where it gradually increases the pressure over a short time to give you time to fall back to sleep as it helped me to get used to the pressure.
Paul

With a pressure of 12 cmH20, my guess is that lack of humidity in your circuit is causing flow limitation. The DS560 you may be set as an auto with a pressure spread rather than a fixed pressure. When the machine detects the flow limit, it increases pressure to compensate. One thing leads to the next, and before you know it you end up in large leak territory. You wake up, and your recuperative night's rest is lost.

It may be a pain to deal with a humidifier, but there really is sound reasoning behind it. Your upper airway provides moisture for your lungs. My recommendation, of course not withstanding your doctor's advice, is to put the humifier back on your machine.

Good luck.

Hi - can you go to the User Ctl Panel under the logo and fill in your Profile using text vs icons, and put in the full name and model #'s of your equipment (mask as well) so we can all see automatically when you post what you're working with at the moment. There are terrific people here who can help!