New to cpap looking for support

Hey all im Furi, im 36 and resently diagnosed with sleep apnea. I started out very excited to know "what was wrong with me" I almost skipped out of the sleep specialists office... I wasnt upset about having to use a cpap to breath well as I slept thinking hey ill get rest and morning head aches will be a thing of the past.... Then I got it home turned it on and my world felt upside down. Suddenly I dont want to go to bed my face is sore and im embarrassed for my husband to see me at night. I guess I just need to be able to talk to others with similar issues as myself. This day four with my mask and already I fear I will give up. Thanks for listening friends.

Hi Furi, welcome to the forum. Your experience is so, so, soooo normal. Your best chance of not giving up is to stick around here!

Your mask: Were you given some options on the mask? Is there a reason you're starting out with a full face mask (as opposed to a nasal or nasal pillow mask)? Can you describe more specifically the soreness you're experiencing?

As for the embarrassment, that too is a normal reaction, even when one has an understanding and supportive spouse. If you can, do talk with your husband about how you're feeling. Hopefully with time and patience and good communication this will become your "new normal" and will be easier.

Let us know more about your story and how we can best support you.

Welcome to the group. You will find lots of help here as well as a ton of understanding. I started about a year and a half ago. I had trouble with my mask leaking when I started, and the people here helped me to get my mask fitting correctly.

If you tell us more about you, we can help you a lot. You can put your machine, mask, and pressure in your profile. That will help people know what you are working with without having to ask you every time. You can also tell us what kind of problems you are experiencing. There are many typical problems as well as many less common problems.

I do not normally sleep in the same room with anybody except my cats, but I do travel and share a hotel room. At first, it was just my mom and sister. But I have shared a room with 4 different friends since starting. All of them have been wonderful, curious, and happy to discover that my machine is whisper quiet, unlike, my previously horrid snoring. So, while I am somewhat embarrassed by my machine, I am less embarrassed than I was when I was snoring.

Thanks for the welcome! I did fill out info in profile hope it came out. Im using a resmed h5i with climate control. Dont know my presure. And im using full face mask because i have sinus problems and often breath thru my mouth or one nostril. I have a resmed quattro (unsure of spelling) the head gear has plasic on my forhead and is leaving red sores. And the sides are rwsting on cheek bones also sore but not red yet. I am a side sleeper and get leaks alot. My pillow pushes on my mask. It does not leak on my side.

Please do not give up on it. As one who gave up on it ten years ago I can say you will regret it very much if you give up. I only recently decided to come back into the fold and get back on a machine because the fatigue, headache, exhaustion and just plain not being a nice person because I felt exhausted from the first minute of the day to the last became far too much to bear. Day after my sleep study to set a new baseline for treatment, I felt better than I have in years. Just from a few hours on the machine. I, for one, cannot wait to get back to a machine. I want to feel rest again.

I can tell you that once you get everything dialed in you will feel so much better on a daily basis. I had forgotten what feeling rested felt like. If the one good day I had after my sleep study was just a taste, I want the whole damn buffet. I cannot tell you what my level of desperation is right now.

I just want to say that I plan to stick with it, as should you. My life depends on it. Your life depends on it.
Lets stick together on this one.

You have friends here.

I to feel tired and cranky all day/night it got to the point im snappy with husband and kids... I have anxiety and insomnia witch im now told is most likely do to apnea. I went to sleep clinic for insomnia hoping to get a magic pill for rest and came home with unexpected diagnosis. I wake feeling im chocking and thought I had night terrors...

Furielsky wrote:Thanks for the welcome! I did fill out info in profile hope it came out. Im using a resmed h5i with climate control. Dont know my presure. And im using full face mask because i have sinus problems and often breath thru my mouth or one nostril. I have a resmed quattro (unsure of spelling) the head gear has plasic on my forhead and is leaving red sores. And the sides are rwsting on cheek bones also sore but not red yet. I am a side sleeper and get leaks alot. My pillow pushes on my mask. It does not leak on my side.

I don't use a full face mask but other FF mask users will come along with suggestions. In the meantime, check out our friend Karen at PadACheek for full face forehead pads and mask liners. Her products are wonderful: http://padacheek.com/

Furielsky wrote:Thanks for the welcome! I did fill out info in profile hope it came out. Im using a resmed h5i with climate control. Dont know my presure. And im using full face mask because i have sinus problems and often breath thru my mouth or one nostril. I have a resmed quattro (unsure of spelling) the head gear has plasic on my forhead and is leaving red sores. And the sides are rwsting on cheek bones also sore but not red yet. I am a side sleeper and get leaks alot. My pillow pushes on my mask. It does not leak on my side.

You probably have the Quattro mask which has the forehead support. The Quattro FX has no forehead support. I have the FX, so my mask is similar, but not quite the same. One thing that is similar is that it uses the soft silicone of the mask to inflate and keep the seal. So, it often needs to be a little loose, and then it will inflate when the pressure starts. If it is too tight, it will actually start leaking more, and also causes more problems with pressure on the face.

Your machine is a really nice machine with full data. You will want to find out your pressure. You can get the clinician manual here which will show you have to set the pressure (and thus check it as well).


http://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap- ... up-manual

You will also want to get a summary of your sleep study. It should be 2-3 pages with graphs showing your sleep cycles, body positions, and oxygen levels. It should also tell you how long you slept, and what your ahi was. It should cover both your diagnosis phase and titration phase.

Hi all - I'm new here as well - recently diagnosed with both mild OSA and narcolepsy... I just received my machine on Thursday. I'm thankful for these forums. Reading others experiences and knowing I'm not alone gives me lots of hope that soon I'll have more energy to really enjoy life instead of thinking it's 'normal' for me to be tired all the time.

I think what I'm recognizing is that this will definitely be a journey and I will need to be patient and keep trying to find something that works for me. Thursday night I was not happy - I didn't like the CPAP at ALL, kept feeling like I was suffocating, waking up in a panic, fighting with the mask. I barely slept ...I was so frustrated because then I was tired all day even with my medication (also taking Nuvigil for the narcolepsy and still trying to figure that out too).

BUT... last night I committed to trying the CPAP again - I adjusted the mask to see if changing the fit would help. I have been turning it on and reading in bed with it about 30 minutes before I plan to fall asleep using my sunrise alarm clock to let me know when it's time to really try sleeping. I found I slept MUCH BETTER - only woke up one time, was able to get used to the air, didn't wake up in a panic fighting with the mask. I woke up with energy way before my alarm clock... so this morning it doesn't seem so bad.

I guess what I'm trying to add to this discussion is that you are not alone and not to give up on trying to find what works for you. I still go through episodes of being frustrated or angry about having to deal with this but ultimately I am hoping my episodes of frustration become less and less and that my energy levels increase. So I'm with need_some_sleep - I'm going to stick with this and hope you do as well. We deserve a higher quality of life and with the support system here to help us I'm feeling so much better about finding it!

I have two lives, an old before 24 May 2011, and a new better life after 24 May 2011. I never want to sleep without CPAP again. Soon, my wife got a CPAP too.

Mask liners have helped me a lot. I use a lot of the Pad-a-Cheek products, but when it comes to mask liners for full face mask or nasal mask, I prefer the Remzzz disposable liners because they aren't as "slippery". The mask liners have helped a great deal with reducing marks from the mask. They also help with leaks.

But first thing is to make sure you have the proper fit. I believe someone else mentioned that the mask should fit a bit loose. Surprising how well that works out! You might also try different full face masks to see if there is one that fits better. I prefer the Fisher & Paykel over the Quattro. But the Quattro is extremely popular, so I am probably in the minority on that preference.

Don't give up! Relax and see it as a period of adjustment. I struggled with the mask for a while too, but the results are SO worth it.

I had trouble with mouth breathing also. My doctor prescribed Flonase to open up my sinuses so I breath better through my nose. I divided my dose up between morning and afternoon and it has made a remarkable difference in my ability to use my nose for more than just hanging sunglasses.
Also, my skin doesnt like masks either. Now that I can breath through my nose I use a swift fx nasal pillow mask and although it is not perfect it is better than anything else I have tried.
I have been using CPAP off and on for 15 years, I still hate it. I hate my wife looking at me in bed with it on, I hate the leaks, the drips, the noises. I hate not being normal and having to explain it to people who will never understand. But I can live with it, AND IT IS BETTER THAN THE ALTERNATIVE! Life with sleep deprivation and and oxygen desaturation is worse.
You have a good machine, find a mask that works for you. You are on the right path and it does get easier.

I took to therapy rather quickly; but it took me over two years to find the right mask.
Until then, I traded back and forth between masks that were "so-so" to prevent sores.
There are many masks out there; and liners help, too--even home-made out of old t-shirts.

If you feel like you are suffocating, check to see if your machine has a ramp time and how long it is. The ramp feature starts the machine at a lower pressure than your pressure and ramps up to your pressure for the time set on your machine. Many people either don't use the ramp feature or only ramp for 5 minutes.