CPAP nose pillows or nose mask?

Hello everyone, I have the CPAP machine for a few days, with nose pillows, I hate it! I cannot sleep and I feel as I am suffocating, please tell me is this normal for the beginning? I am hopeful to finally sleep well and I am a bit disappointed, perhaps they should have explained how you feel when you wear the tube the first time. Can somebody tell me if the nose Mack is better than the pillows and what is the difference? Many thanks to everyone

Welcome to the forum.

It would help if we had some additional information...like what machine you are using and what pressure you are using and are you using the ramp feature ..if so for how long to get to your whatever regular pressure.

Nasal pillow mask...which one? and what size nasal pillow?

Sometimes it's not the mask but the pressure that is used starting out the night. Sometimes the pressure used starting out is so low we are feeling suffocated...especially if someone is using the ramp or their prescribed pressure is relatively low.

Please add your equipment to your profile...like I have mine below this post. That way we can see at a glance what you are using and can save time by not having to ask what you are using...it helps us help you better and faster.

Hello Pugsy, thanks for your reply. I am not an expert so I will write the info as I see it on the sale bill

CPAP unitS9 auto set Resmed
CPAP humidifier heated H51 Resmed
CPAP kit nasal pillow swift Resmed with CPAP headgear swift FX started with medium size pillow for three nights then I switched to the small size yesterday

I don't know the pressure honestly, I know the machine is Auto mode with ramp, doctor asked pressure between 6 and 16 if I recall correctly. Do you know if I pull the SD card from the machine and plug it in my PC if I can see anything or do I need a special software to read the data?

Thank you
Gio

Gio, you will need software to read your data. Pugsy has the link at the bottom of her post. One thing about the pillows, which I love, is to make sure they are resting on the bottom of your nostrils - not jammed up inside them. It took me a while to figure out the best size for me, but I think I have done so now. I use the TapPap mask, which allows me to adjust the angles several different ways to get the best fit. Make sure your nostrils and the pillows are clean, and be prepared to adjust the pillows as they warm up when you are wearing them. I still get many nights when I do not have zero leaks, so be prepared for that.

The other thing that often upsets people to start with is the ramp pressure. It is set too low in many cases. For me, anything below 6 was suffocating, and I wanted to rip the mask off. I raised the start to 6, and I could at least breathe. After a couple of days, I turned it off completely and would not think about it unless my therapeutic pressure was increased to the upper teens (currently at 10).

Keep using the machine, try using it before you go to bed to get used to it. It will get better.

How to add your equipment to your profile so it will be included in all your posts...not just this thread.
wiki/index.php/Registering_Equipment_in_User_Profile

Your pressure when using the ramp starts out at 4 and works up to 6 cm and there it will stay until you go to sleep and then the machine may or may not increase the pressure depending on what it is sensing.

Pressures 4 (as low as it will go) to 6 are really very low and most people will have a problem feeling like they are suffocating at these pressures. Don't use the ramp and see if that helps the suffocation feeling.
We won't suffocate but it sure feels like we will..been there and done that myself.
You may need a little higher starting pressure.

The reason I asked about the size of the nasal pillows...some people do better with a larger size in terms of air movement "feeling" but if larger doesn't fit..we can't do that.

Software...check out the links in my signature as I have information on the software that you can use to see what your machine is gathering.
SleepyHead is free and easy to use.
You could also use ResScan but it can be a bit to master using at first. When/if you want it..just send me a private message.

If you don't know how to turn the ramp off ...see this link. You have to set the ramp time to 0:00 minutes to turn it off.
http://www.apneaboard.com/resmed-s9-cpap-setup
There's a video down near the bottom of the page...watch it and it will help you understand your machine better.
Here's a link for a downloadable PDF that explains things even more.
http://www.apneuvereniging.nl/forum/pdf ... manual.pdf

The S9 AutoSet is a great machine...full data and all that. Take some time to learn about its features. Don't worry if you get a bit of system overload trying to absorb everything all at once. It's hard so don't stress out if you have a bit of overwhelmed sensation.

You may find that turning the ramp off is enough to get rid of the suffocation feeling...if it isn't then maybe a little increase in that minimum from 6 to 7 will do the trick. A lot of people do well with 6 starting out though...so I would try that first simply by turning ramp off.

Many thanks, very helpful. I will try as you suggest and let you know.

Hello, I followed your instructions and eliminated the ramp, however as of now I can barely reach the two-two and half hours mark with the nose pillows, after that I wake up (punctually at 11 pm) and feel like somehting has changed in the air I bread and have to take the thing off. I know it has been only a week and have to give it a try, but I ordered also a nose mask to test the difference. I must say though, that even with two hous i feel more alert in the morning (I go to sleep early as i wake up early, normally lay down at 9.30-10 pm max).

Your machine is a full data machine. Get the software and let's see if there is anything happening routinely at that 2 1/2 hour mark that might explain the wake ups.
I have links for information about SleepyHead software in my signature line....it will work well with your machine..

There are some possibilities that need to be ruled out...maybe you are having a cluster of events at that time...2 1/2 hour mark might be second REM stage where it would be common to see maybe more events or the need for more pressure.
If you are using APAP mode then perhaps it's simply the increase in pressure that is disturbing sleep.
Maybe more events due to supine sleeping...

Let's see what the reports show and go from there.
How to post images of your reports so we can see what you see
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=81072&p=737779#p737779

Since you have to use the machine anyway while going through the "give it time" thing...let's look to see if anything stands out that needs work....maybe all you need is "more time" but it hurts nothing to look at the other stuff just in case something could be improved upon.

Hi, thnaks for the fast reply! I went to donwload the software yesterday but i noticed it is only a 32-bit software and i have a laptops running Windos 7 which requires 64 bit software. do you know if it works anyway?

It's not really 32 bit only software.

I have SleepyHead up and running just fine on my Win 7 64 bit laptop.
Don't know why he stuck that 32 bit thing in there..probably leftover from 2 years ago when it was started.
Anyway...works fine on all Windows and 32 or 64 bit computers.

When you wake up at the same time, it may not even be related to CPAP. I was waking up at 4:00 am every day and could not figure out why? The first clue came after the time changed and I started waking up at 5:00 am every day. The second clue happened after I reset the clock in the thermostat and I started waking up once again at 4:00am. It turned out the furnace was waking me up. The strange part is I dodn't even notice weather is is on or off if I'm awake.

Chris