new to CPAP & trouble adapting

[quote="Effie"]Maybe the person who told you about the mouth piece with no straps is talking about getting a mouth piece from the dentist? I know some people do that, but my doctor told me that it only reduces the apnea in some people. However, since you need such a low pressure, maybe that is something that would work for you? I had a hard time with nasal pillows which is what I started out with, I am doing much better with the cushion.

Some have a very easy time adjusting to CPAP. I volunteered to be one of them but I wasn't picked. It took me a week or so to adjust to it.

I did as some have recommended here:
1. I decided I was going to master this therapy- no option.
2. I knew others before me had similar challenges and overcame them.
3. Whatever I felt about the mask, etc was felt by just about everyone before me.
4. I would give myself the best chance to adjust to it: 15 min nap, even just laying there -getting used to it.
5. Watching TV or reading.
6. MY mask leaked - I invested in a Nasal pillow, it made my nose sore, I perservered - I bought another mask.
7. Do what you got to do - but DO IT !!!!

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I did leave the mask on all day saturday and was able to sleep for about 7 hours, but with lotsa waking in between (about 7-8 times). But, i did NOT remove the mask....I just rolled over & rearranged my pillows & fell back asleep.

I don't feel like, amazingly refreshed or anything (and I know that'll take time, til I get used to the mask & don't wake because of the mask itself). But, the number on the machine magically jumped from 12.8 hours to 20.1 (I was ecstatic when I saw that!!!). I have been taking tylenol PM and I think that's been helping, but if I continue to have problems sleeping, I'm going to ask my doc for some kinda sleepin pill.

I do have a question, about this C-flex thing. My respiratory therapist didn't really talk about it and there isn't an awful lot about it, in the user's guide. Is it to help you breathe out? I'm just wonderin if it would make it easier for me, if I would adjust it. I'm honestly not even sure what it's set at rite now. Any help is greatly appreciated & thanks for all the tips thus far!!!!

Tara:

I was the one who advised you to start using some kind of sleeping pill if your problems continued for too long. Given that you're still so uneasy about the equipment, I would be surprised if you had great sleep with Tylenol PM. I just wanted to see you get some sleep rather than continuing to thrash around with no sleep. But if you get a prescription sleeping pill at this point, you may get better sleep than with Tylenol PM but you're still going to have to deal with this equipment problem. This may sound like the opposite of what I said before, but it's not. The sleeping pill is not going to be your solution once you've gotten some decent sleep with Tylenol PM.

Really, you gotta get more comfortable with this equipment, meaning mask and hose mostly, before anything is gonna change. Sit in front of tv while awake with the equipment on, have a nap with it on. You gotta make friends with this stuff. More sedation is just going to take you further from the root of the problem, in my opinion.

Keep going. You've had somewhat of a victory. Waking up a bunch of times during the night is better than no sleep at all.

You can do it.

Caroline

crazin_82 wrote: I do have a question, about this C-flex thing. My respiratory therapist didn't really talk about it and there isn't an awful lot about it, in the user's guide. Is it to help you breathe out? I'm just wonderin if it would make it easier for me, if I would adjust it. I'm honestly not even sure what it's set at rite now. Any help is greatly appreciated & thanks for all the tips thus far!!!!

Yes, the c-flex feature reduces the air pressure a little as you breathe out, which makes it easier for some people to use the machine. As brasshopper said, there are 3 settings, with 1 giving the least relief and 3 giving the most, though the numbers do not equal a reduction of 1, 2 or 3cm of pressure.

There's some background information about it and various links on the cpap.com site if you look at the remstar machines.