FIRST night with CPAP machine

The chin strap isn't as "bad" as you might think and it was like night and day results for me! I tried the tape, it didn't work as well as being an unpleasant thought. I was initially resistant to a chinstrap myself but after waking up with dry mouth, waking up chatting away with air blowing out my mouth ( a strange feeling), I had to try something. The chinstrap feels fabulous and keeps my mouth closed, EXCEPT when I truly need to cough etc. So I don't feel "restrained", like the tape did.

Give it at least a week on any one setup because I kept changing every 2-3 days and it was probably NOT a good idea. I understand the desperation to feel better...but it's really hard to diagnose if you change too many variables at once.

Just a point of clarification -- The ResMed S9 doesn't beep.

WindyCityEsq wrote: I will try to change my clinical settings again. I don't remember hearing a beep. But I DO remember seeing all the screens/options the person in the video saw. Only he was able to change the settings, whereas I could only scroll up and down, and couldn't change them. I'll try again tonight.

This may sound silly, but when you said you "could only scroll up and down, and couldn't change them", did you also push the button on top of the knob to choose the item you needed to change? I've been on cpap for only two months now, and sometimes I am so overwhelmed I forget the do the obvious.

Haha, not a silly question at all! But yes, I did make sure of that. The video prompts you to, but it wasn't a possibility with me.

I'm not sure if I should change my settings now. I'm getting used to it, and my AHI is like 0.15 with only 1-2 events. Maybe I shouldn't mess with a good thing. High levels of titration for prolonged periods won't harm me, right? It's just a matter of what's comfortable for me, and whether it's waking me up, correct? It's getting more comfortable, though I still awaken 1-2 times a night for various reasons (teeth issues, mouth leak, and noise inside my mask)

What matters most is how you feel. If you are getting used to it... then leave it alone..

Give the therapy some time to work.

Windy, I've been on cpap for about 6 weeks, and I had a hard time dealing with leaks from my FF mask, and then I learned about mask liners. I bought the RemZzzs liners from my DME, and they made a big difference for me. They've improved the leak rate, and most of the leaks I do have don't wake me up. Another plus from using the liners is that a red ridge of irritated skin from the mask was gone after two days and has not come back. The RemZzzzs are not reusable but some have said on here that they are able to get several nights out of them. A lot of people on here make their own liners, and my sister is making some for me so that I don't have to spend money on them. You can also google mask liners to find others.

Hopefully, one of the new masks your DME is bringing you will work better for you, but if not, maybe liners will help.

You can get good liners from PadaCheek that are washable. http://www.padacheek.com/ These are the best liners around.

WCE, chinstraps are not so bad. I have used them for 11 years and my beard hides most of the marks. Think of yourself as a beautiful version (vision) of Marley's ghost. As with the masks, there are several types of chinstraps. I have found that the Ruby Puresom works well for me and the marks above the beard line are not deep and go away rapidly.

WindyCityEsq wrote:One last thing. I'm noticing some pressure on my teeth. Not so much pain. Just pressure and soreness on my front teeth that lasts all day. Strange, I know, but true. I hope this thing doesn't cause my teeth to shift. Is such a thing possible? If so, what can I do to protect my teeth from shifting? My smile is important.

I can't speak to long term effect, and I suspect this may not even be relevant depending on what mask you end up with. For the short term, I experienced the same thing, and I believe it is because there is pressure on your face around your mouth for several hours every night where there was never any before, and that can cause soreness at first. The good news is that went away fairly quickly and I just saw the dentist after 9 months on the hose and there was no effect they could see from wearing the mask. As long as the soreness goes away fairly quickly I think you can safely address that question to your dentist during your next cleaning after you have determined what mask is going to work best for you.

Your pressure is the same I had for about 13 years, when I found this forum. I was experiencing serious teeth problems, essentially my front teeth were shifting outward, and spaces had formed in the front. Add to that I grind at night and I have TMJ disorder. My dentist was sending me to the orthodontist - at age 53! I had braces as a teenager & didn't really want to repeat the 'experience'. I posted here & got several replies that I needed a retainer, the kind I had slept in for several years post-braces. I went back to my dentist who agreed a retainer would have worked IF I had gotten one before I had this much damage.

Fast forward, I'm in the middle of my $4,800 mid-life braces crisis. Once I'm done, I will sleep in a retainer every night, but will have all my teeth. My advice for you is make a dental appointment ASAP, explain this & he can make the best recommendation for your individual situation. Not everyone's teeth move with CPAP, you may not need to do anything, I don't want to needlessly worry you, but its best to determine your needs now, rather than end up with problems.

Thank you JENCAT! You have me convinced! I wonder if I can get that covered by my health insurance if my doctor relates the need for it back to CPAP therapy? Any luck with this?

Well, you do say that you've just started cpap therapy. I've been on it since 2007 and these are some of things I've learned that will make your life much easier.

1) Get a set of some damn good ear-plugs and learn to wear them. Get one that has at least a 30 rating or up. Trust me on this first point, you will not be disappointed.
2) Lay your mask on top of a piece of paper and draw around it with a pen the shape. Then cut it out about ½ inch bigger. Then lay this 'cut-out' on top of a short-napped towel and cut it to fit. Then, carefully slit it from top to bottom and side-ways, an opening for your nose and mouth and cut off some of the excess.
3) When you go to bed, then place this cut-out-cloth on top of the mask as it is lying down on your lap. Then bend over and place your face into it and not tightly connect the straps.
4) Turn on your machine and adjust for leaks--lay down and re-adjust.
5) Get your provider to set your ramp time up to 45 minutes and ask her how to turn that function on again if your not asleep by the first 45.
6) Get a MediPot and rinse your nose out well with salted-water. Do this daily! The best I've found is called, "NeilMed--Sinus Rinse." It comes with a plastic bottle that allows you to force the water through your nose to clean it better.
7) Finally, if this is not enough, I would talk to your provider and get them to turn it down and let you work up to your pressure.

Hope this helps!

Hi everyone I just started on a CPAP last night for the first time. Windy, I'm sorry you're having a rough time of it but I'm sure it will get better! Like you I also use the nasal pillows but I know I am a mouth breather so I also have a chin strap to keep my mouth closed. During my titration study, I decided on the nasal pillows & I tried sleeping w/o chin strap but I kept waking up so once I put that on I slept like a baby. I slept like a baby last night too, my pressure is only an 11 (15 apneas/hour). Anyway I wanted to chime in about the chin strap, I hope your experience gets easier soon!

Emmers

Thanks Emmers, and everyone else who promoted the chin strap. I finally broke down (after 10 straight nights of nighttime awakenings due to mouth leaks) and got a chin strap. DME gave me a ResMed one for free. Tried it for the first time last night and slept like a baby. Not one single nighttime wakening. I feel pretty good today! First time I noticed an improvement in how I feel since starting CPAP 12 days ago. Curiously, though I slept like a rock, my AHI was the highest it's ever been (4.15) with 27 events. There was only one leak that occurred last night, but most of the time everything was a-okay. Not sure what that was about, but Pugsy told me before to try not to harp on my Sleepyhead numbers so long as the AHI is below 5. So that's what I'm trying to do!

WindyCityEsq wrote:though I slept like a rock, my AHI was the highest it's ever been (4.15) with 27 events.

Sometimes when we sleep better we thus get more REM sleep and often a person's OSA is worse in REM so a good chance to have more events happen in REM sleep.

It's one night and we don't worry about 1 night even if it is worse but I just want to caution you to not dwell on the AHI number without understanding the category breakdown.
If an AHI is 4...and the Central/Clear Airway index is 3...then that only leaves 1 per hour for obstructive apneas or hyponeas.
Remember we don't treat Centrals with more pressure with cpap/apap machines. We have to ignore it in terms of evaluating pressure needs unless we see a truck load of centrals.

Now if that AHI of 4.0 happens to have the obstructive components (OA and hyponeas) of 3.0...then maybe we look a little closer. See if there are any clusters and if so then maybe a little more pressure might be indicated.

As always also look at the time frame where there might be any clusters of events and if close to beginning of sleep or at the end of sleep then they might be awake/semi awake events flagged by mistake and we also have to ignore them if associated with an awake period.

So what was the event category breakdown for last night?
Do you see any clustering?
Any groups of events that might be during a period of time you were still awake?