I have a question regarding “breathing” on CPAP

My biggest hurdle with getting comfortable with CPA has been when I lay down to go to sleep. When I first started on CPAP , (Way back about 2 weeks ago) I started with a 20 min ramp. I then migrated to a 5 min ramp. Still felt that suffocating feeling so I eliminated the ramp and this has been much better. The restriction I feel when exhaling is the most uncomfortable aspect of breathing on CPAP for me at this point and I feel like each breath is “deliberate”.

This has provoked anxiety in me and made most nights a dread (only for getting asleep).

Move ahead to last evening.

I sat up in bed with my CPAP on and watched TV for about 15 minutes before laying down to go to sleep. Acclimating, you know. There was still some of the discomfort I outlined above but I soon fell asleep. As usual, once I fall asleep and stay asleep, I’m good to go. No complaints.

When I woke up this morning I noticed, as I had in the past as well, that my breathing felt 99% natural. Each inhale felt natural; as if I was not on CPAP. Each exhale felt 99% natural with some slight resistance at the end of some exhale’s.

My question’s are:

1) Is the resistance and un-natural feeling I experience when I first start my CPAP due to being tense and being deliberate with my breathing?
2) Is the natural feeling I experience in the morning due to my being so relaxed and breathing natural or is the machine adapting some to my breathing?
3) Is it safe to assume that eventually I will experience this relaxed state when I first start CPAP each night?

I sure hope #3 is the case as this would prove to me that CPAP is not the dreaded experience it sometimes feels like, especially when I try to go to sleep.

Your S9 Elite has an EPR setting for exhale relief. Are you using it?

LSAT wrote:Your S9 Elite has an EPR setting for exhale relief. Are you using it?

Yes, it's set to full time (3?).

When i was new to treatment, I experienced the exhalation sensation the following morning. It went away after a couple weeks.

It takes a minute or two for me to settle into a rhythm with my breathing (and, I think, for EPR to synchronize with my breathing). Once that has happened it feels completely natural to me. Indeed, if I disconnect my hose after I've adjusted to to the pressure, it feels unnatural to breathe normally.

Have you tried reducing the EPR setting? It may seem counter-intuitive, but perhaps you will find that less variation feels more natural to you. I use a setting of two and find it very natural.

What is your pressure?

The resistance you fell during exhale is natural and expected. The reason it feels normal after a while is that your body acclimates to the increased pressure. The machine isn't doing anything differently, it's your body that's adapting to the machine. It usually takes me about a minute to not "feel" the pressure when exhaling.

You'll never really get over it because you go back to atmospheric pressure once awake, but you'll learn to better deal with it over time. And it'll take less time for your body to acclimate to it the longer you use CPAP.

JCWarrior wrote: 1) Is the resistance and un-natural feeling I experience when I first start my CPAP due to being tense and being deliberate with my breathing?

Mostly yeah...you are tense and the rhythm is unnatural so you tend to likely focus more on it.

JCWarrior wrote:2) Is the natural feeling I experience in the morning due to my being so relaxed and breathing natural or is the machine adapting some to my breathing?

Your body is doing the adapting...the machine doesn't adapt to you.
It's common...what feels like a hurricane at the beginning of the night becomes a gentle breeze by morning. So gentle in fact that sometimes we wonder if the machine is still putting out the same pressure.

and yes...to question number 3...while it may never feel quite as gentle as that morning breeze ...the nighttime breathing will become more relaxed with time and experience. Especially if you can get past the tense part. Easier said than done sometimes I know but it will get easier.