Hello New here and to cpap

Hello All I am new to the forum and new to cpap. I have been recently diagnosed with central sleep apnea and have been given a cpap to solve some of the problems associated with it. I am wondering how long it takes to get use to this thing? I have been having a hard time for quite a while but no doctor could figure it out untill someone said it might be sleep apnea. I havent gotten back with my doctor yet since the sleep lab, he said I had a small airway and nostrils but aparently its not OSA as far as I understand it. I was hoping to feel better almost immediately but that is apparently not the case. I also have very low testosterone and the sleep doc says its very likely related to not sleeping. I know its different for everyone but I would like input on how long it takes to feel better and if testosterone is low im sure its gonna take longer than usual. any advice would be great. I am totally new to this. Thanks

Exactly what machine brand and model are you using?
What pressure settings?

The immediate miracle that everyone expects....happens to only a lucky few...the majority find that it takes time, patience and a lot of work and if you have centrals...that adds whole new level of work involved.

Its a phillips respironics Remstar Plus C-flex its set at 10cm h2o. I even stop breathing while awake, I always wondered why I have to make sure to breath even awake. lol I thought everyone did that.

Hi Clinte 89,

As Pugsy says, it takes some perseverance. This forum is wonderful. I joined before I started xpap 7 years ago (I had to rejoin recently as I couldn't remember my original details - I was Moby). The people on this forum gave me so much information and support. I'm absolutely sure there will be people with information, links and experience to share both about your Central Apnoea and your equipment.

Hang in there. It can only get better from now on!

They gave you a fixed pressure cpap machine that gathers zero useful data. You got a brick. No way at all to tell if it is working. No way to tell if the centrals reduce at all.....and I don't know why they gave you that machine anyway because for central apnea that machine is not the best choice of machine.

Read this
http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/
especially the part down near the bottom of the blog where it says "help, they gave me a brick".

Did they say you had centrals at the diagnostic sleep study without the machine?
You need to get copies of your report for sure.

Clinte89 wrote:Its a phillips respironics Remstar Plus C-flex its set at 10cm h2o.

Confirm exactly which model machine you have...most likely a PR System One model...the PR S1 Plus CPAP with CFlex is likely going to be either model number 250 or 260. The model number is a 3 digit number on the bottom of the blower unit.
May have DS or REF in front of it.
If you had centrals show up on the diagnostic sleep study and no real obstructive apneas...you need a machine that will flag centrals to see if it is working...and cpap pressure is not the usual type of machine to use and for sure not a brick.
Sometimes people have to try and fail with cpap before anyone wants to go with the normal higher end machine needed to deal with centrals but your machine offers nothing to tell anyone it isn't working.

If you got a model 250 or 260 with nothing but centrals going on...you need to be figuring out what they are thinking because
1...it is unlikely to help
2...no way to tell if anything is working or not anyway...no way to prove it isn't working so that you can get the machine that is most often prescribed for central apnea.

Thanks. I hope it gets better soon. Me and my girlfrind have been together on and off for about a year and it was always because she didnt want to be with an old man which is what I am. I have been old for a long time and am glad to find out that this may be the issue but dont want to lose her or my job because Im not capable keep up with guys twice my age. Thanks and I am sure this forum will be helpful and Im sticking with it.

Oh wow it would seem that I got the short end of the stick. Ok well i guess I need to get with my doctor sooner than expected so that I might get something better suited to my needs. the sleep tech was a cool dude who said that I still stoped breathing but my o2 stats where better but they might try something different later but the doctor at the sleep lab figured it was good enough. Should I give it a couple weeks before I talk to him? I dont want to come off as a pain in the ass but I want to feel like my age. Im only 25 and it sucks. Ill read our advice and see what they can do for me.

I would not delay.. Its your health and well being on the line here...

Ok I suppose Ill do that. Thanks.

Hello all. I am trying to get use to this but last night i didnt feel i could get enough air and woke up alot and finally took off the mask. My girlfriend got upset becayse i kept opening my mouth to breath which aparently was loud and sounded like i was choking and air spraying everywhere. During the study my mouth stayed closed but aparently its not going so well. They said i could swap with a different mask but how many nights should i wait to see if this keeps happening before trying a different mask

I think you should talk to a tech. Ask to speak to a senior tech or at least an experienced one. Good luck