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cannot get used to my CPAP- very frustrated!!
I have had it several years and have continued to try and get used to it, but can't. I think the inward pressure which makes me feel like I can't exhale is the problem. I feel like I can't breathe when I have the mask on with pressure of the inward air flow. I don't sleep well and badly need to be able to utilize this therapy. Plus my snoring is so bad I have to sleep in a separate room from my wife. It even disturbs my son in the next room. What can I do to beable to adjust to CPAP and successfully use it. Will a newer machine help me. I went back to the MD office who I went to for sleep study and spoke to the people who set up the machines. They said even though my machine was several years old, it was a good machine. They said the pressure settings were fairly low. Any help and feedback I receive will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Gary R. Munn on
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I
have only been at it four months, but I am having a lot of trouble too. I am trying to use the full face mask, as I am a mouth breather due to a congenital problem, where I effectively only have one working nostril. Last night I must have tossed and rocked a lot, because I woke up with the damn hose wrapped around my neck!!! :)) I am still waiting for the "feel better" I am supposed to receive when I wake up in the morning. I sure haven't experienced it so far. I see there is a new mask which covers your nose and mouth but doesn't go to your forehead. I hope to give that a try when I can get a few bucks together. I have "blown my lifetime wad" on my Health Insurance just buying the machine!!
My pressure settings are quite high, so I don't know what else can be done, and the humidifier is set at it's highest.
I also suffer from chronic pain in all my joints, particularly neck and back, so that doesn't help matters much. Maybe one of these nights I'll strangle on it!!! :))
Good luck!!
Gary
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I have also found that I take it off at night.
Gary
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Have you tried a BiPap? I had the same problem you did and HATED my first machine ! Don't give up ! keep at the doctors to find one that You can be comfortable with ! I actually LIKE my nasal pillows on my Res Med and KNOW i sleep better with it! Hang in there and BE PERSISTANT!!!!
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After trying a dozen different kind of masks, I found the solution was a TOTAL face mask, which covers from eyebrows to chin. Respironics makes two different types. I use both, but prefer the FitLife, which looks like a fighter pilot's mask. It's non-claustrophobic because it's clear, it doesn't rub on anything, it doesn't pinch or rub, and it doesn't squeal or fart. I do use a chin strap and I wear a sleep cap under the velcro headgear. I've been using it for over a year and generally sleep through the night. Aromatherapy can help. I also use Lunesta.
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Isn't a BiPAP for CSA? I think my above post addressed this to Glenn.
nancy Romans said:
Have you tried a BiPap? I had the same problem you did and HATED my first machine ! Don't give up ! keep at the doctors to find one that You can be comfortable with ! I actually LIKE my nasal pillows on my Res Med and KNOW i sleep better with it! Hang in there and BE PERSISTANT!!!!
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Permalink Reply by Mary Z on
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Depending on how bad your central sleep apnea is they probably would use an ASV machine, or servo vent. They have timed respirations and wil make sure you reach a specified tidal volumn.
gm said:Isn't a BiPAP for CSA? I think my above post addressed this to Glenn.
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Yes, that was my point! A CPAP is not for one with CSA..........people are saying try a bipap or vpap, hell I couldn't purchase a second CPAP without my script fora CPAP I'm not sure how someone thinks a person can just purchase a bipap or Vpap? But the point to Glenn was and the same with my wife, two different sleep labs did not even look for CENTRAL SLEEP APNEA.
Glenn do yourself a favor look up Central Sleep Apnea and the symptoms....talk to your sleep doctor (ours were bad, it took a internal med/rheumo that wanted to figure everything out) to get hers straight.
Good luck.
Mary Z said:
Depending on how bad your central sleep apnea is they probably would use an ASV machine, or servo vent. They have timed respirations and wil make sure you reach a specified tidal volumn.
gm said:Isn't a BiPAP for CSA? I think my above post addressed this to Glenn.
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Mike C,
I'm sure they will get you taken care of. I was just trying to the Glenn and whomever else know of my wife's story and if you feel suffocated when using your CPAP then you might want to start asking more questions.
Simply put
In OSA, your brain is sending signals to your lungs to breathe, but because of a collapsed upper airway, no air gets in. Hence a trach would allow you to breath at night because your brain is still sending the signals to your lungs to breathe and the air goes through the trach by-passing the collapsed upper airway.
In CSA, your brain forgets to send the signal to your lungs to breathe. The upper airway doesn't typically collapse in CSA. No signals = No breathing.There is a "mixed" SA which is OSA and CSA and the most over looked by sleep doctors type "complex" sleep apnea.
"Complex" shows up as obstructive apnea during the baseline study but once on xPAP it turns into Central Apneas. The complex apnea is often missed at the titration and the treating Dr usually only sees a summarized dictated report from the lab which typically states obstructive apnea...because the patient does indeed have obstructive...yet once on therapy the obstructive events turn into centrals....this requires an ASV machine. SO in theory...the OP's 2 Dr's having conflicting Dx's as to what type of apnea it is may be due to this.
If you don't feel you are getting better or only a little bit better, please let your doctor know.
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You really should insist on having the "overnight" testing done at a hospital, Mike. Given your other problems, I would really push for it were I you!!
Gary
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Hi Mike, A home study just does not have as many resources as a brick and morter lab. I went to a sleep lab than A university hospital based lab . At the university hospital their were many more smart people to pick at my results.The first lab their was no support no follow up and no help getting used to my machine.Go Find The Smart People and Get Figured Out ! Both you and Gary are just beginning It is daunting and sucks much ,but when you get over the initial learning curve You Will Have: better energy ,memory,clarity, you will realise hey I am doing something with out thinking about it that you would not have a month ago. Go to AWAKE meetings find smart people get figured out and Dont Ever ever ever let lack of sleep cloud you in to thinking it would be ok to take a dirt nap not just yet ! !! It took me quite a while to get figured out .It Can Be Done ! Good Sleep, Chris
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I SEE SMART PEOPLE ! ! Go Downtown pack a snack Go Mike Go!
Mike C (at the Beach!) said:
I am hot on the trail and just located a doctor IN my Health Insurance Plan to boot at Scripps Hospital here in San Diego. Even though she is downtown & I am way up here nort in Oceanside (Camp Pendleton area), it would be worth the drive for her credentials. I am going to ask for a referral to her from my Primary care Doctor next visit. She is listed under those who are sleep specialists:
http://www.scripps.org/locations/hospitals__scripps-mercy-hospital/...
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Hi, Mike: I've been using a CPAP for about 10 years - I'm on my third machine. Yes, it can be difficult to get used to them, but machines, masks, and settings really can make it less trouble. My first two machines were Respironics units, the first was a their first APAP, the second a unit with 'C-Flex', and my current unit is a Resmed S9. Boy has technology changed! What works for me may not work for you, but the Resmed is so much more comfortable to use that I barely know that I'm breathing with a CPAP. I run 4-17 mm of pressure, with a 5 minute ramp. Your ramp should be set long enough for you to get comfortable, I prefer a short ramp time, others prefer more. The range of pressure is determined by your doctor, but you can work with the doctor to adjust the limits - sometimes they leave the top limit set higher than you need, and you wake up with a hurricane up your nose --- and you wanting to get rid of the mask. My new machine is more portable, has better humidity control and a heated hose - I used to wake up with a hose full of water, turn over, and get a nose full! This never happens with the heated hose, it keeps the hose dry. I now use my humidifier all the time, and my throat and nose are in much better shape. The headgear itself is another point - it's really important to find one that works for you. I like the 'Breeze' headgear with nose pillows - it goes over the top of my head without straps on my face, and (for me) doesn't get pushed aside when I'm sleeping on my side (which is almost all of the time). The Breeze is available with a small mask that just covers the nose instead of the pillows, and I recommend that if you try nose pillows that you also get the mask attachment. It took me about three months of switching back and forth to get my nose used to the pillows - and I've been using the pillows now for several years. The 'ESR/CFlex' settings are also individual. I prefer ESR turned off on the Resmed, I was 'just OK' with CFlex on the Respironics, but I breathe better with them turned off. On most new units, you can either learn to program some of these features yourself, or the doctor can have the machine programmed to give you limited access to set features like ESR and ramp time.
It did take me a couple of months to get somewhat used to CPAP, and a couple of years to get truly comfortable - I should have changed masks sooner, and had my machine readjusted. Don't be afraid to tell your doctor what is - and isn't - working, and keep it up until you are comfortable. The difference is absolutely life changing. My second week on the CPAP I was ADD boy, for the first month and a half all I did was dream all night (I found out later that this is 'REM rebound' caused by the lack of real REM sleep for so long). Apnea/Hypopnea puts a huge load on your heart, addles your brain, and generally takes your life from you. I've been with a new specialist since last summer and her comment is "you're 100% compliant!!!" (and not by the lax standard of 4 hours per night). I do go to bed without my CPAP. With my AHI of 63 (more than one incident per minute), it's really changed my life to get on CPAP.
Don't consider the surgery until you've worked really long and hard on getting the CPAP to work. The surgery (and recovery) is painful (I know of people who have had it). It has, at best, about a 75% success rate (CPAP is nearly 100%!), and often doesn't last more than a few years. With the newer machines and varieties of masks, I hope that you can find one that works for you. Some doctors will let you try different machines to see what works. There is no one-size-fits all answer, you need to work with the doctor to find a combination that you can live with.
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