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Newbie, First week with Cpap
I'm hoping to find some guidance from those that have been going through this for a bit. Both my mother in law and I were diagnosed with sleep apnea with in the same week. She started her therapy a few days before me and is doing well... me...
I started my cpap therapy on Monday night. I have panic issues in regards to feeling trapped or not getting enough air, so my Dr put me on a small dose of lorazabam for these first two weeks. I woke up to my alarm Tuesday morning to find my mask all nicely placed on top of the machine. I have no memory of taking it off. I was fighting leaks most of the night, and guess maybe I finally just gave up on it. lol. I also upped my humidity monday night to 3.5 because I had a very dry mouth every time I woke up. (I'm using the fulllife mask that covers mouth and nose, notface). Tuesday went much better. I only had one leak issue and I think I got in around 6 hours of sleep time with the mask on. But,again my mouth and throat were super dry and sore. Had a bit of troubleswallowing food starting Wednesday. Wednesday night I upped thehumidity to 4.5. I had a lot of trouble sleeping most of the night. There are times it feels like the air all of a sudden hits me full force, like its being shot at me. This wakes me up. I do not think I have one of the machines that changes pressure based on your apnea needs. I'm using a resmed S9 elite2. and my pressure is an 8 (ramped from 4 to 8 over 20 minutes) Again, my throat was super dry and hurting. I've had issues all day with swallowing. I am a mouth breather when I fall deep asleep, and usually sleep with my mouth wide open. I know I'm doing this in the mask, because I've woken up several times due to the air pooling in my side of my lip. (annoying feeling, but doable. lol) I did, once again, take my mask off sometime during the night last night and have no memory of it. I woke up to go potty and realized it was off.
Is the dry throat and mouth because I don't have enough humidity or am I using too much? I'm not sure if I should try setting it up another level since I had more issues last night than when I had it set at 4. Though the throat was super dry and painful at setting 4.
I gathered up my tubing and mask this evening to wash them, and found three little holes in my tube. Was kinda freaky seeing the water coming out like a little fountain. I called the supplier, but it was already after hours so they can't help me till tomorrow. I almost took everything in this morning to wash it, but put it off and did laundry instead. Totally regretting that. Now I am wondering if this is the cause of the sore and dry throat. Maybe I'm not getting all the humidity the machine is making? I don't know. I have to use the tubes for one more night and will talk with the technician tomorrow.
I know most everything else is going to work itself out as I get used to sleeping with the cpap. Oh.. and my lungs seriously feel like I've run a marathon. is this normal? At times I feel like there is just too much air for my lungs to take in and I start coughing. During the day, I feel fatigued still and in some cases even more because my chest aches a ton. I feel like breathing has just become difficult for me all of a sudden. Is this something that will work itself out or should I talk to my Neurologist or sleep technician about it?
Any help you all can give me would be greatly appreciated. I'm feeling kind of lost in all this, trying to figure it all out on my own. Doesn't help that my MIL is relying on me for the info for her too! LOL
I started my cpap therapy on Monday night. I have panic issues in regards to feeling trapped or not getting enough air, so my Dr put me on a small dose of lorazabam for these first two weeks. I woke up to my alarm Tuesday morning to find my mask all nicely placed on top of the machine. I have no memory of taking it off. I was fighting leaks most of the night, and guess maybe I finally just gave up on it. lol. I also upped my humidity monday night to 3.5 because I had a very dry mouth every time I woke up. (I'm using the fulllife mask that covers mouth and nose, notface). Tuesday went much better. I only had one leak issue and I think I got in around 6 hours of sleep time with the mask on. But,again my mouth and throat were super dry and sore. Had a bit of troubleswallowing food starting Wednesday. Wednesday night I upped thehumidity to 4.5. I had a lot of trouble sleeping most of the night. There are times it feels like the air all of a sudden hits me full force, like its being shot at me. This wakes me up. I do not think I have one of the machines that changes pressure based on your apnea needs. I'm using a resmed S9 elite2. and my pressure is an 8 (ramped from 4 to 8 over 20 minutes) Again, my throat was super dry and hurting. I've had issues all day with swallowing. I am a mouth breather when I fall deep asleep, and usually sleep with my mouth wide open. I know I'm doing this in the mask, because I've woken up several times due to the air pooling in my side of my lip. (annoying feeling, but doable. lol) I did, once again, take my mask off sometime during the night last night and have no memory of it. I woke up to go potty and realized it was off.
Is the dry throat and mouth because I don't have enough humidity or am I using too much? I'm not sure if I should try setting it up another level since I had more issues last night than when I had it set at 4. Though the throat was super dry and painful at setting 4.
I gathered up my tubing and mask this evening to wash them, and found three little holes in my tube. Was kinda freaky seeing the water coming out like a little fountain. I called the supplier, but it was already after hours so they can't help me till tomorrow. I almost took everything in this morning to wash it, but put it off and did laundry instead. Totally regretting that. Now I am wondering if this is the cause of the sore and dry throat. Maybe I'm not getting all the humidity the machine is making? I don't know. I have to use the tubes for one more night and will talk with the technician tomorrow.
I know most everything else is going to work itself out as I get used to sleeping with the cpap. Oh.. and my lungs seriously feel like I've run a marathon. is this normal? At times I feel like there is just too much air for my lungs to take in and I start coughing. During the day, I feel fatigued still and in some cases even more because my chest aches a ton. I feel like breathing has just become difficult for me all of a sudden. Is this something that will work itself out or should I talk to my Neurologist or sleep technician about it?
Any help you all can give me would be greatly appreciated. I'm feeling kind of lost in all this, trying to figure it all out on my own. Doesn't help that my MIL is relying on me for the info for her too! LOL
Views: 821
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Chris H on
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Getting used to cpap is a process trial trial trial.......more trial than sucess .you may need a chin strap to keep your mouth fron opening and loosing pressure. the machines pressure is making an air splint to keep your airway open if you loose pressure threw your mouth your lungs won't fill .Keep trying and talking you will be ok. Good sleep,Chris
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Permalink Reply by Mary Z on
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ValeriGail, sounds like you're having quite the time with it! I don't know what is causing the terrible dry mouth- perhaps the leaks in your hose do have something to do with it- sounds as though your humidity is pretty high unless you're in a really dry climate. I see you have the S9, do you have the climate control hose?
It takes some of us longer than others to get used to the feeling of the air splinting open the airway. I think we have all woken up with the mask placed neatly aside. Perhaps you should try with four hours a night and gradually increase your time. If you have EPR (expiratory pressure relief), ramp, or settling these also may help. Your DME can help you with these if you're not sure about them.
I have heard other people say they feel like they ran a marathon the morning after, so that may not be as unusual as you would think. Mostly I think it takes some getting used to. Eight is not a terribly high pressure and you should be able to handle that without problem after getting used to it. I would again suggest that if you have ramp on your machine to set it at the maximum. It gradually raises the pressure to eight over a period of time.
There are special mouthwashes and toothpastes for dry mouth which may also help. I think Biotene makes a gel that you can place in your mouth to slowly dissolve (though it's a gel not like a losenge) that may help with the dry mouth and throat. Most of all take it easy on yourself and hang in there. Good luck and be sure to keep us posted.
Mary Z.
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I did some research last night on my machine, because I was a bit confused over the bi-pap and Cpap and EPR. My machine does have the EPR and I remember the technician lowering my exhale pressure so that it didn't feel like I had to force my breath out. I think she lowered it to half the inhale pressure. I do have my pressure set to ramp over a 20 minute period. I try to take advantage of that every night and get the mask on for a bit and allow myself some time to relax before the pressure rises. Didn't work last night. I was more agitated last night than any of the nights so far. I'm not sure what caused the issue either. I fought with my mask all night and didn't ever get it to fit correctly. I did take my mask apart to wash it (the mask pops out of a hard shell that holds the head gear) and maybe i didn't get it back quite right, or didn't like the smell of the soap I used? I don't know. I only made it two hours with the mask and gave up. Today I feel horrible with the worst headache. I slept terribly. Tuesday, when I was successful with the mask, I slept wonderful and felt wonderful the next day.. So I at least have a comparison of with and with out.
I do not have the climate controlled hose. I was using the slimline hose, but that is the one that had the weird holes in it. Today I picked up another hose from the DME and its completely different than the one I was originally given. I will see how it goes with that one tonight. I might just order a couple extra hoses just to have as back ups, because it was nerve racking finding those holes and knowing I couldn't get a new hose till the morning.
I'm still trying to learn my machine. It is supose to display the AHI, but doesn't. It only shows how many hours the machine was used. I might call the DME on it and see if we can get it to do that, but from her reaction to my call today I think she's getting tired of me bothering her.
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ValeriGail, that machine should show the AHI and AI. How are you trying to access it? I would push the left and right arrow buttons for about 3 seconds which should bring up a menu that says "efficacy" scroll down and it should give you the numbers. Let us know if this doesn't work and we'll get better minds on it.
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There aren't any arrow buttons. I've got an info button, a settings button, and a turn dial that I click to access things or set the humidity levels. I think It will change the ramp too. Other than that I can't figure out how to access anything. When I go to Resmed's site and look at all their stuff, It shows that it should read on the screen with usage, mask fit, and ahi.. but I only see usage on mine. (right now it actually says 0 hours) I found the mask fit by going into settings, and did play with that last night. But I still haven't been able to figure out how to see my AHI.
This is a resmed S9 Elite. I think I originally said it was an elite 2, because thats what my technician wrote on my paper work, but it is just an S9 elite. There isn't a 2 yet for the s9, but is for the s8. anyway.
I wish they had given me a manual for this thing, but unfortunately not.
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http://cpaphelp.internetage.ws/manuals/
Go here and look under ResMed- they have your manual. Maybe someone with an S9 will chime in and tell you how to find that stuff. It might have to be enabled by the DME.
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Thanks Mary! That manual is wonderful.. just what I was looking for. On resmeds site, they only have a basic feature manual, but the one you linked is detailed and very informative!! Awesome!
Now to get up the nerve to dive into my clinical settings to turn on my sleep quality stuff.
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I am a respiratory therapist working at a DME for over 20 years. Your technician should definately provide you a users guide/manual, on everything you received, including humidifier and mask guides. You can also visit the Resmed.com website. and there should be phone # you can call Resmed for support--sometimes talking to a real person can be a great help:) Make sure you are adjusting your mask lying down like in your sleeping position. Often the fit will change from how it was when you were sitting up, for example. Also, you can check your mask fit at higher level than the start pressure, usually by pushing and holding the stop/start button if S8 for 3-5 sec. Pressure will stay at (usually 10, if it's an APAP) for 3 minutes so you have time to adjust it, and display will tell you if fit is excellent, very good, poor, etc. The user guide/manual shows you how to do this, it's very easy. When CPAP gives you a "blast" of air during your sleep, often it is from a leak (machine is trying to compensate) which can include mouthbreathing. But you said you have a fullface mask, so you should be able to use your mouth. Maybe there is such a strong leak so often during your sleep that it's drying you despite the humidifier? Check all your connections including how the mask is put together. Not often, but I have had to fit a person with chinstrap even for use with fullface mask, sometimes it was to resolve problem with excessive drooling, but it might be worth a try. Also, there is a possiblity your humidifier isn't working properly so have that checked out (when tech gives you the guides:) And, ask your pulmonary doctor/staff about the dryness-- are you on any medications that would cause increased dryness? Always get your pulmonary doc involved if your equipment provider is not giving you the help you need--that always gets results! In my experience, the Resmed Quatro Full Face mask has almost always been the most successful--be persistant if the DME provider doesn't want to exchange it, although I know insurance has a huge say in it! Respironics and Resmed both have "30 day" mask exchange policies for new-comers. I'd say at least 80% of my patients using full face masks are using the Quatro! No, I do not work for Resmed:) Good Luck, don't give up!! It's definately worth all the effort!
ValeriGail said:There aren't any arrow buttons. I've got an info button, a settings button, and a turn dial that I click to access things or set the humidity levels. I think It will change the ramp too. Other than that I can't figure out how to access anything. When I go to Resmed's site and look at all their stuff, It shows that it should read on the screen with usage, mask fit, and ahi.. but I only see usage on mine. (right now it actually says 0 hours) I found the mask fit by going into settings, and did play with that last night. But I still haven't been able to figure out how to see my AHI.
This is a resmed S9 Elite. I think I originally said it was an elite 2, because thats what my technician wrote on my paper work, but it is just an S9 elite. There isn't a 2 yet for the s9, but is for the s8. anyway.
I wish they had given me a manual for this thing, but unfortunately not.
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