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Permalink Reply by Mike on April 30, 2009 at 12:06pm

you say that at times you feel like you can't breathe. i see that you're starting to ramp up from 4. 4 is too low for most people to breathe, as is 5. i can't really breathe well until 7 or 8. so you might talk with your doctor about the advisability of changing the ramp up from 7 to 10 over a duration of time.

yes, it is normal to be waking up a lot in the first few weeks of therapy as your brain/body adjusts to having this foreign object blowing air into your airway. i would talk to your doctor about upping the pressure a bit because of your difficulty breathing presumably at lower pressures, and then know that this is the normal par for the course adjustment period. i woke up myself a lot when i first started with cpap.

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Permalink Reply by Mike on April 30, 2009 at 1:02pm

actually, it also occurs to me that you're WAAAAY ahead of the game. The reason? You're not complaining about your mask! Being able to tolerate CPAP therapy is 99.9% about being 'ok' with the mask. You're cool with the mask, right?

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Permalink Reply by Belinda Haman on April 30, 2009 at 1:22pm

Yes I also struggling with my mask......I guess I felt I would be crabbing too much if I mentioned that as well.....some times I rip it off my face because I can't breathe well.....I am contacting my cpap rep as I type this to get my levels changed.....it is soooooooo hard to fall asleep like this.....I guess I need to be more patient eh????

thanks for the feedback much appreciated:)

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Permalink Reply by Mike on April 30, 2009 at 1:36pm

but it still sounds as if you're not struggling with the mask itself being uncomfortable, it's more that you're struggling to breathe/get air, which is more precisely stated as a pressure issue. so let's see what happens if you can get your pressure adjusted upward.

Belinda Haman said:

Yes I also struggling with my mask......I guess I felt I would be crabbing too much if I mentioned that as well.....some times I rip it off my face because I can't breathe well.....I am contacting my cpap rep as I type this to get my levels changed.....it is soooooooo hard to fall asleep like this.....I guess I need to be more patient eh????

thanks for the feedback much appreciated:)

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Permalink Reply by Mike on April 30, 2009 at 1:36pm

a lot of people suffer from the mask straps irritating them/ the mask digging into their face/ creating sores, etc.

Mike said:

but it still sounds as if you're not struggling with the mask itself being uncomfortable, it's more that you're struggling to breathe/get air, which is more precisely stated as a pressure issue. so let's see what happens if you can get your pressure adjusted upward.

Belinda Haman said:

Yes I also struggling with my mask......I guess I felt I would be crabbing too much if I mentioned that as well.....some times I rip it off my face because I can't breathe well.....I am contacting my cpap rep as I type this to get my levels changed.....it is soooooooo hard to fall asleep like this.....I guess I need to be more patient eh????

thanks for the feedback much appreciated:)

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Permalink Reply by BeeAsleep on April 30, 2009 at 2:06pm

Hi Mike and Belinda,

I LOVE my nasal pillows LT Swift. But I have the same problem with having a hard time breathing at the beginning ramping level of 4 and 5. It is hard to lay there and try to breathe until the air pressure gets high enough. Good advice about being able to adjust the beginning pressure higher. I have even just turned the ramping off to try and breathe,but then it is too hard for me to breathe OUT against the air.

I am meeting with one doctor today and one in a few weeks to discuss a change in machines. I CAN wear the xPAP all night long though, yea!

I even spilled an entire glass of ice tea right on the top of the machine, that was the night I let it dry out and didn't use it! geeeze.

Mike said:

actually, it also occurs to me that you're WAAAAY ahead of the game. The reason? You're not complaining about your mask! Being able to tolerate CPAP therapy is 99.9% about being 'ok' with the mask. You're cool with the mask, right?

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