Comment

Comment by Jim Nadolny, BS, CRT on July 8, 2009 at 12:42pm

I agree with Rock on this one. A full face mask would be key, Resmed makes the Liberty mask (see http://cpapcritic.com/?p=34 ). It is also important for you to understand the concept behing Bilevel therapy, and why it will help the gas problem. Your sleep study should be repeated, making sure that you have a full face mask, complete night study, and a good Sleep Tech.

Comment by RockRpsgt on July 8, 2009 at 8:04am

Terri as a tech are hands are tied. we are not supposed to say anything about the study. the doc is supposed to give a titration consultation.

Comment by terri on July 8, 2009 at 7:08am

ok im reading all this and im wondering..........why didnt anybody tell me anything about my study? the tech told me nothing only referred me back to my doctor. my doctor only told me how many times i stopped breathing during the night. the tech that brought my cpap just got my signature and left. i tried using the first mask i got and the only thing i got from it was frustrated. i tried a different mask which seemed to work ok but i never had any noticable difference in the way i felt except the same symtoms that robert talked about...............bloating, gas, extremely irritated eyes, break outs on my face and just general aggrivation. absolutely not worth the hassle of dealing with when i didnt have any noticable improvement in the way i felt. ive been reading this blog for a couple of months now and i know how important it is to continue with treatment. there has got to be a better way to deal with this. im just basically.........scared, frustrated, irritated and confused.

Comment by RockRpsgt on April 25, 2009 at 9:55pm

There is no way that I could end any type of a titration study at 2am and feel confident that I had done a good job. Most people do not hit true or good REM until the morning hours(3-6 am). This is when the majority of the apneac events happen. I have never heard of a tech giving up before.

Comment by Judy on April 25, 2009 at 8:01pm

I have to agree w/Rock Hinkle wholeheartedly!!! It sounds like your sleep tech was having a bad night, was tired and just wanted his patients OUTTA there early so he could get out and go home. NO WAY should a sleep tech encourage a patient to abandon a titration study a couple of hours early! He should have tried explaining as much as possible WHY you should stay and try to get in some more sleep. Two more hours? At 2 AM? If this occurred at 2 AM and you were outta there by 3 AM .... Hell's belles, there was a good chance of another 3-4 hours of sleep and still have you awake and preparing to go home by 6:30 AM. Yer darn right I would be complaining to the sleep lab manager AND sleep doctor!!!!

Comment by Diane Hausch on April 25, 2009 at 7:20pm

This is the first time in my life that I have slept with my mouth shut. Because if I leave my mouth open, I start gasping, so I shut it and sleep. No more waking with dry tongue, mouth etc. You need to get some one to help you pronto. Good luck
Diane

Comment by RockRpsgt on April 20, 2009 at 12:58am

Did I understand that post correct? Did the tech actually give up on the titration? If so i think I would be complaining to someone ie Doctor in charge, insurance comapany, SOMEONE!!!!!!! I would really like to see yout report if possible. As Angela said it does not sound like normal CPAP is going to work for you. At the very least I would switch to a Resmed Full Face mask until you can train yourself to breath through your nose. Any full face would probably help. I just prefer the new Resmed mask.

Comment by Jeffrey Donaldson on April 14, 2009 at 4:08pm

Sounds like 2 problems. First you need a chin strap. Second, because your mouth is open that probably affected the test and caused them to really jack up pressure to compensate. That is probably why you are swallowing air.

Comment by Angela D. on April 14, 2009 at 2:40pm

Robert, the pressure in your belly is called "aerophagia", and yes this is a big problem. Bilevel is the best option for this, as well as the mouth dryness. The issue is typically the EPAP pressure needs to be as low as possible. The EPAP pressure is the pressure you exhale against, the lower it is, the less air build up and exhalation becomes more efficient. Without knowing your test results, the EPAP pressure doesn't need to go higher than the the last pressure setting that controlled your "complete airway obstructions" or OSA. The IPAP pressure is increased for the partial obstructions, "hypopneas", snore, etc...I hope this isn't too much info, but these are things that should have been explained to you by your sleep techs, MD etc..Humidification helps, but ambient room air makes a difference too. Using heat or A/C, is it rainy, cold..etc???, all these factor in. Full face masks help since most of the time people can't keep their mouth closed and all the air from the mask circulates out of your mouth. Tried full face, chinstrap, mouth wash? At NO point with a nasal mask should your mouth been "wide open" as you stated, during a sleep study. If the leak is high or you are mouth breathing, you will have apnea events and tolerance problems. GOOD LUCK!

Comment by cathy huffman on April 14, 2009 at 1:36pm

OH MY YOU ARE HAVING SOME ISSUES. I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT YOU HAD TOO MUCH PRESSURE AND WERE SWALLOWING AIR. I HOPE SOMEONE HERE CAN OFFER YOU SOME HELP.

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