RE: Aargh! (help!) - not feeling better on APAP
(08-11-2013, 11:23 PM)mraley82 Wrote: To top it off I have sporadic insomnia so I don't end up using the machine because I can't fall asleep in my bed and for some reason I only can on the couch.
Bring the CPAP machine to the couch.
What you are experiencing is a typical adjustment to CPAP therapy. Your brain is used to having to wake you up to breathe, and now it's trying to adjust to the fact that it no longer has to do that. Those spurts of events you're seeing your data will gradually subside and you will start to notice an improvement in the way you feel and are able to function.
First and foremost, though, you cannot train your brain unless you use the CPAP machine every time you sleep.
Next is getting a good fitting mask. If the full face mask you're using doesn't fit try another. There are many options including hybrid masks. Just keep bugging the VA until they realize you aren't going away and you're not giving up.
Sleepster
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RE: Aargh! (help!) - not feeling better on APAP
(08-12-2013, 06:48 PM)mraley82 Wrote: What's an "acceptable" nightly leak rate? At what point should I be able to know I've made the correct adjustments?
The Resmed machines report what is called the 'unintentional' leak rate, which is simply the total leak (as measured by the machine) minus the mask's 'intentional' leak through the breathing holes. That makes it easy for you to know how much you're leaking without having to work out the numbers. The upper limit for an acceptable leak in ResScan is 24 L/min. Beyond that the treatment is considered ineffective.
RE: Aargh! (help!) - not feeling better on APAP
(08-13-2013, 09:16 PM)Paptillian Wrote: The Resmed machines report what is called the 'unintentional' leak rate, which is simply the total leak (as measured by the machine) minus the mask's 'intentional' leak through the breathing holes.
Oh, please don't call them "breathing holes". Please call them "air vents" and explain that they allow a constant airflow so that you are always getting fresh air on every breath.
Calling them "breathing holes" brings to mind a picture of having to breathe through those small vents. Yes, strictly speaking you _are_ exhaling through those vents, but that mental imagery is scary.