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Don't want to sleep.
#11
RE: Don't want to sleep.
(03-08-2014, 03:42 AM)dustpicc Wrote: Do you think that starting the pressure at 14 is a bit extreme? I have family members who have CPAP and say their max setting is 9. They have mine at 24 and min at 14.

Different people have different anatomies. During their sleep study it was determined that a pressure 9 is adequate to inflate their airway. Yours is more stubborn and reqires a higher pressure.

Quote:Also, why did they refuse to let me have a nasal mask?

It could be that they tried a nasal mask during your sleep study and it didn't work either because your nasal passages were congested (mouth-breathing) or that the pressurized CPAP air forced your mouth open (mouth-leaking) making it impossible to maintain the pressure splint needed to prevent your airway from collapsing.

Quote: Don't I have a say in my treatment? Sad

Yes. Virtually every medical provider allows you to try different masks at no cost. You have a right to a copy of your prescription and you can use it to buy any mask you want. There's no guarantee that they'll work for you.

Keep hitting the ramp button when you feel the pressure is too high.

The most important advice I can give you is this: Keep communicating with your care providers. Explain to them what's not working, what your machine is doing to you, and keep asking for help. Don't give up. You are fighting for your life. The decisions you make now about using your machine will affect the rest of your life. It's hard for you to believe this now, but you will adapt to the machine and it will stop bothering you. It takes time and courage.


Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#12
RE: Don't want to sleep.
Hey Dustpicc welcome and I hope you get this figured out. I had many of the same problems though my pressure is not as high (12/17). My full face mask leaked so bad and killed the bridge of my nose but I forced my self to use it. I eventually switched to nasal mask then pillows and love them. I also had the air bloating problem that seems to have gone away for the most part. My AHI from my study was 120 so I know what it is like to get NO sleep and the related issues would have taken me out untreated. So do whatever you have to do to tolerate treatment (lower pressures/different mask) it really does work and life gets better as most will tell you. Again good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
Doc J
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#13
RE: Don't want to sleep.
Hello - I was (sorta) in your shoes about a dozen years or so ago. Except that my heart was already having severe issues due to the OSA. It's taken until now to fix my heart issues (mostly), and my dream machine (once I got used to it) changed my life.

I could never dream. I could never eat until 4-5hrs after I had gotten up. I could sleep anywhere, anytime - which I thought was a good thing. I used to wake up with headaches a lot - turns out it was because I was tuning blue at night.

About 3-4yrs after starting with my dream machine I had both nose and throat surgery. Still need my dream machine, but my pressure is much lower now (tops at 13-15).

One thing you *could*try, that *might* help is called 'self-talk' - instead of thinking/saying all the bad stuff about the mask and the pressure - you instead start telling yourself all the good stuff about this change. Why it will help you, why you need this. How the mask makes it easier to breathe, and keeps the bad air out, and stuff like that. I used to say to myself that I would drown without my mask. Also practice sessions when you mask up, turn the machine on and all while reading, gaming, watching TV, etc for an hour or so at a time can really help too.

We've all been through this one way or the other. Honestly, good stuff will happen, and you can get used to your new dream machine~!
*I* am not a DOCTOR or any type of Health Care Professional.  My thoughts/suggestions/ideas are strictly only my opinions.

"Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you. Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your Soul, the other for your Freedom."
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#14
RE: Don't want to sleep.
(03-08-2014, 03:42 AM)dustpicc Wrote: Do you think that starting the pressure at 14 is a bit extreme? I have family members who have CPAP and say their max setting is 9. They have mine at 24 and min at 14. Also, why did they refuse to let me have a nasal mask? Don't I have a say in my treatment? Sad

First, I would request all pages of your sleep study so you can look at it and see what happened throughout the night and maybe you will see why they chose that pressure.

I understand why they ask patients to sleep on their back in a sleep study because they are trying to find out what the pressure needed would be when OSA is more likely to happen more often so the patient has that pressure available to them JUST IN CASE they do sleep on their back even if it is just once in a while.

That is the beauty of the auto machines IMHO.

I got these comments from my RT: " The auto machines are designed to attempt to learn your breathing and make its’ pressure changes accordingly but then again they are just machines and they are not perfect. Which is why your pressures go up then down then up then down all night long. Ideally this is why auto machines aren’t prescribed".

I would rather have the pressure increase when I need it rather than have a set pressure all night long that might be too high for me to tolerate the whole time I sleep. JMHO

EDIT: As far as your family members and what their pressure is, you cannot compare yourself to them. Their situation is obviously not at all like yours. I have seen people that have a lot of AHI's in their sleep study and start at a low pressure and I have seen people that have a lower number of AHI's in their sleep study but need a higher pressure to keep their airway open, have REM sleep, keep their O2 up, etc. etc.

EDIT: And you can try any mask that you choose to try. Nobody can make you use a specific mask. They can suggest a mask but if it isn't working, then you need to try other masks.
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#15
RE: Don't want to sleep.
I too LIKE setting my machine in 'auto'~! YES, I have my numbers dialed in so they are pretty much dead on most of the time, but every so often, I need a spike up into the 20s, and if my dream machine wasn't in auto mode, I would not have gotten the needed pressure at those times.
*I* am not a DOCTOR or any type of Health Care Professional.  My thoughts/suggestions/ideas are strictly only my opinions.

"Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you. Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your Soul, the other for your Freedom."
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#16
RE: Don't want to sleep.
I'm just catching up on everyone's posts.
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#17
RE: Don't want to sleep.
(03-08-2014, 05:18 PM)dustpicc Wrote: What is biflex and what d0 the different settings mean?
http://biflex.respironics.com/
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