Hello Guest, Welcome to Apnea Board !
As a guest, you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use.
To post a message, you must create a free account using a valid email address.

or Create an Account


New Posts   Today's Posts

First night!
#1
First night!
I had my first night with the Resmed Autosense10 for her with Full mask Quattro FX. Not a good experience. My pressure is set on 4-20 and I felt as if I had an octopus sitting on my mouth and nose and was breathing in a hurricane. Exhaling felt quiet but inhaling was as if I were in a windstorm. Also, do not know that there was humidification (got heated hose and set on pre heat etc) as the air does not feel warm and the plates are not hot? Much advice needed! I did not sleep at all but used mask 1 and a half hours...no idea how to sleep like this! Also when I roll over on my side, there is a noise of air escaping even though my machine says fit is good.
Post Reply Post Reply
#2
RE: First night!
It's all new.

First 4 - 20 is not good. It is called wide open and I would expect narrowing that a little would help.

Second, did you put water into the tank? I expect you did, just asking. I can't "feel" or sense the humidity in mine, but in the morning the tank is almost empty so, I know it is working.

The Heated hose is NOT to heat the air, if the air felt warm you would have a serious problem. The heated hose is to keep the hose just slightly not cold so the humid air passing through does not condense out and end up having water running into your mask - it happens and is called "rain out". So, you should not even notice the temperature increase if you touch the hose - it is very slight, but works for the intended purpose.

Yeah, the octopus thing - it takes getting used to. First thing is to be sure it is NOT too tight. Most people think you need to snug the straps to keep it from leaking, and it is just the opposite. You should have the straps too loose - really loose, and put the mask on and lay down on your back. The turn on the machine (of have auto start set so it turns itself on) and slowly tighten each strap - maybe an 1/8 inch at a time. I do it by using one hand to pinch the strap where it loops through the mask connection. The other hand then releases the velcro attachment and pulls it a little and reattaches it. the purpose of the pinch is to keep the strap from slipping while adjusting. Do that for both of the top straps until the silicone seal edge of the mask is just touching your face. Then do the to bottom straps. Just barely touching. Then grab the mask and lift it off your face and let it settle back down. Lay still and see if it is still leaking. repeat if necessary. You should feel the silicone seal inflate when you have it right. It will feel like a balloon inflating and touching your face. It should not be tight at all. In fact, if you sit up, it should be loose enough that if your sit up the mask will start to leak from it's own weight pulling it down. Never tighten a F10 more than you have to to stop leaks. It will take a while, but you will get used to it and it will only take a moment to fine tune it at night.

Breathing - well, everyone is different, and you will need to adjust the setting to your tolerance/comfort. There are a couple comfort settings - one is EPR (or something like that) which reduces the pressure when you exhale, to make it easier to breath out when the machine is working at higher pressure. I don't use it, but many do and find it helps. Another is the "ramp" time. You can set an initial pressure lower than the operating pressure and have the machine ramp up to operating pressure over some period of time - like 30 minutes, to let you fall asleep before it goes to work. With your pressure starting at 4 that won't help/work, but chances are you will end up with a higher low end fro your pressure.

Stay tuned, I am sure many will chime in and give better advice than me - and good luck!

EDIT: I just saw you have the Quatro mask - I am pretty sure it is the same as an F10 with a "brace" on the forehead to help keep it from pressing on you nose bridge. I expect someone that wears it will correct my fitting instructions if they are different. But, I expect it is basically the same, floating seal.

I am not a Medical professional and I don't play one on the internet.
Started CPAP Therapy April 5, 2016
I'd Rather Be Sleeping
Post Reply Post Reply
#3
RE: First night!
Hi, somnia16.

It's very common for the air from the CPAP machine to sound/feel very loud and strong when you first start therapy. I found that I had to go through a desensitization period while my brain was deciding that the CPAP machine wasn't anything to be alarmed about. After you reach that point, your brain will start to ignore the sound/feel of the CPAP air, and it will become a background sound.

As far as switching from back to side sleeping goes, it does take some practice to get the knack of doing that without causing mask leaks. Some people get special "CPAP" pillows that have a notch cut out of each side. A type of pillow that is deformable (filled with feathers, buckwheat hulls, etc.) will also work. The idea is to rest your head on the pillow when you side sleep but to leave most of the mask hanging over the side of the pillow.

It's great that you've found this forum so early on in your treatment. It's a great resource for problem solving and moral support.

Welcome
Post Reply Post Reply
#4
RE: First night!
Thanks for your replies. I know I can change the 4/20 pressure but I am not sure whether 4 is considered too low or too high if I feel like there is a lot of noise and air when I breathe in, whereas when I exhale, I can hardly hear it? Frank, you said "With your pressure starting at 4 that won't help/work"...what did you mean? That 4 is too high or too low? Thanks again...
Post Reply Post Reply
#5
RE: First night!
Hi somnia16,
A minimum pressure of 4 is normally too low for most folk. It can make you feel starved for air.
Do you know what pressure you were titrated at? We usually try to set a range bracketed around that number or the 90% pressure reading.

You can download sleepyhead software and send us a screenshot and someone will advise accordingly. Here are some links to help you.
http://OSCAR Official Download Page ----> CLICK HERE ./
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...ganization
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...pnea_Board

You should know that the mask is the hardest part of therapy. Possibly you are experiencing mask leaks and that may account for some of the sound you hear. Others, when first starting out, are very sensitive to the sound of their own breathing, but it time you won't notice it.

Again SleepyHead software will reveal if you are having leak problems, and if the pressure settings need adjusted.

If you feel your mask isn't working for you, try something else less cumbersome like a nasal mask or a nasal pillow mask.



OpalRose
Apnea Board Administrator
www.apneaboard.com

_______________________
OSCAR Chart Organization
How to Attach Images and Files.
OSCAR - The Guide
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing therapy
OSCAR supported machines
Mask Primer



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.
Post Reply Post Reply
#6
RE: First night!
somnia16
Welcome to the forum
Welcome
(08-09-2016, 09:44 AM)somnia16 Wrote: Thanks for your replies. I know I can change the 4/20 pressure


Since you know how to change the settings consider the fact that the Academy of sleep medicine studies indicate; the pressure required by most patients with sleep apnea ranges between 6 and 14 cmH2O.

A typical CPAP machine can deliver pressures between 4 and 20 cmH2O.

I would give serous consideration to running in that 6-14 range until you get some software loaded and find out your 90%.

Rose and Frank are correct that 4 is too low for most people:if you need to be at the low end of the machines capability 20 is certainly too high.

If it was me! I would liked to know who and why they recommended such a wide range.

Typically people who need more that 15 have to work up that number. Many people who start therapy cannot tolerate numbers above 13 at first. Then, over time, they develop a ability to handle the pressures

Remember to follow OpalRose's advice on the getting the software and identifying your 90%. This is the first important step in titrating your own sweetings.

Pressure settings that are too high or too low will exacerbate the difficulties in acclimating to the mask
Sleep-well
2004-Bon Jovi
it'll take more than a doctor to prescribe a remedy

Observations and recommendations communicated here are the perceptions of the writer and should not be misconstrued as medical advice.
Post Reply Post Reply
#7
RE: First night!
(08-09-2016, 10:52 AM)0rangebear Wrote: If it was me! I would liked to know who and why they recommended such a wide range.

OB, 4 and 20 happens with moderate frequency. It even has a slang name: Magpie mode. (As in 4 and 20 magpies...)

Typically happens when a titration has not been done.
Admin Note:
JustMongo passed away in August 2017
Click HERE to read his Memorial Thread

~ Rest in Peace ~
Post Reply Post Reply
#8
RE: First night!
Welcome to getting used to CPAP! You will get there, we all have.

try wearing it while watching TV or reading to get used to it.
You will get to the point where you have to put your hand in front of the vents to make sure you remembered to turn it on
You will find that some mask leaks are just fine, right now you are not calibrated as to what is okay and what needs to be fixed, I used to wake up with every leak, sound, tug... now I don't even check my status for weeks at a time, because I totally trust the machine now.

It is all different, right now you don't even have the words to describe all the new things that are going on, you will get there
Post Reply Post Reply
#9
RE: First night!
(08-09-2016, 08:19 AM)somnia16 Wrote: My pressure is set on 4-20 and I felt as if I had an octopus sitting on my mouth and nose and was breathing in a hurricane.

I'm not denying your experience, but just to point out a fact that you may find relevant, 10cm of pressure is pretty close to one percent of normal air pressure at sea level. So it may feel like a hurricane (feels like that to me too when I first put the mask on) but it isn't actually.

You can adapt. I second the other suggestions that 4cm is too low to start at. Paradoxically perhaps, for me starting at 7 is much easier to adapt to than 4 and that appears to be true for a lot of people. Of course you aren't "a lot of people" you are you, and we are all different.


Ed Seedhouse
VA7SDH

Part cow since February 2018.

Trust your mind less and your brain more.


Post Reply Post Reply
#10
RE: First night!
My prescription is for 11cmH2O. I changed it to auto and found 10cmH2O was my least comfortable setting. I have mine set to 10/15 and hover around 12cmH2O. I turned off the ramp time as well as it was very uncomfortable.
Post Reply Post Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  First night with hose cover, night was full of major mask leaks TiredTom111 2 849 06-30-2023, 01:44 PM
Last Post: TiredTom111
  Hello folks, here is my graph from last night and night before Phil487 5 897 06-15-2023, 02:05 PM
Last Post: OpalRose
  Great Night into Terrible Night dcsleep 1 1,109 12-15-2020, 12:05 PM
Last Post: Sleeprider
  [Pressure] AHI varies from night to night KKBW 6 1,340 07-31-2020, 10:29 PM
Last Post: Gideon
  New to CPAP - First Night Great, Second Night not so much oasised 22 3,233 07-24-2020, 10:26 AM
Last Post: SarcasticDave94
  Here is my data from 3rd night and Friday night slingshot383 16 2,252 05-25-2020, 05:35 AM
Last Post: slingshot383
Question One night AHI 0, next night leaks and high AHI. MyronH 7 2,201 09-29-2018, 09:29 AM
Last Post: MyronH


New Posts   Today's Posts


About Apnea Board

Apnea Board is an educational web site designed to empower Sleep Apnea patients.