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Mask horrors, questions, ideas
#11
RE: Mask horrors, questions, ideas
Hi Exhale,
I know CPAP can take some getting used to and sometimes, it takes some people longer than others. I just encourage you to stick with it and keep trying. Don't be shy about asking to try as many different masks 'til you find what works for you.
Hang in there, don't give up, it does get better.
trish6hundred
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#12
RE: Mask horrors, questions, ideas
Just imagine if the rest of your life was only 1 year, one month or even one day.
How you look at at your xPAP if the machine could double that time?
What if it could stretch it from 1 day to 20 years or more?
How many people die from undiagnosed CPAP related causes every day? Auto accidents, heart attacks, strokes?

I like at least 8 hours every night with my ASV PAP machine, occasionally I fall short but not to often.
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#13
RE: Mask horrors, questions, ideas
(04-10-2015, 01:05 PM)justMongo Wrote: You have to forgive R_G. He was a POW in a DPRK POW camp; and they force fed him broccoli.

Broccoli is so healthy and detoxifying - I couldn't live without it!
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away.
"
Hillary Cooper
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#14
RE: Mask horrors, questions, ideas
So Saturday night we went away and I didn't bring CPAP....(I should give it a nickname). I did however record my oxygen level for a few hours and it wasn't great with drops below 90. Last night I wore CPAP for 5+ hours and also oximeter for most of the same time. My oxygen was better but the "Events per Hour" on "MyAir" report was 8.3 per hour!! Previously, when I used the nasal pillows it was less than 1 per hour! And the sleep center my average was 6!

Has anyone noticed this difference between the types of masks? I do find that I sleep better with CPAP when I am really tired. I attached an image of my events from MyAir. I started with the full face mask on Wednesday.

Thanks


Attached Files Thumbnail(s)
   
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away.
"
Hillary Cooper
Post Reply Post Reply
#15
RE: Mask horrors, questions, ideas
(04-13-2015, 07:27 AM)Exhale Wrote: So Saturday night we went away and I didn't bring CPAP....(I should give it a nickname). I did however record my oxygen level for a few hours and it wasn't great with drops below 90. Last night I wore CPAP for 5+ hours and also oximeter for most of the same time. My oxygen was better but the "Events per Hour" on "MyAir" report was 8.3 per hour!! Previously, when I used the nasal pillows it was less than 1 per hour! And the sleep center my average was 6!

Has anyone noticed this difference between the types of masks? I do find that I sleep better with CPAP when I am really tired. I attached an image of my events from MyAir. I started with the full face mask on Wednesday.

Thanks

Hi Exhale,

I would try to download the sleepyhead software and check the different parameters. It would give you lots more details about your treatment than Resmed MyAir does. To me MyAirResmed is useless. The night I slept the worst, it gave me a 100 mark. Their score is if you have less than 5 AHI you get the full points. If you sleep more than 7 hours... Heck, I like less than 1 AHI and when I have less than 1 AHI even with 5 hours sleep I wake up refreshed, ready to face the day.

It looks like we started treatment at about the same time. I think getting used to CPAP is a process much like grieving, (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Acceptance). Except when you are grieving people console you. When you start sleeping with a mask your husband/SO will probably tease you and come up with all kinds of nicknames! I think the Resmed F10 FFM is too uncomfortable, I keep it on standby because it does help when congestion/allergy make it hard to breath through the nose. You might want to try a nasal mask and see if that works. I know for me I can keep my mouth shut with it, where it seems like I open it with the P10. One set of headgear is enough for me so I will stick to nasal mask.

I feel so fortunate when I read other people's posts since I have no other medical issues and that finally I got the right diagnosis because I was tired of being tired all the time and having a body that did not provide me with the energy I needed to accomplish the things my mind wanted to. It is so wonderful to wake up refreshed and in turn it makes me happy. I can now accept invitations I used to avoid for fear I would run out of steam.

Hang in there. I think the secret is finding the right mask for you (it is like dating.. you try several till you find "THE ONE" and then getting so used to it that you quit noticing you are wearing it. Then the "dog on a leash syndrome" happens. That is when you get up and rush to go to the bathroom and drag your machine with you! http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/images/...-funny.gif
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#16
RE: Mask horrors, questions, ideas
(04-14-2015, 05:51 AM)Mich Wrote: Hi Exhale,

I would try to download the sleepyhead software and check the different parameters.

You might want to try a nasal mask and see if that works. I know for me I can keep my mouth shut with it, where it seems like I open it with the P10. One set of headgear is enough for me so I will stick to nasal mask.

Hang in there. I think the secret is finding the right mask for you (it is like dating.. you try several till you find "THE ONE" and then getting so used to it

Thanks Mich
1. I will check into the sleepyhead software. Looks like it gets downloaded to computer - then I would upload info from SD card?
2. This is my 3rd mask. Nasal masks didn't work since I open my mouth. Kept waking hubbie up.
3. I didn't want to try a chin strap - didn't want another strap on my head.
PS My apnea is mild and my ox levels were 81% during my 1st sleep study. I also have asthma which may be a (or the) contributing factor. I wonder sometimes if this caused my seizures.
Exhale


"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away.
"
Hillary Cooper
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#17
RE: Mask horrors, questions, ideas
So yesterday I spoke to someone at the place where I got my equipment regarding the high AHI from using the FFM and he advised me that the mask seal was not good. They see my MyAir records. What I saw on MyAir didn't register that. So last night I tightened the mask and it was very uncomfortable. However it was not tight enough - my mouth was trying to escape the cage and was slipping out the bottom (how weird). So I got up, readjusted, noticed the face marks on my left cheek and went back to bed. After 4+ hours I removed the mask and slept soundly. zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Will have to give it a few more days before I give up. Still very tired, worst than before CPAP.
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away.
"
Hillary Cooper
Post Reply Post Reply
#18
RE: Mask horrors, questions, ideas
(04-10-2015, 07:30 AM)Exhale Wrote: ...My OSA is mild (6 AHI) but my oxygen dropped to 81% during the sleep study...so here I am. Using CPAP for about 1.5 months now...

I find this troublesome. You are probably getting plenty of air, even without xPAP. You are probably getting all the air you can handle, with xPAP. Yet 02 is low, which implies there is an issue with your ability to intake oxygen more than there is an issue with your airway being obstructed.

xPAP will address the blocked airway, which is hardly blocked, so it is probably worth doing, but is it really effective, even with a low AHI, if your 02 goes below 92%? Not really knowing, my best guess would be "Hell No!". AHI is a summary index of events where the airway is blocked, where you might stop breathing for 10-50 seconds, or where you might breathe shallowly for a breath or two. So it tells you when you are not getting air, and when you are.

But that is all it is telling you, and it is not telling you in any way how much or how well 02 is saturating your blood, or isn't. Fewer events means fewer opportunities to be starved for air, but more air and fewer opportunities to be starved for air does not in any way imply that the 02 in that air is getting into your bloodstream efficiently. So even with a low AHI, you likely have a serious issue that should be addressed, probably with supplemental oxygen.

I would never tell you to not do xPAP, but were it me, I would be first looking at other, any ways to get the 02 sat up where it is not alarmingly unhealthy. The good news here is you can also use xPAP as the delivery system for 02, so both therapies can complement each other, and, again guessing, both therapies together might then be just what the doctor ordered. That is the first discussion I would have with your sleep doc/pulmonologist, were I you.

And if I had this issue and my sleep doc was a sleep doc/ENT or sleep doc/neurologist, I would immediately find a new sleep doc/pulmonologist.

Run; don't walk.

Just my 2c.
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#19
RE: Mask horrors, questions, ideas
(04-14-2015, 07:11 AM)Exhale Wrote: Thanks Mich
1. I will check into the sleepyhead software. Looks like it gets downloaded to computer - then I would upload info from SD card?
2. This is my 3rd mask. Nasal masks didn't work since I open my mouth. Kept waking hubbie up.
3. I didn't want to try a chin strap - didn't want another strap on my head.
PS My apnea is mild and my ox levels were 81% during my 1st sleep study. I also have asthma which may be a (or the) contributing factor. I wonder sometimes if this caused my seizures.
Exhale

A1: I found a video tutorial on youtube that showed how to use the software. Make sure to turn the SD card to lock it so your computer does not write any files onto it, and then unlock it before putting it back into the machine.

A2: Finding the perfect mask is what takes a while. My best friend's husband uses something called nose cradles with an Optilife mask that holds his chin also. I know that in order to troubleshoot whether I was opening my mouth I put some gauze over my lips and then put medical tape over my mouth (and let me tell you, my husband was cracking so many jokes I was about to send him to audition for SNL!). I have several bed pillows and find that the one that works best for me now is the Tempurpedic contour, it has the contour for your cheek and molds to you with pressure and body heat.

A3: I am with you on the chin strap. I have even been practicing during the day to make sure I train myself to breath only through my nose.

I found that in order to get a better seal with the Resmed F10 FFM it helped to turn machine on first, place it against my face with the air blowing to create the seal and then adjust the headgear (not too tightly, just enough to hold the mask against my face).

Hang in there. I too had periods where I thought the cure was worse than the problem but now I would not part with my machine, I cannot believe what a positive difference it has made for me!

Good luck to you!
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#20
RE: Mask horrors, questions, ideas
(04-13-2015, 07:27 AM)Exhale Wrote: Has anyone noticed this difference between the types of masks? I do find that I sleep better with CPAP when I am really tired. I attached an image of my events from MyAir. I started with the full face mask on Wednesday.

Thanks

I'm pretty new to this so I wouldn't call myself an expert by any means. I was diagnosed with mild apnea with an AHI of 11. I'm about 3 weeks into using a loaner Resmed S9 machine. I'll be picking up my own machine next week. I was given a nasal mask (Resmed N10) and a pillow mask with a couple different sizes of pillows (Resmed P10, medium and large). I've been trying all of them and keeping track of the results. I'm getting the results from Sleepyhead which is still way over my head, but seeing numbers and graphs helps me to understand what's going on a little better. Reading all the posts on Apnea Board has been teaching me a lot as well.

My first reaction to the masks was that the N10 seemed to be the most comfortable, probably because they weren't any protrusions trying to climb up my nostrils. Also the air flow from the pillows seemed a lot more direct and I thought it would take a lot longer to get used to. Of course, the N10 has more straps which results in a little more mockery from the other side of the bed. Oddly enough, that mockery quickly disappeared with the snoring.

It turns out that the N10 is the most likely to end up on the floor at some point in the middle of the night for me. I'm not sure why, but I've only made it through one night so far with that mask still on my face when I wake up.

I've gotten used to the P10 and the large pillows seem to result in a lower AHI on average. I have to make sure I shave regularly when using the pillows though. Anything more than a couple days of stubble turns into an irritant that wakes me up throughout the night. Also, with the pillows, I have to be careful to put them on right side up when I put them on in the dark. The thought of seeing a hose hanging from my nose in the mirror in the bathroom still seems frightening to me.

The medium pillows feel like the air flow is a little restricted to me. They still result in pretty decent AHI scores though, just not quite as good as the large pillows. The machine doesn't shut off automatically with the medium pillows either though, so maybe there's a problem with that mask.

With the N10 mask, my AHI ranges from 1.05 to 3. With the P10 medium pillows, the AHI ranges from 0.64 to 3.16. To be fair, I think the 3.16 was an anomaly. I only slept about three hours that night because of a work related project. If I ignore that night, then the high AHI for the P10 medium mask is 1.57. And finally with the P10 large pillows, my AHI ranges from 0.41 to 1.51. All of them are less than 5 which seems to be the magic number to be below, but the large pillows seem to give me the best results overall.

I think the results will be different for everyone. Obviously, the nasal pillows didn't work for you, but different masks will definitely produce different results. When you're trying different masks, give each mask at least a few nights so that you have a chance to get used to them. I ended up liking the mask I thought I would hate initially.

I use Sleepyhead, import the data every morning and type a few notes about how I slept and which mask I used. Being able to see the results like that helps a lot.
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