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New Here
#1
New Here
I guess it is time to introduce myself. I have been pretty sure i have had Apnea and sleep disordered breathing for a long time, and finally tired of feeling tired I started the process of getting on CPAP last July. Finally, yesterday March 23, I got my CPAP. The wheels of medicine turn slowly I guess. Anyway, my sleep study showed an AHI of 27, and an RDI of 77. My O2 saturation was below 88% for 53 minutes with a nadir of 82%


Went to the DME expecting the worst after extensive reading here and on that other forum. When I got there it looked like my concerns were well founded, as I was told before I even had said why I was there I was told they are all in a meeting and sit over there. I sat. Meeting was over and they all filed out, nobody said a word to me. I sat. Finally after about 15 minutes I went to the desk to make sure the guy I had scheduled with knew I was there, they told that I was meeting with someone else and she knew I was here. I sat. Finally I was called in, and much to my surprise there was a shiny new Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset configured and ready to go. Since my prescription was for a CPAP , heated hose and humidifier along with an Eson nasal mask I was sure they were going to try and foist off a brick on me. Tried on a Nasal Pillow, then decided for now to stick with the ESON, and was familiarized with the machine and sent on my way.

First night of sleeping on the hose went not so well. Although my sleepyhead reported parameters we good, I only slept bout 3 hours. But I felt reasonable considering. Last night I slept more, actually sleeping from 11:30 PM to 5AM.  I mentally feel much better than I have felt in years already. I am so much more calm and alert feeling. I feel tired because I did not get enough sleep hours, but I believe that will be corrected in time, but for now the progress can only be said to be remarkable!
One issue I have had so far is at bout 1 hour after putting on my Fisher and Paykel Eson 2 mask, is that my nasal passages swell nearly close, so much so that its difficult to even inspire at my prescribed pressure of 10 cmH2O. I raised both the hose temperature and the humidity level and that seemed to help but I am totally willing to take any advice on this I can get.
Thanks in advance!
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#2
RE: New Here
Welcome to the forum. I'm afraid I cant help you with the issue with youe nasal passages but do have a couple of suggestions. My initial study also showed and AHI of 27 and I was given a brick set at a constant pressure of 10. Flash forward several years and I got the machine you have in January. Onec I could see data I determined that my apnea was not effectively treated with the machine in CPAP mode at 10. My AHI levels were frequently above 5.

You don't mention your AHI levels. That would be helpful.

Some of my problem was positional, due to chin tucks resulting in flow limitations. Correcting that made a significant difference. The other thing that yielded a big improvement was going from CPAP to automode with min and max pressures of 8 and 14. My AHIs are now usually below 2 and often below 1. My RDI is consistently below 3.

If you post SleepyHead graphs here, the experts on the forum will be able to help you optimize your therapy.  

You need 3 more posts before you can post data. A brief response to mine will give you one more. A couple of more questions will give you 4. I'm sure others will respond to your post and you will have more opportunities.

Then organize your SleepyHead data and post it a instructed in the links below.

I hope someone has a solution to your problem.
Download OSCAR

Organize Charts
Attaching Charts

Mask Primer
Soft Cervical Collar

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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#3
RE: New Here
Good to see you getting started. The first night is a trial, and things do get better from there. Your sense of stuffiness is why I like the nasal pillows, but you gotta do what is comfortable for you. Looks lie you have some very good equipment, software and are ready to succeed. Good luck.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
Download OSCAR Software
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing Therapy
Organize your OSCAR Charts
Attaching Files
Mask Primer
How To Deal With Equipment Supplier


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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#4
RE: New Here
Ill suggest that you post your data from sleepyhead (see my Sig) pay attention to the section on organization as all the charts are not as important.

When you post add a space to the url until you hit your 4th post. (Just don't tell anyone I said so ;-)

Data tells the story.
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#5
RE: New Here
Thanks, My AHI is 3.1 so it's looking decent. I will need to get adjusted to the treatment for a couple weeks before I start tweaking the settings.
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#6
RE: New Here
Hi TASmart,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
It’s pretty common for the first night not to go very well, just keep working with your mask and machine.
Hang in there for more responses to your post, good luck to you with your CPAP therapy.
trish6hundred
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#7
RE: New Here
(03-24-2017, 02:47 PM)trish6hundred Wrote: Hi TASmart,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
It’s pretty common for the first night not to go very well, just keep working with your mask and machine.
Hang in there for more responses to your post, good luck to you with your CPAP therapy.

For sure on that one. My second night was much better in feel and somewhat better with my stats. I just took a 1/2 hour nap this afternoon, w/ CPAP and wow, I have never had such a refreshing nap. Of course, my goal is to get enough sleep at night to be able to not need a nap.
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#8
RE: New Here
I was taking a 1 1/2 hour nap every day in order to make it. Just last month I started sleeping all night and now I don't take any nap at all. In fact, after 7 hours "on hose" now, I have to get up and I am good all day. 

Treatment does work, it just takes time and patience.  Sleep-well
CPAP is a journey like “The Wizard of Oz”. It’s a long slow journey. You will face many problems and pick up many friends along the way. Just because you reach the poppies, it doesn’t mean you are in Kansas. 
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#9
RE: New Here
Tell your doc that they are the best in my book. You are on the right road. Keep us informed. Keep reading this forum.

Sleep-well

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#10
RE: New Here
(03-24-2017, 11:44 AM)TASmart Wrote: First night of sleeping on the hose went not so well. Although my sleepyhead reported parameters we good, I only slept bout 3 hours. But I felt reasonable considering. Last night I slept more, actually sleeping from 11:30 PM to 5AM.  I mentally feel much better than I have felt in years already. I am so much more calm and alert feeling. I feel tired because I did not get enough sleep hours, but I believe that will be corrected in time, but for now the progress can only be said to be remarkable!
One issue I have had so far is at bout 1 hour after putting on my Fisher and Paykel Eson 2 mask, is that my nasal passages swell nearly close, so much so that its difficult to even inspire at my prescribed pressure of 10 cmH2O. I raised both the hose temperature and the humidity level and that seemed to help but I am totally willing to take any advice on this I can get.
Thanks in advance!

Be kind to yourself.  Your first night sleeping with the hose went GREAT!  You actually wore it, and got some sleep!  It's only UP from here!!!  I don't know about you, but I think it's totally strange to get accustomed to sleeping with a mask, a hose, a machine, pressure, air, etc.  So YOU DID IT!

And I totally agree with you - no matter how much or how little sleep I am getting, I still feel so much more mentally alert and capable than I ever have in my life!  So it's definitely doing something good. 

Keep it up!

P.S.  I think raising the temp & humidity was smart.  I don't have any advice for that one, as I'm a newbie myself plus I've not used that mask.  Good luck.

Welcome!!! And congrats on a seemingly good DME! They do exist! Yours sounds a lot like the one I found and like. It's kinda strange that they're distributing medical equipment, and yet they have sales meetings and sales office space. Buuut, whatever, as long as they treat us well.
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