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New Member, need help please!
#11
RE: New Member, need help please!
I can't help with the DreamWear because I tried several times to keep it from moving with no luck.

I no longer use a chin strap with the P10, but when I did, it was a Respironics brand, Approx.. 3" wide. It is called the Delux chin strap. It is a plain white elastic band. No chin cups. Google it.

Also, if you have problems mouth breathing, practice this technique:

Place your tongue to the roof of your mouth with tip of tongue behind front teeth. Then gently suck upwards. This places your tongue in a natural position and creates a seal at the back of your throat so that no air will escape.

This takes practice, but will come naturally after a while. Its far better than waking up with "cotton mouth". Smile
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.
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#12
RE: New Member, need help please!
Any of the chinstraps should work, even a head band, your charts say you are not mouth breathing.
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#13
RE: New Member, need help please!
(01-01-2017, 04:32 PM)OpalRose Wrote: I can't help with the DreamWear because I tried several times to keep it from moving with no luck.

I no longer use a chin strap with the P10, but when I did, it was a Respironics brand, Approx.. 3" wide. It is called the Delux chin strap. It is a plain white elastic band. No chin cups. Google it.

Also, if you have problems mouth breathing, practice this technique:

Place your tongue to the roof of your mouth with tip of tongue behind front teeth. Then gently suck upwards. This places your tongue in a natural position and creates a seal at the back of your throat so that no air will escape.

This takes practice, but will come naturally after a while. Its far better than waking up with "cotton mouth". Smile

Googled it, thanks! Does this help with keeping the P10 straps in place? I'm not a mouth-breather so thankfully I don't have to solve that problem.

I'll be waiting for the mask that bonjour is going to conjure up and will be expecting that by next Christmas. In the meantime, hopefully I'll be able to find something that works well enough.
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#14
RE: New Member, need help please!
Yes, be sure your P10 is fitted the way you want it, then place the strap over it, and fasten on top.

I believe that strap also comes with two small side straps that are optional to use for securing to back of head.
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.
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#15
RE: New Member, need help please!
(01-01-2017, 04:41 PM)chigirl Wrote: I'll be waiting for the mask that bonjour is going to conjure up and will be expecting that by next Christmas. In the meantime, hopefully I'll be able to find something that works well enough.
Wink oldman

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#16
RE: New Member, need help please!
I use the cheapest Resmed chin strap. Therapist sent me home with a "small" pillow and that lasted 1 night before medium came out. Upped my min pressure, and thought all was solved until I tried the large and moved the EPR to 2. WOW now I can breathe.

Having said that, it took time. It didn't happen over night. With practice, I now take naps without the chin strap. I can even yawn and breathe out of my mouth at will, without therapy interruption. As long as the yawn is for less than ten seconds, I won't get charged with an OA. Big Grin OBTW it has been 10 months since my last ...... got to this level. Laugh-a-lot

Don't give up on anything too soon. Some figure it out quickly, others (like me) it takes more time. Try everything and every combination. Only you will know what works for you.


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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#17
RE: New Member, need help please!
Hi chigirl,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
The mask is the hardest part of this whole thing, so don't be shy about trying different masks 'till you find one that's right for you.
I liked the P10 because it is very minimul, but after getting soars in my nose that I couldn't get rid of for a long time, (even after trying a couple of different creams and sinus rinces.) I wound up switching to a full-face mask, (FFM,) to finally resolve the soars and to work through my fear, (chlostraphobia and not having the ability to talk through the FFM.)
I wish you good luck in finding a mask and with your CPAP therapy as a whole.
trish6hundred
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#18
RE: New Member, need help please!
Hi,

Thought I'd do a follow up and ask for more advice.

Over the past 2 weeks I've fiddled with different masks and different pressure settings.

After having no luck with the P10 or the Dreamwear Mask, I tried a Wisp (which I liked) and now the N20 (which I also like.) I think I'm going to stick with the N20. For the life of me I couldn't get either the P10 or the Dreamwear Masks not to slide around. I tried clips, bobby pins, caps, headbands-you name it. The "ritual" to try to get them to stay put each night was getting longer and longer and they were still sliding around. I came to the realization that I needed something else. Both the N20 and the Wisp stay put and I like not having something *in* my nose. My first "try" at the N20 was not successful, but I managed to *bend/reshape* the sides of the masks just a little and it fits my face better. I love the magnetic clips on the sides and it requires very little adjustment during the night, even though I sleep on my side. Neither mask requires anything to keep it in place.

Here is last nights results. I woke up around 5:20 am, so the leaks/apnea's at that time are when I'm awake because I was fiddling with my mask. I think I was asleep for the one that happened around 6 am. I'm still waking up occasionally, but not nearly as much as I was. What are people's thoughts on changing the pressures even more?

[Image: w9ueXdE.png]

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#19
RE: New Member, need help please!
That's a good AHI. Maybe stabilize for a couple of days to see how it works over time before adjusting anything again. Each night is only 1 sample of your sleep. There can be quite a bit of variability night to night. Getting several nights as samples will let you see if there is consistent performance with the settings.
                                                                                                                          
Note: I'm an epidemiologist, not a medical provider. 
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#20
RE: New Member, need help please!
Thanks Beej.

My AHI has been consistently low since starting APAP. (Whichever pressure setting.) My challenge has been staying asleep. For some reason I'm waking up and once I do, I cannot go back to sleep. Well not without taking off my mask.

It is better than when I started a couple of months ago, but I'm still waking up at least once per night. Sad I haven't slept one night, all the way through, since I started.

I'm determined to make this work, and have actually passed my insurance compliance, but I feel more tired now than before I started APAP. That's why I'm trying so many different things. (I actually went for my sleep study due to memory-related issues and not tiredness related issues.)

I'm open to whatever suggestions people have for ways to reduce waking up--pressure related or otherwise. When I look at the charts, I see gibberish so I don't know if there's something noticeable on there (that I can correct) that may explain why I'm waking up. Or maybe I just need to give myself more time to adjust to APAP.
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