Newbie Desperate for General Help - Introduction

[Nash]

In my first 3-4 days, I was on a pressure of 5, and I felt like it was such a strong force trying to interfere with my breathing passageways. I felt claustrophobic.  I would tear the mask off and toss if to the ground.

After a week or so, I felt like I couldn't even tell if the mask was on and if there was any pressure.

And by the 2nd week or so, I felt like I wasn't getting enough air (pressure).

So it's a *real* thing to have to get adjusted to. Those feelings were all gradual for me.  It sounds like you're experiencing those feelings all at the same time. It's totally ok. You will adjust and eventually get used to it.

In the beginning, I had to tell myself (in the most recent Star Wars movie way) "I am one with my mask; my mask is one with me."

Oh, and I am sensitive to heated breath, too.  Maybe turn the heater on your humidifier and the hose off/down.

Thanks Hydrangea - I can't seem to calm down enough to try it again today but I am not giving up, ever. It helps to know other people have had similar problems. This anxiety is just way out of control. After a few weeks did you start to feel better? Did some of your apnea symptoms subside?

May the force be with you.

[Nash]

A CPAP provides a fixed amount of pressure to open your airway keeping soft tissues in your throat from collapsing. It does nothing to help you breath...it is not a ventilator.  When you hear us talk about ASV (adaptive servo ventilator) machines on the forum, those are specialized machines that increase the pressure during inhale by 8-12 cm, and those will do the work of respiration; yours won't.   Again, it is meant to keep your throat from closing so you can breath using your normal spontaneous respiratory effort.  The reason for increasing pressure is if you actually feel your throat closing up, or you have excessive obstructive apnea.

With regard to nasal pillows, past behavior does not predict ability to breath through your nose.  I can use nasal pillows even with a severe cold, sinus infection or allergy because the pressure relieves the obstruction (congestion).  I love breathing through my nose at night, even though I often mouth breath during the day and probably used to at night.

I feel kind of dumb for thinking it was going to help me breathe. Thank you for explaining this to me. I understand it now. I think I will set it back at maybe min auto = 8 max auto = 16. I will try some mindful breathing before I put it on next time. Try to calm myself down a bit. I will try this all again tomorrow night as I can't seem to sleep now. Do you have any suggestions regarding my settings? Do these look OK to you ? 

I might seriously consider the nasal pillows in the future. This FFM seems to fit so I am going to stick with this for now. Thanks for all your help I really appreciate it!

[Sleeprider]

Your settings are fine unless we know of a problem we're trying to solve. If you post Sleepyhead data that shows the results of your settings during use, with events, flow, pressure, snores, and other information, it would be possible to form an opinion.

[Hydrangea]

In the beginning, I had to tell myself (in the most recent Star Wars movie way) "I am one with my mask; my mask is one with me."

Thanks Hydrangea - I can't seem to calm down enough to try it again today but I am not giving up, ever. It helps to know other people have had similar problems. This anxiety is just way out of control. After a few weeks did you start to feel better? Did some of your apnea symptoms subside?

May the force be with you.

And may the force be with you, too. :-)

Many people practice on the couch while watching TV. Perhaps that could help you get comfy with it.  You could slide it on and off as frequently as you like. Maybe have a shot or two of vodka before you sit down with it.

Be kind to yourself. It's a weird thing to try to get used to.

As far as my symptoms... I noticed improvement from day 1, such that I now have no desire to sleep without it (not out of fear, but simply out of the desire to actually feel good).

[Nash]

I was finally able to keep the mask on for a few hours of sleep while sitting in a chair. I know this is not much data but I wanted to see if anyone has suggestions. I also wanted to practice using SleepyHead, practice uploading and posting images, etc.. I tried to follow the tutorial exactly for the SleepyHead chart view but for some reason I don't have (or show) a 'flow limit'. I have a 'resp. rate' underneath 'snore' but that's it.

I still have heavy anxiety with the mask on but I took Hydrangeas advice and sat around with the mask on to try and get used to it. Thanks Hydrangea! (although I skipped the couple of shots of booze lol) I tried some breathing exercises with the mask on, while sitting in a recliner, with my head propped up on a pillow. I fell asleep for a few hours so that is where this data came from. I was unable to continue to sleep with the mask on after two hours but I will get better at it. I think KNOW I can do it with a little time. I am pretty determined. 

Hope I am doing this right, please tell me if I did something wrong. 

Should I start a new thread for this? Is it getting too long?

Any suggestions on anything?

Thanks to everyone for all the help!

[eseedhouse]

Congratulations for keeping the mask on for that much time in spite of the anxiety. I know how hard anxiety can be to deal with from years of personal experience. Sounds like you are on the right path I hope so don't get down on yourself. If you can do four hours then you will be able to do a full night eventually.

[Beej]

You do snore fairly frequently and have obstructive apneas and hypopneas.
You might see if sleeping on your side helps reduce those.
Additionally, some folks tuck the chin down to the chest, kinking the airway which needs to be open. A cervical collar can be helpful in this instance.

I find it difficult to see the apnea and hypopnea events with the snores showing up on the events graph. It is possible to turn those off at the bottom of the screen by clicking on the down arrow and finding the VS label and changing it to red (off)

[Hydrangea]

Hey! That's awesome!!!!! Way to go!!!

I only know how to read the pressure, snore, and leak charts. LOL

[Nash]

Congratulations for keeping the mask on for that much time in spite of the anxiety.  I know how hard anxiety can be to deal with from years of personal experience.  Sounds like you are on the right path I hope so don't get down on yourself.  If you can do four hours then you will be able to do a full night eventually.

Thanks eseedhouse. Once I figured out that I did not have some kind of deadline and could just ease into it, it seemed to take the pressure off and ease the anxiety a bit. I figure it just like you do! If I can do four hours I can go all night. Thanks for the support!

Hey!  That's awesome!!!!!  Way to go!!!

I only know how to read the pressure, snore, and leak charts. LOL

Thanks Hydrangea!

[Nash]

You do snore fairly frequently and have obstructive apneas and hypopneas.
You might see if sleeping on your side helps reduce those.
Additionally, some folks tuck the chin down to the chest, kinking the airway which needs to be open. A cervical collar can be helpful in this instance.

I find it difficult to see the apnea and hypopnea events with the snores showing up on the events graph. It is possible to turn those off at the bottom of the screen by clicking on the down arrow and finding the VS label and changing it to red (off)

Hi Beej- Usually I can only sleep on my side. I do tuck my chin down but for some reason I have a serious problem sleeping with my neck straight. I will give straightening it out a try. I think a collar at this point might send me over the edge.  Wearing that along with a mask might be possible when I get used to the mask. Sometimes I seem to get a few good hours sleep in a reclined recliner with a pillow propping up my head. That is why I gave it a shot that way and sure enough I got 2 or 2 and 1/2 hours. Which is a miracle these days believe me. The next few nights I am going to try it in bed, on my side, if I can stand it. If not I will start out in the chair.

Now bare with me Beej, I am new to this software. I think this is what you want, right? Thanks for all your help!