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Newbie ! Questions !
#11
RE: Newbie ! Questions !
Well tried it again last night and no go... I was up for 3 hours trying to make this thing work and nothing...

My biggest problems seem to be this.. It almost feels like I am suffocating from the force of air against my exhale, Like its making me labor to do it.. Its just to much pressure and makes my mouth blow up a bit to... If this wasnt so bad I just " Might " be able to get to sleep with it I think. Second thing might be the mask.. I hate the way it feels and had some leaking as I laid to my side every so often.. The experience actually made my wide awake from all that pressure !! I tried the settings as mentioned with the EPR on 3 with no difference and I selected 5.5 for my pressure ramp was 15 min.... I am so desperate I just dont know what to do !!!!!

Would the " Auto Set " model be better for my issues im having and why can I set the start setting any lower than 4 ? I dont know how much longer I can hang on I am in need of desperate help....

Thanks for all your support
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#12
RE: Newbie ! Questions !
I would suggest that you try to get used to the machine while watching TV or just sitting around instead of trying to sleep, I understand how frustrating it can be to not be able to sleep while wearing the thing that is supposed to help you sleep.

It would help also if you would notice what pressure the machine is at. I am not familiar with the S9 (I have a 10 series) but it might display on the screen when you start it? If not, you can look into the Clinicians menu, which someone here can tell you how to get to on your machine.
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
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#13
RE: Newbie ! Questions !
(05-08-2016, 10:56 AM)yzf125 Wrote: Well tried it again last night and no go... I was up for 3 hours trying to make this thing work and nothing...

My biggest problems seem to be this.. It almost feels like I am suffocating from the force of air against my exhale, Like its making me labor to do it.. Its just to much pressure and makes my mouth blow up a bit to... If this wasnt so bad I just " Might " be able to get to sleep with it I think. Second thing might be the mask.. I hate the way it feels and had some leaking as I laid to my side every so often.. The experience actually made my wide awake from all that pressure !! I tried the settings as mentioned with the EPR on 3 with no difference and I selected 5.5 for my pressure ramp was 15 min.... I am so desperate I just dont know what to do !!!!!

Would the " Auto Set " model be better for my issues im having and why can I set the start setting any lower than 4 ? I dont know how much longer I can hang on I am in need of desperate help....

Thanks for all your support

As far as the exhale relief setting...3 will give the most relief.
With your setting of 7, when you exhale, the pressure drops to 4cm.

Your machine cannot be set lower than 4cm. Most folk feel starved for air at a start pressure of 4.

Try using the machine and mask before bed while sitting up watching TV or reading. That distracts you enough and you don't even realize the pressure is on. It takes time to adapt, just keep trying.

If you feel a pressure of 7 is too much, then back it down to 6 until you can adapt. Just know that if you start at 6, with an EPR set at 3, the machine can only give relief of 2cm, because it cannot go lower than 4cm.

Download the Sleepyhead software so you can start to monitor your progress.

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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#14
RE: Newbie ! Questions !
Would a different mask help with that exhale pressure ? I have the Resmed Air Fit 10... What about a Resmed Swift FX Nasal Pillow ??
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#15
RE: Newbie ! Questions !
(05-08-2016, 04:15 PM)yzf125 Wrote: Would a different mask help with that exhale pressure ? I have the Resmed Air Fit 10


Just an afterthought:
Do you have the mask set to full face on your machine?
I don't use a ResMed machine, but I'm pretty sure there is a setting for mask type.
That could make a difference.
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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#16
RE: Newbie ! Questions !
(05-08-2016, 04:22 PM)OpalRose Wrote:
(05-08-2016, 04:15 PM)yzf125 Wrote: Would a different mask help with that exhale pressure ? I have the Resmed Air Fit 10


Just an afterthought:
Do you have the mask set to full face on your machine?
I don't use a ResMed machine, but I'm pretty sure there is a setting for mask type.
That could make a difference.



Yes it is set to full face mask.
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#17
RE: Newbie ! Questions !
(05-08-2016, 04:15 PM)yzf125 Wrote: Would a different mask help with that exhale pressure ? I have the Resmed Air Fit 10... What about a Resmed Swift FX Nasal Pillow ??

Nasal Pillow masks are very popular, but I honestly don't know that it would be easier to exhale. Some say that you need less pressure than with a full face mask.
I guess you won't know unless you try. I think they are more comfortable.

The online vendors have a 30 day trial period. You can send mask back if it doesn't work out, although you usually have to cover the shipping costs.

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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#18
RE: Newbie ! Questions !
I expect that a nasal pillow would be worse. My experience is that the nasal pillow feels harder to exhale against than a FFM. But, that is just me. I also find that after a few minutes now, I don't even notice the pressure any more. But, I have been at it for a month now. I expect each of us reacts and responds differently and you need to find a way to become acclimated to it that works for you.
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
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#19
RE: Newbie ! Questions !
Keep trying, it will get better. I have passed the 1 year mark, and the pressure is now comfortable and I can't imagine sleeping with out it.
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#20
RE: Newbie ! Questions !
hi yzf125,

welcome to apneaboard.

a few thoughts ...

Sounds like you are up to day 3 and each night you made significant changes in how the machine behaves and how it feels to you. It will be hard to get used to something if it keeps changing every time you do it.

If you have followed Opal Rose's advice, then you have the machine set to the mildest setting. Realize that at their highest settings the CPAP machines can't even blow up a balloon like you can do by exhaling. What it does do for your air passages is simply keep them from closing. It won't breathe for you nor prevent you from exhaling.

So while it may feel like a wind tunnel, be assured that the pressure is actually not as much as it seems. It's just a little assist to keep the pipes open and all the inhaling and exhaling is your natural breathing. Knowing this may quell any panic feelings you might have which keep you from relaxing.

You haven't mentioned whether you downloaded sleepyhead yet. That's the only way you will be able to tell if you are having apnea events and if the CPAP machine is doing anything useful. To be clear, there is an SD memory card in the machine you bought where data about your sleep sessions is recorded. Sleepyhead is the software that runs on your windows or Mac computer which you use to read and interpret that data. You have to upload it into your computer so you need an SD card reader on your computer to import the data from the CPAP machine. If you don't have one, they are relatively cheap, and we can talk more about the mechanics and stuff you need. If you have questions about how to do this people here can help advise you.

This is important for you to be able to determine if this is useful therapy and even if you have sleep apnea in the first place. So before you keep making changes to machine settings, please confirm that you have the sleepyhead software installed and you have been able to read in the machine data from the SD card.

Frank Nichols suggestion to wear the mask with machine turned on while awake until you get used to it is another important step to help you relax enough to fall asleep with the gear on. Not enough to wear the mask, turn on the machine so you get comfortable enough with the whole experience to read, browse the internet, or watch tv with it on.

Finally, if you can't seem to fall asleep ask yourself if you would be falling asleep without being connected to the machine. Unclear from your comments whether you sleep right away for only 2-4 hours, or if you struggle all night and finally eek out 2-4 hours. Don't attribute difficulty falling asleep to the machine if you would normally have difficulty falling asleep without it. If you are normally laying awake without the machine, and now you have some air pressure it is easy to think that is what is keeping you up when maybe it's not. If this is the case, then the above suggestion to practice wearing the mask (with CPAP turned on of course) while awake will help make the mask become a non-issue for you.

If you are feeling desperate for this to be the answer, you might have built in some anxiety and unreasonable expectations for what's going to happen. Find a way to think of this as an experiment and let it play out with good expectations, but not killing its chance to succeed before you really get started by piling too much on it.

Some of my family members suffer from insomnia. On the rare occasions when I lay awake and watch the clock I get a small sense of what you guys have to deal with, and I don't pretend to fully appreciate it nor know how to fix it.

I can only suggest that you find a way to divert any unrealistic expectations and anxiety about CPAP therapy being your last hope away from this experiment or it might not have a chance to work for you.

If you do have sleep apnea, chances are this is going to help, and help a lot. Give it a chance. And be on the lookout for data to help you understand it.

best wishes,

Saldus Miegas
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