RE: Strategy for trying on masks at the DME?
Yes, the Mask Primer is fabulous. I keep it under my pillow 'cos I might need to study it in the night. (Seriously, I have been re-reading it regularly in my lead-up to the DME visit.)
I did not have a titration study. Since I had the sleep study from hell (I actually had a nightmare there which consisted of punching the assembled staff members for not listening to me), including a bed swap in the middle of the night, not having to do a second study was a big relief. The doc is leaving me to auto-titrate. Yippee!
I will have a follow up in a month or so to see how I'm doing. I'm pretty motivated, so I'm not unduly concerned.
My current planned mask strategy is to try on one of each type at the DME and go from there: pillow, nasal, full face. I do open my mouth when I sleep, but I might just be able to fix that problem if my nose is decongested via the humidifier. My biggest issue is how the harness interacts with my jaw, since I have TMJ and screws in my lower jaw.
I did try using my on-hand neck collar last night. My jaw flopped open worse than ever....
In desperation because I have the flu, I also tried (genius that I am) breathing in through my nose buried in a damp cotton rag over an old-fashioned hot water bottle (=aggressively warm moist air). Nose cleared in 3 breaths; mouth happy to be relaxed and closed. Woohoo! Easiest breathing in weeks, months....This serendipitous exercise makes me think a warm humidifier will allow me to breathe asleep without opening my mouth. This could allow me to avoid using an FFM. I might actually be able to breathe more relaxed with a CPAP machine than without one, just from having my nose be full-time operational.
RE: Strategy for trying on masks at the DME?
(09-18-2017, 09:59 PM)HalfAsleep Wrote: "...a warm humidifier will allow me to breathe asleep without opening my mouth. This could allow me to avoid using an FFM. I might actually be able to breathe more relaxed with a CPAP machine than without one, just from having my nose be full-time operational."
FWIW: WARM is the key word here. YMMV but I have both humidifier and heated hose at the top settings and it's just that, WARM...to me that is. I do have an window A/C that I have to run at 68-70 F every night as well. Maybe that's playing part as well. Just pointing out what you already know...that is the moist air from your CPAP's humidifier and the steam coming out of the hot water bottle will be different temperatures.
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RE: Strategy for trying on masks at the DME?
(09-18-2017, 09:59 PM)HalfAsleep Wrote: In desperation because I have the flu, I also tried (genius that I am) breathing in through my nose buried in a damp cotton rag over an old-fashioned hot water bottle (=aggressively warm moist air). Nose cleared in 3 breaths; mouth happy to be relaxed and closed. Woohoo! Easiest breathing in weeks, months....This serendipitous exercise makes me think a warm humidifier will allow me to breathe asleep without opening my mouth. This could allow me to avoid using an FFM. I might actually be able to breathe more relaxed with a CPAP machine than without one, just from having my nose be full-time operational.
This screams the need for a heated hose. Empathize this with your Dr.
Heated Hose, AirSense 10 AutoSet (or for Her model)
RE: Strategy for trying on masks at the DME?
(09-18-2017, 10:24 PM)bonjour Wrote: (09-18-2017, 09:59 PM)HalfAsleep Wrote: In desperation because I have the flu, I also tried (genius that I am) breathing in through my nose buried in a damp cotton rag over an old-fashioned hot water bottle (=aggressively warm moist air). Nose cleared in 3 breaths; mouth happy to be relaxed and closed. Woohoo! Easiest breathing in weeks, months....This serendipitous exercise makes me think a warm humidifier will allow me to breathe asleep without opening my mouth. This could allow me to avoid using an FFM. I might actually be able to breathe more relaxed with a CPAP machine than without one, just from having my nose be full-time operational.
This screams the need for a heated hose. Empathize this with your Dr. Heated Hose, AirSense 10 AutoSet (or for Her model)
I believe I am getting a heated hose (I did ask the doc for one). I will for certain be picking up an AirSense 10 AutoSet for Her.
I am very pleased with myself for coming up with this method of testing whether warm and humid air will help. (In addition to everything else, it has helped my flu. Only problem is, it's not like I can spend the day with my face buried in a rag on a hot water bottle.)