Hello Guest, Welcome to Apnea Board !
As a guest, you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use.
To post a message, you must create a free account using a valid email address.

or Create an Account


New Posts   Today's Posts

Worse sleep with CPAP machine
#21
RE: Worse sleep with CPAP machine
Welcome to perhaps the most awesome user name ever!
Post Reply Post Reply
#22
RE: Worse sleep with CPAP machine
Thanks chill!

I've learned so much from boards like this during my 8 year journey of self diagnosing, self treating, and finally being professionally treated for OSA. I want to give back by helping others :-)
Post Reply Post Reply
#23
RE: Worse sleep with CPAP machine
(08-30-2016, 08:50 PM)Raebo Wrote: Many new machines can be set to automatic based on a quick office tests that provides general settings that when set rely on the machine to then automatically roam through it's range while you sleep, increasing and decreasing air pressures automatically for inhaling and exhaling while you sleep.

Pressures automatically increasing and decreasing for inhaling and exhaling is not an accurate characterization of an auto-adjusting machine.

Quote:I am a big fan of allowing professionals to ""Manually"" set your proper pressure based on your overnight sleep test results and stay away from the automatic setting.

That's fine as long as that works for you. For others, though, it may not work so well. Here are some reasons.

1. The pressure determined during the sleep study may not be an accurate representation of your needs. The conditions under which you sleep at home are far different from those in the sleep lab. The technician makes an educated guess based on the pressure needed to eliminate most if not all obstructive events. And the patient may only get a few minutes of sleep, so there isn't enough data for the technician make as good of a determination as he might like to make.

2. That pressure may be uncomfortably high, and be needed only rarely. The rest of the time you can sleep more comfortably at lower pressures.

In my case the titrated pressure of 13 cm causes aerophagia to the point that it's unbearable. A lower pressure of 10 cm eliminates the aerophagia, but leaves me with too many obstructive events. Bi-level therapy can relieve some of the aerophagia, but a lot still remains. Plus, if the pressure support is too high it induces centrals.

So the solution for me is auto-adjusting bi-level therapy. Sometimes I need a pressure higher than 13 cm, but most of the time I can stay down near 10 cm.

I understand that you're just stating your own opinion, but your opinion of what works well for you may not work well for others.
Sleepster

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.
Post Reply Post Reply
#24
RE: Worse sleep with CPAP machine
(08-30-2016, 08:54 PM)PatCurt Wrote: Thanks Sleepster, but we will have to agree to disagree. Between the tachycardia and the constant atrial fibrillation, 4.7 hours for me is great. That is from the time I went to bed until the time I got up.
Every time it is a little longer is a plus for me.

Sorry. I misunderstood. I thought you were using the mask for 4.7 hours but sleeping for more than 4.7 hours.

I hope that as you adapt you'll be able to get more sleep. My point is simply that if a person sleeps without the mask it prolongs the adaptation period.


Sleepster

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.
Post Reply Post Reply
#25
RE: Worse sleep with CPAP machine
No problems Sleepster. I too hope that I will get more sleep once I get used to the machine and mask.
Thank you to everyone for the great advice.
Also I have read a lot on this forum which has helped me immensely.
Post Reply Post Reply
#26
RE: Worse sleep with CPAP machine
Hi,

I tried to do the cpap titration at the sleep clinic and there is no way I can have a wind tunnel blowing in my face. I was only able to take one breath, and for almost 2 hours I was coughing from it drying out what felt like my trachea all the way to my lungs! This machine is a mideaval torture device! It was on the lowest pressure, I tried 2 different masks, a bipap setting, which only tortured me half of the time, so that was better, but I still only took 2 breaths with that. It was horrible! How do you people do it????
Post Reply Post Reply
#27
RE: Worse sleep with CPAP machine
(08-31-2016, 09:36 PM)Jules23 Wrote: Hi,

I tried to do the cpap titration at the sleep clinic and there is no way I can have a wind tunnel blowing in my face. I was only able to take one breath, and for almost 2 hours I was coughing from it drying out what felt like my trachea all the way to my lungs! This machine is a mideaval torture device? It was on the lowest pressure, I tried 2 different masks, a bipap setting, which only tortured me half of the time, so that was better, but I still only took 2 breaths with that. It was horrible! How do you people do it????

Even the highest pressure the typical machine can put out is only about 2% of the normal air pressure at sea level. If you are reasonably healthy you should be able to adapt to that. Can you blow up a balloon? If so you can breath against even the highest CPAP pressure because blowing up a balloon takes a LOT more pressure than a *PAP machine can ever deliver.

You can set these machines yourself and start out with a low pressure and move up as you get used to it.

I am not dissing your feelings - they are real and important. Just trying to put things in perspective.

If you have sleep apnea you are at a much higher risk of heart attacks and strokes. And then you may end up in intensive care with a machine doing *all* your breathing for you, like it or not. Those hospital ventilators put out quite a bit more pressure than the typical CPAP machine and a lot of the people who get put on them have *very* weak lungs.

CPAP/APAP are the only reliable way of treating apnea. Even if it doesn't add more years to your life it can put more and better life in your years.

It's your health and your life so it's your decision. If you decide to get *PAP therapy we can help you adapt and we will have your back. You decide.
Ed Seedhouse
VA7SDH

Part cow since February 2018.

Trust your mind less and your brain more.


Post Reply Post Reply
#28
RE: Worse sleep with CPAP machine
Start with a positive attitude. While not a much fun as an excellent meal with good friends, it beats the alternative health issues and early death. Then don't be prone to over exaggeration. If you want to talk yourself out of it, you certainly can. You would not be the first. It is NOT a wind tunnel. Unless you have a serious mask leak happening, the air going into the mask is only a bit more than you normally breathe. The leak rate of masks is about (on average, average pressure) 2 cups of air per second. Two cups. That is barely a light breeze. It is certainly not going to dry out your trachea down to your lungs, especially not in one breath. And most people use the humidifier and high humidity air is not going to dry you out.

Yes, exhaling against the pressure, even the lowest pressure can feel a little odd at first. You will quickly get used it, IF you don't dwell on it. Many people here have reported waking up and wondering if the machine was even on after a few weeks. Yes, it was on.

As Ed said so well, it is your decision. What you are describing is psychological, not physical. You are in control of that. You and only you. If you want, you can get your brain used to this. If you don't want it, it will never happen.
Post Reply Post Reply
#29
RE: Worse sleep with CPAP machine
My first mask was a res-med mirage Quattro full-faced mask, sized medium because that's what was used in my sleep study. It ulcerated the bridge of my nose very quickly when I began nightly therapy.

I went to a mask supplier and bought instead the same mask in size large. Problem went away.

Take away: make sure the size is right.

Also I conquered the farting noises from the mask by using RemZZZs (mask liners). At the beginning my pressures were 20/25 (BIPAP), so noise was a big problem.

Perhaps these experiences may help you.

Good luck.
Post Reply Post Reply
#30
RE: Worse sleep with CPAP machine
Thought I did pretty good with the mask and sleeping 2 nights ago. But last night!! I woke up this morning with the magnet pieces still attached to the frame of the mask and the velcro straps just "flapping in the wind" minus the magnets. My left ear was swollen as was my jawline! I figured it was the hard plastic since I was sleeping on my side but no.. the soft straps go where it was swollen.
Had to get out of bed since it was very painful.
I have put a Sleepyhead data from last night in a different thread. Maybe someone here can tell me something about it. Too bad there weren't pictures so I could see if I was ripping off the straps in my sleep!
Post Reply Post Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Ready to buy CPAP machine NewlyDiagnosed 13 215 7 hours ago
Last Post: Sleeprider
  Feel worse on lower EPR even though AHI seems the same? LarkinM 10 272 03-14-2024, 10:53 PM
Last Post: SarcasticDave94
  Need help new on CPAP machine Jimasripper 4 163 03-14-2024, 06:35 PM
Last Post: Jimasripper
  [Treatment] Request for Sleep Data review compared to Sleep Study thesingingchef 2 113 03-14-2024, 05:14 PM
Last Post: thesingingchef
  Is a travel CPAP machine worth it? BobbieM 21 5,445 03-14-2024, 01:55 PM
Last Post: tommystix
Sad help! bipap making things worse Sleepyroshi 5 398 03-14-2024, 07:45 AM
Last Post: Sleeprider
  CPAP not helping with sleep. Cheyne-Stokes or PB? BigBobulous 3 142 03-11-2024, 06:42 PM
Last Post: Sleeprider


New Posts   Today's Posts


About Apnea Board

Apnea Board is an educational web site designed to empower Sleep Apnea patients.