need help

[jxyzobrien]

first night problems
please give suggestions

resmed series 9 machine

Positive airway pressure device

h5i with humidifier

I have the full mask. Mask was too tight fixed that. There is tremendous
air pressure. No leakage on mask. But is it normal for air to come out thru
the tubing connected to the hose.

I can not stand the air pressure. My lungs actually hurt. Is the air
pressure too high. Did i just need the nose breathing mask.
I think i was hyperventilating and breathing hard because of too high
air pressure.

I was told 10% of people use full mask.

I went thru cpap test at hospital.

Struggling any help is appreciated. Something is very wrong.
emails welcome

[sonicboom]

What were your prescription settings after leaving hospital and what are your settings on the machine? Get the clinicians manual for your device from this forum and people here will help you get to efficacious therapy in comfort (relatively).

[Want2SleepInMT]

First things first, welcome, and try not to panic. I know I had a "rough" start in comparison to my mother, who took to XPAP like a duck to water. I would call the sleep doc that prescribed your treatment, and explain that you are in physical pain. I would also ask them what make and model of mask that you used during your sleep study, if that one seemed to work well in the clinical setting. My next call would be to the DME that provided your equipment and ask to switch masks, as not everyone NEEDS to go with a full face mask. (I know FFM would make me claustrophobic, from trying my mothers mask for five minutes.) I know my DME allows 30 days to exchange a mask, as they are relatively good about making sure you have the correct equipment for your comfort and continued usage. I went to the wisp after two weeks on the DreamWear, as I kept getting blasts of air to my eyes as I would move.
Also, do not discount the value of sitting in bed, machine on mask on and reading or watching TV while awake, just to get used to the mask. In the very very beginning, I was breathing weird because I was over thinking it.
Good luck!

[justMongo]

Need to know which S9 machine. Look by the start button, it will say there.
Autoset, VPAP S, VPAP Auto, Elite, et cetera.

[trish6hundred]

Hi jxyzobrien,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Hang in there for more suggestions and answers to your questions and let us know which machine you have.
CPAP can take some time to get used to, so don’t give up.
Much success to you with your CPAP therapy and getting it fine-tuned to meet your needs.

[DeepBreathing]

G'day jxyzobrien, welcome to Apnea Board.

It sounds like you're having first time anxiety, which happens to all of us at some time or another. CPAP therapy does taking some getting used to and can be a bit overwhelming at first. But I got used to it, and if I can then you can.

Just following on from the posts above, it would help us if you can provide some more detailed information about your situation. First, which specific machine do you have? There will be a name printed near the on/off button - Escape, Elite, AutoSet, VPAP etc. Tell us what that says. It's important as some machines operate differently from others.

Next, do you know your pressure settings? These would have been prescribed following your titration sleep test. If you don't know, ask your doctor's office for a copy of the prescription, for your personal medical records. As I understand it they are required to provide this under American law. You can also read the settings directly off the machine by going to the clinician menu: Press and hold the silver setup button and the big push dial together for a couple of seconds - a new set of menus will open. Go to the settings menu (use the push dial to navigate) and find the pressure settings. Be careful not to change anything! Once you've got the settings scroll down to the Home option and click on the push dial.

Also, do you know your ramp setting? This is a feature which starts off at very low pressure and gradually ramps up over time (hence the name). The idea is that by the time the pressure reaches the maximum you will be sound asleep and won't notice. It can work, but only up to a point.

For the moment, don't worry about what type of mask you have. A full face mask is fine and doesn't change your experience of the pressure. Unless you feel overly claustrophobic, just use it for the time being until we get you over the initial pressure problem. Later on you can try nasal masks or nasal pillows to see if they suit you better. (Check with your DME what is their time limit for returning the mask if you do need to change it).

Now to the pressure problem. I know exactly what you're describing, to feel the pressure is so strong you can't exhale against it. And quite a few people do experience some tenderness in the chest and lungs at first. You're learning to breathe in a new way, with a compressor blowing air through a plastic alien strapped to your face. Believe it or not you do get used to it, and it does get better as your body adapts. But at this point we really need to know the answers from above so that we can give you some properly targeted advice.

Again, welcome to the forum, and good luck with your CPAP therapy.

Edit: apologies, it's the silver setup button, not the i button.