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Need some help with a few things please - Weegie - 02-01-2023
Hello!
I just joined in hopes that you all would be able to lend me some help please. I have been using the Luna 3G unit with the ResMed N20 nasal mask since April, I did two at home sleep studies and was found to have moderate-high sleep apnea but also was almost in divorce court as my snoring had gotten really bad, but by using this machine the snoring stopped, maybe just a few noises if I lay on my back but it was like a miracle. I felt more rested during the day and thought all was good, but not long I felt "different" in the chest area, hard to explain just different and I figured that I would have to get used to it more. I had my checkup in June and the doctor said I was doing great, went from waking 17 times down to 1, I told him about these little chest "sensations" I was having, sometimes I noticed my heartbeat more, not pounding or racing, just noticed it more, sometimes some chest muscle pain, but he listened to my heart and lungs and said "they sound great" so I left it go. I then proceeded to go through the toughest year of my life, seeing my parents health worsedn and ultimately having to put them into the hospital then rehab then assisted living, plus sell many of their things so needless to say I was stressed out emotionally, physically, mentally etc. I had a treadmill stress test done in October just as a baseline, I'm 62 and a lot of people I know have died from heart issues so I wanted to get checked and it was fine, then a month later Novermber 4th I finally got Covid, probably from being rundown and stressed, but it was more in my sinuses not my lungs or heart area, was getting over that and I started to develop a tightness in my chest muscles and it was tough to breath when I would walk or exert myself, not gasping for air, not from the lungs, just like a shortness of breath at times around the upper chest/throat area and if I took a deep breath I was okay, but this of course caused MUCH anxiety and stress as I wondered if there was something wrong with me, I had the stress test and although I got Covid the doctors said it was doubtful this strain would do any heart damage so I didn't know what was the issue. I Googled "chest muscle pain and CPAP" and I saw MANY others posting and talking about similiar feelings so I knew that I was on to something here. I went to my family doctor and he checked me out and said physically I was fine, he doubted it was from Covid, said to give it a month or two since I was under tremendous stress, I talked to the CPAP doctor and they said they could lower my air pressure from 4 to a high of 20 to 4 to a high of 10, I send my I CODE in every week by email since I don't have a phone that could scan it so they get the email and put the code in for compliance and they told me I was averaging around 8.5 but on February 6th I am taking the machine in to them and they said they will look deeper into it and get more accurate readings from the machine, better than what I send in, so we will see if it would be beneficial to lower the air pressure. About a week ago I set the Reslex setting on the least resistant it could go so I could expel the air easier and that seemed to help the muscle/rib pain, but at times I still will have a bit of a feeling that I have to breath a bit deeper once or so, not at all gasping for air or in peril, just have to breathe deeper but most days I am somewhat congested especially in Winter. I am checking out all angles, to see if it is lingering from Covid although that wasn't one of the symptoms I had, is it anxiety from all I have just lived through and am still living through with my parents, or is it from using the CPAP machine? I was told to empty the humidifier everyday and I do, I use a soft brush and gentle dish detergent and scrub/clean my nasal mask and small tubing everyday, then once a week I scrub/clean the best I can the humidifier, rubber piece with two square holes that accepts the air from the humdifier, rinse out the reusable air filter, scrub the plastic that heolds the air filter in place, fill the large tubing with soapy water and shake it back and forth many times, then rinse it out and let everything air dry, they said that was fine that way.
Is there anything that I am missing? Is it possible that this slight shortness of breath when walking or carrying something heavy could be from the CPAP? I Googled "daytime shortness of breath from CPAP" and indeed saw it listed and it said it is not "harmful", but it is a pain and quite anxiety provoking! Do you think having the air pressure lowered like they said would help? I am sure that I will get more answers when I take the machine in and they check the codes, but I wanted to ask you all on here as I really need to use the machine but would like to eliminate this occasional breathing issue.
Thank you all for your time and any advice would be appreciated!!
RE: Need some help with a few things please - Weegie - 02-04-2023
I am surprised that no one has at least chimed in with some thoughts on this, but it is a complex situation so maybe no one really knows what to say. The shortness of breath seems to be going away, so maybe it was/is sinus issues or anxiety or from Covid or the CPAP or a mixture of all but maybe I'll never know, but I will see what they say Monday when I take my machine in and they can get some more accurate readings than from the I CODE that I send in weekly.
But seeing how I had a heart stress test a few months ago and the Cardiologist and the Pulmonary doctor and my family doctor all say my heart and lungs sound great I assume I have no need to worry so much, I just want to get the air pressure as close to "perfect" as it can get while still doing what it is supposed to do without any negative side effects. This is all still new to me, not even a year using it.
RE: Need some help with a few things please - Dormeo - 02-04-2023
Welcome! I'm sorry your post got lost in the shuffle. If one of your main symptoms is chest discomfort, you might ask your doctor whether maybe you have costochondritis More information here:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/costochondritis/symptoms-causes/syc-20371175
I wound up being diagnosed with it a few years back, after many heart-function tests failed to show problems. The treatment was simple and effective: over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs, plus icing the area twice a day.
RE: Need some help with a few things please - OpalRose - 02-04-2023
Hello Weegie,
The Luna G3 is a machine that we are not too familiar with. However, you can order a manual for your machine here:
https://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-pressure/change-cpap-pressure-settings-adjusting-your-machine-with-a-clinician-setup-manual
>Scroll down to Section Three > Other Manuals > look for BMC 3B Luna Auto Cpap.
Also, check out the Private Files and Links Forum for "possible" software you can use at home instead of always depending on your Doctor for a report.
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-BMC-3B-RESmart-Software-for-Windows-Only-other-software
Now to address your daytime breathing.... I think you should trust your doctor as they have done tests to check your lungs and heart. It's not likely Cpap use affects daytime breathing in a negative way.... unless your machine isn't properly set up with pressures that are optimal for you.
You are using a minimum pressure of 4cm and with your description of having "chest muscle pain" sounds like what some newer members experience when trying to breathe at a very low pressure. You may just feel a bit "air starved" and concentrating on your breathing too much. This can cause much anxiety.
Talk to your doctor, but I believe a slight raise in minimum pressure would be helpful. Ask him/her to raise it to 6cm. If your machine has a "exhalation relief" feature similar to ResMed's EPR, ask him to set it to 2.
RE: Need some help with a few things please - Weegie - 02-04-2023
Thank you for the reply, I looked at that link. My chest muscle pain was mostly right sided and went away pretty much after I set my Reslex to 3 which is the least resistant to breathing out and after stretching the chest out with some pushups and other exercises, so that part seems to have been relieved.
Thanks again...
RE: Need some help with a few things please - Weegie - 02-04-2023
Opal Rose, thanks too for the great information! There are so many things going on with me so it is a complex problem, the stress of having to put my folks into assisted living and selling their things, having had Covid 3 months ago, sinus issues thanks to this time of year, it is tough to tell exactly what it is that is the issue, but checking the CPAP unit I think will be a huge help. I need to keep using it so I want to get it to as close to "prefect" as it can be.
I don't know if I would feel comfortable with adjusting the air pressure myself yet lol, so I'll go in and let them look deeper into the data which they said they can do more than from what they can read from the I CODE that I have to send in each week. I am able to adjust the Reslex and I set it on 3 about a week ago which is the least resistant and after doing that and some pushup type exercises the muscle pain seemed to fade away which is good. But it is interesting that you suggest they raise the air pressure, they didn't think of that-yet-they think of lowering the "ceiling" from a high of 20 down to 10, they said my machine is self adjusting and that I average a reading of 8.5, so this is what they think they should do, but I will talk to them before they do anything when they tell me what they can read off of it. When I take the small tubing off that goes to the nasal mask it feels like it is blasting, but I don't know what I can tell from that.
I will see what they tell me on Monday afternoon and report back. Again, it is very difficult to tell what the issue or issues are exactly, and maybe the CPAP has nothing to do with it at all?! We shall see...
Much thanks!!
RE: Need some help with a few things please - Dormeo - 02-04-2023
Glad to hear the pain is resolving on its own!
RE: Need some help with a few things please - Weegie - 02-04-2023
(02-04-2023, 03:07 PM)Dormeo Wrote: Glad to hear the pain is resolving on its own!
Thank you! Once I set the Reslex to 3 (the least resistance) it helped right away. I could try it back again on 2 sometime to see if it returns to see if that was it, but I'll talk to them on Monday first, but I don't feel the pain/tightness on the right side any longer!
Thank you!
RE: Need some help with a few things please - Weegie - 02-05-2023
Now I seem to be having another issue, it happened last night but also a little bit ago too, I am starting to do some light snoring if I sleep on my back. I have the nasal mask, not a full mask or nasal pillows, just the rubber nasal mask that I scrub with a gentle brush and gentle dish cleaner and am supposed to replace every two weeks although when I asked them "must I really replace it in two weeks if I clean it daily?" the girl replied in an email "that is what the insurance will pay for, if you want to use it longer that's up to you" and had a winking emoji there so I read out of that she thinks it is too soon to replace it, but anyway why would I start this gentle snoring, I thought this machine was supposed to take care of that? And I notice at times my mouth gets dry. They asked me a bunch of questions when I was getting fitted for the machine and she said "it doesn't sound like you are a mouth breather" and my wife said she didn't ever notice me mouth breathing much so they went with the nasal mask instead of the full mask but said they could always switch to it if needed.
Thank you again for the help!!
RE: Need some help with a few things please - OpalRose - 02-05-2023
Weegie,
I can't say for sure, but when you lay on your back, it would be natural for the soft tissue in your throat to fall back and thus cause some snoring. Also, be sure if on your back that your head/neck is not tilting forward into your chest, which we call chin tucking. This effectively cuts off your air supply. Think of kinking up a hose.
Also, think of your bed pillows. Do you use more than one? This can cause chin tucking too by pushing your head forward. The best practice is to try and sleep on your side as much as possible.
Dry mouth indicates you may be mouth breathing, or you simply need more humidity.