First three weeks

[RayBee]

It looks as though you have a long ramp with a pressure of 4. For many people, a pressure that low makes it hard to breathe. Either raise the ramp pressure to 6 or turn the ramp off. Let us know if you notice a difference.

Also, you might try setting the machine up during the day so you can read or watch TV while using it. This can help your body adapt to the feel of the mask and the pressure.

Most importantly, your reactions are pretty normal, and with a little patience and some adjustments, your therapy truly will get better.

Keep us posted!

Early on I had my ramp pressure set to 3 or 4 and it drove me nuts. Didn't know why until I learned a lot of important things here on the forum.

Now I use a 5-minute ramp and pressure of 6.  That's kind of my lowest-pressure for a fairly neutral feel - not sucking into a vacuum and not getting blown up like a party balloon.  Lately, I have been turning the ramp "off" since I am getting more used to the whole hose-head way of life.

Whatever you do, don't give up.  If your mask/pillows/whatever gives you problems, (or eventually becomes problematic over time) there are numerous others to consider trying.

I think for most, this is a process to discover what combinations of things works best for you for both efficacy and comfort.  You should be able to obtain high levels of both with help from the ApneaBoard team.

[daBee]

Why claustrophobic?  Because it is.  People get claustrophobic as they get older, and this type of issue shows up in discussions about CPAP.  Claustrophobia isn't a comfort issue.  If your mind thinks it's going to be starved of air, it will panic.  It's a very real issue.  

I've never known why I need any kind of ramp.  If anything, my respiration rate is higher at the start, so ramping up is counter-productive.  I might just set it minimal and to 6 cm.  

I like your terms:  Hose head, party balloon.  I would rather deal with the unit inflating my head and dealing with the back-pressure, and adapting to the demand later on in the session.  

They gave me an ergo pillow and it's the same as the last ergo pillow I have.  That's not an issue.  The nasal mask, I'm still trying to fit the nose piece as I can use any three of them, narrow to wide.  I'm on the medium size now.  I think the only issue is pressure, and the house humidifier was turned off, so that's been a whole lot of fun in itself.  

Also, the unit boasts features of auto-this, auto-that.  For a lot of auto-settings, it really isn't doing very well.  I understand what's going on as I have three biology degrees and I design breweries.  So the science behind this is pretty straight forward.  It's the control design that's baffling, so I thought I'd come in here to see if people hack these things the way I want to.  And I'm getting some great advice and experience feedback.  

And your "Journey" signature: 100% correct about the "industry", and I'm in Ontario where's it's been re-packaged as "free".

I might ramp it up to 7 tonight and eliminate the ramp.  Exciting.  

Cheers