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CPAP Issues Side Effects or Problems

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CPAP Issues Side Effects or Problems

  • Frequent nocturnal awakenings
  • Fatigue and Sleepiness
    • some patients have persistent sleepiness despite good adherence to CPAP
    • Symptoms are usually eliminated as soon as CPAP therapy is started
    • Studies have shown that the maximum effect of CPAP therapy occurs in about 2 weeks
  • Still Sleepy on CPAP after a month
    • Increase the CPAP Pressure (IPAP)
      • Set (increase) inhale pressure (IPAP) to resolve snoring and hypopnea
      • Set (decrease) exhale pressure (IPAP - EPR (or Flex)) to resolve obstructive apnea
    • Consider change to AutoPAP at set range to determine best pressure
    • Consider changing to BPAP/BiLevel
      • Set (increase) inhale pressure (IPAP) to resolve snoring and hypopnea
      • Set (decrease) exhale pressure (EPAP) to resolve Obstructive apnea
  • Nasal congestion
    • Treat nasal congestion with heated humidification and/or nasal medications
  • Nasal irritation/Dryness
    • Nasal symptoms frequently respond to heated humidification of the CPAP air
  • Mouth Dryness (Mouth Breathing)
  • Puffing/Mouth Breathing
  • Leaking
  • Claustrophobia
    • Desensitize, Start with short periods of time while awake and engaged in a distraction like watching TV or reading. Increase the time each session.
  • Snoring
    • Set (increase) inhale pressure (IPAP) to resolve snoring and hypopnea
  • Aerophagia is a condition that occurs when a person swallows too much air. The air goes into the stomach and intestines causing abdominal bloating, belching, flatulence, discomfort and pain
    • See Aerophagia Wiki Article
    • The condition usually subsides on its own as patients adapt to the CPAP therapy
    1. Lower CPAP Pressure
    2. Switch to a BiPAP/BiLevel machine
  • Flatulence
  • Hypochondria, Data Obsession, Dial winging, (OCD)
    • Why is my Flow Rate at 10:43 pm not like the example flow rate? What about those Flow Limits, what is the issue with those? My LEAKS, OMG they look so big? You got the idea, every little difference you see is a problem.
      My Response: I see similar issues in beer, yes I said beer. I teach a Beer Studies class for a hobby. Many in the class go on to become Beer Judges (I know, but someone has to do it) and we concentrate on beer styles (I serve about 200 different beers in class). The hardest thing to understand is that Beer Style Guidelines (compare to the base flow rates) are just that, guidelines. Variance is expected and not adhering precisely to the guidelines does not make it a bad beer, or out of style for that matter. What it does is make it an individual, a unique beer, just like each of us are individuals each being unique. Rarely is it that any of us exactly match the template that is the Medical Center Line of typical. There is no cookie cutter that we all fit into.
      This is why we at the Apnea Forum treat everyone as individuals, each with their own variances, and help to solve issues and problems especially when you fall into the cookie cutter of modern medicine.
      In my hobby we have a saying, "Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew"
      It really applies to all things in life.
  • Other sleep disorders


AAST American Association of Sleep Technologists The International Palestinian Congress in Sleep Medicine Presentation A slide presentation titled Using PAP Downloads to Manage Sleep Apnea Patients[1]

This is a training slide presentation on resolving CPAP therapy issues and assisting patients with their therapy.
  1. "Using PAP Downloads to Manage Sleep Apnea Patients"



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