[Equipment] New and confused, 3 questions

[Tess]

I'm on the fifth night of trying to get used to a ResMed Air Sense 10 with a Swift FX for Her.

Three questions please:

The tech did not do a good job explaining anything when I picked up this stuff. I don't know where to put the air pillows.  In my nostrils, not in my nostrils.  I am using YouTube for guidance and have switched from a very small to a small and may be trying a medium next.  I also purchased online a  nasal mask, which I haven't received yet.  My nose gets sore and dry. 

Is the software available here the same as the My Air online tracker?  I have been getting 6.5 out of a 10 rating for overall usage, largely because of the mask coming off or sliding to the wrong place. 

My hair is fine and thin, and the head straps will slide right off or will get tangled in my hair. I have been wearing a scarf to bed (even the kind chemotherapy patients wear) and the scarf just adds to everything tangled and awry by the time I get up in the middle of the night.  Although I am trying to comply, I usually rip the whole thing off and just sleep a few more hours without it.  Any suggestions?

Thank you.  

This is my third try at apnea treatment.  A decade ago I had a full face mask and couldn't tolerate it, so I stopped.  A few years ago I had an expensive dental doo-dad made and it hurt and I would be able to unlock it as I slept, so I stopped it. So either I'm a big baby and won't tolerate anything unless it works immediately or (as I think) my practitioners were not fully competent or helpful.  I am 66, overweight with diabetes 2 diagnosed about two years ago. I live alone and don't have any kind of support team.



 

[DeepBreathing]

Hi Tess, welcome to Apnea Board - you've found your new support team!

The mask is the hardest part of this therapy, and it's often a case of trying several different types until you get the one that suits you. However, as you already have the Swift, have a look at the video on this page - it goes into some detail about fitting it, choosing the correct pillow size and looking after it: http://www.resmed.com/au/en/consumer/pro...ft-fx.html

Once you have the mask adjusted so that it's comfortable and doesn't leak, then it can be a case of sheer willpower to get yourself through a couple of nights without taking it off. It's harder than it sounds, but we've all been there so we know what you're going through. If there is no way to get the Swift to work for you then go back to your DME and try something else - don't let them fob you off.

I used to have fine, thin hair but not any more So I can't help with that.

The software we recommend is #SleepyHead. It's very different from MyAir and gives you highly detailed breath-by-breath analysis of your treatment. It's easy to use and gives you an enormous amount of information. But for the moment, the main thing is to concentrate on getting the mask working for you. Once that's sorted, then we can go on to see how the treatment is going. If there are still problems, we can help you tweak it.

[robysue]

Tess,

Welcome to the Hosehead Club.

The tech did not do a good job explaining anything when I picked up this stuff. I don't know where to put the air pillows.  In my nostrils, not in my nostrils.  I am using YouTube for guidance and have switched from a very small to a small and may be trying a medium next.  I also purchased online a  nasal mask, which I haven't received yet.  My nose gets sore and dry. 

The nasal pillows should rest against the outside of your nostrils.  Only the very tippy-tips of the cones go inside your nose.  Lots of techs don't explain this very well.  And it does sound like you were given pillows that were too small.

A lot of people have some problems with tender nostrils, particularly at the start. One of the things that helps is Lansinoh breast cream---the stuff sold to nursing mothers to soothe cracked, dry, sore breasts and nipples.  You can find it in the baby aisle of most supermarkets as well as stores like Walmart, Target and K-Mart.   It's made out of lanolin, which does not harm the silicone in the nasal pillows (unlike vaseline).  It's a bit pricy, but one tube goes a long, long way.  Just put a very small dab on each nostril every night and rub it in before you mask up.

Is the software available here the same as the My Air online tracker?  I have been getting 6.5 out of a 10 rating for overall usage, largely because of the mask coming off or sliding to the wrong place. 

SleepyHead (the software most of us use) and ResScan (the official clinical software for the ResMed AirSense 10 you are using) are NOT the same as the MyAir on-line tracker.  MyAir gives you a very general picture of the overall night, but not really enough data to troubleshoot serious issues.  In other words, if the user is waking up feeling refreshed and the MyAir score is good, there's not much need to look at more detailed data.  But if the user is having trouble, the MyAir data is most likely NOT going to be enough to really help.

In your case, you say that your MyAir score is 6.5 our of a 10 because you're getting docked by leaks caused by mask slippage.  Looking at the data in SleepyHead or ResScan would let you see just how bad the leaks are and exactly when those leaks are occurring.

My hair is fine and thin, and the head straps will slide right off or will get tangled in my hair. I have been wearing a scarf to bed (even the kind chemotherapy patients wear) and the scarf just adds to everything tangled and awry by the time I get up in the middle of the night.  Although I am trying to comply, I usually rip the whole thing off and just sleep a few more hours without it.  Any suggestions?

You say you are using the Swift FX nasal pillows mask.  Lots of folks have had trouble with that mask slipping around.  Some suggestions:

1) Bobby pins or hair pins if you can sleep with them can be used to try to stabilize the mask.

2) Make sure the headgear is not too tight.  Slipping is more of a problem when the headgear is too tight, or at least that's my experience. (I'm a long time user of the Swift FX for Her.)  I find that I can wear my FX exceptionally loose and get almost no leaks.  How loose? I can stick two fingers under the top strap without any problems.

3) There's a company run by a cpap user called Padacheek that can make mask pads and mask covers. I had Padacheek make two custom made covers for my Swift FX frames that cover the entire silicone part of the frame rather than the usual pads that just cover the part of the cheeks.  They helped a lot with the frame's tendency to get tangled in my fine, curly hair.  I'm still using both of the mask covers Padacheek made for me back in the winter of 2010-2011.  Google Padacheek and you'll find the company.  

4) Consider switching to a different nasal pillows mask or a nasal mask instead of a nasal pillows mask.  Sometimes a mask that is beloved by many people is just plain the wrong mask for a particular CPAPer.

Finally, you write:

This is my third try at apnea treatment.  A decade ago I had a full face mask and couldn't tolerate it, so I stopped.  A few years ago I had an expensive dental doo-dad made and it hurt and I would be able to unlock it as I slept, so I stopped it. So either I'm a big baby and won't tolerate anything unless it works immediately ...

It is UNREALISTIC to expect CPAP to work immediately.  It's not exactly natural to sleep with a six foot hose on your nose, and it takes a while (and usually some perseverance) to make this crazy therapy work.

It takes a typical new CPAPer 2-4 weeks to really learn how to sleep with all the equipment. And until you are sleeping with the equipment all night, every night CPAP isn't going improve how you feel in the day. (And it can take longer than 4 weeks to learn how to sleep with all the equipment if you run into serious comfort problems or if the pressure is not enough to properly manage your apnea when you do manage to get some sleep with the mask on.)

After learning how to sleep with the equipment, it can take another 2-4 weeks for a typical CPAPers to start feeling better. And the improvement can be very gradual---gradual enough where you don't even notice it at the start.

I am 66, overweight with diabetes 2 diagnosed about two years ago. I live alone and don't have any kind of support team.

You've got a support team here if you want it.  But we can only help you help yourself if you're willing to try what we suggest.

[Tess]

Thank you all for your help.  Good suggestions with the face pads and lansinoh. I know I have to do this; it's nice to have experienced cheerleaders.

My machine has no SD card.  I downloaded SleepyHead and discovered I had no way to transfer info from the CPAP machine to the computer.  I will try the Res download.

[Gideon]

Can you provide the full name of your machine. Something like cpap or autoset is missing.

[trish6hundred]

Hi Tess,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
CPAP therapy take some time to get used to, so don’t give up, just stick with it.
Robbysue has good suggestions in her post, so go over it again to help you get on the road to better therapy.
I wish you good luck this time around on your CPAP journey.

[DeepBreathing]

My machine has no SD card.

Just get the cheapest one you can find at your local camera shop or electronics outlet.

[Gary1of2]

Another suggestion to get used to the equipment is wear it while watching tv or reading before you sleep.

[Tess]

Just had to say thank you again because I think I had my best night yet last night (6th day).  

I used many of your suggestions:  switched to a medium nasal pillow when I was using a small; loosened the straps; got rid of the head scarf; wore the mask while I watched TV and persevered.  

I feel kind of groggy this morning, but nose isn't tender.  

I wish you the best night's sleep you ever had. I'm not there yet but I will be.

[Gary1of2]

Tess, 
I been on it for 2 months now eah day seems to be improving.  My wife says she sees that i am getting more energy . There has been a couple nites of not great sleep but like i said day by day improvement. Be patient  you will get it.