Is it normal to not be able to tell if machine is on?

[FrankNichols]

I am one week into therapy now and I am running the pressure at 10 with an F10 FFM.

When I started (a week ago) turning on the machine made breathing feel like labor, inhaling was "too easy" and exhaling required effort. By the time I got up in the morning I could barely tell if the machine was running (other than the change in sound as I breathed in and out. I would often open my mouth for a second to feel my cheeks inflate just to make sure the pressure was still up. It felt as if the pressure was way too low.

Now a week later, I have turned off the ramp and EPR and when I turn on the machine I can barely notice the added pressure, when I get up it feels exactly like the machine has turned off. The machine is not off (I can test it by inflating my cheeks) but I can't feel it at all when breathing. Breathing just feels normal.

Is this normal at 10 with a FFM (F10) in just a week?

Frank

[Shastzi]

When I am not sure the thing is working, I often hold my hand in front of the mask vents to feel & hear the whooshing sound.

[trish6hundred]

Hi FrankNichols,
It just means that you have gotten used to the machine, yes it’s normal not to know if it’s on or off.
Hang in there for more answers to your question.

[MitchS]

Although I still use a short ramp period to get to pressure, by the end of the night I have trouble telling whether the machine is running or not. My wife, however, still hasn't gotten used to the mask vent blowing on her back in the middle of the night.

[FrankNichols]

Thanks everyone, It seemed too fast with all the others that have problems adapting. Now if I could use figure out how to get the AHI down... still working on that.

[palerider]

Is this normal at 10 with a FFM (F10) in just a week?

it's pretty typical, which always makes it amusing when people are going on about "gale force winds" and "blow the mask across the room" and how it's "torture"...

then a week or two later it's "is this thing on?"

[Dawei]

You're off to a great start, Frank! Congrats! I, too, often have to hold a hand over the mask's exhaust vent to tell if the machine is still on when getting up for the bathroom and/or when first waking in the a.m. and that's with my pressure up in the 18 and 19 point something range!
As for getting your AHI down, what happened with me is that twice, sleep study titrated pressures were discovered to be significantly too low. Pressure was repeatedly raised with the doc's blessing until my AHI was down and snoring, etc. gone which got me up to the high pressure end that is required in my situation.
Don't know if your SA is only obstructive, as mine is.

David

[tmoody]

I guess it's normal, but it's always surprising to me. I have exactly the same experience. I wake up in the morning and everything seems...quiet. I have those nasal pillows on my nostrils, so if I just lift them a bit...whoosh. How could I not even feel that?

[OpalRose]

Thanks everyone, It seemed too fast with all the others that have problems adapting. Now if I could use figure out how to get the AHI down... still working on that.

Hi Frank,
Yes, it's amazing what our bodies adapt too. If I wake up during the night, I have to put my hand up on my face to be sure my mask is on and machine is still running, because it's so quiet.

You have a great autoset machine set at Cpap mode of 10. I suspect you will be able to get your AHI down if you switch to auto mode and set a range of 10 to 16 and see where it wants to go. Just my 3 cents.

[GrammaBear]

I guess it's normal, but it's always surprising to me. I have exactly the same experience. I wake up in the morning and everything seems...quiet. I have those nasal pillows on my nostrils, so if I just lift them a bit...whoosh. How could I not even feel that?

The same thing happens to me. My machine is quiet enough where I have to lift the pillows just to 'see' if the machine is working.