RE: Newbie
(10-22-2013, 09:00 AM)ldameron Wrote: me50:
you said you finnaly found one that works for you. are you using the quatto fx?
I don't care for Quattro fx. I have one I am trying to see if it works if it ever gets to me. They shipped out the silicone one and I asked for the gel. I will be trying Amara gel IF it ever gets shipped.
The RT ordered the wrong one (blamed it on another RT for giving her the wrong product number which I can't understand why she had to ask someone else for the product number) and it was picked up the same day it was delivered. The RT said, even though it was their error, they cannot ship the correct one until they verify the other one was received. They shipped out one in September that they claimed they couldn't stop even though it takes 2 days for it to be shipped so I refused it when the carrier brought it to me. They billed my insurance company anyway and never told my insurance company that I didn't receive the mask and they just kept the money. I then notified my insurance company, not once, but twice that I never received that mask. I also notified billing at the DME. Go figure lol
RE: Newbie
Be aware, you could pick the favorite mask here, or sold by a online DME, or your DME, and it may or may not work for you. That is why there are SO many different masks to choose from. For me, it was simply luck that I found a mask years ago that works for me, and I bought many spare parts for it. Now they changed the nose cushion, so when mine dies I will be in the same boat once again - trying to find a mask that works for me.
It's very much a pain, and no matter what, it seems quite costly to learn which one will work.
*I* am not a DOCTOR or any type of Health Care Professional. My thoughts/suggestions/ideas are strictly only my opinions.
"Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you. Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your Soul, the other for your Freedom."
RE: Newbie
(10-22-2013, 08:54 AM)ldameron Wrote: i use the quatto fx. it feels pretty good. my problem is my noise stops up and i have to mouth breathe only. i don't know enough to know when it's not fitting good. i only got 30 days to decide. do people tend to sleep on their backs? i sleep mostly on my sides. i have a hard time going to sleep and don't sleep thru the night.
leonard
If your mask is comfortable, that's the first thing. You can feel significant leaks - in my case around the side of my mouth or blowing into my eyes. Smaller leaks show up in the software.
I see you aren't using software at the moment - I suggest you download SleepyHead, load the data from your SD card and look at the graphs. One of them will indicate the leaks - for the Philips machine there will be two lines on the graph, one indicating the leak through the vent (which is normal) and a second showing "undesirable" leaks. This line should stay below 24 L/sec. If it goes above briefly then settles down again, that's not a problem and may be caused by the mask temporarily coming loose while you move around in your sleep (or scratch your nose :grin: )
Having a stuffy nose is generally not conducive to comfortable PAP use. Try a nasal spray or inhaler to clear it. I just squirt some salty water up my nostrils with a little spray bottle about 15 minutes before I go to bed.
I sleep on my back but often turn on my side - that's when the mask gets dislodged. A suitable pillow is important here. You can get specially shaped pillows which accommodate the bulk of the mask but I haven't tried that. I use a duck feather pillow and just punch it into shape when I roll over. It's got to the point I can do it in my sleep.
This is a difficult journey you've embarked on, but hopefully it will be a fruitful one. I've been on PAP for about 2 months now and only just starting to feel the benefits. But it's so nice to wake up with a clear head now. And it's so good that I no longer doze off at the wheel of my car! The rewards are there, but it's not necessarily easy. Hang in there - it WILL come good.
RE: Newbie - keep waking up
question about sleepyhead:
if you only sleep a few hours the sleep apnea events will only be for the hours you are sleep. is that not correst?
RE: Newbie - keep waking up
(10-19-2013, 01:58 PM)ldameron Wrote: Hello:
I am a new member to the forum.
I just started my sleep therapy, third night. Slept 2 hrs, woke up, slept 2 more hrs and woke up. Is this how it's suppose to be? When do you get use to it . I turn a lot a night. I new this was going to be tuff.
Leonard
That's the way it works for me. I may get a run of four hours in the early morning before I wake up, but before and after that two hours is normal for me.
When I look at my charts for the night, the wake up almost always coincides with a significant pressure increase to the mask, suggesting to me that's it's an apnea event that causing me to wake. Or maybe it's the pressure increase.
I have no idea what to do about that, since that's the whole point of PAP therapy.
10-25-2013, 11:12 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-25-2013, 11:14 AM by LOVEDOG.)
RE: Newbie - keep waking up
(10-25-2013, 10:22 AM)mdh235 Wrote: (10-19-2013, 01:58 PM)ldameron Wrote: Hello:
I am a new member to the forum.
I just started my sleep therapy, third night. Slept 2 hrs, woke up, slept 2 more hrs and woke up. Is this how it's suppose to be? When do you get use to it . I turn a lot a night. I new this was going to be tuff.
Leonard
That's the way it works for me. I may get a run of four hours in the early morning before I wake up, but before and after that two hours is normal for me.
When I look at my charts for the night, the wake up almost always coincides with a significant pressure increase to the mask, suggesting to me that's it's an apnea event that causing me to wake. Or maybe it's the pressure increase.
I have no idea what to do about that, since that's the whole point of PAP therapy.
MDH: Have you ever tried straight CPAP. I see that your pressure needs are not that high, which is a good thing. I don't know exactly what your titrated number is, but I would try one pressure maybe at 11 or 12 just to see if it is the pressure changes that are waking you up. Some people do not do well with AUTO because of that.
Hope this helps!
LOVEDOG
RE: Newbie - keep waking up
Leonard,
I also had big problems falling asleep. I used a full face mask. I went through this 10 years ago and quit using it.. Now 10 years later, had a client almost die from Apnea so I got scared and tried again. My biggest problems were
1. I sleep on my side and couldnt get comfortable
2. I always felt like it was plastic on my face and the humidifier made it wet plastic. HORRIBLE!
Well, since I got scared by my client, I tried again...I still have old equipment so I went searching the web and found covers for masks (either nose or full) that are a very very soft cloth that you put between the mask and your skin. I can now FINALLY fall asleep with that thing on.
Believe me, I tried about 7 masks before giving up so I was a complete failure with this process and now it works for me too!
Believe it or not, I am going for a sleep study TONIGHT, to get my air pressure for CPAP measured. I went two weeks ago but took so long to sleep they only had time do test me without the machine.
All I can tell you is that it will work. Take sleeping pills or nyquil if you must to get used to it (consult your Doctor on this of course).
Just hang in. It will work. I wasted 10 years of good sleeping!!! Don't do that! 
RE: Newbie - keep waking up
(10-26-2013, 04:33 PM)Philipg33 Wrote: Believe it or not, I am going for a sleep study TONIGHT, to get my air pressure for CPAP measured. Good luck and hope all goes well with the sleep study
RE: Newbie - keep waking up
(10-26-2013, 04:38 PM)zonk Wrote: (10-26-2013, 04:33 PM)Philipg33 Wrote: Believe it or not, I am going for a sleep study TONIGHT, to get my air pressure for CPAP measured. Good luck and hope all goes well with the sleep study
Thank you Zonk. 3 hours to check in  . Thanks again!
RE: Newbie - keep waking up
(10-25-2013, 09:33 AM)ldameron Wrote: question about sleepyhead:
if you only sleep a few hours the sleep apnea events will only be for the hours you are sleep. is that not correst?
Not necessarily. The machine has no way of knowing if you're asleep or not - it just responds to your breathing. When asleep we tend to breath in a nice regular way, with each breath being the same length as the previous. The machine flags an apnea if we stop breathing for 10 seconds or more. It will also flag other events such as hypopnea etc.
When you're awake, your breathing is much less regular. You might take a couple of quick breaths, then not take one for a few seconds. (While typing this, I'm aware that I hold my breath when concentrating to find the right words). If you're hooked up but still awake, it's quite likely that the machine will flag events that are just natural variations in your conscious breathing. For this reason, it's a good idea to have the clock in your machine synchronised with your bedside clock so you can identify any spurious events on the charts. (I believe it's not possible to set the clock on a PRS, which i find amazing!)
Hope this helps
Paul
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