Is preasure too light?

[Hawk]

I have had my CPAP only 2 months, and am doing reasonably well. However, I wake up at 2-3 AM feeling that I am not getting enough air. Is it possible that my preasure needs to be increased slightly?

[trish6hundred]

Hi Hawk,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
What machine do you have?
Do you have ramp turned on on your machine? If so, turn ramp off and see if that helps you. Ramp starts out at a very low pressure and gradually comes up to the titrated pressure over time and sometines ramp can make you feel like you aren't getting enough air.
Hang in there for more suggestions and best of luck to you.

[Hawk]

Yes. The ramp tme is only 10 minutes, so i've been at full preasure for several hours.

[brianwood619]

if your waking up at the roughly the same time every night, are you sure there is not something else that could be waking you up, some kind of "bump in the night" if you will. I had the same thing happen a few months ago, turns out after waking up several nights at around 03:30 it turned out to be the trash company had changed their schedule, instead of picking up at 11:00, they for a few days were coming in the wee hours of the morning. they dont do it now....thank god

[bavinck]

I am having a similar issue and I think it might partly be due to the temperature of the air in the mask. If it is too warm I think it might be too hard for me to inhale naturally. I must say though, I am only on 8cm and I do find it tough at times to inhale no matter the temperature (feel like not getting enough air even though I know I am). I have heard a RT that was doing video reviews admit to the same thing, and that some masks make this feeling better or worse. He indicated with a PR nasal mask that at 9cm he found this to be a problem and bumped up his pressure to accommodate. For me 8cm is my prescribed pressure and anything less is simply not tolerable. Almost wish my rx pressure was a bit higher...

[zonk]

I have had my CPAP only 2 months, and am doing reasonably well. However, I wake up at 2-3 AM feeling that I am not getting enough air. Is it possible that my preasure needs to be increased slightly?

For me, when my nose stuffy, does feel not getting enough air. Leak is the other thing I might look at or even mouth breathing, both can lead to loss of therapy air. If leak is not a problem, might be an idea to ask the doctor to set the machine on Auto, on auto-adjusting mode, the machine adjust pressure as needed throughout the night. Whats the AHI and leak? if you,re not using SleepyHead, might be a good idea to download http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...e-software

[PaulaO2]

The question to ask is do you feel smothered or is it that you do not notice the air as much as when you first turned it on?

If it is the first, then look at how you have the exhalation pressure relief set up. I think that's the C-flex for your machine. It may need to be turned up or down, depending on how you feel. But to wake up after several hours sleep is odd. Like the others have said, find out what woke you up.

If it is the second, then congratulations! You've gotten adjusted to your machine. There's a lot of mornings I wake up and wonder if the power is out because I don't notice the air flow. I have to put my hand in front of the mask and feel it from the vent.

[Hawk]

OK, an update. I paid close attention to my sleeping habits for several days, and realised that I was adjusting my nasal pillow constantly all night long. Thinking it was leaking and not getting the air in to my nostrills, when there was no leaking at all. I raised my ramp preasure from 4 to 5 and my CPAP preasure from 7 to 8. Now I sleep through the night with no interuptions, and am able to sleep later in the morning instead of waking at 4:30. IT IS WONDERFUL !!