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+--- Thread: [Treatment] Worst night of treatment so far--Could someone please help? (/Thread-Treatment-Worst-night-of-treatment-so-far-Could-someone-please-help)
Worst night of treatment so far--Could someone please help? - AndyJ. - 12-09-2024
Hi all,
Just got my CPAP a few weeks ago and have been having some ups and downs with using it. I've been using it every single night, and feel comfortable with the mask and falling asleep part. My main issue is I keep waking up once in the middle of the night. I've only had about two days in all these weeks where I happened to sleep through the whole night uninterrupted.
Anyway, last night was by far the most chaotic. I woke up several times and it had a big negative effect on how I felt functioning today. One of the times I woke up I literally felt like I was suffocating and not getting enough air in through the mask. Which is bizarre to me considering I never felt that during these previous weeks using my CPAP. I decided to turn off the EPR (it was set at 3) and went to sleep for about another hour, which seemed to solve the problem of feeling I'm not getting enough air for now.
Here's a screenshot from OSCAR of last night's sleep. Could anyone offer some insight as to what went so wrong?
[attachment=72811]
RE: Worst night of treatment so far--Could someone please help? - ChadBSr - 12-09-2024
You have a wide pressure range. At one point you had a pretty bad leak that lead to flow limitation, then the machine jumped up in pressure. I would try 11 - 13 for a couple nights with EPR off and work on figuring out what caused the leak. What kind of mask are you using?
RE: Worst night of treatment so far--Could someone please help? - AndyJ. - 12-09-2024
Thanks for your reply, I'll adjust my pressure range and give that a go. I'm not sure what's causing the leak rate, but I remember several times last night I felt like not enough air was being pumped through the mask, so I tried adjusting the nasal pillows to be more directly under my nostrils. And sometimes it feels like a bit of air escapes from the nasal area when I roll onto my side. I use a full face mask, but I try my best to only breathe through my nose.
RE: Worst night of treatment so far--Could someone please help? - ChadBSr - 12-09-2024
I see. That bad leak may have just been when you were adjusting. The other leaks don't look horrible. Are you using a chin strap or cervical collar? I have to use a collar because my mouth drops open after I fall asleep. Too many years as a mouth breather. This happens even with a full face mask.
RE: Worst night of treatment so far--Could someone please help? - AndyJ. - 12-10-2024
No, I don't use a chin strap or collar. The assistant I talked to at the sleep store said there wasn't much point of buying a chin strap unless you were using the nasal-only masks. Do you find using a chin strap still has benefit even with a full face mask?
RE: Worst night of treatment so far--Could someone please help? - ChadBSr - 12-10-2024
Absolutely. You will still get leaks with a full face mask if your jaw is dropping. I have to wear mine regardless of what mask I use. I keep it on even if I take the cpap off and fall back to sleep in the morning.