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New user having a hard time - Whitewabit - 10-10-2014
Still struggling!
All this sleep apnea is new to me .. have had my machine a Resmed VPAP Adapt since the 24th of September. I am and have had a very hard time getting use to it, from starting with settings at their maximum to having them reduced by almost 1/2 to a level I finally have been able to use.
Starting out my chest/lungs became very sore to the point I had to forgo usage because of it .. After the doctor moved settings downward to a much more reasonable level I was slowly able to use it for just a few hours at a time trying to acclimate to it after my chest discomfort had passed. That took several days to completely get over and would have stopped longer at the beginning if to do over again!
Two days now I have used it for over 4 hours. last night just over 5 hours though not continuous. Did get up to use the bathroom 1 time but then went right back to sleep.
My settings have dropped from the beginning settings of EPAP - 5, Min PS 4, Max PS - 15, where it would go up to 20 (EPAP + Max PS)and was just to strong for my lungs .. down to 4-4-8 and have turned the Ramp from 20 minutes to Off. Have found that to be better for me as others have said also they don't use the ramp. My Adapt is set to the ASV Mode, not auto.
last night after using it for 5 hours my AHI was Hypopnea .61 and unclassified .20 for a total AHI of .81 .. not going to adjust any of my settings as right now things seem to be set at a level that is working for me. This AHI might even be lower as 2 of the incidents were as I was waking with in 3 minutes of waking so may not have been true apnea's .. Yesterday's AHI was 2.45 all Hypopnea's ..
Guess what I'm trying to say is if a newbie don't give up .. work with your doctor if possible to adjust levels that are workable for you! Each of us is different and so will be our settings ! Stay with it, it make take several weeks to acclimate to your settings!
But always remember, it will make you better, it will allow you to live a longer and better life! And your other half will love the fact that the snoring is gone.
I feel better with just 5 hours of sleep with it then I have in months in the mornings when I get up. Wasn't foggy and didn't have the nagging morning headache I usually have the first hour or two .
RE: New user having a hard time - Evpraxia - 10-10-2014
Greetings,
SO glad to hear you are continuing to work at it. You are so right about being able to "live a longer and better life"!
I got my APAP on Sept 20th of this year so I am a newbie as well. My main difficulty is with the mask, no surprise. My hubby has been very supportive and has helped me tremendously, especially since he uses the same mask. Of course, it didn't help that one time I put the nasal pillows in upside down...my leak rate was really high that night.
RE: New user having a hard time - trish6hundred - 10-10-2014
Hi Whitewabit,
It's great to hear that things are coming together for you. I know you have had a really rough start and it's great to hear your resolve to stick with it through the long hall.
Hang in there for more responses to your post and keep up the good work.
RE: New user having a hard time - Whitewabit - 10-10-2014
Thanks to all for the support I have received here on the forum.
Its a great help in knowing or finding out what is normal and what is not, and you soon find that everyone has basically the same experiences. Only a very few can put the mask on and not have some trouble initially.
It helps to know what to expect with the troubles one is having with their treatment.
I have a sore nose from some rubbing from the pillows last night. So hoping it won't interfere with my using them this evening.
RE: New user having a hard time - trish6hundred - 10-10-2014
(10-10-2014, 12:59 PM)Whitewabit Wrote: Thanks to all for the support I have received here on the forum.Hi Whitewabit,
Its a great help in knowing or finding out what is normal and what is not, and you soon find that everyone has basically the same experiences. Only a very few can put the mask on and not have some trouble initially.
It helps to know what to expect with the troubles one is having with their treatment.
I have a sore nose from some rubbing from the pillows last night. So hoping it won't interfere with my using them this evening.
You could get some HPA lanolin cream, found in the baby isle of most stores. Jusb put a very little bit in your nostriles and that should help toughen up your nose for the pillows.
Good luck and keep up the good work.
RE: New user having a hard time - Whitewabit - 10-10-2014
trish6hundred .. already have some and was using it last night .. put an antibiotic cream on it during the day several times..
I need to acquire a nasal mask to go along with the pillows and the FF that I can't get use to at all ..
RE: New user having a hard time - PhyllisBalboa - 10-10-2014
Hang in there, Whitewabit. It's working for me, still lowering pressures, and you and I seem to be quite similar. In looking at your numbers, I think you can still lower your PS range numbers to modify your top pressure. For instant, I'm at PS min 1, PS max 6, but think I can go to min of 0, max of 5. I'll have to reread Vsheline's advice on my thread to make sure. He's the expert on VPAPs, in my opinion. Your ranges are higher, thus allowing your max pressure to go higher, which is hurting your chest.
Be careful, though. Follow your instincts and your data. I'm just one example, and you're a different person. But I could use the machine last night, so it's working for me. Also, raise your humidity up a bit if you feel you can't breathe as well with lower pressures. That coolness can help you feel the air more, so you can breathe easier, not falling into a panic.
Hope this helps. We all need support.
RE: New user having a hard time - Whitewabit - 10-11-2014
(10-10-2014, 09:23 PM)PhyllisBalboa Wrote: Hang in there, Whitewabit. It's working for me, still lowering pressures, and you and I seem to be quite similar. In looking at your numbers, I think you can still lower your PS range numbers to modify your top pressure. For instant, I'm at PS min 1, PS max 6, but think I can go to min of 0, max of 5. I'll have to reread Vsheline's advice on my thread to make sure. He's the expert on VPAPs, in my opinion. Your ranges are higher, thus allowing your max pressure to go higher, which is hurting your chest.
Be careful, though. Follow your instincts and your data. I'm just one example, and you're a different person. But I could use the machine last night, so it's working for me. Also, raise your humidity up a bit if you feel you can't breathe as well with lower pressures. That coolness can help you feel the air more, so you can breathe easier, not falling into a panic.
Hope this helps. We all need support.
Does seem like our usage is very similar in how we are able to tolerate the air pressures, but seems for differing reasons . I have bad lungs with my Asthma and can't tolerate the higher pressures that everyone else seem to use, but they are doing the job so far. What have your AHI's been this past week? Maybe you shuld leave the settings as they are for the next week to see how things settle down to.
Hopefully no more
Since I lowered my pressures the discomfort I was having has dissipated by not using it several days and then through using it for an hour at a time for several days I have been able to tolerate the pressure now.
Have had over 4 hours usage at night the past 3 days but just can't get past that amount of time. the mask noise and sore nose seem to wake me up right about that time .. 3am seems to be when I wake.. wondering if a outside noise is waking me .. seems strange it has been within 5-10 minutes of 3am 3 nights in a row ..
Going to leave my pressure where its at for the present time as my AHI has been 2.45, .81, and last night .48 !! all hypopnea's with no centrals. the night with the 2.45 AHI is deceiving because 3 of them were right as I was waking up within 4 minutes, so not sure if they would really be counted.. and thus that nights AHI would have been lower. I was very tired that night also, which may make a difference.
Have raised my humidity from 75% up to 80% the past two nights and that may have helped too.. all these little changes make a big difference sometimes so any changes we make I think should be minor in movement and we should wait a couple of days to see how things fall out with new settings ..
You can see from my past 3 days that ones AHI can move around if having a bad day/night for one day/night and then settle back down.
Hope you had a good nights sleep last night!
RE: New user having a hard time - Doc J - 10-11-2014
(10-10-2014, 12:02 PM)Evpraxia Wrote: Greetings,
SO glad to hear you are continuing to work at it. You are so right about being able to "live a longer and better life"!
I got my APAP on Sept 20th of this year so I am a newbie as well. My main difficulty is with the mask, no surprise. My hubby has been very supportive and has helped me tremendously, especially since he uses the same mask. Of course, it didn't help that one time I put the nasal pillows in upside down...my leak rate was really high that night.
I too have put my P10 pillows on upside down twice, both times after a little help from Senor' Patron. I woke up trying to figure out why they were not seating a usual and figured it out. Hope everyone gets it figured out.
RE: New user having a hard time - Whitewabit - 10-20-2014
I have come to the conclusion that my sleep record is going to read like a massive roller coaster up and down huge chasms !! The only way I am/will be able to get relief is to some how eliminate my pain with out having to use a narcotic agent to do it !! But I haven't quite figured out how one would go about doing that !
When my pain level rises to a higher level as it has the last 2 nights my AHI goes up steeply .. from around the .4 to .8 AHI that I had earlier this week when my pain level was under control and being taken care of with one medication .. to last nights highest so far above 8 and the night before was just over 7 AHI !! This morning didn't feel like I had been to sleep though was in bed with mask on for over 6 hours .. Both of those nights I had to use additional pain medication to reduce my pain level ..
I don't know if a higher pressure on nights my pain level is higher would help lower my AHI ? .. and if so how much would be needed ?? if it was even possible to do ..
I wonder what other people with severe back pain or other pain that need to take strong pain medication on a continuous basis .. that their pain is never eliminated completely ?? How would we/do we adjusts our machines to enable us to get some reasonable amount of relief ? Or is that even possible in some instances where pain is also causing some of our sleep problems because of narcotic pain medication usage ??