In addition to the good advice already given, I'd also like to add....don't give up! I had this same problem for a long time (I use a nasal cushion if it matters). While I didn't follow the advice to use tape to wake me up (which probably would have shortened the process), I did use good old fashion...

Welcome to the forum. What are your pressure settings? When I started with the Dreamstation, my doctor simply left them at 4-20, but 4 isn't high enough for me to feel like I get enough air. Once I raised the minimum up a bit, that solved my problem.

After you start CPAP, why don't you try nights both with and without beer and see how that impacts you and your AHI. Personally, I found nights when I drank, my AHI tended to be higher, so now I try to avoid alcohol for the most part. Your experience may be different.

To the OP: You state that your min pressure is 5 (in the text), but you state that it's 7.5 in you comments. I assume that what you mean is that 5 is your ramp starting pressure. While 5 should blow that droplets out, I think that you can disengage the ramp (on a per session basis) by just hitting ...

My sister is a professional body piercer, so I checked with her. Assuming it's a healed piercing, she said you probably need to take it out when you sleep and put it back in when you wake up. If the jewelry isn't there, it's just skin and shouldn't be any more irritated then any other part of the in...

I still have this problem, and I've been using mine for a year and a half. The suggestion I've seen others make is to take a piece of tape and place it on the edge of your mask onto your skin. The idea being that when you take the mask off in your sleep, the tape peeling off your skin will wake you ...

It's my understanding that sleep apnea can cause ED, but it's certainly not the only thing that can cause ED so you might want to get checked out by your general practitioner (or cardiologist if you have one) to make sure nothing else is going on.

Despite taking Zyrtec every morning and Singulair every night, I still have bad allergies that cause frequent congestion, which is a problem since I use a nasal mask. I have been using generic Sudafed when I'm congested at bedtime, which works well but I understand that it is bad for my hypertension...

Done

I know when I started, my prescription was for a minimum pressure of 5, but after feedback on this forum, I increased it and had much better results. With the pressure of 5, I just didn't feel like I was getting enough air. I now start at 7.5, but I think many people use an even higher minimum press...

Might as well learn to try to figure out the difference between SWJ and asleep breathing. Go here and read and watch all the videos http://freecpapadvice.com/sleepyhead-free-software The congestion could have played a significant factor both in sleep quality and pressure needs. I wouldn't go changi...

It's been over a year and I'm still struggling to get my average CPAP usage up over 4 hours/night. Some nights I take the mask off because of congestion, others I don't remember taking it off at all, but the last two nights I remember taking it off because I had trouble staying asleep. Generally my ...

I put my mask on and sit on the edge of the bed, eyes closed, for 5-10 minutes before lying down to go to sleep. The time lets me relax my breathing. Otherwise if I lie right down, I feel like I can't breathe and end up taking off the mask.

My husband was in a similar situation a few years back, only he isn't healthy and so he had to take out an individual policy (before Obamacare) that was very expensive. I don't personally use a health sharing ministry, however I thought you might be interested in this article from some bloggers I'm ...

I used to drink caffeinated cola all day (and night) long. I tapered off of it completely and took a magnesium supplement at night to help with the withdrawal symptoms (read about that somewhere, no longer sure where). Now I don't drink any caffeine at all. Good luck with quitting!