Bipac problems

I have been on a Bipac for 4 days. had to
have pressure setting lowered, now I find I still haven't had a
good night sleep. between drifting off and then panic wake
up due to changing air flows, and getting mask adjusted
been a war...And every AM nose and upper bronc/throat
stuffed up. takes 3 hrs to get normal even using albuterol or
oxy.. I'm also COPD (54 yr smoker till 3urs ago). any
suggestions on my trouble lol

No..humidity turned on at first setting
cause never liked humidity in air. heat iNot using heat and
humidity is at first setting have oxy bleed in it only 1lpm

using resmed full face not supposed to
need real tight as air forms seal I sleep on slide and mask
keeps moving..if tighten then fa ce hurts

have been sleeping 2 yrs
with 2ltr oxy at nite and beenb just fine,..then Doctor sent me
for sleep study (twice) and said I have severe sleep
apnea....haven't had a night sleep since got stupid machine

that's what everyone says..takes time....I
just need a full nights slleep!..I can sit in recliner with NO oxy
or machine and take a great nap lol

No when got Bipap doctor said to reduce
oxygen to 1 ltr for bleed in so that's where it is

first night I took machine off after 4 hours
and just went back to oxy..last 3 have been trying to s tick it out
but NO sound sleep to speak of,,,I think maybe increasing
back to 2ltr on oxy might feel better, it's the cycling..start to
relax then wide a wake feel like I am short of air

got Doctor mad at me now..told him Fri
maybe just time to let mother nature take her course..I'm 74 yrs
old and had a good run

Oldswab,

Welcome to CPAPtalk forum and chat.

You are not old at 74, the fun life is just beginning. Look what you did today. Discovered a chat room, registered, copied and pasted stuff, posted a topic. You made major strides. Good Job.

You have several issues, non of which I have much experience.

COPD,
use oxygen
on BiPap

I will ask questions you can answer and others will help you or at in the least offer you suggestions and ideas to take up with your doctor.

What is your machine settings:

Exhale pressure
Inhale Pressure
and other settings

What machine do you use.

Why do you take it off, is it only due to panic of not getting enough air or other reasons?

What changing air flows disturbes you between the inhale and the exhale?

If you sit up in your chair awake with your machine, mask and oxygen on can you breath ok.

Have you tried to go to sleep on your recliner with your machine, mask on and oxygen, can you breath ok.

I had bad congestion even if I sat up and put my mask on. I discovered that using the humidity congested me, I turned off the humidity. i was not congested anymore. So now I use an Aussie heated hose. I fill the humidifier but do not turn it on. This is called passive.

oldswab wrote:I have been on a Bipac for 4 days. had to
have pressure setting lowered, now I find I still haven't had a
good night sleep. between drifting off and then panic wake
up due to changing air flows, and getting mask adjusted
been a war...

Welcome to the board- I'm glad you found your way hear and didn't just park your BiPAP in the closet or something. There are a lot of people who do that, so you're way ahead of the game. I've been using various types of BiPAP for over 3 1/2 years and they do have some unique issues, but they are also good when there are other respiratory disorders, like your COPD.


The first thing we need to know which brand and type of BiPAP you are on- it should be printed on the machine. Is it feeling like its a sudden change when it goes from higher pressure to lower pressure? That's something that can be fixed, but DME's don't always realize how important that setting is and often leave it on factory preset. It should be a nice smooth transition, not choppy, or as my best friend described it, 'a loud noise', until I helped her realize what it was (and that no one else could hear it). Another thing to remember is you are leading the machine, its not leading you. It can't make you breath any faster then let you let it.

Mask can be a problem for just about everyone at the beginning. Make sure you are not over tightening the straps, as it makes it leak more. Contact your DME if you're having too many problems with your current mask- you wouldn't wear an uncomfortable pair of shoes day after day, you can't expect to wear an uncomfortable mask night after night either.

I think you mentioned the ResMed UMFF mask- have you played with the angle on the forehead bit? That changes the pivot point and can make a big difference. Try moving the mask up and down on your face some- when I had to use the same mask, it took me awhile to find its sweet spot, but once I did, it was much better...not my favorite mask, but much better then I first thought. Do you normally breath through your mouth? If you don't, you might want to try a nasal mask that only covers your nose, they tend to not leak as much.