Newbie and struggling

[hbeau]

It is day 5 and i have many questions. My setup person was quick and seemed to be in a hurry to get home. Mask fitting is my biggest obstacle at the moment. The fit varies from night to night. Sometimes it's the pressure on my ears/face , other times it's the whistling, and at times its just the Darth Vader syndrome . . . just hearing my every breath to the point of removing the mask. I do get in about 7 hours of therapy (so my machine says).
Another concern is that I am not needing to refill any of the water in my humidifier . . .which leads me to believe I could be getting a better experience. I am still looking for those energized wake-ups.
Any encouragement is welcome.
harvey

[Julie]

Hi Harvey - Please click on the User Ctl Panel under main logo, then on Profile, and fill in (using text vs icons please) the full name and model # (under machine) of your machine, and what type of mask and name of it that you have, as well as the pressure settings if you know them... and all will auto. appear under your posts from now on so we have something to go by when trying to help you... thanks.

[Pugsy]

In addition to Julie's request for you to add your equipment to your profile could you please tell us what setting you are using on your humidifier and where you live does it happen to a relatively high humidity right now? Rain maybe?
These newer machines have sensors that take into account the ambient room humidity and often not much water is used if ambient humidity is high and/or setting is low.

If you have a ResMed machine the model name is clearly shown on the top of the blower unit so no need to look on the bottom of the machine (model number isn't there anyway) but if you have a Respironics machine then you need to look on the bottom of the machine for the model number which is a 3 digit number usually preceded by DS or REF.
If you have a different brand then we have to figure it out with other methods.

[robysue]

Welcome to the forum.

Mask problems are a common difficulty for may new PAPers. It would help us help you if we knew the following information:

1) What mask you are using
2) What machine you are using (make and MODEL please)
3) What your pressure setting is

That way people who use your mask or a mask similar to it can give you some useful pointers.

Another concern is that I am not needing to refill any of the water in my humidifier . . .which leads me to believe I could be getting a better experience.

How much water is used each night depends strongly on:

• Make and model of the machine you are using
• Pressure setting you are using
• If you are using a heated hose, the temperature setting (and the humidifier setting if there is one)
• If you are not using a heated hose, the humidifier setting
• The ambient room temperature
• The ambient relative humidity in the room

If you are waking up feeling dry in your nostrils, then it's worth trying to get more humidity into the system. If you are NOT waking up with a dry nose, then you probably don't need to fiddle with the humidity settings right now.

It is day 5 and i have many questions.
...
I do get in about 7 hours of therapy (so my machine says).
I am still looking for those energized wake-ups.

It's important to have reasonable expectations. Very few people wake up less than a week into therapy with one of "those energized wake-ups". It takes a while just to learn how to sleep with a mask on your nose. And it takes a while for the brain and both your conscious and unconscious mind to fully adjust to this alien on your face as a friendly alien. And it takes time for the body to repair the damage done by the apnea.

While a few people are very lucky and see substantial immediate improvement, most people don't. Most people do start feeling better within a few weeks to a couple of months. A few unlucky people (like me) take a lot longer to start feeling better. And most people never have the sensation of waking up one morning feeling like they're on top of the world with all this new energy. Rather, the "feeling better" is incremental and creeps up on you. Over time you start to realize that you're more alert and have more energy than you used to have. And it slowly builds up until you realize that you are now usually able to stay alert all day long and you have enough energy to do everything you want to do.

Best of luck in your CPAP adventure.

[hbeau]

Thanks to all who responded. You were very helpful and encouraging. Here is what I found on my machine. . . .left (control side) is REF 560P while the right (humidifier) is DS6TFLG. All of the equipment seems to work well with the exception of mask fitting . . . is their is technique or helpful hints for adjusting . . . knowing darn well everyone has a different shape and movement. As for humidity . . . .that is most likely what is happening. Setting for th humidifier is 2 while my pressure is 8.

Hope this is helpful.

Thanks again, everyone,
Harvey

[Janknitz]

PR S1 humidifiers don't typically use a lot of water unless you live in an exceptionally dry environment or you mouth breathe. However, if you don't need to refill at least twice a week and your setting is at least 3, have it checked out, because there is a problem with PR humidiiers.

Take a look at the fitting tips in my blog below "Taming the Mirage Quattro". I realize you have a different mask, but these tips work with any air cushion mask.

You might find a mask liner (look up Padacheek.com and Remzzz's) helps with leakage.

I use white noise (in my case a pillow speaker with podcasts on my iPhone, but a sound machine, relaxing music, or a fan would work, too. That masks the Darth Vader sound enough so I can get to sleep. Make sure your hose is not resting on the pillow or mattress, because that tends to amplify the Darth Vader sound using your pillow or mattress to conduct the sound.

Hang in there--7 hourss a night is a great start!

[ems]

Make sure your hose is not resting on the pillow or mattress, because that tends to amplify the Darth Vader sound using your pillow or mattress to conduct the sound.

White noise is great and I use a small fan now instead of a white noise machine. However, I can't sleep unless the hose is resting in back of me ON the pillow. That lifts the hose just enough to not stay on my upper lip or pull on the mask. We are all so different.

[hbeau]

Hello again,
Feeling better about my CPAP experience after week 1. I believe that I am doing very well. I am usually in bed by 10:30 and awake around 7 usually with one visit to the bathroom. I had a prostatectomy last August and am trilled to be getting up so seldom. Anyway here are my number for week one . . . . : AHI——> 6.8 with an average of 8.1, Therapy—>7.4hrs last night with an avg of 7.3, and Mask Fit of 99% They seem to be pretty good, what do you think?

I am concerned about my AHI . . . . I have read that between 5 and 15 is considered MILD . ..whatever that means and yet I have read somewhere in this forum that a person was not happy with that number. I really would like a clarification if anyone has a moment to write back.

Other number i have gleaned from my device are:Large Leaks - -> 4%, (1% last 7 days), AHI-->8.7, (8.2 for last 7), Periodic breathing --> 1% (3% for last 7) and finally 90% pressure is at 10.5. I am not sure why these number and the ones I receive from the SleepMapper web side don't jive.

Any help very much appreciated.

Harvey

[Pugsy]

What is the AHI event category breakdown? That is especially important when AHI is greater than 5.0.
You will need to use either SleepyHead or Encore to get those data points.

Can you please post an image of typical detailed software data? If you don't know how we talk about it here and have some examples also.
Screen shot thread viewtopic.php?f=1&t=81072&p=737779#p737779

[hbeau]

What is and how do I get an "AHI event category breakdown". I am not sure it is available with my setup which is WIFI based and not scan card.

[Pugsy]

You have a modem on the back of your machine for DME to gather compliance data?
The modem covers up the SD card and the slot for the SD card. You would need to use software and the SD card to see the AHI event category breakdown. If you have a modem...it can be temporarily removed and won't hurt a thing.

Example....AHI of 6.0 but the event categories themselves are
Clear Airway (central) events
Obstructive Apnea events
Hyponea events
so maybe that total of 6 comes from the CA index of 4.0 and the OA index of 1.0 and hyponea index of 1.0...totaling AHI of 6.0.

Look at the top thread in the Announcement section for the SleepyHead Tutorial and you will see examples and explanations.

If the AHI is high and mainly OAs or hyponeas then a little more pressure might be needed but if it is mainly Central then more pressure is not needed as we don't treat centrals with more pressure with your model of machine.
So it makes sense to know what you are fighting (or worrying about) before you go worrying about fixing it.

[hbeau]

Hi Pugsy,
Unfortunately when I pulled off my modem there was no SD card . . . seems that the modem itself plugs into that slot. There is not enough of the modem connection to attach a card reader too. Am I missing something or simply out of luck. I am a retired computer/math teacher and would find this information very interesting.

Harvey

[Pugsy]

I was afraid the SD card would be missing but not a big deal.
Go get a regular SD card from somewhere. Doesn't have to be Respironics brand and size doesn't really matter.
SDHD cards might work...the really high end fancy SDHD cards probably won't work...plain jane SD cards will work but getting hard to find.

Stick that card in the slot and the machine will write the data that it stores in its internal memory to the SD card and with the PR S1 machine...that's substantial data. We only lose the flow rate wave form graphs if the SD card is out of the machine.

I think that the SD card can remain in the slot with the modem on. Look closely as I think the plug in for the modem is actually below the sd slot. Others have reported leaving the SD card in while the modem is in place so I think it can be done.

So all is not lost. Easily fixable for sure and you can use the software....all you need is to go get a SD card and stick it in the machine then you can use SleepyHead or Encore software. I suggest you start with SleepyHead though...it's a bit easier to manage and works on all computers and with Encore I need to know more computer information as in which operating system.

[hbeau]

Hello again,

For the past 2 mornings my SYSTEM ONE has shown 0 hrs for therapy. All other benchmarks have also reported 0. I emailed my compliance supervisor and this was her response:

Your Modem is sending in the information to the site. It has not called in yet today with last night’s information. If you want to reset your modem to call in at a certain time of day you can reset it. The way to do this is push your reset button on the side of your modem for the time you would like it to call in. Such as 7:00 in the morning it will call in at that time every day. Then you can check the usage at that time. The information goes away after the call in is made for that day. The information that sleep mapper gives you is about the same as your viewer screen on your equipment. I hope this helps.

I tried to reset the call in time using the little button but nothing but two arrow/triangles appeared. I am really trying to do this correctly and have spent 7 to 8 sleeping with the mask. Any ideas. I am attaching (I hope) an image of my sleep mapper graph.



Not sure the image with send. . . . sorry. Any help is much appreciated