Last Night Was First Night

[Iancdub88]

First off, I'm sure I'm repeating previous posts so I apologize for that. I just feel that I need some support and encouragement. I feel overwhelmed.

Last night was my first night with my apap device and it was rough. I kept waking up when the pressure would change and panic. The doctor didn't really tell me anything about adjusting the pressure so I was just using the manufacturer settings. I believe it's set for 4 as the minimum and 20 as the max. I'm planning on setting it from 6-15 tonight. Does that sound like a good start? All of the settings and everything seem so confusing to me.

I managed to get 2 hours of use out of it last night but I'm not sure how much, if any, of that was actual sleep.

I don't know why I thought I would just get used to this thing immediately but after months of waiting for insurance approval and not having had a good night's sleep in what feels like years, I was hopeful. But last night I felt like just giving up. How do I encourage myself to keep going?

[Pugsy]

Check your machine equipment choice. The link to your machine currently chosen is a dead link.

[Julie]

Agree with bumping the 4 to 6 (seems to be the lowest # anyone can breathe at) but changing 20 to 15 may not be helpful (tho' not 'un'helpful either).

[Iancdub88]

Check your machine equipment choice. The link to your machine currently chosen is a dead link.

The link should work now. Thanks for the heads up.

[McSleepyhead]

I have the same mask. My first night was about a week ago. It was about the same for me but I did get more sleep than you first night. It did wake me up when it cranked up a few notches in pressure. I hardly know I am wearing a mask now or the pressure change.

I would try to get used to it as is. You can always reduce pressure but that might be better left for a talk with Doctor. If you do work on getting used to it as is any reduction in pressure later would seem more significant.

Generally speaking from the moment I started using it I started taking much deeper breaths and just accepting it. This helped me quite bit. It was definitely a change in "habits" but that is what we are in it for. The big deep breaths I started taking increased my O2 levels as well. I am testing 2 points higher on average for 02 saturation. I embraced it, took deeper breaths, and now getting better rest. I am now in the process of trying to get 6-7 hours sleep as I have resorted back to my working years jumping out of bed with 4-5 hours of sleep ready to box.

One thing I just noticed between masks may be an important detail for some. I bought a few masks one being the EVO FF mask(which I use) and also the Siesta FF mask ( which I tried). The Siesta vent holes do not vent as much as the EVO. This gave me a claustrophobic feeling or a feeling of shortness of breath. Likely what you could be experiencing now with the EVO. It could be the position of the vent holes which make the difference. Because of the difference the Siesta FF mask pushed air in beyond my capacity to inhale fully unlike the EVO which seems to match me way better. This may be part of the whole reason so many people find a mask that helps better.

Anyway hang in there! I just accepted it and happy I did!

[Miss Emerita]

Lots of people who go on to use CPAP successfully have trouble at first. You are not alone!

My attitude is a little different from that of some other forum members. I think you may need a week or two focused simply on getting so you can sleep with the mask and machine, even if that isn't treating your apnea very effectively.

With this attitude in mind, I would suggest you set your min pressure at 7 and your max pressure at 7. No more panic at pressure changes. I'd also suggest you set EPR at 3. This will drop your pressure down to 4 when you exhale, which feels more comfortable to a lot of people.

Next, don't worry about night-time use right away. Instead, set up your machine outside your bedroom during the day or evening and use it while you read, watch TV, or use your devices. This will help your body get used to all the new sensations, minus the pressure of trying to fall asleep.

Finally, make sure there's an SD card in your machine. If there isn't, get one -- not more than 32 GB. If you have a laptop or desktop computer, download the Oscar software (see link below) and make sure you have a way for your computer to read the card. (You can get a cheap USB plug-in card reader if you don't have a slot.) Or you can set up a free account with SleepHQ. Either way, you'll be ready to post information about your night once you start sleeping with the machine.

Try all this for a few days and let us know how it goes. Hang in there, because it WILL get better.

[Iancdub88]

Anyway hang in there! I just accepted it and happy I did!

Thanks for the kind and helpful words. I tried laying down this morning to test 6 being the minimum and they made a very positive difference.

[McSleepyhead]

I tried laying down this morning to test 6 being the minimum and they made a very positive difference.

My experience with the two different masks seems similar to your situation. If I were to use the Siesta mask I believe I would need to adjust pressure to be comfortable. As mentioned in original post the Siesta just feels like too much air pressure for me, but the EVO is fine at the same settings letting more air vent at the same settings.

I am glad I experienced that because I now have a basic base line set with EVO mask to help understand comfort levels better. Always worth looking for the positive despite how bad something may seem.

[Iancdub88]

Try all this for a few days and let us know how it goes. Hang in there, because it WILL get better.

Thank you! This was very helpful.

[Iancdub88]

Second night was better. I made it about 6 hours with the mask on and ended up taking it off for the last 2.

I'm still trying to figure out the best pressure for me and I think I'll definitely need to turn up the humidity(I have always has congestion issues.) It says my events per hour is 7.6. I read that under 5 is the goal but this still is big improvement over my sleep test.

Anyways, here's hoping each night improves.

[Miss Emerita]

A good goal to aim for is an AHI under 2; under 1 will be better still. Go into the clinical menu for your machine and turn on the option that will let you see more information on your machine's screen. Then you'll be able to see the breakdown of your AHI. Would you let us know what you see?

It's good news that you managed 6 hours with the mask on. You were sleeping most of the time?

[Iancdub88]

A good goal to aim for is an AHI under 2; under 1 will be better still. Go into the clinical menu for your machine and turn on the option that will let you see more information on your machine's screen. Then you'll be able to see the breakdown of your AHI. Would you let us know what you see?

It's good news that you managed 6 hours with the mask on. You were sleeping most of the time?

It says AHI - 6.7
Total AI - 6.1
Obstructive AI - 1.8
Central AI - 4.0

I was sleeping most of the time but I definitely woke up a few times more than I'd prefer.

[MikeekiM]

I don't know if I am the most extreme case or not, but I waged war with my CPAP machine for 18 months before being able to use it consistently.

Check out this chart. The red shows all the times that I was yanking my mask off in the middle of the night due to discomfort or whatever else was going on in my life. I had so much interrupted sleep during the first 18 months of usage, my sleep quality actually suffered as a result. But somehow, after 18 months, something "clicked" and I was able to use my CPAP VERY consistently. And I counted on the folks on this forum to help me through a lot of issues, most recently helping me resolve my CPAP leakage issues.

Stay with it. I can't believe it took me 18 months to get used to it. And it was a long and suffering road for me. But I finally got over the hump.

[Iancdub88]

I don't know if I am the most extreme case or not, but I waged war with my CPAP machine for 18 months before being able to use it consistently.

Check out this chart. The red shows all the times that I was yanking my mask off in the middle of the night due to discomfort or whatever else was going on in my life. I had so much interrupted sleep during the first 18 months of usage, my sleep quality actually suffered as a result. But somehow, after 18 months, something "clicked" and I was able to use my CPAP VERY consistently. And I counted on the folks on this forum to help me through a lot of issues, most recently helping me resolve my CPAP leakage issues.

Stay with it. I can't believe it took me 18 months to get used to it. And it was a long and suffering road for me. But I finally got over the hump.

Dang! That is quite a drastic change. I'm hoping it doesn't take me that long. I'm already feeling discouraged about different things.

[Iancdub88]

To be honest, today I'm feeling super stressed about it. I do struggle with anxiety so lack of sleep probably isn't helping. I'm just so paranoid that I'm doing something wrong, making the incorrect adjustments and somehow making things worse.