New to CPap and would like some advice

Thanks everyone for their help. It is going lots better now. I can sleep through the night with it on (unless the kids wake me up) as well as being able to sleep on my side.

I ended up buying a machine via America. The same model as my trial one. It cost just over $1000 including the humidifier, heated tubing and mask. I saved $1700. The only catch being if I have any problems with warrantee I have to return it to America. But according to my sleep specialist they rarely have any faults due to the lack of moving parts. I also was able to swap the cord with the American plug with a cord with an Australian one ($14 from Dick smith).

My PHI didn't give any money back. But I am claiming it on Tax.

I have increased the humidity to 3.5 which helped the sore throat, and then had to increase the temperature to stop the water build up. I have also changed the automatic setting to a manual one.

I have noticed I am not as tired after work and I think I am a little more patient with the kids. It has not helped as much with the tiredness when driving yet. The biggest thing I have noticed is that I no longer get headaches as often. I went from 3-4 bad headaches a week to one in the last month! That alone will make me keep using the machine.

LizHaynes I would love the name of the program so I could see how I am going on my computer.

I can still go camping with mine lol
Hubby bought a converter so we can plug into cigarette socket. Cost a fortune tho so dont do it lmao

I too have sleep apnoea and use a cpap. I was lucky and took to mine extremely well. Infact the first night I used it, the next morning I woke up all jittery. I couldn't work out what was wrong until I realised I was AWAKE after a great nights sleep and had energy! LOL ;) 

My apnoea episodes went from 60 to 0.3 LOL ;) 

It can be a tricky balance of getting the straps just right too, too tight and it hurts and too loose the mask farts and sqeaks. Also to help prevent getting moisture in the mask hang the hose up over the headboard of your bed, this prevents most of the moisture getting to you.

My pressure setting is 18 - pretty high - but I LOVE my cpap for the fantastic sleep I get. I can't actually go to sleep without it on now. I've had it about 3 years now though. Really do hope one day to be rid of it as would make things easier (going camping, spur of the moment sleep overs etc...)

I was very lucky because my hubby had paid for the best machine on the market and fully automatic.

Got a program from my dad for the computer so i could see how many apneas etc and also change settings

I have mine set with a min of 6psi, no settling coz i cant breathe on it if i do, epr of 3 (epr is how hard it is to breathe out. 3 is easiest setting) and max psi of 20 (which is the highest it goes lol)

if you are having to force your breath out when you are still awake it is a good idea to change the epr setting. On my machine it can be changed under settings without connecting to the computer and pretending i am a doctor lol

I have ResMes S8 AutoSet Spirit II with humidifier.

I use a nasal pillow mask as I dont open my mouth at night

I have set the humidifier to 1. any higher and I end up with water in the mask....very uncomfortable

I also have a Resmed machine with a Humidifier. I also have a heated hose to prevent me from having an Asthma attack when the temperature drops in the early morning. The SD card function is great, it downloads, for my Specialist, when I slept, how many leaks I experience during the night and a load of other information ( Lots easier than taking your whole machine for your downloads). Sometimes you can buy second machines and then get them serviced.

You have been paying for your health insurance, so it's about time it gets a workout.

Good Luck with your surgery, and enjoy your New Life.

Im using a machine called Resmed h5i. Its humidified with a ramp function It also has a SD card which can somehow tell how many if any periods of apnoea I have. I think I will only have this machine for the 1 month trial then the CPAP people read the information off the SD card and set more specific settings thou I am only guessing. Its $150 a month to hire a machine but I am hoping that after the weight loss I won't need it anymore so I don't really want to fork out heaps for a machine that I may only need for 6 months or more. Although I just found a machine the same model as the one I have for $999.

I have made a point of reading in bed with the mask on before trying to get to sleep which I think has helped.

I have an appointment on the 17th June with the cpap people so will hopefully tweak the settings a little (also surgeon and my daughter speech therapist. Private health insurance getting a work out that day).

Hi Jasmellea

I have been on Cpap since 2006. It takes a while to get used to using the machines. I have tried about 4 different masks, you just have fine the one you like best. I still have problems with my masks, because my Sinuses keep getting infected, so I don't wear it for a few days as the mask puts more pressure on my sinuses. I am also a mouth breather and have to put medical tape across my mouth to stop my mouth from opening during sleep, use a chin stay and then put my mask on. You are probably like me and get stressed about using your machine. In the beginning my GP gave me sleeping tablets for a short time,to help me by being so tired, that I just used the machine.

Does your machine have a ramp feature? The ramp can be set for as long as 30mins to get to full pressure. My machine using the ramp feature starts off at a softer pressure and builds up over the 30mins.If when you are wearing it, if you go straight to full pressure I find it very stressful and scary. My doctor is going to do another sleep study, as have lost 30kgs and i may not need it anymore.

Don't beat yourself up about not being able to use it perfectly at such a early stage, just do your best. Once you are using it all the time you will not believe how much better you will feel. Be positive and relax and good luck. Also have a talk to the people who suuply your machine, as there are several settings to match your mask with your machine.

Hi Jasmellea,

As you become more comfortable with the machine you can sleep on your side I haven't mastered sleeping on my tummy (could be because it would be like sleeping on a mountain!!!!) . My Doc told me that if I loose enough weight I should be able to sleep with out the machine. i can totally relate to needing a sleep when driving, before the machine I would always pull over and have a cat nap. The benefits will creep up on you and one day you will just realise you don't need cat naps anymore, you can sit on the lounge for longer than 20 mins without nodding off.

Good luck hopefully you will have a restful sleep tonight

It looks like in a co-incidence that I got a cold on the first night of using cpap. I am mostly over it now. I have been using the cpap for about 5 hours over night waking fully 2-3 times. If I wake a third time I take it off. I have slept through with it on only one night. I have had to get used to sleeping on my back and I think I am breathing through my nose most of the time now. But I am still not feeling any benefits. I am still almost falling asleep when driving even short distances of 20 minutes. My airways narrow rather than fully block during sleeping. I wonder how much that has to do with the bulk of my weight compressing my chest cavity when lying down. I am really hoping this surgery will take care of this sleep apnoea.

It look me a long time to get used to CPAP at the start I never once woke with it on. At one stage I use dental appliances for a quite a while - but I kept on breaking them as I obviously grind my teeth like a crazy - the dentist could not believe it....
The type of mask is very important - I am a mouth breather -but could no way no how have a mask over my mouth (claustrophobic). T trained myself to breath through my mask and use a nasal mask at the moment I am liking this one Swift™ FX Bella Nasal Pillow System.
I noted on this site that by having surgery some people no longer have sleep apnea .....I am wondering if I could be that lucky.
Good luck

Hi Jasmellea

I have had my CPAP machine for about ten years, once you get use to it you will wonder how you ever lived without it. I have tried many masks until I found the one that suits me. I keep a bottle of water on the bedside table I find this helps with the dry throat, though I haven't suffered from that for as long as I can remeber now.

I never sleep without my machine I take it everywhere with me (overnight sleeps). Prior to getting my machine I didn't sleep through the night the test showed I breathed for 10 secs then not for 27 secs which when you add it up is an awful lot of the night not breathing I was lethargic, a terrible mother as I had no energy, put on lots and lots of weight I would pull over and have 2 sleeps before I got to work, the boss asked me not to come to meetiings he would fill me in as I snored through most of the meeting. Due to my weight and lethargic lifestyle I am insulin dependent type 2 diabetic, the doctor I spoke to said it was a cycle that started with my sleep apnea.

What I am trying to say in a long winded way keep trying with your machine it does become easier and your lifestyle will improve as a result, if necessary try in small incruments a couple of hrs at a time until you can sleep easily with it.

Good Luck

Just read your post Jasmellea,
I haven't used a Cpap - but I hope things have settled down for you Perhaps it's something best started on a weekend when we don't have to get up for work etc.???
Take care
jarrah

I started on CPAP yesterday for the first time. I had the worst night sleep since I can remember. I woke this morning with a sore head and throat, so tired I kept bursting into tears when trying to wrangle the kids off to school. I only had the machine on for maybe 3 hours during the night ( On when going to sleep then off after 2 hours cause I couldn't sleep then on one hour during night and off again because I couldn't sleep again). Even once I took it off I couldn't sleep properly. The kids have started coughing so maybe we are all getting sick and the rotten sleep was just a co-incidence.

Has anyone else used CPAP? How long did it take for you to get used to it? Did you have any of the side effects and how did you deal with them.

I am so reluctant to try it again tonight. I cant take another night of no sleep and I need to function for work tomorrow with out bursting into tears.