whats the crack

[verytired]

hi
im going to the hospital for a cpap tomorrow what does this involve!!!

[James @ Intus]

Hi, welcome to the forums. Your forum nickname will soon be outdated as once on CPAP we hope you too will be "veryalive".

Exactly what it involves varies per hospital but in general they will do something along these lines:

- Tell you about it, briefly
- Fetch you a mask that seems to fit (try and insist on lying down when they do this)
- Show you how the machine works

Then you get to use it at home for a week to a fortnight after which they'll read out the data and send you home with a permanent one, if all went well.

[verytired]

hi yeah i hope i do become very alive too!

my aph was 59 is this high i slept with the mask on for the first time last nite and i feel ok this morning although still tired i woke up a few times last nite gasping for air felt like i was getting too much maybe it will take a while to get used to though did any1 else have the same problem.

[James @ Intus]

An index of 59 is pretty high indeed. Defintitely warrant a good treatment effort!

It will take a few nights to fully get accustomed to the new gear, after which you will start feeling the difference, especially later in the day when you are otherwise 'supposed' to be nodding off.

[verytired]

hi

I am currently struggling to get a goods nite sleep (still) i find that im waking up in the night gasping for air and struggling to catch my breath i have to turn the airflow down and try again.
IS THIS NORMAL????
i do hope so because after reading other posts on here i was looking forward to spending my nights with my kids instead of dosing on the sofa after work.

thanks for reading

[Tigers Fan]

A bit of time

Hi Verytired

Seems to me that the best gift we can give ourselves is a bit of time. Sounds to me like that is what you need - a bit of time to get used to this new way of sleeping, time to make the adjustments that leave you in control of it rather than the other way round. Give yourself a bit of time and it'll come right.

Are you using a CPAP, APAP or what? at what constant pressure? does it have a ramp function? do you use it? does your machine have A- or C-Flex and do you use it? And I wonder what you mean by "turning the airflow down"? (presumably reducing the pressure, but how?)

Tigers Fan

[verytired]

hi

ha ha you can tell im new to osa eh!!!!

i think im currently on apap because the pressure adjusts during the nite and there is a button that resets it to 4.0 (whatever that means).

but i do think you are right about the time thing i seemed to have a cracking nites sleep last nite and have just finished a 12 hr shift at work and i aint asleep yet although feeling tired (think thats down to the 12hr shift).

its just that i hadnt heard of sa before i was diagnosed and every1 i ask hasnt either. each time i used to go to the doctors they told me i was depressed and offered me anti-depressants. so to be told i had something i didnt know existed then a great mask to wear at night i feel a bit overwhelmed and very impaitent but thanks for your help

vtired

[Tigers Fan]

Sorry - I can't find the thread

Hi Verytired

I can't find the thread but it might be well worth your time to find it - it's about pressures and my problem, just like yours.

It sounds like you are indeed on an APAP. The button that resets it to 4 is the ramp button. The ramp gradually increases the air pressure to the set/titrated/CPAP pressure your clinician determined/guessed/pulled out of the air for you - you are supposed to fall asleep whilst this increase is going on.

If you have an apnoea or incident whilst asleep - when you do - the auto part of the machine kicks in and cranks up the pressure to whatever pressure is set as maximum - probably 20. That is enough pressure to launch you out of bed - well, it is me!

Rather than going all the way back down to 4, you could try switching the machine off and then on again - and it will deliver the set CPAP pressure. As you are wide awake again by then, starting the ramp at 4 may be a good idea, as you are already.

Could be that your CPAP pressure is set too high for you to cope with, but it sounds to me like you might want to reduce the maximum APAP pressure. I've set mine at 3 above my CPAP pressure.

I suggest you might want to take your machine back to your clinician and describe your problems and ask them to make the pressure adjustments you need. If you watch how they do it ......... but talk to the Forum before attempting adjustments yourself, till you get the hang of it.

The numbers we talk about for pressure are centimeters of water - cm H2O - a column of water that high, above atmospheric.

Tigers Fan

[James @ Intus]

Just to add a bit onto what Tigers Fan has described really well...

If you have an apnoea or incident whilst asleep - when you do - the auto part of the machine kicks in and cranks up the pressure to whatever pressure is set as maximum - probably 20. That is enough pressure to launch you out of bed - well, it is me!

This process (algorithm) does vary per machine but most would indeed crank up the pressure but only until the moment the sensors see full airflow re-established. This can be before 20. It would crank up the pressure until the ceiling pressure, mostly left at the default 20 (REMStar) or 15 (SleepCube for example). Once it reaches either the pressure required for opening the throat or once it reaches this ceiling pressure, whichever comes first, it will then stay at that pressure for 20-30 minutes and only slowly back down again, in some machines as slow as 0.1cm per few minutes. This slow retreat works as a preventative.

This is why it's important that an APAP's lower and higher/ceiling pressure are not too wide apart, else you may get too high a pressure or too low a pressure for longer than you need it.

For example, when someone had a fixed pressure CPAP at 12cm for years and buys an APAP, rather than leaving the pressure bwteen 4 and 20, with all it's fluctuations, we often discuss whether to narrow this bracket to say 8 and 16 so the user keeps the benefit of automatic adjustment but without the big peaks and troughs which indeed sometimes can lead to the user waking up when the mask gets blown off.

Could be that your CPAP pressure is set too high for you to cope with, but it sounds to me like you might want to reduce the maximum APAP pressure. I've set mine at 3 above my CPAP pressure.

That's what I mean indeed. But remember, what worked for one forum member or CPAP users has absolutely no reflection on your situation so don't impement any of this without checking with your physician. Each patient is different and has specific personal healthcare needs.

I suggest you might want to take your machine back to your clinician and describe your problems and ask them to make the pressure adjustments you need.

Good advice.

[verytired]

hi

thanks for all your advice i will keep with it, im at the docs on the 17th so im sure it will be discussed then and im also finding it easier now.

just wondering does any1 else partner start proding them (to the point i wake up) when your mask is making a funny noise, just that i woke to find my wife proding the mask to try and stop it leaking air.

vtired