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C-Pap Help


Yul Lose

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Well after nearly 6 months of multiple sleep tests and other hurdles I started on a ResMed c-pap machine. I fought it the first night for about 4 hours and the second night had it on all night and got my best nights sleep in years. The last 5 nights have been another story and despite multiple calls to my c-pap coach my problems persist. Here’s what happens, I’ll have the mask on and machine running and just about to sleep and it’s like someone squeezes my nose and I can’t breath through my nose for a second or two before I can get air. You just can’t relax and sleep with that happening. I assume that is from poor mask fit/seal but I’ve tried 3 different nasal masks and a full face mask with the same results, the full face mask being the worst.

 

My so called c-pap coach sounds like she’s working from home and has lots of other stuff on her mind when she’s talking to me and can’t end the call fast enough.  Any help would be appreciated. I wash the nasal mask every morning but that has no effect.

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When I wore the face mask I could only breathe through my nose if I was lying in a certain position.  Turned out the mask would squeeze the cartilage and block the airflow.  I went to nasal pillows and that helped tremendously.

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4 minutes ago, Yul Lose said:

Well after nearly 6 months of multiple sleep tests and other hurdles I started on a ResMed c-pap machine. I fought it the first night for about 4 hours and the second night had it on all night and got my best nights sleep in years. The last 5 nights have been another story and despite multiple calls to my c-pap coach my problems persist. Here’s what happens, I’ll have the mask on and machine running and just about to sleep and it’s like someone squeezes my nose and I can’t breath through my nose for a second or two before I can get air. You just can’t relax and sleep with that happening. I assume that is from poor mask fit/seal but I’ve tried 3 different nasal masks and a full face mask with the same results, the full face mask being the worst.

 

My so called c-pap coach sounds like she’s working from home and has lots of other stuff on her mind when she’s talking to me and can’t end the call fast enough.  Any help would be appreciated. I wash the nasal mask every morning but that has no effect.

My buddy just got tested for that implant so you don't have to wear the mask.

 

 https://www.inspiresleep.com/?utm_campaign=brand&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=paidsearch&utm_content=text&utm_term=brand_conversion&msclkid=0b33fb5c73d512cc8f129a2c53530e3f

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Okay, been using one for decades. First, use distilled water, it makes a difference. Then try a nasal spray before going to bed, maybe it will help your clogging up. They also make a minimalist "Mask" that just fits into your nostrils. I like em, but my nose has been broken several times so after a few nights use, I have to go back to a full mask for a few days.

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2 minutes ago, DeaconKC said:

Okay, been using one for decades. First, use distilled water, it makes a difference. Then try a nasal spray before going to bed, maybe it will help your clogging up. They also make a minimalist "Mask" that just fits into your nostrils. I like em, but my nose has been broken several times so after a few nights use, I have to go back to a full mask for a few days.

 

6 minutes ago, Pulp, SASS#28319 said:

When I wore the face mask I could only breathe through my nose if I was lying in a certain position.  Turned out the mask would squeeze the cartilage and block the airflow.  I went to nasal pillows and that helped tremendously.

The nasal pillow one is the one I had on the second night but I cannot get it to work like it did. I resorted to the full  face mask and it was much worse.

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Is your mouth opening?  If my jaw opens and I begin mouth breathing the CPAP doesn’t work.

 

 I don’t clench my mouth shut, but I eliminate air space in my mouth by getting my tongue in full contact with the roof of my mouth and teeth.  I can sleep 5 or 6 hours solid and my tongue position never changes.  
 

I use nasal pillows with two-strap headgear (one strap over the top of my head, the other behind my head), and sleep mostly on my back.

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It was recommended I use one, but I couldn't get used to it.

In the bush, boon-dogging on hunting trips made it impossible to use, so I found an alternative.

I use an anti-histamine or a nasal spray and that seems to solve the problem for me.

YMMD

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Did your CPAP "Coach" put any effort into fitting you with a mask?  I tried perhaps a dozen or so before I found one that was a "fit."  The nose-only ones were horrid... if I opened my mouth all that air pumped into my nose went right out my mouth.  Weird sensation, that!

 

I finally found a full-face type that is quite comfortable - and as long as I keep my beard reasonably trimmed it seals nicely.  

 

Now, a comment on "coaches:"  The gal whom I worked with at our medical center was, in my opinion, a self-centered twit.  During a review she read the downloaded data and declared that my mask leaks.  A lot.  I tried to assure her that it in fact did NOT leak; she argued that she could see it on her computer screen.  I had my machine and mask with me, and suggested I put it on so she could see for herself - but she was insistent that it was not necessary, as she could see on her computer that it DID leak and I didn't know what I was talking about.

 

I didn't have the patience to point out to her that the "leaks" she thought she saw were most likely due to the mask having, by design, a series of vent holes.  According to her I absolutely needed a "nose-only" mask with a strap to hold my mouth shut.  I left. 

 

Full-face masks continue to be quite comfy and work well.

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

Now, a comment on "coaches:"  The gal whom I worked with at our medical center was, in my opinion, a self-centered twit.  During a review she read the downloaded data and declared that my mask leaks.  A lot.  I tried to assure her that it in fact did NOT leak; she argued that she could see it on her computer screen.  I had my machine and mask with me, and suggested I put it on so she could see for herself - but she was insistent that it was not necessary, as she could see on her computer that it DID leak and I didn't know what I was talking about.


Sounds like the lady I had. :angry:

 

Yul, if your mask has the head straps and the straps that go behind your neck try loosening the top head straps a bit and perhaps tightening the lower just a little. It doesn’t take much adjustment to make a difference. Relaxing the top straps may take the pressure off. 

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I like the nasal pillows the best, took me a week to get used to them. CPAP professional told me to squirt nasal sesame seed oil into my nose before using them for the first couple of weeks and it stopped the dryness and soreness immediately. 

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