Failure with CPAP machine last night

Last night I tried to sleep with my new CPAP machine, and ended up getting only 3 hours sleep, and feeling lousy and sleep-deprived today.  I found myself feeling terribly anxious after I put the mask on, and I was worried about leakage and found the air too cold, and kept having sleep apnea type episodes, like nodding off and abruptly waking up again.  After talking with a Praxair representative at one something in the morning, I took a sleeping pill at his suggestion, and got to sleep finally,  feeling terribly disappointed today with my experience.

Has anybody else using a CPAP machine for the first time had a similar experience to mine?  I also suspect that my claustrophobia was acting up, since the mask over my nose is a large one.

Denise Phares/kitties4
 

I got my CPAP machine last summer, and found it horrible to use. The doctor and nurse who set it up for me said it could be a month before I felt completly comfortable. I felt anxious and claustrophobic with the mask I got (it covered my chin, mouth, and nose, and the headgear that held it on went over the entire back of my head) I felt trapped, and at most could only keep it on 2 hours a night before I woke up in a panic ripping it off my face. It was terrible and I eventually stopped using it. Which isn't good, cuase I have severe sleep apnea. a couple weeks ago I got a new OptiLife mask, it has a strap that goes under the chin and what they call nose pillows that press firmly against your nostrils. No mask over you nose, nothing blocking your mouth. I can even wear my glasses comfortably with the mask on, and there are only two straps one that goes across the top of your head, and one that goes back across my head a few inches down from the first one. I was able to wear it 4 hours the first night, and I've been able to wear it all night since. It's great. If you have claustrophobia issues, I would ask about getting a different mask. They might want you to keep trying your current mask for awhile, thinking you'll get used to it. If your anxiety is that bad, insist on a new mask. Also, don't worry about leakage, if it seems like it's not sealing right, and is leaking, just adjust the straps (works best once you're laying down). As far as the air being too cold, did your CPAP come with a humidifier attached? Do you add water to the machine each night as needed? If you do, then you should be able to adjust the setting. Most go from 1 (cold) to 5 (hot) I was told most people like it around 2.5, but I prefer mine 3 or 3.5. I don't like cold air either. I hope this helps you!! Good luck!

Denise,
 
Heather gave you some great insight.  Don't be hard on yourself...for most it takes time and tweaking to get the right setup.  Frankly I went through 5 masks and two different machines before I could be considered a "success" story.  Are you a mouth breather?  If not, you might want to try a nasal mask, or better yet nasal pillows.  I have a crazy looking mask that goes over my head so no straps on my face at all.  Now it took me a couple weeks to get comfortable with wearing a mask.  You may want to try putting the mask on a 1/2 hour before bed to get more acclamated to it.  Also, I found white noise and giving myself pep talks also helped.  If you feel the pressure is too much, use the ramp setting you have on your machine.  Also, do you have a heated humidifier?  If not, it's a MUST. It will help to heat the air so it's not too cold.  Plus you'll need it so your nasal passages don't get so dried out.  I'm going to PM you two different forums to check out.  They were a godsend to me when I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea.

On Friday night, I took an Ambien (sleeping pill) 45 minutes before I went to bed, and set up the machine 1/2 hour before, making sure the humidifier was set on warm.  Once I put the mask on, I went right to sleep, and slept until morning light Saturday, without having to get up even once to go to the bathroom.  I felt more rested, but not as rested as I did with the CPAP on the sleep study.  I made breakfast for me and my husband, and then filled the humidifier with water again (it was empty), warmed it up for at least a half hour, and put it on again.  There was no claustrophobia, but the nose piece made a knocking noise just about every time I breathed in, and I noticed symptoms of apnea still there (stopped breathing, etc.).  I took everything off, cleaned it all, but could not figure out how to put the nose piece back together.  I tried calling Paxair, but nobody is there on the weekend, so I was told to call the salesman back on Monday (today).  I did, and he called me back, and said he'd stop by on Tuesday, February 17th to check out my machine.

I'll have to see what happens.  I did have to use tap water instead of distilled water the first two nights, so I wonder if that is why the machine malfunctioned.  He told me I could use tap water, but now I wonder if I should have waited until Saturday to use it, when distilled water was available.

Thank you for your concern and support.

Denise Phares/kitties4

 

 

It sounds like you did much better on friday night!! Good job! My mask came with an instruction book that told me how to put the straps back on and nose piece after cleaning...good thing, too, cause I couldn't figure it out!! I don't think tap water would have made the machine malfunction and make noises. I was told you are supposed to use distilled water because otherwise over time, minerals build up on the bottom of the humidifier and the humidifier won't work as well. But that takes time, I've been using mine several weeks now with tap water (I know, not supposed to, but as much water as it takes, cant afford to keep buying distilled water) and it's not making any funny noises or anything. It's probably just a malfunction of the machine, and the salesman will fix it or replace it.   Good luck with it!!

I'm glad it went better for you Denise.

Definitely use distilled and not tap water.  Please be sure to clean your humidifier well because tap water can leave build up deposits, hence why we should always use distilled if available. 

I don't think the water should be the reason for the sounds.  If this happens again, check your mask.  You may have condensation in it.  When mine gets back it sounds like a popcorn popper, I kid you not.  The reason this happens is the humidifier may be up higher and the room cooler, causing the condensation.  OR, it could be due to the type of mask...mine is more suseptable to condensation than others due to the design of it.

Now try out the machine and keep track of how you are feeling.  For me, the first pressure they had me on didn't work.  I started out at a straight 14 and then it was upped to 16.  After that didn't work and knowing I was losing weight, my dr. changed my machine from a CPAP to an auto CPAP.  Now I started out at a 12-17, then went to a 13-17, and finally once it was changed to a 14-17 I found the perfect pressure and felt more rested.  Now that I've lost 150 lbs I'm down to a pressure range of 7-9.  Even one pressure point up or down can make a huge difference.  Again, try this pressure for 2-4 weeks (or whatever your dr. suggested).  If you still feel tired, then request an adjustment.

Please let us know how you are doing.

Wishing you all the best,

Melinda