CPAP update

[natenaaron]

First night with the CPAP was last night. Full face mask because of a chronic allergy nose. I was not able to read with it on like the doc told me too. Wearing glasses was not an option, so I popped the sleeping pill and fired it up. It took a while to go to sleep But I finally did. The machine has a ramp feature so I started out at 4 and my max was supposed to be 8. I slept well for a while but two things woke me up. One was a leak going into my right eye. That felt weird. I most have rolled over. I readjusted and tried to go back to sleep. My mouth got super dry even with the humidity turned way up and it raining all night. I had to get up twice to drink water. A couple times my cheeks puffed up like balloons, and the seal let go enough at around 6am and it vibrated. The fact that I kept it on all night is a lot of success for me.

It is going to take some getting used to that is for sure. The therapist said it will take time to get used to, and take time for my body to adjust to sleeping and not waking up all the time. In fact he said I would probably get used to the machine before I got used to good sleep since the apnea was so bad a went on for so long.

I may cut out early to take a nap.

 

[acesn8s]

Stick with it. I've used mine for a little over 2 weeks. I don't get sleepy at work anymore. I don't struggle to not drop off when stuck in traffic. No more morning headaches. No trips to the bathroom at 2 AM. I ended up turning off the auto ramp and just set it to 5 minutes before it jumps to level 8, I find I breathe easier at night after it ramps up.

 

[musicman1951]

Hang in there. It definitely takes some time to get comfortable. I've been using one for 10 years and I can go to sleep in the first two minutes.

 

[natenaaron]

Any ideas how to stop the dry mouth?

 

[BSAGuy]

Sounds like you are off to a good start. Keep it up.

 

[HolmerJ]

Sorry but the air leak to the eye and the cheeks puffing up thing made me laugh...only cause the EXACT same thing happened to me and because I delivered them and heard this literally hundreds of times! Stick with it though. I too have problems with nasal allergies. Once you get used to your machine I highly recommend trying the nasal pillows. Your body will figure out how to deal with the CPAP on its own if you stick with it. This is the mask I've been using for a couple of years now and it's hands down the best one for me. My insurance won't pay for it so I buy it on my own. It's a little pricy at $128 but keep in mind that's with the headgear which you don't have to buy every time.
http://www.thecpapshop.com/swift-fx-bella-gray-nasal-pillow-mask-headgear

 

[bberg100]

I have a love/hate for my CPAP. I don't feel much if any better than pre-CPAP, but I can't sleep a wink without it now...

 

[okie bill]

I can't explain why, but a chin strap ( $20 at the same place you picked up your machine.) stopped my dry mouth.

Bill

 

[jKyro]

My old platoon sergeant used one of these when we were down range. One day he really got on our nerves so when he was sleeping we put Apple juice in the waterbottle he had hooked up to it. Needless to say I was a private first class and stayed a private first class until he got out of the army.

 

[PatDaddy13]

Echoing other sentiments in the thread: stick with it. It is completely worth it. I don't think I had a good night's sleep from the age of 18 until I turned 29 and finally got a CPAP. I was waking up 45 times an hour pre CPAP.

The dry mouth thing is almost certainly caused by you involuntarily opening your mouth when you sleep. I have the same issue. Although you said you have a full face mask, and it's my understanding that those are supposed to mitigate the dry mouth issue. I'd talk to your doctor if it persists.

Did you double check to make sure your water chamber isn't dry? That will cause terrible dry mouth as well.

 

[DanOK]

Hang in there. It definitely takes some time to get comfortable. I've been using one for 10 years and I can go to sleep in the first two minutes.

+1

 

[Gig103]

Which machine did they give you? My System One has two types of temperature control - the dial on top only controls the heated tube and you may need to use a menu to boost humidity higher. Before switching to nasal pillows (despite a deviated septum they do work for me) I had my machine maxed out and still getting awful dry mouth. After about 6 months I finally slept through the night.

Leaks are much harder to combat - a freshly washed and dry face and mask are vital, and they are positional, moreso with the face masks.

 

[Luke49783]

I just saw this thread. How is it going after the first week?

I've been on CPAP (APAP actually) for 5 years now. It takes a while to get used to, there's no way around it, only through it. But it DOES get better. Now, I won't sleep without my machine. If I do fall asleep without it on, I wake up feeling sick because my oxygen level has dropped.

I use a full face mask due to nasal issues that I had when I first started and experience dry mouth sometimes as well. It's due to having your mouth open during the night. If you can breathe through your nose, try to. That being said, I realize it often isn't possible. I had surgery to fix a deviated septum and open my nasal airway. That's made a world of difference in being able to breathe through my nose.

Biotene mouthwash is another option worth trying. It's made for people with dry mouth issues. I used it for a while before bed and it definitely helped.

Good luck! I know it's rough at first, but it's worth it in the long run.